Salvation and Suffering Go Hand in Hand

Mark 8:31-38

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.  He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said.  “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”             

 Salvation and Suffering Go Hand in Hand

Of course it was Peter – impetuous Peter. Peter always had to be the first to speak and the first to act. He’s the one who asked Jesus to let him walk on water, and he did! He’s the one who selflessly volunteered to build 3 shelters on the Mount of Transfiguration – one for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah – without a thought that he and James and John could probably use one too.

In the verse immediately before our Gospel text for today, we find out that Peter was even the first disciple to confess that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. That’s a big deal! Up until that moment the disciples were perfectly content to confess that Jesus had come from God; that Jesus was an exceptionally wise and godly teacher; that he was a heaven-sent prophet with miraculous power. But finally – just before our text for today – Peter is willing to put into words what no one dared to say out loud for fear that they would jinx it: Jesus is the promised Saviour of the world.

Sometimes I wish I were more like that Peter – quick and decisive, ready to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. But then I read our Gospel lesson for today and I’m not so sure. Sometimes, Peter is so admirable. Other times, he’s an absolute mess. This was not one of Peter’s finer moments.

Shortly after making the beautiful and bold confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Peter betrayed his utter ignorance as to what that meant. Mark writes: He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.  He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.[1]

Can you picture how this went down? There’s a crowd of people around Jesus. He’s teaching them about who he is and what he came to do. This is the meat of the matter. Peter, meanwhile, is within arm’s reach, presumably nodding along with everything that Jesus has to say until Jesus says this and you can almost hear the record screech to a halt in Peter’s brain. “Wait, what did he just say?”

And then Peter does what may be the most impetuous thing he did in his entire life: he interrupts Jesus’ teaching, grabs the man he confessed to be the Christ, pulls him aside and begins to scold him as if Jesus were a little school boy who had just said a four-letter word on the playground at recess. Peter wasn’t having it, because Peter didn’t get it.

When Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God, what he said was literally true, but what he expected Jesus as the Christ to do couldn’t be further from the truth. Mark doesn’t tell us exactly what Peter’s specific expectations were, but it wouldn’t be hard to guess. Many people expected the promised Saviour to bring political freedom, i.e. to make Israel great again. They saw the Christ as their “bread king,” i.e. the miracle-worker who would heal all their diseases and give them a lifetime supply of fish and bread for lunch. They hoped that Jesus would bring them peace and comfort and stability and health and freedom.  

But Jesus talks about suffering and rejection and murder (and resurrection, but after those first three things Peter had evidently stopped paying attention). Needless to say, that’s not what Peter expected or wanted from his Saviour. It was unacceptable to him. In Peter’s mind, Jesus had it all wrong; Jesus didn’t know what he was talking about.  In Peter’s mind, Peter knew what was best.  Impetuous? More like presumptuous, prideful, arrogant, right?  How could Peter be so blind? 

To tell you the truth, that’s a question I need to ask myself every day.  How could this Peter be so blind?  How can I be so arrogant as to think that I know better than God?  It’s true.  I do – not know better than God, but think I do.  When something doesn’t go my way or meet my expectations I sit in confusion and I ask, “Why?  Why did this have to happen?  Why did I have to mess up on my taxes and now spend the rest of the year eating Ramen noodles because the money just isn’t there?  I had so many things that I wanted to do with that money.  This wasn’t part of the plan.” 

“Why does my mother have to suffer?  She doesn’t deserve this.  I want her to live long enough to meet her grandson and for him to remember her.” 

“What do you know, God?  If you just thought like me, then everything would be fine. It’d be smooth sailing.” 

We can read this passage and scoff at Peter’s audacity and spiritual blindness, but the truth is that we do the same thing. We don’t want to hear about taking up our crosses and sharing in Jesus’ suffering. And that means that what Jesus said to Peter, I need to hear and so do you.  “Get behind me, Satan!” he said.

Can you imagine hearing Jesus say that to you?  Peter must have felt about this big.  If you were under the impression that Jesus is a cuddly Messiah who’s always marshmallow soft, then think again.  Jesus speaks plainly here and calls sin what it is.  Sin is not a rare occasion of weakness or an endearing little personality quirk.  It is an insight into our souls and an indication where our loyalties lie.  If we have in mind anything other than God’s plan, we have in mind the things of men and, quite frankly, the things of the devil. 

Just like Peter, in those moments our perspective is fatally skewed and it desperately needs to be adjusted.  That’s why Jesus clarifies what the things of God are by talking about the value of our souls. 

Peter’s hope for Christ, whatever it may have been, eerily mirrors our own hopes for Jesus.  Peter didn’t want a Messiah who would be disgraced or who would suffer.  Neither do we want a Savior who allows pain or evil to occur in this life.  But that kind of theology of glory – the desire for Jesus to provide us with nothing but the most pleasant things in this life – is incompatible with the plain, frank truth of Jesus’ mission. 

Jesus never promised a life of ease or comfort or luxury as a reward for following him.  Quite on the contrary he says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”[2] 

Self-denial means that self-advancement isn’t our primary objective, but when we look at our lives we see just how easy it is to get lost in building our careers, working for promotions, pursuing degrees.  It’s easy to get lost in the desire for a family that never fights – or for a family at all, for that matter. It’s easy to get lost in the desire for a lifestyle that fulfills our fantasies.  Sometimes we even have our own faulty expectations of what “should” be happening here at church with the quality of music or increased attendance or a better facility or more money in the operating fund. 

All those things are wonderful blessings of the Lord, but the problem comes when we demand and expect them, when we question God’s motives when he doesn’t give them to us.  That’s why Jesus has to speak so sharply here, because our desires may be for good things, but they’re not always for the best thing, and if we lose sight of the best thing, then none of those good things are worth anything.  Jesus puts it this way, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”[3]

It sounds harsh, but it’s actually a very hopeful question. Even when Jesus speaks sharply to us, even when he rightly calls our actions and attitudes sinful, his concern is for your soul.  A soul commandeered by sin is condemned, and while it may enjoy life on this earth for a time, its future is eternal suffering.  A soul redeemed by Christ, on the other hand, will live in God’s true peace forever. 

Our greatest possession, then, is not family, or health, or wealth, or well-being; it’s our relationship with Christ.  There is nothing in this world that we value more than the one who promises us reconciliation and life eternal.  There is nothing in this world that we value more than Christ, not even life itself.  And the only reason we can say that is because Jesus felt the same way about us. 

“What would you give in exchange for your soul?”[4] Jesus asks.  It’s a rhetorical question.  The answer is meant to be obvious.  Nothing.  But if I turned that question around and asked God the same thing, “What would you give in exchange for my soul?” his answer would be the exact opposite.  God would say, “Everything.” 

God did give everything in exchange for your soul.  He traded his family – his one and only Son – for you.  He gave up his dignity, by becoming a human being and suffering at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law for you.  He gave up his freedom and his comfort and his health for you.  Jesus gave his very life for you, when he went to die on a cross for you. That’s why he came, for you. That’s what it means to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God – it means that our God was willing to take on himself the pain and the suffering for our sin and to give us hope.

Let’s not be like Peter and stop listening after Jesus talks about his murder. Jesus didn’t just say that he would suffer and be rejected and be killed. He also promised to rise again. Despite the pain and suffering, despite the weight of our sin, Jesus rose again. And with his resurrection to new life Jesus gives us hope for a new life – a new life unencumbered by the guilt of our sin; a new life filled with the peace of knowing that we are no longer on the side of Satan, but we have been reconciled to God in him; a new life that may have to suffer and carry a cross in this world, but that considers Christ’s cross light and the cost of following him cheap, especially by comparison to what it cost him to be our Christ.

Peter was impetuous. He was a “ready, fire, aim” kind of guy. And sometimes that got him in trouble. But you have to love his love for his Lord, and you have to admire his willingness to be corrected. Even though it took him months after this moment to finally get it, in the end he did. He saw Jesus do what he said he would. He saw Jesus suffer and be rejected and murdered, but he saw Jesus rise again too. And then Peter understood that Jesus had to suffer and die for our sins, but that he rose to life for our justification, to give us hope of salvation and eternal life.

And if Christian tradition holds true, Peter gets much of the credit for Mark’s Gospel. Peter was Mark’s mentor. Peter calls Mark his “son.” Peter is the one who taught Mark the faith. And Peter is the one who signed off on Mark’s Gospel, including this very unflattering portrayal of him. But that’s OK, and it’s even good, to see where we can go wrong, as long as we see how Christ makes it right.

Salvation and suffering go hand in hand. May we never lose sight of it. May we always appreciate the sacrifice our Saviour made for us, and willingly take up our crosses and follow him through the pain and suffering of this world to life everlasting in his name. Amen.

[1] Mark 8:31-

[2] Mark 8:34

[3] Mark 8:36

[4] Mark 8:37

You Don't Have to Be Perfect, Just Penitent

Mark 1:12-15

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

You Don’t Have to Be Perfect, Just Penitent       

Mark is pretty stark when he writes about Jesus’ temptation. He’s stingy with the details. Matthew and Luke both tell us exactly what three of the temptations were. Mark doesn’t even mention one. What Mark does do with very little ink is make some strong implications. He simply tells us that Satan tempted Jesus and then allows us to imagine what that must have looked like.

He starts by saying, “At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness.”[1] This temptation took place immediately after Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River.

This was a big moment in Jesus’ life!  John had been laying the groundwork for Jesus to take center stage for years. Up to this point we know virtually nothing about Jesus’ life. We have a record of his birth. We have a story from when he was 12. And that’s about it. But when Jesus walks into the Jordan River and get baptized by John, something happens. While all eyes are on Jesus, heaven opens above him and the voice of God the Father announces for all to hear, “You are my Son whom I love. With you I am well pleased.”[2]

Jesus had arrived. That moment marked the beginning of his public ministry. From then on out, Jesus would be a figure in the public eye. He would have audiences and crowds of people following him wherever he went.

But first: “At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness.”[3]

There was no time for a potluck reception to celebrate Jesus’ inauguration into ministry. There was no meet-and-greet networking session, no honeymoon period. Jesus went right to work. Jesus was thrown into the fire. From day one of his public ministry, it was immediately obvious what Jesus came to do – he came to defeat the Devil. So the Spirit sent him into the wilderness to square off with Satan.

The desert was the perfect place to duel with the Devil. It was barren and empty. It was the haunt of hyenas and jackals and other wild animals, but no people. No spectators. No support. Just Jesus in a lonely and perilous place, in an inhospitable and hostile environment where Jesus was going to be alone and unassisted for 40 days.

Jesus was there for more than a month only doing 2 things the entire time –fasting and being tempted by Satan.

For most people, that would be a deadly combination. Have you ever tried to fast? It’s hard! It’s hard enough to make it from lunch to dinner without having an afternoon snack. Try going a whole day and then multiply that by 40! That’s what Jesus did.

Imagine how weak you would feel in both body and spirit. Imagine how quickly you would fall on the first fast food joint on your way back into town. Imagine how irritable you would be and impatient. And then, imagine that you’re not alone, but you have the Prince of Darkness loitering around, relentlessly assaulting you with temptation after temptation.

This month and 10 days of Jesus’ life was intense and difficult, and even though we only hear about 3 temptations in the other Gospels, Mark makes it sound like Satan was Jesus’ constant companion, pestering him every day with a new and uniquely challenging temptation.

It sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? Would you have the stamina to say, “No,” to the devil every day? I think an honest look at your life right now would tell you that you don’t. We can’t make it one day without giving in to temptation, let alone the 40 that Jesus spent in the wilderness or the 12,000+ that Jesus spent on this earth. I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb to say that every one of us has sinned several times since the sun rose this morning.

You don’t have to invite another woman into your bed to sin. All you have to do is linger on a picture on your phone and lust is born in your heart. You don’t have to cut the brake lines of your neighbour’s car in the hopes that they die in a fiery crash. All you have to do is get mad at them and harbour hatred in your heart for a moment.

It must have seemed so easy for the devil to have Jesus alone in the desert without his disciples, without any food, without any support of any kind – physical or spiritual – for 40 days and all he had to do was get Jesus to think a single sinful thought one time, and the devil would win. Jesus had to be perfect. He had to be constantly vigilant, always on guard, always mindful and aware of every idea he thought, every word he spoke, every thing he did. No second chances. No slip ups. Satan must have loved his odds in this duel in the desert.

But 40 days later and Jesus – tired, hungry, exhausted as he must have been – withstood every temptation that Satan could throw at him. The struggle for Jesus was real, but he emerged victorious.  Only then, after the temptations were over,[4] did God send his angels to strengthen Jesus in body and soul after a grueling duel with the devil in the desert.

Mark barely says a word about what must have been one of the most challenging and difficult times in all of Jesus’ life. But that moment was so meaningful, because in that wilderness we see our Saviour do something that you and I never could. We see Jesus get tempted in every way, just like we do every day, yet he was able to stay without sin. He resisted every temptation and remained spotless, sinless.

And that matters! That means that we have a Saviour who can sympathize with us. Jesus knows what temptation feels like. Jesus knows, better than we do, what it is to have the devil whisper in your ear; for Satan to hold out forbidden fruit and make you lose all taste for anything else. Jesus knows what it feels like to be frustrated with your government, to be concerned about the future, to be attracted to someone or something you can’t have. Jesus knows what you go through on a daily basis.

But better than having a Saviour who can sympathize with you, this story tells us that we have a Saviour who is better than you, who was able to do what we cannot. We have a Saviour who is perfect and sinless. We have a Saviour who defeated the Devil and came out victorious over Satan, and not just in the month plus after his baptism either. Jesus won every battle his whole life long, up to and including the moments he spent hanging on a cross, despised by the people he came to save, forsaken by his Father in heaven, but still filled with perfect love for you – a love that was willing to sacrifice his life for you.

Jesus died, not for sins that he committed – he hadn’t committed any. Jesus died for all of your sins and for all of mine. He was the sinless, spotless lamb of sacrifice to pay for the sins of the whole world.

We have a Saviour who can sympathize with us. We have a Saviour who came out victorious. We have a Saviour who was the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

That’s why Jesus began – and ended – his 3-year preaching tour with the same message: “Repent and believe the good news!”[5]

You and I are not as strong as Jesus was. You and I give in to temptation all the time. We are attracted to people and things we can’t have. We are concerned about the future and don’t always trust God to provide. We grow frustrated with our government and the things they make us do. And sadly, sometimes – oftentimes – we give in to those temptations.

We speak ill of our government and we justify disobeying their laws just because we don’t understand or agree with them. But that’s a sin against the 4th Commandment: “Honor your father and mother” and everyone in authority, whether you agree with them or not, whether they deserve your respect or not. You have an obligation to obey them, not for their sake but for God’s sake.

We often grow afraid and anxious about what the future holds for us, but instead of casting all our cares on God and entrusting ourselves into his more-than-capable hands, we try to take matters into ours. We put our trust in our own ability to make money, our own ability to provide, forgetting that it’s God who gives us those abilities in the first place.

We are attracted to people and things we cannot have. We grow discontent with what God has given us in our lives and we spend our days looking at the greener grass on the other side of the fence. Until eventually our envy entices us to trespass and go somewhere and do something that we shouldn’t. Enjoying a pleasure God hasn’t given us. Rejecting as worthless what God has given us.

That’s why Jesus’ six-word sermon starts with “Repent.” We are not as strong as Jesus is. We cannot resist the devil and his temptations. The struggle is real and we often lose, but hope is only lost when we refuse to repent, i.e. when we turn a blind eye to our sin.

When we listen to Jesus and do repent – when we admit our sinfulness and ask God for forgiveness – he turns our attention to the good news of Jesus. To the good news that we have a Saviour who can sympathize with temptation, but who is stronger than we are. To the good news that our stronger Saviour nevertheless willingly sacrificed himself for you to forgive all your sins. To the good news that you don’t have to be perfect to be saved. You just need to be penitent – to be sorry enough for your sins that you recognize your need for a Saviour and rejoice that God has given you Jesus.

The season of Lent is a struggle. It’s a struggle to say, “No,” to the temptations of Satan. It’s a struggle to say, “Yes,” to all that God wants me to do. But it’s a struggle that Christ won for you. He came out victorious after his grueling duel with the devil in the desert and gives us his victory through faith in his Word.

So, dear brothers and sisters, this season of Lent, repent and believe the good news: Jesus is your Saviour from sin. Amen.

[1] Mark 1:12

[2] Mark 1:11

[3] Mark 1:12

[4] Matthew 4:11

[5] Mark 1:15

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