Have you ever been asked a trick question?
Someone asks you something you think you know the answer to, but, as you stop to think about it, there’s seems to be a catch somewhere in the question
Just before Sunday’s Gospel lesson, Jesus asks Peter a question, “Who do people say that I am?”
It seems straight forward. Peter seems to answer correctly, but Jesus ends up calling him Satan
Peter got it wrong, but why? Was it a trick question?
Peter’s misunderstanding was, ultimately, about the cross. If Peter got it wrong, is it possible we also misunderstand what the cross is all about?
The cross is, without a doubt, the revelation of God’s glory, but in a strange way . . . through weakness.
The Good News is that when Jesus willingly lost everything by means of the cross, life was revealed.
With the cross . . . losing is winning!
Sunday’s Gospel passage officially begins with verse 34.
It’s not a bad place to begin. Jesus is, after all, addressing the crowds . . . but it’s the middle of the story.
Jesus addresses the crowds in response to an event that comes immediately before–namely, the question he posed to Peter
Jesus’s question was a simple one: “Who do people say that I am?”
If you think about it, it’s a strange question
I know the theologian in you wants to answer: Jesus is the God-man being both fully divine and human in his person, yet hypostatically united to the Godhead.
Right?
Well, maybe you wouldn’t have answered quite that way, but it’s still a strange question
Why would Jesus ask such a question?
Is he concerned about what other people think about him? Is he concerned that people are gossiping . . . and getting it wrong?
Well, he doesn’t have to wait long. The disciples jump right in.
“Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.” (Mark 8:28 GNT)
But then, Jesus probes further.
“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29 GNT)
It’s a fair question.
We all want to know what our closest friends and family think of us–or at least, we know what we want them to think of us.
Perhaps it’s a bit vain, but it’s a question we can all identify with.
Here comes Peter to the rescue . . . or so it seems.
He says that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed Savior.
We want to breathe a sigh of relief . . . someone seems to get it.
Someone knows that this is Jesus Christ!
But Jesus starts talking about dying and losing.
He starts talking about how all the leaders of the day will go against him, the very leaders who also want to see Israel restored.
I thought we agreed with those leaders? Don’t we want Israel to be a great nation? Don’t we want to see God’s temple restored? Aren’t we all on the same page?
Huh?
This can’t be right. What’s going on?
Peter to the rescue again . . . or so it seems.
Peter pulls Jesus aside, quietly so as not to embarrass him. Mark doesn’t tell us what Peter said, but we can imagine.
“Jesus, what are talking about? You’re the messiah, the one who will reveal God’s glory to the world. What’s all this talk of dying and loosing? The messiah will be like Alexander the Great or even Caesar Augustus . . . you’ll be great! You’ll restore Israel and make it a great nation. Your name will live on for eternity!”
Jesus quickly rebukes Peter in the strongest possible fashion.
“Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature!” (Mark 8:33 GNT)
This is where today’s reading picks up.
This is where Jesus tells us that we must pick up our own crosses, forget ourselves, and lose our lives.
Here’s all that dying and losing stuff again. What’s going on?
Like Peter, we’ve gotten used to thinking about Jesus as a powerful king who will put down all our enemies.
We focus on the resurrection and how glorious it is that Jesus won victory over death.
Is this what it means to be the Christ?
Isn’t it supposed to be about winning and being raised from the dead? Isn’t this how God shows Christ to be the conqueror
This is what Peter thought. This is what Peter meant when he said that Jesus was the Christ
But, scripturally speaking, Peter gave the wrong answer.
And, if “Christ” is the answer we would also give to the question, then we’ve missed the point—just like Peter
The answer is strange.
In fact, you probably won’t believe me at first. The answer is so radical, you’ll think I’m making things up.
The answer to Jesus’s question . . . the answer to “Who do people say that I am” . . . is: It doesn’t matter!
It doesn’t matter who people say Jesus is. It doesn’t matter who you think he is, just as it didn’t matter what the disciple thought of Jesus
In a way, it’s a trick question.
What matters is the teaching that Jesus brings to us. He is, after all, the fulfillment of the Law.
What matters is that Jesus’s life demonstrates the teaching, the very teaching given to us by Moses and the Prophets . . . this is why both Moses and Elias will appear with Jesus in the very next chapter.
What matters is that Jesus willingly dies on the cross.
The teaching is to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
For Jesus to live this out means that he has to consider himself as nothing. He can’t assert his rights, give a defense, or try to escape.
He goes full in . . . it’s all or nothing.
His own life, his own reputation, and his own comforts no longer matter.
The point is that his love is so extreme that he gives his life
This is why St. Paul would later write this poem:
He always had the nature of God,
but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God.
Instead of this, of his own freewill he gave up all he had,
and took the nature of a servant.
He became like a human being
and appeared in human likeness.
He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—
his death on the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8 GNT)
God’s glory was not revealed in his resurrection.
Instead, God’s glory was revealed in his love for us–his death on the cross.
It’s because of Jesus’s death, rather than resurrection, that we remember him today.
It’s because of Jesus’s obedience to God that he was raised from the dead . . . his vindication that he lived life the right way.
For this reason God raised him to the highest place above
and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.
And so, in honor of the name of Jesusall beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below
will fall on their knees,
and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 GNT)
This is hard for me to swallow.
I imagine it’s also hard for you to swallow
We want to cling to victories in life.
- We want our sports teams to be champions.
- We want to win all the
arguments we get into. - We want the best jobs so that we can build the biggest houses, drive the most expensive cars, and wear the trendiest brands of clothing.
- We want to matter to our friends, families, co-workers, and, even, to strangers.
- We don’t want to be embarrassed or counted as nobodies.
St. Paul once felt this way too. But then, he became convinced of the way of the cross.
He became convinced that losing yourself in order to love God and neighbor is the right way to live life.
Here’s what he says in the next chapter of Philippians:
If any of you think you can trust in external ceremonies, I have even more reason to feel that way.
I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew.
As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee, and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.
But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as
loss for Christ’s sake. Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ and be completely united with him. (Philippians 3:4-9 GNT)
If there was anyone who was “rich” in earthly things, it was St. Paul.
He came from a wealthy family, studied at the best schools, came from a prominent town, and practiced the right religion.
But, as he says, in the light of Christ’s cross, this all became garbage (the Greek is actually very strong and crude here).
This is the way of the cross.
This is losing your life for Jesus’s sake.
This is following Christ.
This is picking up your cross.
The only question is . . . are you willing to forsake the world so that you can gain eternal life?
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