16th Sunday after Pentecost

There are four books in the Bible that we refer to as “The Gospels”: The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The first three, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic Gospels, because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. The Gospel of John is not one of the synoptic Gospels because, although it shares some common elements with the other three, it is by and large a very different kind of book. 

Today’s story from Mark is one of those stories that appears in all three of the synoptic Gospels, albeit in very different forms.

There’s Matthew’s version, which is the one that gives us the warm fuzzies:

13… Jesus… asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” (Matthew 16:13-23)

Luke’s version is a bit more spare:

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” 20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” 21 He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9:18-22)

As I said, you read those two accounts and you compare them to the account that we have for today from the Gospel of Mark, and you can see that, while not identical, they share some common elements: Jesus’ question, Peter’s response, and Jesus’ pronouncement regarding his journey to the cross. But there are also things that set them apart from one another. Matthew’s is the most elaborate account, and it’s the one we’re most likely to recall because it’s the one where Peter gets the gold star for the day for correctly identifying Jesus. Luke’s is the shortest, which is a little surprising because Mark is usually the one who tries to keep things short and sweet.

What differentiates Mark is that it’s the only one where we see Jesus and Peter getting into an argument. It’s only in Mark that we have the back to back to back rebukes between Jesus and Peter. If your memory’s good enough you might point out to me that Peter and Jesus rebuke one another in Matthew’s version, as well. And that’s true. But there’s a critical difference. And it’s a difference substantial enough to cast the story in an entirely different light.

Pastor and Author D. Mark Davis notes that in this passage the word translated as “rebuke” appears not twice, but three times. But you wouldn’t know that, because it’s not translated consistently as such within the text for today. The two instances that occur with which we’re familiar are, of course, in verses 32 & 33. “32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’” The third instance of this word actually occurs prior to these two better-known instances, all the way up in verse 30. In that case, however, the exact same word is translated as “sternly ordered”.

So, what happens if we translate the same word consistently? We end up with the following:

27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30And he rebuked them not to tell anyone about him.
  31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
  34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Why on earth would Jesus rebuke Peter for getting it right? Well, maybe Peter doesn’t get it right!! In Matthew’s version of this story, Peter does gets it right. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”

But what if, in Mark’s version, he gets it wrong? This makes for a much more tense exchange. Jesus’ explanation as to what it means to be the Christ is then not so much an affirmation of Peter’s proclamation, but an impassioned corrective. Peter should have answered, “You are the son of man, the one who will be rejected, suffer, die, and be raised.”

Jesus vehemently rejects being named “the Christ” in this story. That is Jesus rejects title of conquering imperialistic hero, the one who would soundly bet the Romans about the head and shoulders and send them running with their tails between their legs. Peter’s reaction is just as vehement. He rejects Jesus’ suffering and death as a necessary part of what Jesus has been preaching about the presence of the Reign of God. And, of course, Jesus’ response to Peter’s rebuke is to demand that if they want any part of what he is about, they too must be willing to die.

Discipleship to the suffering son of man is different form discipleship to the traditionally understood Messiah, the political deliverer. One is a God-reflecting decision to accept rejection, suffering, dying, and rising; the other is a human-reflecting decision to “gain the whole world.” Peter’s thinking was no different than the thinking of the Roman Empire. Imperial thinking is domination thinking. In this mindset, then, the Messiah is an imperial leader, and not the son of man. That’s the path that Peter wants to take and it’s tempting to Jesus. Hence the command, “Get behind me, Satan!” In the end, this is not a straight road, but a crossroad. The disciples are not yet disciples because they’re not yet behind Jesus. Instead, they imagine themselves to be on a path of imperial domination. A path obsessed with human things, not divine things. Jesus is going the other way. It will lead to Jerusalem, his rejection, suffering, death, and rising.

Jesus isn’t telling us to intentionally seek out suffering, but he is saying that suffering is the natural result of following the cross. It’s a subtle but important distinction. Jesus' response to Peter is harsh: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Mark 8:33). It highlights the vast distance between us and God. Jesus is God with us, but we can’t tame him or make him over into our image. We want a savior who’s a winner. We want a savior who makes us winners. But Jesus insists on identifying with the lowliest of outcast, the least of these. Jesus will allow himself to be judged and condemned as a blasphemer by Jewish religious leaders. He will allow himself to be mocked, tortured, and executed as a criminal by the Romans. But he will not allow himself to become the very thing he opposes.

And that’s not all. Jesus actually expects his disciples, which means us, to follow him on this path of suffering and death. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). Jesus isn’t talking about the suffering that is simply part of life in a broken world, be it annoying neighbors, serious illness, or natural disaster. Neither is he telling us to seek out suffering or martyrdom. Jesus himself didn’t go looking for it. But he did recognize it as the inevitable outcome of his mission. Jesus talks about losing our lives for his sake, and for the sake of the gospel. Taking up our cross means being willing to suffer the consequences of following Jesus faithfully, whatever those consequences might be. It means putting Jesus’ priorities and purposes ahead of our own comfort or security. It means being willing to lose our lives by giving them for the sake of others -- using our time, resources, gifts, and energy so that others might experience God’s love made known in Jesus Christ.

They are words that we need to wisely consider as we continually discern how we are called to ministry in this place. The problem is that our instinct for self-preservation fights it at every step. In that regard, we’re no different than the first disciples. They certainly tried to save their lives. Jesus tried to prepare them for what was to come in Jerusalem, but they all deserted him. And Peter not only ran away but denied three times that he ever knew the man named Jesus.

It would certainly be easier if things had turned out differently. If Jesus had only followed a more dignified, Messiah-like path. If only the disciples had been more heroic. But that is not the story we have before us, nor should it be our story. What we have before us is a story about a Messiah being tortured and killed by the state and abandoned by his closest companions.

It would seem that Mark employs the highest degree of irony when he begins his Gospel with the phrase: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  Is he kidding?? Well, of course not. What it means is that we need to remember the whole story. The whole story tells us that Jesus was faithful unto death. The whole story tells us that Jesus was faithful, even while those around him proved faithless. The whole story tells us that Jesus was faithful, and that God raised him to new life. Because of this, we know that God’s life-giving power is far stronger than the worst that humanity can do. And because of this, we know that there is no sin or failure; there is absolutely nothing so great that it can separate us from the love of God in Christ.  AMEN