Sermon Lesson: Mark 8:31-38
Alternate New Testament Lesson: Romans 4:13-25
Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Psalm: Psalm 22:23-31
For this mini sermon I want you to step away and forget what you know. But what we think of as the “Messiah” didn’t necessarily translate to what the Jewish people two thousand years ago thought of when they thought about the “Messiah.”
So, deep breath, strip away what you think, and step back.
When Jesus taught about the Messiah, he was using a word that meant many things to the people he was talking about. However, it could really be stripped down to one basic concept: a hero.
Now, when you think of a hero, you think of someone great. You think of someone that cannot be beaten. You think of someone who even in death, survives in the memory of the people.
The Messiah meant that and more to the Jewish people. However, the Messiah was also unstoppable. The Messiah was potentially unbeatable because the Messiah was sent by God. The Messiah, in the minds of most if not all, was indestructible.
Then Imagine Why Peter Freaked Out
When Jesus came to earth as a human man and preached to his followers, he spoke of the Messiah and he spoke of the reality of what the Messiah—of what he—would face.
However, it didn’t quite align with the ideas that everyone had built up after generations and generations of hope and fairytales and legends.
When Jesus said that the Son of Man—that the Messiah—would suffer, that didn’t make sense to anyone. If the Messiah would suffer, surely it would only be to overcome the suffering and triumph in the end… right?
When Jesus said that the Messiah would be rejected, not only by the elders, but by the chief priests, and also by the scribes… this was unbelievable. The elders would surely recognize the Messiah! The chief priests were the representatives of God’s religion on earth, so surely they would recognize God’s ultimate representative! The scribes had been studying, their noses pressed to their scrolls, they would know what to look for, wouldn’t they? It was unthinkable that they would not know the Son of Man when he came!
For Jesus to even suggest such a thing was madness!
Peter rightly couldn’t believe it. Jesus wasn’t thinking straight. He should know that the elders and the chief priests and the scribes would know the Messiah. Perhaps Jesus, since he was from some back water in Galilee, wouldn’t have realized this?
But it only got worse—much, much worse.
Not only would leaders fail to recognize the Messiah (according to Jesus of Nazareth), but he would be killed, a man who was greater than life itself! And then… he would rise again in three days?
Let’s pause and take a breath. We know that Jesus died and rose in three days, but it had never been done before. Very few people failed to die. No one had died, been physically buried, and then come back after a substantial amount of time. This was madness. Craziness!
If you were driving down the road and a man ran across the street, started tearing off his clothes, and began to scream it was the End Times and he was going to die but come back—would you honestly believe him? Even if he was your best friend, would you believe him or wonder if you should take him for a brain scan?
Take that disbelief that you most likely felt for at least a moment and imagine it tenfold. That’s what Peter felt for his beloved teacher, Jesus Christ.
Peter Loved Jesus
We need to remember that Peter loved Jesus. Jesus was one of his closest friends and his teacher. So, he did what any good friend would do: he took Jesus aside and tried to talk some sense into him. Peter tried to explain to him why Jesus wasn’t making sense, why no one else would understand.
(After all, wouldn’t you do as much for a friend or loved one?)
Jesus Reacts Badly
I want to remind you that Satan is the devil’s advocate and the one who tempts Jesus, just as we are tempted on a daily (or maybe weekly, or sometimes hourly, it all depends) basis. It would have been so easy for Jesus to agree with his friend, to take the easy way out, to tone down his message when he went back into the next room when speaking to his potential followers.
Instead, Jesus refuses the temptation—he does not refuse Peter, his friend. Instead, he refuses the temptation—he refuses Satan. Of course, it comes out a bit harshly. (Okay, it comes out extremely harshly, and I’ve heard many sermons on the subject.). But, what’s important is that Jesus does not deny his friend, Peter, does not deny his friendship, does not deny his well-meaning advice although he does not take said well-meaning advice.
Jesus himself is in a difficult position. He’s trying to explain to everyone that they should not expect the charcoal that they are expecting but the most brilliant of diamonds instead—and yet they will never understand until Jesus is crucified and rises from the dead what a beautiful treasure they willingly sacrificed and sent to his death.
But You know How Precious Jesus Is
Following along with that allegory, you know how precious Jesus is, how precious his love is, how precious his friendship is.
I hope you realize what a true friend you have in him—how your heart and your love is all he ever desired in this world, how he sacrificed himself to save your soul.
In the upcoming weeks in church, we will be following Jesus’s Ministry up through the Last Supper and his Crucifixion on Good Friday, when God the Father gave his only begotten son for us. All he asks in return is our unconditional love—a small thing if you think of it, and so easy to give.
In my mind, the tune “what a friend we have in Jesus” is running through my mind. I’m sorry if it now runs nonstop through yours, but I can’t think of a better song to be stuck humming for an afternoon.
Amen.
Archdeacon’s Corner
Cats (along with bats, owls, and toads) were believed to be witches’ companions who aided in spells and carried messages to the Devil. During the tragically widespread witch trials of 16th and 17th century Europe, feline “familiars” were burned, hung, and drowned alongside their mistresses.
Despite this, it is believed that a tabby cat was present with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the manger. The tabby gave warmth to Jesus and so Mary, Mother of God, gave him a symbol of her appreciation—the letter “M”—on his forehead to carry throughout time. If you have a tabby cat (like the Archdeacon with is a ginger tabby), look on his or her forehead, and you will see the basic shape of a letter “M” on his or her forehead.
Of course, Mary was named Miriam in Hebrew, which is written in the Hebrew Alphabet (and the first letter doesn’t look at all like the letter “M”), but it is a beautiful myth.
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