6. Jesus uses plain talk

A ministry of word and deed

8 March 2009

Mark 8:31-38

We welcome you to the Wesley Theatre here in Sydney, Australia, as we focus our minds upon our journey through Lent and the final address in a short series on Mark.

Immediately following Peter’s ground-breaking confession at Caesarea Philippi that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Lord teaches that he must suffer, die and be raised from the dead. This would not be the message they were hoping for. The focus of the disciples was much more on victory, success and glory and their own particular understanding of it. When Jesus explained his way, Peter protested (v.32), but Jesus counters Peters protest in a very direct way (v.33).

Mark records that Jesus charges his hearers that if any person wants to be his disciple they are going to have to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow him (v.34). The conclusion is that the person who wants to save their life will lose it and the person who loses his or her life for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel will find it.

Jesus was never afraid of plain talk – and he burst Peter’s bubble of enthusiasm when he was in full flow, making clear the implications of recognising that Jesus Christ was the Messiah … and choosing to follow.

“He spoke plainly …”
(Mark 8:32)

What we have is a developing theme of discipleship in a distinct section (8:34 – 9:1); Mark is communicating five separate sayings of Jesus, all wrapped around this one unified theme of discipleship. They are presented in a way that is invitational, and yet are also conditional statements.

We must not feel embarrassed by the direct nature of Jesus’ words, even if personally we struggle to apply them to our own lives. This particular section occupies a crucial place in Mark’s understanding of the gospel.

The fact that we don’t fully grasp its implications has to be understood by looking at the context: three times Jesus is recorded as having spoken about his forthcoming suffering and death. On each occasion the disciples demonstrate a persistent failure to understand.

We are told in v.34 that Jesus called the crowd along with his disciples. This has a similarity to Mark 4:10. The disciples are usually distinguished from the crowd, but here Jesus broadens his invitation. Luke’s gospel makes this even more explicit in talking about ‘taking up the cross daily’, suggesting that it is part and parcel of everyday life to follow him.

The words ‘He spoke plainly’ have a literary purpose. I have never been a devotee of Hollywood westerns, but I reckon they have a formula that isn’t too difficult to detect. There are always the good and the bad guys! Every town seems to have a saloon with great swinging doors and usually someone comes flying through them at some point in the film! Mark Trotter took it further, when he said, “Every western had a hero with a sidekick, and a villain with a black hat. There was a beleaguered sheriff, a damsel in distress, and in the end the inevitable gunfight.”

We enjoy visiting the cinema and one we frequent from time to time has a gallery of black and white photographs of the great movie stars of the past. There is a photo of a very young John Wayne. I always think of him in the westerns as the one who characteristically takes centre stage in the midst of a crisis and says, ‘I’m in charge now.’

The literary purpose of Jesus’ words is to indicate that what follows is of great importance, as Jesus similarly takes centre stage! It is vital that you note it, if you are going to understand the gospel story. There is no wrapping up of the words – they are very plain.

Plainness about suffering

The language is striking: “must suffer many things … must be killed …” (v.31). I can only begin to imagine the power of those words upon the ears of the first disciples and within the early church. If we, who are familiar with the story of the gospel and know the cross/resurrection narrative, feel its earnestness, what was it like to hear it for the first time?

What it does make clear is that:-

Jesus was willing for the disciples to know …

There is no doubt at all that there are aspects of the gospel that can only be known later – and Mark talks in special terms so as to point to ‘a Messianic secret’. What was hidden from the many was not kept from the disciples and the earliest close followers.

Peter protested vigorously at the pattern of Messiahship and suffering. For him this ran counter to what he had expected. Jesus knew that anyone who was serious about following him would need to take the same path … so he wants his disciples to grasp the message. Jesus’ plainness spells out that he does not promise an easy way. True discipleship, while satisfying, is costly.

Jesus wanted the disciples to be prepared …

There is a practicality about Jesus’ words, particularly if the disciples are to respond to them. There was no point in his message communicating the thought that following involved an easy and smooth journey – and so he reiterated the cost of following.

Tom Wright gave a series of lectures at Lichfield Cathedral and he described Mark’s gospel as “a little manual for Jesus’ followers”. He explained: “It is structured very simply in two halves. The first eight chapters introduce us to the first secret: this Jesus of Nazareth is in fact the Messiah. The second eight chapters introduce us to the second secret: this Messiah is not the military warrior, but the Servant King.” It is as if he now says, do you understand the implications? Are you prepared to count the cost?

Jesus desires that we know of the reality of suffering

Fred Craddock’s comments on this passage are helpful: “Clearly Mark does not want his church to use Easter as a way to escape Lent and Good Friday.”

At the core of the rejection, which is part of the suffering – and leads to the cross, is the place of the religious leaders who led the opposition to him.

Let me offer three comments:-

There is unquestionably a powerful link to the keepers of the rules, those in religious authority.
We cannot simply point to religious leaders alone; it is for us all.
The way of suffering is the only way in the end that produces a pattern of redemption.

How many people, when they buy an item, fail to read the small print? If things go wrong unexpectedly, it is then to the small print they turn. Jesus does not hide his demands in small print. It is spelled out for all to understand.

Plainness about how we get it wrong

You cannot read Mark’s gospel without being aware of the role of Peter. It is as if he speaks into a vacuum of silence, as he addresses the Lord. Peter had already been scolded for his earlier contribution at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:17-19), but now the terms are much stronger (v.33). We don’t concentrate on the actual content of Peter’s misunderstanding, because Mark doesn’t actually spell this out. It is rather the interpretation of Jesus that matters – “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (v.33)

We often soften difficult messages

Admitting we are wrong can be an extremely difficult thing to do in a given situation. Softening our acknowledgement in saying, ‘If you think I have offended you, I didn’t mean it and I am sorry!’ is far easier … but not the real thing.

In the first part of the rebuke of Peter, you can’t help but see the similarities with Jesus’ rebuke of the tempter in the desert. The second part suggests that although Peter has been close to him, he is thinking so differently from everyone else. It is a call to recognise that we must be willing to think as though with the mind of God. “… the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had …” (Philippians 2:5)

In what ways do we soften messages?

By concentrating on the complexity of a message rather than honing in on the specific application.
By focusing on an original context with no room for applying it to our own lives today.
By avoiding strong words, because of the need of encouragement – which, though important, is not the only message we need to hear.

In one of his books, George MacDonald tells of how easy it is to give in to the temptation of profitable dishonesty. He tells about a draper who always used his thumb to make the measure just a little short: “He took from his soul and put it in his money bag.”

We can handle difficult words, if they are in the orbit of following Jesus

Jesus had more confidence in the disciples than they had in themselves. When he addressed Peter and said, ‘Get behind me Satan!’ at one level it can be understood as asking him to get back into the way of following.

I have known people (as I am sure many of you have) who, by their words and actions, have gathered a whole catalogue of enemies. I have known Christian people who have seen themselves as having a duty to stir everyone up. It is not our primary job to stir anyone up, but to allow the gospel itself to do this.

Prior to this point in Jesus’ ministry, he had addressed the disciples in parables, but now he is talking about the issues of life and death – and it is time for plain talk! The disciples will be able to take this because of Who it is that tells them. Likewise if we are to share the strong truth of the gospel, it must be in the orbit of following.

Death itself can be redemptive

Mark’s gospel is certainly a Good Friday gospel! Everything leads up to and flows from the death of Christ. If you listen to the way in which we popularly handle the subject of death, you will see how we try to escape painful realities by talking in riddles and metaphors.

Just consider how we prefer to avoid the word ‘death’, for example we say, ‘he or she passed on’ – or even ‘fell asleep’. Jesus knows that death is difficult to deal with; it is for precisely this reason that he spoke plainly to his disciples. Death can be dealt with redemptively, but we must be willing to talk plainly about it.

Plainness about our calling to follow

Jesus reminds us of factors that need to be borne in mind if we are to follow him. They are presented to enable us to make the necessary choice – and not to be rushed into a quick-fire reaction which, though displaying great enthusiasm at the beginning, soon dies away when the going gets tough.

Whilst it is true that Mark gives us a vigorous and lively account of the ministry of Jesus, he also spells out the cost of discipleship – and implicit in this is the danger of spurning discipleship.

Save your life … and you will lose it

The way of Jesus which culminates in the cross is to risk and lose physical life in the cause of salvation. Sherman E Johnson explained the consequences for those who wish to save their lives: “… to hoard it and protect it, as though it belonged to them alone, will lose it or destroy it …”

There are two kinds of losing and gaining … Jesus points to the only one worth setting your life’s steer by.
The phrase ‘for the gospel’ points to the life of the early Christian community.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer reinvigorated the concept into the wider thinking of the Church in The Cost of Discipleship, which remains monumental. He wrote, “The cross is lain on every Christian. It begins with the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ.”

God gave us life to spend and not to keep. All around the world at this time there is talk of stimulus packages – and the hope of treasurers and exchequers in different cultures is that people will spend the resources given to them. If they are simply hoarded, they will not achieve their intended purpose. In the same way, we must be about the gospel and not simply cherishing its benefits.

Gain the world … and you will forfeit your soul

Many people have apparently won the ‘whole world’ in relation to material success – and it is in vain. Jesus makes the point so powerfully in his story about the rich fool (Luke 12:15-20).

The word translated ‘forfeit’ is a strong word which encapsulates the thought that you cannot have it both ways. You can have the world – or you can have the way of following, but having both doesn’t happen to be an option. It is not an easy balance to claim to follow Jesus and to have a responsible attitude to the world around us.

When Sir Thomas More was in prison, his wife and children entreated him to yield to the King: “For so many years,” said his wife, “we might yet live together: why then can you, in the flower of your age, bring yourself and your family to the worst misfortunes?”
“How many years,” said he, “do you suppose I can yet live?”
“At least twenty,” she said.
“What a foolish exchange,” exclaimed the Chancellor, “for twenty years of life here below, and very likely not so much, that I should give up life eternal …! Better lose all than my soul: ‘for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?’”

Never be ashamed of Christ

We remind ourselves that these words are spoken before the cross – and before the linkage with glory has been developed by Paul and others. Later Christian thinking would invest in the cross huge concepts that at this point in time were untapped by the disciples. The concept of shame would certainly be associated with the degradation which commonly was understood in relation to death on a cross: “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13 and Deuteronomy 21:23).

The real issue when all is said and done is not what I think of my life – or for that matter what others think of my life – but what does God think of it.

It is possible to sacrifice the things that are most lasting and enduring for cheap, passing success. One writer put it, “… life has a way of revealing the true value and condemning the false as the years pass on. A cheap thing never lasts.”

We would save ourselves from all kinds of mistakes if we looked at life from the perspective of eternity. The surest test of all!

Frederick Buechner tells a sad story in The Sacred Journey. He tells of how one evening he was having dinner with his mother. They didn’t see each other very often and so he anticipated the occasion greatly.

As they sat down to eat, he received an urgent telephone call; a colleague needed his help. This colleague’s parents and pregnant sister had just been involved in a serious car accident and the doctors didn’t give them much hope. The colleague was waiting at the airport for a flight to take him to his family and he desperately needed comfort at that moment.

Buechner’s first response was fear. His friend’s grief scared him and he didn’t believe he could be of any help. Although he knew what he should do, he asked his friend if he could call back in 10 minutes. With a heavy heart he sat down to dinner. All kinds of justification for his actions filled his head, but he realised they were shallow and he should have responded! His friend never called back.

Upon later consideration, he recognised his mother’s apartment was a sanctuary from which he hid from the horrid, cruel and desperate world outside. He had been wrong. He wrote: “The shattering revelation of that moment was that the true peace, the high and biding peace that passes all understanding, is not to be had in retreat from the battle, but only in the thick of the battle.”

Jim Elliott served as a missionary in Ecuador in the 1950s and, for me, he demonstrated a profound understanding of the words of Jesus, when he wrote in his diary, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” He was 22 years old at the time and just seven years later, his life came to a violent end.

Following Jesus is to access the real values of your life. It often takes plain talk to drive home the message!

Christian Life