Are You More Like Jesus or Peter?

Pentecost 17 (October 1,2006)

By

Rev. Steven D. Spencer, Pastor

 Mark 8:27-36

27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?" 28 So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." 29 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." 30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." 34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (New King James Version)

Grace, peace and mercy from God our Father and from our Lord who is the Savior, Jesus the Christ, Amen!

In our text today Jesus starts talking to His disciples plainly about the things that must take place. That He must go to Jerusalem, He must suffer, must be killed so He can be raised from the dead, just plain talking.

There’s something I’d like to share about myself that may surprise you. I am a car guy. I love cars. Big, bold domestic cars. Sleek, sassy imports, diesel or gas engines I love them all. I love to get under the hood and get my hands greasy. I love the smell and sound of cars. It’s even worse; I like to buy cars. No not to buy a car from an individual in the Nickel Paper. No I like to go to the dealership and find the most aggressive, obnoxious salesman and haggle with him. I love it! But, you see, I come by it honestly. When I was 12 years old my grandfather took me to a dealership to buy his car. Every 2 years my grandpa would buy a new Buick. It was always the same dealership. Yet he would always haggle.

I remember getting to the dealership and there was the exact car he wanted. It should have been, my grandmother called the week before to make sure it was there. I doubt grandpa ever knew she did that. We walked onto the lot and grandpa started looking at a car, not the one he wanted. I asked him,  “grandpa why are you looking at the wrong car?” He told me that you never single out just one car. It’s like an injured bird to the hounds they will go for blood, so will the salesman if he knows you’ve already made up your mind.  Then he kicked the tire of that car. Grandpa what does the kicking of the tire tell you? Nothing unless the wheel is loose, it’s how you call the salesman to the lot. And then the real dickering began. A single piece of paper folded in half. Inside the salesman wrote a number. My grandpa wrote his own number and slid the paper back to the salesman. This went on for quite awhile until finally my grandfather held the paper under his hand and looked the salesman square in the eye and said, “It’s time for some plain talking!” That meant it was time to come to an agreement. One that was equitable for both sides. It was time to get down to brass tacks and get the business done in a way that satisfied both parties involved.

In our text today Jesus is telling the disciples it’s time for some plain talking. He must go to Jerusalem; He must suffer under the hands of the elders, chief priest and scribes. He must be killed so that He could be raised on the third day. Plain talking! The disciples had finally come to realize who Jesus is; He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, the great I AM. But they still were missing part of the formula. They didn’t know why Jesus had come.

Jesus had been telling people about the Kingdom of God. Such wonderful news He had shared with them. But until Jesus completed His task on earth those words would be empty. It would be like going to Disneyland and not having a ticket to get in. You would be standing outside the Magic Kingdom hearing the joy but never being able to enter. Jesus came to pay the price for the entry into the Kingdom of God. He came to satisfy all parties involved. He would do so by paying with His own life. But not until He endured the suffering, the beatings, the nails being driven into His flesh so He could hang on the cross. Only by the loss of His own blood, by His death, by His burial and by His glorious resurrection would Jesus would make full satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. That’s why He came. 

But Peter had his own plan. To Peter Jesus must have had a nervous breakdown! Look at the chain of events: the death of John the Baptist, the feeding of the 5000, the healing of multitudes, the walking on water, all this must have been to much for Jesus to bear. So Peter runs forward pulls Jesus aside for a talk. Peter must have felt on the top of his game because he just made that great proclamation: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  It was Peter who was blessed for such a proclamation. It was upon Peter’s confession that the church would be built. Peter would fix what was wrong. Remember context, context, and context. In those days a teacher would walk in front of his students. It was the same for military leaders. They would always be in front. It was the place of authority. Peter by coming forward had denied the authority of Jesus. He had assumed an equal if not a superior position of authority to Jesus. "And taking Jesus aside Peter rebukes Him!" Peter commanding Jesus, Peter rebuking Jesus.

How does Jesus respond? He says 'Get behind me, Satan! ' These are the same words Jesus uses against Satan in Matthew 4:10. Jesus had been tempted in the wilderness for 40 days these same words now are now being used against Peter. Peter had now become the tempter. In a way Peter was more of a tempter than Satan. The devil can be clearly seen as the enemy of Jesus and our enemy too. But Peter, he was a friend, a part of the church, a disciple. Peter tempts the heart of the Savior; he is a stumbling block to our Lord. Peter has his own agenda. So when Peter contradicts Jesus, even with the best of intentions, he’s still saying, "Lord, not Thy will, but my will be done. I know better than You, and Your way will never be." Peter has his own idea of how the life of the messiah would play out. It would be simple; Jesus would call down a legion of angels and clear Jerusalem of the Roman scum. Yes, Jesus could do that, for He is God and has control of all things. But if He had, if He had, we would be in a most uncertain situation, for our redemption would not have been purchased. Jesus knew that too. He knew why He came, for Jesus is truly the only one that has had a purpose driven life. So Jesus turns to Peter and says: “you don't have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

There’s an important lesson for us to learn from this dialog. It’s not the enemy from outside of the church that tends to tempt and destroy us. For we know that enemy and are prepared to dismiss him with a single word. It’s those that we would deem as friends, fellow members of the congregation that bring about the greatest temptation. People like Peter with their own agendas that want things their own way.

It’s time for plain talking. Are you more like Jesus or more like Peter? Jesus put the people first looking out for their well-being. Jesus was willing to go all the way to the cross for the benefit of the people. Peter allowed his goals, his ambitions and his status, his preconceived notions to define his actions. Peter was all about the things of man, his man, those things that he wanted for himself. Jesus is all about the things of God for mankind.  In Peter we see, incurvatus in se, he was curved in on himself, original sin manifested boldly. In Jesus we see, the love of God manifested and reaching out to a sin sick world.

Are you more like Jesus or Peter? Have you created an idea of what you expect the church to be, based upon your own notions and experiences? Do you get frustrated when it doesn’t go your way? When things don’t go your way are you tempted to hit the highway? Are you uncomfortable with new people coming to church?   If so maybe you are more like Peter than Jesus. Are you willing to lay down your life, your time, your talents, and your money for others, for the church itself? If so you may be more like Jesus.  Are you more like Jesus or Peter?

All of us, all of us, when we really look at who we are, are more like Peter. We want it our way. We want to be in control. That’s what original sin is all about. The question then is, “What do you do with it?” Jesus tells us in the next verse. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” We must recognize that we are like Peter full of sin and curved in on ourselves. To deny ones’ self means to daily confess our trust in self, that our good intentions and our selfish plans as the sins they truly are. Romans 6:11 says: “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

All the plans of men will fail. We can gain all that the world may have to offer but it will amount to nothing in the end. Jesus says in verse 36:  “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

It's time for some plain talking!  "If we were to gain the world in its entirety (which has never been done) but lose our soul, in what respect would we be benefited?"  The answer:  "Not at all." “What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Nothing!

Jesus is doing some plain talking. He will go to Jerusalem, He will suffer many things, He will be tortured, beaten, stricken and nailed to a cross. He will die and He will rise. All this is done to bring satisfaction before God for our sins. Jesus took our damnation to the cross, He bore the complete wrath of God that was meant for us, He made payment for your sins, He made satisfaction for all parties involved. But then He did the most incredible thing of all; He gave us His reward, righteousness and a place in God's Kingdom. “What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Nothing, for Jesus has given it all and He has given it all to you.

Are you more like Jesus or Peter? -----------------The answer is yes!  In Jesus Name, Amen!