Audio Recording
Jesus’ disciples had a problem with
respect to what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah and for them to be his
disciples. They had come to see that he
was the Messiah. But they couldn’t see
beyond their own expectations of what the Messiah was supposed to do and what
it meant for them. They knew the Messiah
was to bring the kingdom of God which meant getting rid of the Romans and the
corrupt Judean royalty and establish a fair kingdom in which they as Jesus
followers would be his vice-regents. Their
problem is as Jesus says to Peter, “you are not thinking the things of God but
the things of men.”
In Mark’s Gospel this passage comes on
the tail end of Jesus having led the disciples on a mission of sharing the
twelve baskets of crumbs that were left over from the feeding of the
5,000. He had been up to Lebanon and
then into Jordon both Gentile or non-Jewish lands and there he proved himself
to be the Messiah who was bringing in the kingdom of God according to about
every Old Testament prophecy you could think of. He had caused the lame to leap, the blind to
see, the deaf to hear, and the mute to speak.
He had freed those held captive by demons. He had caused Gentiles to have faith and to
praise Israel’s God. He had truly manifested
the kingdom of God in their midst and they had participated in it. So it was not hard for them to confess Jesus to
be the Messiah, the Holy Spirit Anointed King the people of God had been
expecting.
But, Jesus began to teach them of
other Scriptures (like Isaiah 53) which said the Messiah would have to suffer
at the hands of the religious and political authorities and be put to death and
then on the third day rise again. This
was information the disciples couldn’t process.
According to their expectations, the Messiah was supposed to raise an
army that included the angels of heaven and restore Israel’s independence and
rule in God’s name just like King David did in the good ole days. He would stamp out corruption of every
kind. His kingdom would be one of peace
and justice. No more of this rich and
poor stuff. Everyone was going to have
their own vine and fig tree to sit under.
The Messiah they were expecting was not supposed to die.
Then Jesus goes on to say that to be
his follower meant renouncing claim to oneself and taking up the cross too. They were expecting to be Jesus’
vice-regents. But Jesus began to tell
them that to be his followers they would have to renounce claim to their very
selves. No longer could they (nor we) think,
“my life is my own to do with it what I want.”
Rather, they (and we) must deny themselves and think, “my life is not my
own to seek my own goals, gain, and glory.
I now belong to Jesus for the proclamation and ministry of his kingdom which
is at hand”. And it gets more
difficult. To take up the cross is to
share in Jesus’ suffering for the sake of the world through the task of
proclaiming and ministering the kingdom of God being at hand. It would not be worldly gain for them. The disciples couldn’t get that. James and John have the audacity a few days
later to ask him which of them could sit at his right and at his left. The disciples were not thinking the things of
God but the things of man.
Now to turn this around to us, we
suffer the same malady. Though we call
Jesus Lord and Saviour, Messiah, Christ, God’s Holy Spirit Anointed King, and
Son of God we too misunderstand what it means for Jesus to be who he is as
Messiah, as the bringer of the Kingdom of God and for us to be his followers,
his heralds. For most Christians Jesus is
simply our moral example, our ticket into a favourable afterlife, and a bit of
psychological help in times of trouble.
We tend not to think of Jesus being the King of the Kingdom of God and
the Kingdom of God as something present in which we now participate.
Please tolerate me giving you a bit of
history. When the church spread into the
West, it came with the fundamental flaw of having lost its knowledge of the
Kingdom of God. How did it get lost. In the 300’s Christianity became the primary
faith of the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of God became synonymous with the
Roman Empire and the term ceased to be used. After the fall of the Roman Empire is when the
Church spread into Europe proper. When it
arrived it did not come proclaiming the Gospel that Jesus himself and the early
church proclaimed about Jesus and the kingdom of God being at hand. The Gospel that Jesus proclaimed was not “believe
in me and your sins will be forgiven and you will go to Heaven when you die.” It was, “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Turn and believe the Good News.” The Church had lost the early church Gospel
of the Kingdom of God come with Jesus and so it came to Pagan Europe preaching
a message that had served to religiously unify the Roman Empire, a message that
said “Jesus is Lord and Saviour. He died
to avert God’s wrath for you and make Heaven possible for you. So, be loyal to the Church and do good works
and earn your salvation and you won’t go to Hell.” In some cases they added, “and we won’t kill
you.” Rome the empire had fallen, but
the institution of the Roman church was out to build its own empire.
I don’t know who said this but I heard
it in a lecture by a man named Robert Webber, “When the church was in Jerusalem
it was a Jewish sect. When it moved to
Rome it became an institution. When it spread
throughout Europe it became a culture.
And when it came to North America it became big business.” He explained this saying that we in North
America predominantly understand the Church to be the religious institution that
has been the moral undergirding of our particular culture and now requires a
lot of money for its continuance and therefore must operate like big business
if it is going to succeed and be relevant in a culture where people pick and
choose religion like consumers choosing steaks at the grocery store...the best
looking for the best price. This church thinks the things of man, Church
survival, rather than the things of God, the Kingdom of God being at hand.
There is good news for this church and
it is as Jesus proclaimed, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.” A church is a Holy Spirit anointed community
of disciples who know Jesus and who renounce claim to their selves and find
their life in him. It comes about when
those who call themselves Christian gather together around the Bible and let
themselves be challenged and recreated by its demands. A church is a community where in the name of
Jesus blind eyes begin to see with compassion.
Deaf ears begin to hear with empathy.
Mute mouths begin to speak the truth in love and the lame leap up begin
to walk the way of the cross. A church
is the community where in Jesus name faithfulness, communication, kindness, and
forgiveness are the way of life. A
church is the community where those who follow Jesus share their weaknesses and
allow themselves to be prayed for and supported. Indeed, a church is the community that prays without
ceasing. A church is the community that
feels no shame in inviting others to come and share in the good news. It is in and through this community that the “at
hand” kingdom of God manifests itself.
It is the community where Jesus himself by the power and presence of the
Holy Spirit is present and doing the things only God can do; healing the sick
and disordered, casting out the evil that oppresses, and forgiving sins. This is the church that thinks the things of
God. This leaves us with a question:
“What are we thinking”; the things of God or the things of man? Are we striving to know Jesus and participate
in his kingdom or….? I think Church would be less of a burden for us if we just got back to thinking the things of God. Amen.
