At Cross Purposes

Christ Rules! Gospel of Mark Series (Part 17)

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from Mark 8:27-38

OUTLINE

Focus: Peter found himself at cross-purposes with Jesus, living for the things of men rather than the things of God. Peter was shocked to learn that the “things of God” included the scandal of the cross, and on purpose. It is better to take up the cross than to be at cross-purposes with God.

I. Go to the Cross On Purpose

A. A Surprising Clarification (8:31): _________________________

___________________________________________________

B. An Outrageous Challenge (8:34): _______________________

___________________________________________________

II. Or Be At Cross-Purposes with God

A. A Sober Warning (8:35-38): ________________________________

______________________________________________________

III. How Do I Take Up The Cross?

MANUSCRIPT

“You might remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk--you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to my self, What a country!" [i]

Smirnoff is joking but sometimes we make assumptions about Christianity. Maybe we assume change comes easily. We go to church as if we are going to the grocery store: Powdered Christian. Just add water and disciples are born not made. Unfortunately, there is no such powder and mature disciples of Jesus Christ are not instantly born. They are slowly raised through many trials, suffering, and temptations.

Another assumption people make about Christianity is that they understand it. If there is anything we learned from history, we should have learned that people tend to see Christ and Christianity through their own preconceived filters. Peter discovered this. His understanding of who Jesus was and what it meant to follow Jesus was radically altered from start to finish. The alteration didn’t happen all at once. He slowly learned what it meant to be Christian. First he had to learn what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ.

In the passage we look at together this morning we learn some of what Peter learned. What does God have in mind for the Christ? And what does God have in mind for me? We discover that it isn’t Christian Powder, just add water and instant maturity, or easy victory. The easy routes, even when they are couched in the terminology of faith, are counterfeits that are at cross-purposes with Christ’s Purpose.

Today’s passage confronts the human tendency to interpret Christ and Christianity by our own interpretive filters. We must not redefine what it means to be Christians, or what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ. Here is one example of how people do this today.

QUOTE FROM DOMINION: SERMON AT A BLACK CHURCH ABOUT “PROSPERITY THEOLOGY”

“What’s wrong with you people? After all that awesome worship, some of you still look like you been baptized in pickle juice.”

Laughter

“You know what bothers me?”

“What’s that, pastor?”

“This prosperity theology, this health and wealth gospel. Let me tell you a story, now. One day I asked the Lord, ‘What’s a million dollars to you?’ He says, “It’s only a penny to me, son.” So then I says, ‘Okay, Lord, how ’bout you just give me a million dollars?’ ‘Sure, son,’ the Lord answered me. ‘But you’ll have to wait just a second.’”

Laughter permeated the congregation, quick and spontaneous laughter, as of people wanting to laugh, just waiting for the opportunity.

Clarence remembered that growing up in black churches he’d gotten the impression God has some strict rules, but he also has a great sense of humor.

“Preach it, brother.”

“Now the point is, God’s gonna give us great gifts, treasures beyond our wildest dreams, but that doesn’t mean he gives them to us here and now. Faith is trusting God that he’ll come through later, in the world to come, there and then, not just here and now. If you think God promises great wealth and perfect health here and now, you need to go back to the Bible and let God pop you upside the head, you hear me?”

“Amen.”

“Ain’t it the truth, Lord?”

“Yessir, that’s right.”

“Now, what all this prosperity teaching shows me is that many people today care less about God that they do the benefit package. My daddy always said, ‘He that serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages.’”

“Yes, Amen. Hallelujah, Say it again.”

“This ‘name and claim it’ business feels to me like we’re pulling on God’s leash till he comes our way. That’s not how it works. We got to come his way.”

“Yessuh.”

“Well, well.”

“That’s true.”

“You try to twist the arm of the Almighty, and you’ll bite off a lot more that you can chew. You can wrestle with God, but you’ll never pin him, that’s sure. You won’t even score a point.”

“Amen. Hallelujah, Praise Jesus.”

“You know what I think?”

“What’s that, pastor?’

“I say when we tell God he has to take away this illness or handicap or financial hardship, we may be tellin’ him to remove the very things he put into our lives to conform us to the image of Christ!”

“That’s true!”

“See, I watch some of these television shows and listen to some of these radio programs. And you know what I think?”

“Tell us, pastor.”

“I think they’re trying to made God into a no-lose lottery in the sky. Like he’s just a cosmic slot machine where you put in a coin and pull the lever, then stick out your hat and catch the winnings. It’s like God’s reason for existing is to give us what we want. Well, I got news for you, folks. My God ain’t Santa Claus. He’s the Lord God Almighty – and don’t you forget for a moment he’s on the throne and you’re not!”

Enthusiastic applause overwhelmed the verbal responses.

“Now, there’s some people that call God ‘Master,’ but they act like they’re the masters. And God’s the genie. Instead of rubbing a lamp, they just quote a verse or say ‘Praise the Lord’ three times, and presto, changeo, alakazam, the smoky God with the funny hat and big biceps does whatever they tell him to do! Like they’re the ones that have dominion, not him. And that explains why people don’t care about good theology; they don’t care about God. I mean, who cares what the genie’s like? Genies serve one purpose – to grant us our wishes, give us what we want. Then we can just say,” his voice went high pitched and squeaked, to the laughter of the congregation, “You can go now, God. I’ll call you back when I think of something else I want.”

The man was moving, pummeling that big bag from every side.

“See, now, I’ve thought a lot about this prosperity theology. I’ve thought about it as I’ve read my Bible. I thought about it two years ago when I walked through the streets of Cairo’s Garbage Village, shaking the grimy hands of the Christians who live there in poverty. I thought about it when I worshipped alongside faithful believers on a rough backless bench on a dirt floor church in Kenya. I thought about it some more when I met a pastor from China who lost everything because he stood up for Jesus. Well, this health and wealth gospel may look like it works sometimes in California, but it doesn’t work in China or Haiti or Rwanda, now does it?”

“No, sir.” Lots of heads shook.

“And hear me now, folks. Any gospel that’s more true in California than in China is not the true gospel!”

Thunderous applause.

“Now I figure, maybe it’s because they’re hearing a false gospel that we got so many people that claim to become Christians and next thing we know we never see ’em again. You know what I’m sayin’ now, don’t you?”

“Yessir, pastor.”

“Amen.”

“You said it.”

“My good friend Harvey Williams over at the AME church on Albina, he was tellin’ me about all these bats he had flyin’ around in the church attic. I told him, ‘Harvey, we used to have that problem at Ebenezer. Then I figured it out. All I had to do was baptize those bats and then I’d never see ’em again!”

Laughter.

“Now, Brother Daniels, down there, you’re a computer salesman, aren’t you?” The man nodded, obviously enjoying the recognition. “You’ll appreciate this story. There was a computer salesman, a real smooth black cat, showing a video on the screen, called ‘The sights and sounds of hell.’ Well, it showed this handsome man and beautiful woman dancing and drinking and having fun, partying together, havin’ a great old time. The man watchin’ the video thinks this is pretty cool, and he just does right on livin’ like hell. But then he dies and he ends up going to hell, and it’s horrible and miserable, with no relief. And then he asks the devil, ‘Hey, where’s all the fun?” Then the devil gives him this sly smile and says ‘Oh, you must have seen our demo.’”

The brother three down from Clarence laughed so hard he almost fell off the pew.

“Well the truth is, the devil makes sin look fun and righteousness look boring. He tries to make hell look good and heaven look bad. But don’t be fooled, folks. My daddy taught me something I never forgot. He said, our time on earth is just a dot. It ends not long after it begins. But our time in eternity, heaven or hell, will be a line that goes on forever. Every man had to choose whether he’s gonna live for the dot or live for the line. You live for the dot and you’re a fool. You live for the line and you’re a follower of Jesus. Now you think about that. You think about that for a million years!”

“Amen.”

“Yessuh.”

Can I get a witness!” Pastor Clancy asked, unsatisfied with the feedback. Hundreds of amens and uh-huhs replaced the fifty or so from a moment before.[ii]

Key Verse: (Mark 8:33 NIV) But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

There are some views that are at cross purposes with Jesus’ purpose that people try to hold while still claiming to follow the Christ.

Now please read Mark 8:27-38, before we consider the second example of the ways people let their own interpretive filters redefine what it means to be Christians, or what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ.

I. Go to the Cross On Purpose

The Cross Purpose of God was Not what Man Expected for Christ, or himself.

A. A Surprising Clarification (8:31): Christ Goes To the Cross On Purpose

(Mark 8:27-38 NIV) "Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" {28} They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." {29} "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." {30} Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. {31} He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. {32} He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. {33} But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Prediction by way of a Job description:

This is More than a Prediction, it is a Clarification of the Job Description of The Christ. Peter articulated what everyone was thinking and hoping. Anyone with Jesus’ amazing power to silence the sea and the demons, to heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, feed the hungry crowds miraculously from a few scraps of food was headed for glory! Anyone who has authority from heaven to forgive sins on earth, and determine what is permissible on the Sabbath is not going to have to suffer on earth! He is the one who is coming to bring the victory they were all waiting for!

Peter is supposed to follow on the way to the cross, instead he is standing in the way of the cross.

B. An Outrageous Challenge (8:34): Take Up Your Cross On Purpose

The Demanding Route of Victory

{34} Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Deny Yourself they expected Assert Yourself

Take Up Your Cross they expected Take Up Your Sword

Follow Jesus they expected Follow the Warrior King

Follow Jesus Where?

{31} He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

To Death! Take up your Cross.

But wait a minute. That’s crazy you say. Is it? It sure sounds crazy. But Jesus attempts to help us see that anything less is crazy. The alternative is crazy. It is crazy to be at cross purposes with God. It is crazy to be at cross purposes with the cross.

Why Should I Take Up the Cross?

Jesus told us to
We must carry a cross to remind us that we are not the center of the Universe. That our suffering is part of our discipleship as Christians.
We must carry a cross to remind us that there are others who suffer and that we must fight for justice in their lives.
Making the confession that Jesus is the Christ is not enough! Bearing a cross is a central requirement of discipleship. If Jesus is the Christ he expects to be followed and obeyed. He does not ask for modest adjustments in our lives but a complete overhaul.
It’s your choice, Go to the Cross on purpose, . . .

II. Or Be At Cross-Purposes with God

A. A Sober Warning (8:35-38): the “things of man” are At Cross-Purposes with God

{35} For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. {36} What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? {37} Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

The “things of man” are at Cross-Purposes with God. Humans seek to guarantee their lives but usually choose ways destined to fail.

In David Lodge’s novel Therapy, the main character’s therapist asks him to make a list of all the good things about his life in one column and all the bad things in another. Under the good column he wrote: “professionally successful, well off, good health, stable marriage, kids successfully launched in adult life, nice house, great car, as many holidays as I want.” Under the bad column he wrote just one thing: “feel unhappy most of the time.”[iii]

III. How do I Take up the Cross?

A. The Cross is the Scandal of Following Christ

{38} If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

The cross represents the oppression caused by those who oppose the faith and witness of Christians. It does not refer to bearing patiently the aches and pains of life. Jesus was alerting his followers that there would be hostile opposition. Although in this country, there are not many who are persecuted to the point of death, this is not true in other countries. There are more Christian martyrs now than ever before in history. The reason you need to know this is that we must be ready and able to carry our cross, to our execution if need be. But we dare not be ashamed of Jesus. The scandal for following Christ is heating up in America.

Hostile Work Environment

Today it is not uncommon to find in your work place people who can’t wait till you speak about Christ, not because they want to hear about him, but because they want to blast you. They want to help you see 2 things they firmly believe: 1) that your beliefs are wrong, and 2) that speaking about your beliefs are as welcome as a burp at the Queen’s tea party. They want you as target practice. We have heard of people before a firing squad because of their witness for Christ, but in a sense that is what we are up against in America, but so far it is mostly verbal firing squads. In this hostile setting, Jesus’ words become a bit pointed and uncomfortable.

Hostile Family Members

I contend that even that hostile work environment is not as difficult as standing up for Christ with family members who are hostile toward your faith. Have any of you heard any of these:

Religion has always been a taboo subject around here. Let’s keep it that way.
Just because you’ve “found God” doesn’t mean the whole family has to get religion.
Since when did you become Mr. Perfect?

This combined with our own doubts clam us up quickly.

I’m the last person my father (wife, son) would ever listen to.
My son already thinks I’m a dictator.
I’m not exactly Mr. Perfect to begin with.[iv]

Isn’t it ironic? Sometimes the greatest happiness you’ve ever known seems hardest to communicate to the people you love most. Your joy causes pain. Closeness causes distance. It is terribly frustrating to be shut out by someone you love.

Jesus knew that this could happen. He talks about it in other places. He knew he would be bringing division even in families.

“It isn’t really love that keeps us from standing up for Christ around our parents, siblings, wives, and children. It is fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of confrontation. Fear of getting tongue tied. . . . The fear of having to live up to the high standard we invoke by bringing Him into the picture.”[v]

We have difficulty before our families because they know us so well.

Have you ever been embarrassed to look into the mirror after lunch and find there was a big piece of pepper or lettuce in your teeth. Have you noticed that the next time you ate lunch with someone you were afraid to smile? Those lips clamp shut out of embarrassment. The scandal of the cross, or the scandal of our own imperfection keeps us silent.

Listen, we don’t have to become perfect before we start talking about Christ. We don’t go to church and sing “I exalt Me, I exalt Me” so don’t wait till you exalt yourself high enough to bring up the subject of Christ to others. The cross made it possible for us to be loved, accepted, and forgiven.

The Scandal of the Cross

The Scandal of “Intolerance”

Tolerance Theology / influenced by irrational Eastern Philosophy

Jim Gilbert tells the following about an experience in Indonesia in his book, How a Man Stands for Christ :

Our host was inviting us to sing, and Asian protocol required at least a mini-concert. Since our drums and guitars were under lock and key in the auditorium down town, it fell to me to improvise a tune with the tools at hand.

Something was troubling me as I walked over to the old grand piano in the center of the sitting room. This Indonesian gentleman had led us to believe that he was a Christian, but there on the wall, beside a portrait of a very Western-looking Jesus, was an image of Confucius. And on the coffee table rested a crystal ball, along with an astrologer’s chart. Other objects and images throughout the room clearly indicated that this was some sort of universalistic meditation center, a spiritual ice cream parlor where Christianity was merely the religious flavor of the night.

The deception could not go uncountered, even at the risk of offending Asian hospitality. Otherwise we would leave the thirty other guests with the impression that we too considered Jesus to be one god among many. I decided to make a pointed statement with a song that centered on Him as the only way to know God. The Savior’s name landed like sparks on kindling. By the end of the piece, our host was showing signs of nervousness, his requisite smile thin and strained.

“Thank you, thank you for the lovely song, “ he intoned. “Of course, the important thing to remember is that we are all one. It really does not matter what we believe, as long as we are sincere.” There it was—the drivel of false religion. I couldn’t let it pass.

“What would you say if I told you that I disagree with you? That is does matter greatly what you believe, that you are ‘sincerely’ wrong, and that Jesus is the only way?” I softly retorted.

“I would say that you are correct, if that is what you truly believe,” he said.

“So I am correct in saying you’re wrong, and you are correct in saying you’re right?” I asked, so as to make his commitment to absurdity clear to everyone.

“Yes. After all, we are all brothers, and that is the important thing.”

Mike, our trombone player, stood to take the lead. “I’m sorry, but we are not brothers. We are not all one. Jesus is the only way. Thank you for your hospitality, but we cannot remain with you any longer. The time has come to say that we stand for Christ and Christ alone. We hope to see you at tomorrow’s concert. You will be very welcome. Good-night.”

The room was silent as we filed out the door, except for the soft humming of a man sitting lotus-like in an open window. Eyes closed, he was trying to escape the tension by chanting his way into a trance. It must not have worked too well. The next night, back at the auditorium, he came forward to commit his life to Christ and Christ alone.[vi]

Purveyors of the “inclusion” doctrine pride themselves on viewing all religions as equal. It’s a favorite, even sacred, tenet in any kind of setting where neutrality is required, which in today’s culture means everywhere from Hollywood parties to political parties. . . .

Of course, the sharp reader will remember that “neutrality,” the sacred cow of secularism, is based on exclusion. Politics and education, for example, are supposed to be religiously neutral. Therefore religious principles, even minute religious references, must be excluded at all costs in the name of “preserving our precious freedoms.” Hmmm. . .Oh, I get it! It’s kind of like putting up a big wall in order to protect the people of East Berlin, right? Gee, what a neat idea.

Do you see where we’re headed here? Suddenly the inclusion of all religions must be modified to exclude those who don’t accommodate multiple paths to salvation. Therefore the tolerance of all points of view must be altered to tolerate only those views that agree with the tolerance of all points of view. So the only way to claim you’ve achieved total harmony is to silence those who disagree.

This is designer hypocrisy. More than the blind leading the blind, it is the blind passing laws against seeing.

Inclusion requires exclusion. Tolerance necessitates intolerance. Kinda reminds you of a shaggy little guru saying things like “God is everywhere and nowhere and everyone and no one and you are I and I am you and we together are one or perhaps nothing or definitely maybe everything or. . .” while adoring educators and artists sit around taking notes and wowing his profundity. ( But what would they do if he answered 911?)[vii]

Here are some VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

Who do you say that I am?
Do you understand the implications of your understanding? (IT IS NOT ENOUGH SIMPLY TO CONFESS CHRIST YOU MUST FOLLOW HIM)
Are you ON the Way with Him, or IN the Way?
Are you TAKING A STAND WITH HIM even when it means carrying the scandal of the cross?
Are you following Him as the center of your world?

Or are you still the center of your world trying to SAVE your life, preserve your security, preserve your dignity, or protect yourself from embarrassment.

Let’s hear Jesus again:

³⁴Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

[i] James Emery White, Rethinking the Church, Baker, 1997, p. 55-57.

[ii] Dominion, by Randy Alcorn pp. 164 ff.

[iii] NIV Application Commentary on Mark by David Garland p. 339 quoting David Lodge, Therapy p. 23.

[iv] How a Man Stands Up for Christ, by Jim Gilbert p. 53

[v] How a Man Stands Up for Christ, by Jim Gilbert p. 55

[vi] How a Man Stands Up for Christ, by Jim Gilbert p. p. 117-118

[vii] How a Man Stands Up for Christ, by Jim Gilbert p. p. 119-120