Acceptance

READ: Mark 8:31

CHALLENGE: Accept God’s Plan

And the reason I have this challenge is because Peter was challenging Jesus about heading to the cross.  He did not agree with what Jesus was saying even though Jesus was simply stating God’s plan.  We’re much better off listening to what God has to say.  This sermon will be in two parts.  We’re looking at the plan stated in verse 31. 

Mark 8:31-33 – He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the 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 concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

A. ACCEPT THE TRUTH of GOD’S PLAN

It says that “He began to teach them”.  Presently, Jesus is focused on working with his disciples as he heads to Jerusalem.  And the first thing he will teach them is the beautiful brutal truth about his coming death and resurrection. 

The gospel means good news, but this news doesn’t sound great except for the return from the dead part.  Jesus would suffer, be rejected, die, and rise again.  The death and resurrection of Christ is central to the Bible and to faith. 

As he begins to describe this difficult future, He said that it was absolutely necessary to suffer, to be rejected, to die, and to raise again.  It’s necessary meaning it is a logical conclusion.  It must happen.  Why?  Everyone needs the salvation he offered and obviously there was no other way to achieve it.  A God who is wise enough to make the world decided that this is how it had to be.  Who are we to question it? 

In this passage today, we have Jesus setting their thinking straight.  People have tried to crown Jesus as the common thinking was that the Messiah was coming to ascend the throne in Jerusalem.  They saw a crown but not a cross, yet the cross was necessary. 

(trans.) Let’s look at God’s plan

1. God’s Plan Included Suffering

He refers to himself at the Son of Man.  What’s the significance of that title?  The NIV has the phrase in in all caps.  The translators obviously think the title is an official title, a divine title.  This is a title that shows Christ’s connection and affinity with mankind.  He was someone that they could relate to, which is important.  You’ll have a tough time communicating God’s truth if you cannot relate to the every day people around you, including the sinners.

It’s also a title with divine overtones in it.  Daniel 7:13-14 –  “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,  coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

This Son of Man would have glory and sovereign power.  His kingdom would endure always.  Yet, the Son of Man would suffer!  It’s so unfair, right?  He deserved so much better because of who He was and because of what He did to help others.  He came to serve and deserved respect.  Yet, he suffered. 

Since Jesus suffered, why would we think that we won’t endure some pain in doing what’s right?  Suffering is part of the human condition just like there is sun and there is rain.  Overall, life is blessed, but that doesn’t mean it’s problem free. 

We may endure some pain in the pursuit of doing what’s right and service.  Can you serve God and not make sacrifices?  As Jesus will say, deny yourself take up your cross daily and follow me.  When you’re in this world and working your way through it, you’ll suffer some.  Just like running – I can’t run and think it will be easy – I’m going to sweat.  I like in the Brave Heart movie where Robert the Bruce says, “Bleed with me”.  Christ set the example and we follow. He didn’t ask us to do anything he didn’t do. 

Jesus suffered.  Jesus was tried.  Punched.  Mocked.  Spit on.  Whipped.  A crown of thorns was depressed down onto his head.  He was nailed to a cross.  It hurt.  He did everything right and he suffered for it. 

1 Peter 2:20-24 – But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ²² “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” ²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 

Peter says that we should suffer for doing good, not for doing evil.  If you suffer for the evil you’ve done, that’s expected.  But to suffer for doing good, that’s what Jesus went through.  He did everything right and was beaten for it.  My encouragement is to do the right thing no matter what because it will pay off in the end. 

• God’s Plan Included Rejection

When it says they would reject him, it meant to reject after testing; to disapprove.  They disapproved of Jesus!  They discarded him as worthless and nailed him on a cross.  They basically said, “You’re not good enough”.  “You’re worthless”. 

We probably reject things all the time.  Not that tree.  Not that cantaloupe.  Not that piece.  Not that color.  They thought about it and cast Jesus off. 

How do you ignore the miracles?  The great teaching?  The sheer power to throw demons out with just a word?  Jesus was healing people and teaching beautiful truths such as the sermon on the mount.  Yet, he was rejected.  What an indictment on humanity.  God shows up and we nail him to a cross because apparently, humanity doesn’t really want to look in the mirror of the truth. 

Look at who is rejecting him.  It’s the elders.  The chief priests.  The teaches of the law.  You would not expect the people who were supposedly closest to God to be the ones who rejected God’s work.  Please note that it’s not Rome that is attacking Jesus.  It wasn’t tax collectors.  It wasn’t notorious sinners.  Who was it?  The religious.  This is a mystery to me, yet I’ve seen the same pattern in real life.  If you don’t agree, you’re less.  Jesus did not agree with the religious elite. 

You saw it with Jeremiah too.  He told the truth and the pitched him down into a well.  Jeremiah was great but his message of truth was rejected. 

Still, I’m trying to think through how religion can become so dangerous.  While I don’t know how the “religious” could miss God’s son in the flesh, I have some thoughts to share. 

• When We Sinners Think We’re Saints

We are all sinners and even these religious elite were operating out of jealousy, hatred, and pride.  Jesus said that they didn’t honor their parents, they hated people, they justified divorce for any and every reason. They might have been strict on tithing minute spices but they neglected the weightier matters of the law, like justice and mercy.

Jesus said they were hypocrites, children of hell, and white washed tombs full of dead men’s bones.  In other words, they were sinners.  They were “religious” and they equated that with being righteous but that’s not the case.  Mechanical motions don’t mean you’re doing right.  I believe it’s Jeremiah said that their lips praised God but their hearts were far from him.  Religion isn’t reformation per se.

Please never underestimate your own sin nature.  One of the reasons I tend to be cautious is because I know I’m a sinner so I cannot afford to be reckless.  Also, when you realize how flawed you are, you have a lot more compassion for fellow sinners. 

I really think our church is great and filled with amazing people.  I know we’re not as bad as we could be but perhaps we aren’t as good as we could be either.  The religious leaders thought they were better than Jesus and Jesus was perfect.  Let’s never think we’re better sinners because our sin is different.   

Matthew 23:25 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”

• When We Are Prideful

How prideful were they?  These were people who walked around in clothing that brought attention.  They wanted the seats of prominence.  They liked the important greetings.  The announced giving with trumpets.  They acted pouty when they fasted.  When your actions scream, “Look at me”, that’s pride. 

Pride showed up with Uzziah when he wanted to take the role of the priests and he was struck with leprosy.  They told him not to do it but he did it anyway because he was too prideful to listen.  When you won’t listen, you’re prideful. 

• They were Judgmental

They clearly looked down on Jesus from their judgmental perch.  Jesus didn’t do the ceremonial hand washing.  Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath.  They were condemning because he didn’t line up with them. 

Let’s lay off making up rules for people.  Jesus said his yoke was light.  The Pharisees were heavy handed and then they’d point the finger of judgment.

• They Were Power Hungry

Perhaps the problem is when religious leaders become too much about authority and power. 

Yes, there has to be a buck-stops here person to govern the ship.  It cannot be about power.

1 Peter 5:2-4 – Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

They liked to wield authority over people and that was part of the problem too.  We’re not “lords” – we’re servants.  These sanctimonious sinners rejected Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  They didn’t yell crown him, they yelled crucify him.  Their rejection had far less to do with Jesus and far more to do with them.  They were operating out of hatred. 

As Christians, let’s never take pages out of the Pharisee’s play book.  Let’s not reject the people Jesus came to save.  I never want people who are seeking God to feel rejected by Christians or meet with disapproval when they are seeking Him.  You don’t have to be perfect to come to church – the place should be empty if that were the case. 

And if you’ve been rejected, you’re in good company.  Remember that God loves you.  And just because someone throws you out, it doesn’t mean you have no value.  Jesus loved you enough to die for you.

• God’s Plan Included Death

They took him and killed him.  As Jesus said, “It is Necessary”.  Necessary for him to die. 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance^: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

What does that mean for us?  If he had to do it, why couldn’t we do it ourselves?  Can’t we just save ourselves.  Afterall, if your children make a mess, let them clean it up.  That will learn them.  We can’t erase our sins nor can we afford property in heaven.

If Jesus died, it should at least show us that his death is part of my life.  My living into eternity is because he paid for all of the sins that would bar me from the gates.  He made my record 100% clean.  If I didn’t have that, I’d be loaded down with the sins that sink me.

Let’s imagine that you had to swim across Lake Erie to get to heaven, you might be able to train and make it part way.  Let’s say you only need to swim across Pymatuning lake, that doesn’t seem so undoable. 

Now, let’s imagine you have to swim across the lake of life to get to heaven but you have to pay for all your.  Could you bear that weight?  Let’s say that for every sin, you have to pay one penny and take the money to heaven.  Every time you lost your cool or were greedy or had a lustful thought or lied or snapped at the kids.  How many times has that happened?  Those pennies wouldn’t fit into your pocket, that’s for sure. 

Let’s say that you sinned once a day, that fairly conservative actually.  Some of you are over achievers.  If you lived to age 70, that would be 25,567 days.  A penny for each daily sin would be 141-175 pounds.  Now swim with a weight that wants to pull you straight to the bottom.  It’s necessary that we get that sin burden away from us.

Jesus came to pay for our sins and to remove that debt.  We cannot get to heaven with sin in our lives.  Jesus is the one who cuts us free from that.  So yes, his death was absolutely necessary.  His death brings me life. 

Hear the words from the great hymn, “O Sacred Head Now Wounded”.  What Thou, my Lord, has suffered was all for sinners’ gain; mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.  Lo, here I fall, my Savior!  ‘Tis I deserve Thy place; look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

• God’s Plan Included the Hope of a New Life

Not only would he rise again, but it would be in three days that he would do it.  Now imagine coming back to life from the dead!  How much would you pay to do that – to conquer death?  To actually be free from the most powerful and inescapable power there is?  Death is the opposite of what we cherish the most, life.  To have a life eternal in a place that has to at least be as nice as the Garden of Eden is sweet. 

Jesus was going to come back and conquer suffering, rejection, and death.  He was victorious over all of that!  Hope is as necessary as suffering and we never have one without the other. 

 B. LESSONS FROM GOD’S PLAN

1. Love Others

One of the things that we can learn from this passage is that Jesus went knowingly which means that Jesus went willingly to the cross.  Jesus said that no one took his life from us, he offered it up freely. 

Why in the world would he do such a thing?  It was necessary but it was out of love for them.  It was such a selfless love.  Such service to mankind. 

John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

No greater love.  As I read through the Old Testament, God reveals himself as a loving God who is gracious and slow to anger and forgiving.  There is no bigger exclamation mark on the love of God than the cross. 

As you think about it, God took the punishment for your sin!  My goodness!  Are you for real?  It’s like a cop writing you a ticket because you were speeding but also paying the ticket so you don’t have to. 

We need to practice the same love and grace to those around us.  Maybe some others don’t deserve the love or grace but that’s what Christianity is.  God cares and so should we.

• Know that Nothing Surprises God

Jesus getting killed in Jerusalem was not a shock to God or to Jesus.  How can you know the future when it hasn’t happened yet?  That’s the God part that is beyond human comprehension.  But just because we cannot fathom something, doesn’t mean God can’t do it.  We’re human, He’s God. 

He’s powerful and all knowing and we see it here.  In order for this to happen, God has to be intervening in our world and in this planet.  He knows what’s going to happen before it even happens.  He knows what you need before you ask. God is not surprised by anything that happens to you.  We pray because we believe that God intervenes. 

You won’t ever catch God by surprise. 

• Always Hold onto Hope

The resurrection brought hope.  Out of the darkness of jealousy, hate, violence, comes what shapes our faith.  It’s the resurrection of Christ. We can get through difficult things with hope.

Do you have hope?  Hope that things can get better.  Hope that you can overcome? 

The hope of the resurrection means a new life.  Just like Jesus got a new life, we can have a new life as well, because we’re dead to sin and alive to God.  We can have victory and rise above it.  To rise above the power of sin is powerful.  To rise above addiction, hatred, immorality, pornography, greed, anger, impatience, or any number of other things is powerful.  Hate to see Jesus die.  But he’s coming back. Hope! 

You can rise above it!  I plant seeds believing that they’re going to come up.  They’re going to grow and that’s powerful.  They buried me in the dirt!  Rise above it.  My peppers are getting bitten off, rise above it. 

Are you hurting?  Rise above it!  Discouraged?  Rejected?  Suffering?  Rise above it!