PENTECOST 18
October 4/5, 2009
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Mark 8:31-35

“THERE IS NO CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT THE CROSS!”
1. Satan leads away from the cross.
2. Christ(ians) embrace(d) the cross.

Mark 8:31-35 (N V) “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. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But 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." 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.”

So, how would you liked to be called Satan, by Jesus? Oh, poor brother Peter! How crushed he must have been. Especially when you remember what had happened just before this. Jesus had done miracles of healing and feeding. News about Him spread. His reputation grew. He asked His disciples what people were saying about Him. Who did they think He was? The people all seemed to think Jesus was a prophet, a great prophet, but just a prophet. Then Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was. Peter, bold Peter, correctly replied. “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” What a shining moment for Peter!
Then we are told, “(Jesus) 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. . 32He spoke plainly about this.” How strange this must have sounded to Peter. This isn’t right! This isn’t what should happen to God’s Son, the Messiah. Jesus was wrong, confused, maybe going crazy. So” Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” This was a nice thing for Peter to do. He would not embarrass the Lord so he takes Jesus aside privately. And that’s when it happened. “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." Ouch! Why would Jesus say that? Why seemingly be so harsh, so cruel? Calling Peter out in public when Peter was filled with the best of intentions for Jesus and His work. It’s because God’s truth was most important for everyone. What truth? There is no Christianity without the cross.
Jesus answer seemed harsh and was public because all followers of Jesus need to know that it is Satan who leads away from the cross. The only way for the salvation of people was for God’s Son Jesus to sacrifice His life to make payment for sin. Sin is that bad that it takes that kind of a payment. In His wisdom God chose the cross as the place for that payment. Keeping Jesus from the cross then was the work of the Devil. Do you remember in the recorded temptations of Jesus that the Devil offered Jesus the world and all Jesus had to do was bow down and worship him? The temptation was to gain the world back for God the devil’s way rather than God’s way. Did the Devil know Jesus was to die on a cross? Probably not. He was simply offering an easy way, the devil’s way. Not God’s way.
Peter was being Satan because he was doing the same thing. Jesus knew the cross was waiting for Him. He had just told the disciples that. As true God He knew what was coming. As true man He must have dreaded it with every fiber of His being. Peter’s good intentions were a mask for the work of Satan. Choose a different way than God’s way. Choose what is best for you rather than for others. Maybe that helps us to understand what a cross really is. You know the people who first heard this must have been confused. Before Jesus’ death on the cross as God’s way of saving, a cross was only an instrument of execution, horrible and painful execution carried out to merciless perfection by the hated Romans. On the other side of what Jesus has done we now know that a cross is God’s way of doing things. It’s often not easy. It often is unpleasant and uncomfortable for the one whose cross it is.
And Satan leads away from it. He did for Jesus. He does for us. He tries to lead people away from the cross of Jesus. He does that by tricking people into thinking they get there based on their deeds. He does that by leading away from the truth that there is salvation only through Jesus. Like with Peter he’ll use our good intentions of not wanting anyone damned to hell to try to accept the lie that someone can be saved apart from faith in Jesus. And they can’t . Satan is leading away from the cross. He leads us away from carrying other crosses too. Remember a cross is God’s way of doing things rather than the world’s. It’s often not the easy way. It often has discomfort with it. Some examples of the Devil’s leading. You get confronted with a sin. God’s way is to confess. Repent. Rejoice in Christ’s forgiveness. Take whatever earthly consequences you must with your Savior at your side. Satan’s way? Deny. Lie. Justify. Get mad at the one who confronts you or enforces your consequences. Another. You are with friends. They start gossiping, tearing another one of God’s children down. God’s way. Speak up. Defend. Admonish the gossiper. Satan’s way. Join in. Take glee in tearing another down. Or at least stay quiet. Satan leads away from the cross.
But Christ embraced the cross. He didn’t just tell the disciples He was going to go up to Jerusalem, suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, be killed and then after three days rise. He did it! Much like our firefighters must go against their natural survival instinct and run into a burning building to save people when everyone else is trying to get out Jesus rushed into the fires of Hell even though He was righteous. And how thankful we can be! Because Jesus embraced the cross our sins are washed away. We are completely, fully 100% forgiven for all of our sins, the ones we have already committed and the ones that still lie in our future. This means we get to live our lives without fear, knowing we are at peace with God and even hardships in our life will be worked for our good. Jesus rose too, assuring us the best is yet to come. Death for every believer in Jesus is the gateway to heaven. How thankful we can be!
And this thankfulness can show. Jesus 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.” Christ embraced the cross. Followers of Christ, Christians, also embrace the cross. We do that when we hold to the cross of Jesus as the only to heaven. It honors Jesus when we reject our own deeds as making us somehow more worthy than other people. We honor Jesus when we speak of Him as the only Savior, the only way to heaven and refuse to be part of groups like the Masons that diminish Jesus to just another prophet.
We honor Jesus when take up our own crosses too. Remember that a cross involves denying yourself, that is your own way of dealing with others. It involves doing things God’s way even if it is hard and brings you discomfort, pain, financial loss. It begins with an attitude of wanting to thank Jesus. An example. Some of you will remember our brother, Clarence Benz, who went to heaven a couple of years ago. He had a condition that made his throat raw. When we pastors would visit to bring him communion, he would wince at the sting of the wine in his throat. We offered to water down the wine, use alcohol free wine. Clarence response? “If my Lord Jesus could take all the pain I deserve on the cross I can take a little pain for Him.”
Can you, will you? You must to follow Jesus.” If anyone would come after me he must,” said Jesus. So what are your crosses? You must be carrying some if you are following Jesus. Is there a cross in your scheduling? Something that makes life a little harder, isn’t what your sinful nature wants, that’s done to follow Jesus? Are you carrying any crosses in your budgeting, not getting something everyone else has or you want because you are giving money for Christ and His gospel? Are you the one left out of certain groups or gathering because you remind them by word or by presence of God’s will? Satan’s way is to try to be popular with everyone but the cross, God’s way, means rejection by the world. Do you speak up in the presence of wrong and now they won’t let you play their reindeer games? Good for you. That’s what followers of Christ do, the embrace the cross.
And let’s not throw ourselves a little pity party over that. Woe is us. How hard we Christians have it. No we don’t. Oh it might seem like it but the best is yet to come. We have the glories and joys of heaven itself, co heirs with Christ. All because of the cross. Don’t let Satan lead you away. Embrace the cross, Christ’s and your own. Amen.