An out-of-towner drove his car into a ditch in a desolated area. Luckily, a local farmer came to help with his big strong horse named Buddy.
He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn’t move.
Then the farmer hollered, "Pull, Buster, pull!" Buddy didn’t respond.
Once more the farmer commanded, "Pull, Coco, pull!" Nothing.
Then the farmer nonchalantly said, "Pull, Buddy, pull!" And the horse easily dragged the car out of the ditch.
The motorist was most appreciative and very curious. He asked the farmer, “Why did you call your horse by the wrong name three times.
"Well mister... My horse Buddy is blind and if he thought he was the only one pulling out the car, he wouldn’t even try!"
If we are asked what does it mean to be a Christian? – we would respond that a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. Is that the answer that Jesus himself would give? I mean, how do you define “to follow”? “To follow” seems like a fairly wide open response. Does it mean I follow the teaching of Jesus? Or that I give my life over to Jesus? Does it mean I go to church and learn about Jesus? Or perhaps, does it mean I just really, really like Jesus? Today Jesus answers that question for us, “What does it mean to be a Christian”?
Jesus posses the question of what it means to be one of his followers in the context of blindness. As the physically blind the men who are spiritually blind see, BUT both the physically blind and the spiritually blind don’t see very well at first do they? We see this with the blind man seeing men first as trees and we see this with Peter who challenges Jesus on his statement about suffering. Jesus sees that Peter and the rest of the disciples are not fully able to see who he really is, so he explains what it means to be one of his followers? He uses the image of taking up and carrying one’s cross.
This is an image that we are familiar with today, and in fact we hear it used quite often, “That is my cross to bear”. However, our cultural understanding is certainly not the biblical understanding and it seems we misunderstand what Jesus is saying just as much as the disciples….
Let’s start with the blind man. As we have gone through the gospel of Mark we have seen healing after healing. Jesus heals the lame, the deaf, the ill, the blind. Here we have another one of the many healings from Jesus…but this one is a bit different. Usually when Jesus heals, he just says the word and everything is perfect. But here Jesus has to touch him twice. Is Jesus losing his touch? No, this does not mean a loss of power, Jesus is leading the disciples into what will happen next. Notice, Jesus asks, “Can you see anything”, he doesn’t ask, “Can you see something”? See the emphasis is not on what the man saw, but if the man saw – and so we see with Peter, the emphasis is not on what Peter sees, but the fact that he is finally starting to see. The blind man’s sight is restored slowly, but completely and we see this with the disciples, they may not fully understand yet, but like the blind man, someday they will. Their recognition is as if their eyes had been opened, but things are still somewhat blurry.
Now after Jesus heals the blind man, Jesus then moves into an area dominated very strongly by Roman associations, it is an area were it is strongly affirmed by the population that Caesar is lord. This is where Jesus is to reveal who he is, right in the middle of the spiritually blind. It is here that Jesus contrast human reality with spiritual reality by asking the defining question: Who do you say that I am? This is the defining moment in this book. Everything is different from here on in. Now the reality of who Jesus really is, starts to dawn more and more on the disciples. It is from this point that they start to realize what they have gotten themselves into.
In verse 27 we see Jesus traveling with his disciples and teaching them as they traveled. When he asks the question, “Who do people say I am?”, the word for people here means those from whom revelation is veiled. In other words, Jesus asks the question in such a way that the disciples understand the contrast he is setting up. See, what Jesus is asking is this: Tell me what those who are not called by me are saying about me?
So the disciples answer with what they have heard. Jesus power astonishes everyone and provokes questions about his true identity, but who he is remains a mystery. They try to place Jesus in a category, but he doesn’t fit into already established categories, so they speculate. People know Jesus is different and powerful so they come up with what is closest in their minds of who they know are people with ultimate godly power.
The most recent person they saw with similar kind of godly power was John the Baptist. So they speculate Jesus is now John the Baptist. Which of course makes no sense. But, understand, there is no biblical or theological basis for this type of thinking, this is just what people are thinking. This idea that John the Baptist is now Jesus, is more in the realm of folklore than anything else.
The people also claim that Jesus is Elijah. The prophet Elijah was the most powerful of all the prophets in the OT. He was known for his powerful speaking and for his miracles. Jesus is known for his powerful speaking and for his miracles, so “perhaps” people speculated, “Jesus is Elijah”. Now, we see that John the Baptist ministry was in the spirit of Elijah. This does not mean that the spirit of Elijah inhabited John’s body, no “the spirit” means not a person’s spirit, but in the spirit of, like - she sure has great school spirit. It is more along the lines of spunk and is not insinuating possession by a spirit or even reincarnation.
They also think Jesus might be one of the other prophets. The point is that they aren’t sure who Jesus is, but they know that he is a powerful man of God and so they place him in a category with all those they can think of who were powerful men of God. All that said, no one publicly is saying that Jesus is the Messiah. They think he is powerful, godly…and beyond that, they just don’t know. They are doing is assigning Jesus a preparatory role as was the role of the prophets, when his role is the definitive role.
Then is verse 29 Jesus directly asks the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” How the question is structured in verse 29, brings out this meaning: You whom I have chosen and trained, who do you think I am in contrast with other people. The disciples have been extended a special grace. There is a distinct difference between those who perceive who Jesus is and those who actually know him. This question shows a sharp difference between opinions and an affirmation of faith.
The disciples are not able to place Jesus in a category either and are struggling along with everyone else to rectify who he is. Yet Peter, and no one else, is able to express what they have all been hoping for, “You are the Christ.’” Peter is calling Jesus the Messiah.
The basic meaning of messiah is a passive one “the one anointed by God” it implies election and appointment to a particular task and a special endowment of power to accomplish that task. Peter’s expression of faith recognizes the divine promise and realization of Israel’s hopes – but Peter is ignorant of the deeper meanings. It was a profound expression of faith that he spoke, but as we see in the following verses, it was also a misunderstanding of faith. Peter’s words were correct, but the concept was wrong.
With this in mind, Jesus then defines what it means to be messiah in verse 31: He must suffer, be rejected, be killed and then rise again. Within this definition that Jesus gives is a sense of compulsion to do the will of God. This must be they way it is! Peter outright rejects Jesus’ definition.
The Hebrews thought of the golden age of Israel when David was king. It was in the popular imagination that they would one day regain this situation. Let’s be clear that this was not the only view of what the Messiah would be like and what the messiah would do for the people of Israel, but it certainly was the popular conception of what the Messiah would bring. Within this popular concept, which probably, to some extent Peter has bought into, there certainly was no understanding that the Messiah would be murdered – I mean in their mind they would conclude, “What would be the point of the Messiah rising in power only to die and have things fall apart?” That would make no sense. In a way it could be like a presidential candidate going through all the difficulty of campaigning to get elected, to only then die right as he arrived in office. How effective would that be? You give up your power right as you gain it?
Jesus rejects Peter’s rejection of his definition of what it means to be the Messiah saying, “Get behind me Satan.” Get behind me – essentially means get out of my sight. It is thought to be said in the military sense, return to your rank - be a true follower of mine and not one who speaks for Satan.
I remember a comic about this situation. There is a group of people standing in line at a movie theater and in the line is a guy in a red suit with horns on his head and a long tail. The guy behind him is tapping him on the shoulder saying, “Get behind me Satan!”…..I guess you have to see it in print to be funny.
Then Jesus defines what is required to be identified with him. He calls everyone together showing that what he is about to say is meant for us all and not just his disciples. Jesus then speaks about the cross. The cross shows the “how” to be my follower, or what it means to be a Christian. Jesus says in verse 34, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. In saying this, Jesus shows us what it means to be followers of Christ.
What does it mean to bear one’s cross? Well, it doesn’t mean to suffer a personal issue. “I guess this chronic issue of diabetes in my life is my cross to bear” or “Having my mother-in law visit for over a month is my cross to bear”. Having your mother-in-law stay for a month might be a difficult situation, or having an illness might be a horrible thing – but it is not what Jesus is talking about here. To apply what Jesus said to either of those situations is completely wrong. This is not at all what Jesus had in mind. To take up your cross does not mean to take up and carry your burdens. Think of it this way: Jesus is telling us what it means to be a follower of his, putting up with my mother-in-law for a month is not the definition of being a follower of Christ. It might be saintly in some respects, but it is not what Jesus is getting at.
See Jesus is not talking about doing the best I can in spite of the situation or circumstances that surround me. And though it is our cross, it is not about us, it is about Jesus. It is about sacrificial obedience TO Jesus Christ. It is not about me, it is about Jesus. When Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, he does not mean to deny things. The denial Jesus is speaking of here means that I submit everything to His control.
2Tim. 2:11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
2Tim. 2:12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him. If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
2Tim. 2:13 if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
In the Roman world, when one carried their own cross, it meant that they had succumbed to the power of Rome – they had submitted themselves to Caesar’s lordship unto death. Jesus uses this illustration to show what discipleship is. We are to submit to the power and lordship of Jesus period – come what may – good times and bad. We submit to Jesus Christ. This is what it means to follow Jesus Christ.
Notice Jesus is not saying that by following him your life will become easy. No, what is he saying? Just the opposite. This is why he emphasizes gaining the whole world and losing your life. Those who tell us that all of our health issues, and financial troubles will fade away when we follow Jesus are just plain ignorant. If they claim this is what has happened in their life and it can happen to you too – then clearly they are living out another gospel. I don’t know about you, but it literally frightens me to think we could so easily follow another gospel and gain the whole world (which means everything I always wanted) and yet lose it all. Jesus calls not for only his suffering but ours also. It is a complete call and identification with Christ. In fact, carrying the cross is an indication that one is prepared to die. A person is only willing to die for something that is the most important to them. Rom. 8:17 says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
To forfeit one’s soul, verse 36 – implies that fault of the one experiencing the loss, a sense that one has trifled away their life doing ridiculous things. In other words, what we think of as normal life accomplishments….are a great danger. For we may think we are accomplishing great things as we gain, gain, gain, but in the end we lose it all.
Not a commitment to the message of Christianity, or the concept of Christianity, or even the morals of Christianity, but it is a call of commitment to the person of Jesus. What does a follower of Jesus look like: One who has total submission to Jesus.
