NOBODY BUT JESUS
Fan or Follower?
Mark 8:31-38
Let me ask you a very deep question this morning. Serious business. Did you know that Ben & Jerry’s has a new ice cream flavor? They put cookies and actual peanut butter cookie pieces mixed into the ice cream and then they bore a hole down the center of the pint and fill the space with peanut butter. And why does it seem that they come out with a brand-new flavor on the first day of your new diet? So, a story about them. Ben Cohen had a rare sinus condition that affected his taste buds. In other words, he could not taste certain flavors. So his partner Jerry, kept adding more and more flavoring to the test batches they were making. Now, as a result, their ice cream is so full of flavor, frankly it’s hard to resist. Then you see their ads on TV. That doesn’t help. You walk by the ice cream in the freezer section I hear this voice coming from the ice cream section... Hey pastor! Oh Pastor!!
So I’m actually getting to a point here. You want to lose weight by this summer? Stay away from Ben & Jerry’s. This stuff is definitely a stumbling block. The word Satan as used in the Bible comes to us from a word in Hebrew that means stumbling block. It’s an enemy. The opponent. Anything that gets in the way of our goal.
When Jesus says get behind me Satan, he is basically saying get out of my sight! You see Peter was stepping into the path that Jesus is walking and trying to stop Jesus from doing exactly what it was he came to do. Here is the thing that makes this interesting to me. It would’ve been much easier for Jesus to not do what he was sent to do. But Jesus had already made the choice. He was going to the cross. It would’ve been easier for Jesus to just say no. Could’ve kept his job as a carpenter. But instead he made an active choice to die-for you and me. It was a decision that He struggled with so much that the Bible says his sweat became as drops of blood. The clinical name for this is Hematridosis. It’s a rare but it does occur. In London six different men were diagnosed with this. All of them were criminals and all of them were on death row. It’s rare but it happens.
Now this is a scene from the Bible that is filled with power. The setting for it from chapters 7 and 8 include the feeding of the multitudes, the healing of a blind man and also Jesus walking on water. He had allowed the disciples to experience His power but now he wanted to point them to the reality of what was next—of what was on the horizon. And what Jesus was about to share with them would not be what they expected. Their idea of a Messiah was that he would reign as king, triumphant, royal and regal. But Jesus begins to describe a Messiah that would have to deal with death rejection and suffering. That was what was on the horizon for Jesus.
Look at verses 31-33.
Jesus said it as plainly as possible because he didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings about what was about to take place. Often Jesus spoke in parables, a bit like a riddle; at times I think they would sort of scratch their heads and wonder, what’s Jesus talking about? The disciples had been watching as Jesus performed one miracle after another; one victory after another... The crowds were gathering by the thousands to see him and to hear his powerful message and now the message was changing-not only was he talking about sacrifice and death and rejection for himself-now he was saying that those who choose to follow him can only expect the same.
It’s interesting that Jesus referred to himself in this passage by the title Son of Man. It seems to be his favorite description of himself. It is used 81 times in the Gospels and neither his friends nor his enemies ever referred to him in this way. In doing this he was clearly identifying with the people. He was gaining popularity and he chose not to proclaim himself as the Messiah too early. Because he was still laying groundwork for his ministry. He was working his way to the cross but his disciples needed to be fully prepared to carry on with his ministry. This is why he kept telling his disciples not to tell anybody about what they were talking about---the time had not yet come for those things to be announced.
But apparently Peter didn’t agree-- this idea of what the Messiah would be like-- this must’ve seemed foreign to him. So Peter speaks up. Verse 32. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. This is equivalent to a kid who is wrestling with his dad and thinks he is winning. My boys and I used to do this... We would pull the chairs and the couch back in the living room and have wrestling matches. Dad allows them to think their winning knowing though he could take them at any time. But then they cross a line-they’re coming at you a little too hard and your dad strength kicks in. Dad sort of flexes his muscles and takes charge.
This is what happens when the Scripture says Peter rebuked Jesus. The word rebuke is the same one used when Jesus silences the demons on two occasions. Look at the response of Jesus. Mark 8:33. Now the reason Jesus responded in such a powerful way was because Jesus recognized Peter was being used by Satan to try to do the very thing that Satan tried to do when Jesus was in the wilderness. All to keep him from going to the cross.
Matthew 4:8-10. In the wilderness Satan was trying to tempt Jesus to abandon the mission that leads to the cross. Satan tempted Jesus three times in the wilderness. It ended with Jesus demanding that Satan leave. It also happened after the Last Supper. Jesus told Peter he would deny him before the rooster crowed. Peter said it wouldn’t happen no matter what. While Jesus was being brought before the high priest Peter was following at a distance and warming himself by the fire there in the courtyard. He was trying to listen in and to see what was about to happen to Jesus. But then those who were around the fire recognized Peter as one of Jesus’ followers. Peter then denies that he is a follower of Jesus. But listen to this passage... Luke 22:60-62. Can you imagine that look? His eyes piercing right through him. Jesus was able to see him exactly as he was. Sometimes people don’t have to say a word-they just give you that look. But then Jesus does speak and He says get behind me Satan.
Jesus had a mission and nothing was going to stop him from going forward. The disciples would’ve heard of Isaiah 53. That passage describes Jesus as the suffering servant. But Satan had blinded them to seeing this. Let’s face it. If we have a choice between a life of health and wealth and prosperity and a life of sacrifice, carrying the cross and service, many would choose the first option. Jesus made it clear what he was calling them to. Mark 8:34-38. Jesus tells us what the prerequisites are to being a disciple. A real disciple. The first one is to deny self. The second, is to take up your cross and the third is to follow Jesus. There is no list of things we are not to do. And there’s a reason. If we follow these three steps, those things will take care of themselves.
There are two groups and we have to decide which one we are going to be. There are fans and there are followers. Here’s the difference. Fans only follow when you are popular. Once you make one wrong move they turn against you. They are what we sometimes call bandwagon people. When you’re popular they jump on the bandwagon and they follow you-to you lose your popularity. People do it with sports teams. Take the Rays or the Bucs for instance. If the Rays make it to the postseason people think they’re going to the World Series…. everybody is a fan. The stadium is full. But when things get tough, they back away and criticize. When we lived in New Orleans the Saints were pretty unpopular-they were losing. Some of the fans actually wore paper sacks over their heads at the games as though they were embarrassed to be there. Too many profess to be fans. Too few are actually followers. We can talk the talk but we don’t walk the walk.
Jesus said 1. Deny self. 2. Take up your cross and 3. Follow me. In the day of Jesus six out of 10 people were slaves-they had no rights whatsoever. So the people became restive. They were unable to keep silent. They were impatient. So to control the people-to keep them from rebelling; anyone who threatened their authority would be killed-crucified. They had to carry the cross beam to the place of execution. Once they had taken up the cross, there was no turning back-a crucified man was never coming back. A crucified man could only look in one direction. A crucified man would die alone.
Our idea of commitment is different. I’ll attend church once a week or I’ll give to the church or maybe I’ll even serve in the church. But is much more than that. We are not fans we are followers of the King of Kings and Lord of lords.
