In Jesus Holy Name Lent II February 28, 2021
Text: Mark 8:27,29 Redeemer
“Jesus, The Exclusive Savior”
We live in a “postmodern” age. If that term is new to you, it simply means that we live in an age in which our culture has largely abandoned the notion of truth. One hundred years ago most Americans shared a common moral code based to a large degree on the teachings of the Bible. Even people who were not Christian made their moral judgments based largely on what we today call the “Judeo-Christian” tradition.
There was a large consensus that certain things were right and others wrong, that some things were permitted in society and others were not. That shared consensus gave enormous stability to the culture and allowed people from diverse backgrounds to live together in peace. (quote Rev. Ray Pritchard sermon Mark 8)
That consensus has almost entirely disappeared, which is why Americans can’t decide how they feel about abortion, pornography, adultery, divorce, and gay rights. In the old days we didn’t debate those issues because our shared value system taught us that it is wrong to kill unborn babies, that adultery is always evil. Our constitution grants us freedom of speech, to speak our mind. That too us now under assault. Things have changed.
If the old Trinity was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the new trinity is tolerance, diversity, and pluralism. “All truth is relative.” We are to worship tolerance, we are to celebrate diversity, praise pluralism, equity not equality. And woe to the man or woman who dares to speak against the New Trinity. (quote from Rev. Ray Pritchard)
Jesus and His disciples were at Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea was a place of pagan worship, where many different pagan temples offered options. Their ministry to this point had been a stunning success. Crowds pressed in on them everywhere they went. People eagerly reached out to touch this young teacher from Nazareth. The disciples themselves were caught up in the excitement of it all. “Strange rumors had swirled about Jesus ever since the prophet wearing camels hair clothing, John the Baptist said: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (thoughts from my sermon on Matthew 16)
Some thought Jesus might be a king. That’s what many thought after Jesus fed the 5000. (John 6) This carpenter’s son from Nazareth taught the crowds with mysterious parables. He healed the sick. He annoyed the religious authorities. This is why Jesus put the question to his disciples. "Who do people say that I am?" Various answers were given. Simon Peter answered enthusiastically, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" It was one of the most dramatic moments in the disciples' pilgrimage with Jesus. (The Body Charles Colson p. 64)
Then Jesus changed the subject. He began to tell them that the crowds would soon turn against Him; He would be crucified. On the third day he would be raised. The disciples didn't know what to make of His words. Simon Peter took Jesus aside: "Forbid it Lord that these things should happen to you." Jesus rebuked Peter in strong language. The words are as harsh as any words in the New Testament: "Get behind me Satan! You are not on the side of God but of man."
Simon Peter probably regretted trying to correct Jesus. He had no idea that he was being deceived by Satan….who was trying to stop Jesus from going to Jerusalem. Peter was reacting because…..Peter did not understand God’s plan.
Rev. John Stott in his book “The Cross of Christ” has a chapter entitled “The Conquest of Evil”. In the Garden of Eden the conquest of Evil was predicted. During the ministry of Jesus Satan made many attempts to get rid of Jesus. Satan used Herod to murder of the children of Bethlehem. In the wilderness temptations Satan was tempting Jesus to avoid the cross. Later, Satan used the crowds to force Jesus into a politico-military kingship. And now Peter tries to stop Jesus from His journey to Jerusalem. (p. 234,235)
After Jesus had ascended into Heaven this same Peter, along with John continued to visit the temple. On one of their visits, they healed a man on the steps of the temple who was crippled. The Jewish authorities arrested them because they said the man was healed by the power of the crucified and risen Jesus. Standing on trial before the same High Priest, Caiaphas and his ruling family, that sent Jesus to Pilate, Peter no longer afraid, makes a bold statement: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”. (Acts 4:12)
Jesus Himself said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) The author of the Book of Hebrews writes: “Jesus Christ was sacrificed once (on the cross) to take away the (broken commandments) sins of many people and He will appear a second time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for “His return. (Hebrew 9:27,28)
These are utterly exclusive statements of the New Testament. We have no right to water them down. You may choose to reject them, or to call them “narrow-minded” or to pass them off as not applying to us today, but the fact remains that the Jesus of the Bible is an utterly exclusive Savior.
Some may regard that statement as the height of intolerance. But I would answer that intolerance is not always bad. When I get on an airplane I want to know that the mechanics who checked out the engines were absolutely intolerant. I don’t want a mechanic who says, “It looks like the engine needs a few minor tweaks, but maybe it can handle one more flight.” Likewise, I want a doctor who is intolerant of cancer and who doesn’t mind hurting my feelings in order to save my life.
When Christ died on the Cross, he completed the work of salvation. That’s why he cried out “It Is Finished” (John 19:30). That three-word phrase is only one word in Greek- tetelestai. Archaeologists have found the word on scraps of first-century paper that appear to be ancient shopping lists. When a purchase was completed, the seller wrote tetelestai across the paper, meaning “paid in full.” Even so, when Jesus had paid the full price for our salvation, he cried “It is finished” because the work of salvation was complete. By his death absorbed the wrath of God against sin.
Saving faith is nothing less than total reliance on Christ alone, wholly apart from human works or human effort of any kind. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Of all the disciples only Peter voiced the correct answer to Jesus’ question that day on the mountain: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). To this day there are still many opinions about who Jesus really is. Some think He is just a good man, others a great teacher, still others an historical figure. Some call him a mystic, others a sage, others a peasant rabbi. The Bible calls him the Son of God. Each person must answer for himself. (from Keep Believing Ministry sermon on Matthew 16)
A number of years ago, a least according to the story I’ve been told. Two men went on a business trip for their high-profile electronics company. Along with completing a highly profitable bit of business, the two also carried off the commission of sins both serious and scandalous. Drunk with financial success and immoral excess there was no transgress which was beyond them. Booze, babes, and depravity was their motto and to that end they left no stone unturned or sin uncommitted. (story found)
As their grip was concluding from their high-rise window, they were able to look down on a church. You know the kind of church building I’m talking about. This was a great stone building that had been built at the time when business and belief were not exclusive. There was a commanding steeple, but it now sat in the shadows of soaring skyscrapers.
With a smirk in his voice, one of the businessmen challenged. “Tell you what, I’ve got 100 bucks which says you won’t go over to that church and confess everything we’ve done. In less than an instant the challenge was accepted.
No problem. Your bet is covered and it’s the easiest money I’ve made on this trip. Hurriedly the two scuttled across the street, and while the challenger watched from the shadows, the other entered the confessional. Relying on the words he recalled from old movies, he unsteadily began; “Father, forgive me for I have sinned.” Then for more than 10 minutes he listed, in explicit detail, all he and his companion had done wrong. After he was finished, the businessman waited for a reaction from the priest. Not only was the experienced clergyman not shocked by the confession, but he also correctly judged the man to be a jokester.
Coolly, calmly, and to his credit, the priest said: “My son, for what you have done I want you to walk down to the front of the church, and there, by the altar, I want you to kneel down. Then, from that position on your knees I want you to look up at the face of the statue that shows Jesus being crucified. Look at the face of Jesus who is shown dying on the cross and say, “Lord, You lived and died for me, and it doesn’t make any difference.”
As he knelt down and looked up at the statue of Jesus he started to say, “Jesus, You lived and died for me and it just doesn’t……it just doesn’t…. the man started to say them again…but he didn’t finish them. So he tried again: “Jesus, You lived and died for me and it just doesn’t….. He never finished. According to the story the man lost the bet.
It’s a great story. I might tell it again. But there is only one little, miniscule, hardly worth mentioning problem with the story. To the best of my knowledge, it is a story and nothing more. Sadly, the story is a fable.
Jesus lived a perfect life, denouncing sin and renouncing Satan’s power and work. Just as Jesus had told Peter, He was arrested in Jerusalem. He was unjustly tried, unfairly condemned, and sent to die on a Roman cross. The cross, which some consider to be foolishness, is where God chose to nail the broken commandments of every believer. On the cross, Jesus took the wrath of God against our broken commandments…It was the only way God could see each person as unblemished, and free from accusation. His death and resurrection was for all humanity. The theological term is “objective justification.”
When any human being knees at the cross and asks for forgiveness, the result is that peace and harmony is restored with our God. The theological term is “subjective justification.” That is what Paul concludes: This promise of forgiveness and eternal life is your possession “if” you continue in your faith, trusting in Jesus as your exclusive Savior.
