Subversion

Jason Hefner

The Death of Jesus for Us • Sermon • Submitted 2 months ago • Presented 2 months ago

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Transcript

Context

theme: death of Christ for us: devotion, victory. Today subversion - the undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution.

After his baptism Jesus was driven out into the wilderness. He overcame temptation By Devil. He determined his path toward the cross.

Jesus then began to preach his message: The kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe!

His teaching, his miracle working, and his power to drive away demons attracted large crowds to him.

He called 12 men to be his special disciples — his apostles. Led by Peter, they believed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. The one who would come and establish the Kingdom of God. On the behalf of all the disciples, Peter even went so far as to say that he believed Jesus to be the very Son of God.

Gaining this new assurance from his disciples, Jesus begins to share with them his secret plan: to bring the Kingdom of God, not through mystical or military might (as everyone expected), but rather through humiliation, suffering, death, and — most shockingly — by being resurrected from the dead.

“Son of Man” = Jesus’ preferred self-reference.

Mark 8:31–38 ESV

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Introduction

Exegesis

Jesus begins to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the priests, and the scribes.

Son of Man. A title drawn from the OT. Paradox of humility and glory.

Human. Often prophets were addressed in this way. (Ezekiel 37 and the dry bones)

Divine figure. The prophets, especially Daniel 7. I saw one like a son of man who came to the Ancient of Days, presented to him, given dominion over all.

The disciples may have picked up on both of these references.

Must suffer many things by the religious establishment

Prophets were often persecuted by the religious establishment. Their messages were often unpopular and unsettling to the status quo.

Elijah chased into hiding by Queen Jezebel

Jeremiah was thrown in a cistern.

The disciples may have been able to appreciate that Jesus — clearly a prophet — would have to experience some level of rejection, but would then by vindicated by God, as prophets usually were.

but what did not figure into any kind of precedent, was being put to death and rising again from the dead.

Jesus said this plainly.

Not as a metaphor, not as symbolic language. Plainly. I will be rejected, and put to death, and literally on the third day be raised from the dead.

Peter pulled him aside and began to rebuke him.

Peter and the others took Jesus seriously. He meant it. And it was a real possibility.

Don’t talk about getting yourself killed..that could actually happen, if you aren’t careful!

Great uncontrollable crowds surrounding him. Crowds could be fickle, one minute they love you the next, they turn on you.

His family was thinking “he is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:21); Scribes saying he casts out demons by the power of the Devil (Mark 3:22); His mother and brothers can’t get to him (Mark 3:31), these are my family fomenting revolution.

The example of John the Baptist. Already put to death by Herod. One does not come back from the dead. (Mark 6:14)

Peter began to rebuke him.

Rebuke: express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or actions.

Whatever you want to accomplish, your death is not necessary to accomplish it.

Sound familiar? the temptation of the Devil in the wilderness: anything to lead Jesus away from his radical divinely ordained self-sacrificial mission.

Get behind me Satan!

He rebukes Peter, to correct all the disciples.

Rebukes Peter as “Satan”. Not that he is actually Satan, or possessed, but to make clear that Peter is touching on the ONE thing that Jesus will not, cannot, must no do: abandon his mission.

Get Away with that talk because it would be too easy to give in to it! Dangerous and poisonous to me!

Mind on the things of man, not the things of God.

The things on man: anchored in the world: what we will eat, drink, wear. Where we will live, what we will own. Approval of other people. Fame. Power. Security.

May seem well and good on the surface, but “this generation” is adulterous and sinful.

cheats on God.

breaks God’s commands, hurting God, themselves, and each other.

Radical view of the sinfulness of this world.

His mission is not to be a succeed in the system of this world; but to save this world. To transform it. Redeem it. Into what he describes as : glorious.

The glory of his Father.

The holy angels.

A world in which there is no evil, no spiritual adultery. God is God; humans are human before God.

Two incompatible worlds. The one Peter is speaking for: wants to appear righteous and powerful, but it actually sinful and temporary. The one Jesus is committed to: it is actually holy, but may appear foolish.

The only way for the Kingdom of God to redeem the fallen world — without destroying it — is through his self-sacrifice.

Through his death he will show how evil the world is, atone for sin, and through his resurrection he will open the way to eternal life for all.

His mission will be clear when he raised from the dead and comes in glory with a new world.

Current Problem

It may be hard to get our minds around what Jesus is talking about it here, talking on a cosmic scale. But he has inspired others who can help us see what he means.

Later examples: Ghandi and the salt march. 1930.

Mahatma - great soul. British trained lawyer. Hindu, Jain, extensive reading in many religions. Inspired by Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

British controlled India. British forbad the making of salt. To Ghandi, bread, water, and salt were basics of life. Had a right to salt. Empire wrong. Peaceful march to the coast. Made salt. Forcing the British to deploy their forces against him. Displayed to the world the injustice of the Empire. Set in motion events that ultimately led to Indian Freedom. Begins with willingness to suffer. To subvert the power through weakness. Not a hand raised in self-defense. Went down at club strikes like 10-pins.

Jesus: I want to redeem the whole world. Subvert the power of the world, through my choice to be weak. Thus gain the victory when God raises me from the dead.

Where does that leave us? If we look around and say, well the world is basically pretty good and we should just fit in. We may find ourselves being rebuked by Jesus.

Jesus always has many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear His cross. — Thomas à Kempis

But if we are willing to hear Jesus’ mission to the cross. Then we get called into it.

Hinge

This is not just something I am going to do.

you must be willing to do the same. Pick up your cross and follow me.

Ancient Solution

Intimates how he will die: cross. Again a sign of his foreknowlege in detail.

They must be willing to suffer along with him.

Pick up your cross and follow me.

if you are trying to save your life (for this world), you will lose it in the one to come.

If you lose you life (in this world), you will gain it in the one to come.

Just words and theory to us. But experienced by the disciples, especially Peter.

Jesus was arrested. He was tried. Going to his cross. Peter denied him. Peter gained his life. But was separated from the Lord. He went out and wept bitterly. Long three day period until Jesus rose again.

Thankfully, Jesus was resurrected and He came to him after the resurrection.

You were ashamed of me, but I restore you.

Now if you acknowledge me, I will acknowledge you.

Peter saw his glory and wanted to be acknowledges on that great day.

When Peter who had rebuked Jesus was mercifully restored by Jesus, the disciples then became committed to this message of the gospel. Even when it placed them in disfavor. We must obey God rather than men. They lived up to Jesus’ teaching. So much so that others began to believe.

People of all walks of life have decided not to be defined by the world, but to define themselves by Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Current Solution

That message has come to us.

Jesus , through his death and resurrection, offers us eternal life.

We have doubted him. We live in a sinful world. We get our allegiances mixed up. But Jesus comes to us and bids us to live, suffer, die, and live forever with him.

We are not to define ourselves by our nationality, economics, race, gender, sex, time-period. We don’t have to fit in with the categories of the world and avoid suffering.

We have to fit in with Christ and his kingdom. Even it that means not fitting in with the world around us.

Ghandi took on the British Empire, it seemed doomed, but then when his vision prevailed, everyone could see it.

The Kingdom of God still a vision, glimpse of it in the resurrected Christ. In the renewed lives we experience when we place our faith in Christ. Forgiveness of sins and the desire for true holiness.

Example from National Treasure, when Ben sticks his hand into the dark hole to unlock the door to the City of Gold.