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When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I got my first regular Bible. It was a King James translation, red-letter edition. All of Jesus' words were printed in red. Open the Bible anywhere in the Gospels, and Jesus' words leapt from the page. Jesus' words stood out; they demanded attention; they went straight to my heart.
Even when they are not printed in red, Jesus' words stand out, and demand attention, and go straight to our hearts.
When a leper confronted him on the road, begging for his help, Jesus touched him and said, "Be made clean!"
When a bleeding woman searched him out in a crowd and quietly reached for his cloak, Jesus said, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
When the disciples scolded parents who were toting their babies to Jesus to be blessed, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them."
After his friend Lazarus died, Jesus stood at the tomb where he was buried and shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And then he said to Lazarus' friends and family, "Unbind him, and let him go."
When some of the upstanding and respected people of town complained that he ate with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick. I have come not to call the righteous but sinners."
When he encountered a woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, "I do not condemn you. Go your way, and sin no more."
When one of the criminals crucified at his side acknowledged him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
When he hung on the cross, bearing in his body the sinfulness of the world, Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."
Again and again, Jesus encountered broken, sinful, lost, rejected people, and he spoke words of acceptance and grace and hope. Sometimes his words were gentle. Always his words were powerful. Over and over again, to people who are used to the world's 'no', Jesus said 'yes.'
In this passage from Mark chapter 8, Jesus' words to Peter are indeed powerful, but they are not gentle: "Get thee behind me, Satan!" These are not words of acceptance and grace and hope. These words do not say 'yes.' These words are a resounding 'no.'
When we come across these words of Jesus, we have two choices.
We can give in to our discomfort. We can declare that these words are simply an anomaly-out of character for the Jesus we know (or at least the Jesus we want to know). We can quickly move on to look for a more comfortable passage, one that will affirm us where we stand and not challenge us so much. We can keep looking until we find Jesus saying 'yes' to whatever it is we want him to say 'yes' to.
Or … we can acknowledge that our discomfort comes from wondering if perhaps these words of Jesus to Peter might also apply to us. We can stop and listen to these words. We can ask: what did Peter do to become the target of such an exclamation? We can seek to be open to the way these words challenge where we stand. We can search our own hearts for anything that might draw from Jesus such a resounding 'no.'
Make no mistake, Peter loved Jesus. Peter was the first person to leave his old life behind and follow Jesus. Just moments before this exchange, Peter was at the top of the world, the first person to recognize that Jesus was the expected Messiah. Peter loved Jesus.
And make no mistake, Jesus loved Peter. Jesus would continue to teach and guide and pray for Peter. Jesus would forgive him again and again, even when Peter would deny Jesus three times on the eve of his crucifixion. The time would come when Jesus would use Peter to build his church. Jesus loved Peter.
Yet, at this moment, Jesus' words to Peter are "Get thee behind me, Satan!"
Peter certainly has no intention at this moment to be doing Satan's work. Peter has no awareness at this moment that he is doing Satan's work. Peter is confident that he is speaking out of love and devotion to Jesus. When Jesus starts talking about suffering and dying, Peter simply cannot bear it. That's understandable, isn't it? What did Peter do to become the target of such a resounding 'no'? What did Peter do that put him in the position of being complicit with Satan?
There are two pieces to the answer to this question.
First, Peter clings to his idea of what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah and he tries to get Jesus to conform to his idea.
Historians and commentators have long debated what Peter's idea was of what the Messiah should be. Some say Peter wanted a Messiah who would lead an earthly revolution against the Roman Empire and re-establish Israel as a nation in its own right. Some say Peter wanted a Messiah who would lead his people away from the decadent influences of the Roman world and form a righteous community out in the wilderness. I don't think it really matters. The point is that any attempt-any attempt whatsoever-to re-make Jesus according to Peter's image of what a Messiah should be is unacceptable. The moment Peter elevates his values above Jesus' values, he makes Satan grin.
When Peter clings to his idea of what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah and tries to get Jesus to conform to him, Jesus has to respond with a resounding 'no.' "Get thee behind me, Satan!"
It doesn't really matter exactly what Peter had in mind, because this isn't just about Peter. It's about me, and you, and everyone who loves Jesus.
If I say to Jesus, "Here is where I stand. I welcome you to join me here," then I will make Satan grin. If I say to Jesus, "This is what I think is important. As long as you agree with me, then I will follow you," then I will make Satan laugh.
Several years ago I visited a church while I was at a workshop in another state. The theme of the worship service was 'standing with Jesus.' The music was wonderful. The prayers were uplifting. And the sermon invited people to stand with Jesus. I can't argue with that, but when the preacher started explaining to people how to stand with Jesus, I began to squirm.
The preacher told us to look into ourselves to find what was really important to us. After all, all of us, no matter how broken, were basically good people with strong values. The preacher told us about how Jesus shared our values. Jesus supported us in the things that we thought were worth fighting for. Therefore, we could be assured that standing with Jesus would be a good thing; standing with Jesus would affirm the values we held dear and empower us to fight for the causes we believed in.
The preacher meant well. The preacher's intentions were good. The preacher wanted to help us find ways to connect to Jesus.
But the preacher sent us to the wrong place to look for that connection. If ever I go the path of saying, "I stand with Jesus because he shares my values," then I am standing on very shaky ground. Because apart from Jesus, my values-my deeply, passionately held opinions-might be completely wrong. My powers of self-deception are formidable. I cannot determine my truth and then invite Jesus to join me there. I need Jesus to look into me, expose my self-deception, and show me the truth.
Yes, Jesus comes to you and to me wherever we are. But he does not transform himself like a chameleon to whatever shape will allow him to stay with us there. Instead Jesus takes us by the hand and, if we are willing, leads us to where he is. He transforms us to conform to him.
We do not judge his values. He judges ours. He takes our hearts of stone and gives us hearts for obedience.
If I say to Jesus, "This is what I want in a Messiah. Please conform to me," then Jesus will say to me, "No! Get thee behind me, Satan!"
Second, not only does Peter cling to his own idea of what Jesus' Messiahship should look like, he specifically rejects what Jesus has to say about what his Messiahship means. He specifically rejects the suffering and death that Jesus says is central to what it means for him to be Messiah.
Peter is not alone here either. That almighty God would humble himself to take the form of humankind is remarkable enough. That he would go even farther to suffer and die on our behalf is almost beyond comprehension. That he who knew no sin would willingly take all of the sin of the world into himself and pay the price that we cannot pay is almost more than we can take in.
And there's even more to it than that. Peter loved Jesus. He couldn't bear the thought of the one he loved so very much suffering and dying. Surely this could not be part of God's plan. Surely this could not be central to God's plan. Surely this could not be the way that a loving and merciful God intended to reconcile humanity to himself. Surely there was another way. Any other way!
When Peter rejects the path of the cross, Jesus has to respond with a resounding 'no.' "Get thee behind me, Satan!"
This is the way that God intended. The Bible makes that clear. Jesus makes that clear. It is not for us to judge God's remarkable gift. We can only stand in awe and be grateful.
For two thousand years, those who love Jesus have been tempted to find a way to get around the cross to Jesus. Surely redemption can be understood in a way that does not require the suffering and death of the Son of God. That it happened cannot be denied, but it sure would be nice to be able to say that the crucifixion was simply the act of evil men. It sure would be nice to be able to say that redemption in Christ can come apart from the cross.
One of the ways this temptation is showing itself these days is in the work of certain contemporary theologians. Some theologians are going to great lengths to deny that the atoning death of Jesus on the cross is central to God's plan for redemption of his creation and his creatures. After all, they say, we don't need all that blood and stuff.
When you hear these theories, be on your guard. This is not simply a harmless difference of opinion over a minor point of doctrine. This is central to what it means for Jesus to be Messiah. When you hear these theories, be sure that Satan is laughing.
Jesus began to teach the disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Jesus rebuked Peter and said, "Get thee behind me, Satan!"
At the close of the worship service I was telling you about, the preacher invited people to stand up and share how Jesus shared their values, saying, "I stand with Jesus because . . ." and fill in the blank. Some indicated values that had strong biblical basis. "I stand with Jesus because he stands with the poor and the oppressed." Some declared that Jesus shared values with highly dubious biblical basis. "I stand with Jesus because he affirms committed sexual relationships outside of marriage." All had good intentions. It doesn't matter. Any attempt to choose what parts of Jesus the Christ we agree with or, more to the point, choose the parts of Jesus the Christ that agree with us, is complicit with Satan's efforts to undermine the person and work of Jesus. Good intentions do not make up for that.
As this part of the worship service progressed, I squirmed even more. I muttered under my breath. I wanted to stand up and say that I stood with Jesus, not because he shared my values, but because he transformed my values. I did not stand up. I said nothing. I was afraid. Good intentions do not make up for that either.
I repent of my quiet complicity. I trust in God's forgiveness and I rest in his mercy. I'll say today what I was afraid to say then.
I stand with Jesus because he suffered for me. I stand with Jesus because he died for me. I stand with Jesus because he was raised for me. I stand with Jesus because he sits at the right hand of God and from there he reaches out to me. I stand with Jesus because his words stand out, and demand my attention, and go straight to my heart. I stand with Jesus because he takes my heart of stone and gives me a heart for obedience. I stand with Jesus because he has transformed and continues to transform my values, exposing my self-deception and revealing the truth that I cannot see apart from him. I stand with Jesus because he refocuses my gaze from myself and my ideas and my needs to the world that he loves and that desperately needs him. I stand with Jesus because I can stand no where else.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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