13th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 45

13th February 2011 Off By Derek Buckthorpe

Prayer to start

May every thought and every word be graciously received for the Glory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction

Who would have predicted it eh!
Cars and garages running dry – long ques for petrol – Motorways and City Centres blockaded – Panick buying food shortage – Health Service on red alert

Its been quite a week – a real eye-opener for us all – on how much we depend on fuel to get us around

It was a real eye-opener too for the Disciples when they went with Jesus to Ceaseara Philippi – they learnt some surprising facts about Jesus and what it means to be one of His followers – About who He is, why he was here and what was expected of them – we are going to look at what was said – to see if it helps our understanding of Jesus and what God expects of us.

 
Point 1  personal response 

Ceasarea Philippi – is about 25 miles north of Gallilee – located at the foot of Mount Herman – it is known for its water spring which is the source of the river Jordan – it is also known for its religious connections – the Greeks called it Paneas – because at the water outlet was a shrine to the Greek god pan – and – Herod’s son Philip renamed the town after Ceasar Augusta – and built a marble temple there for the people to practice Emperor worship

But Jesus didn’t go there with the purpose of converting the local population – but to teach those closest to Him –

the time of trial and crucifixion was approaching – there was not much time left to prepare them for what was to come – it was time for some plain speaking – about how much they have learnt – and understood

“who do people say I am ?” He asked

their response was to pay Him a great compliment and compare Him with some of – “the great prophets” –

“some say John the Baptist” – they said – many including Herod Antipas thought he might return from the dead –

“some say Elijah” – believed by most Jews to be the greatest of all prophets -who will bring order into chaos – and herald the arrival of the Messiah – to this day many Jews still leave a chair vacant for him at their Passover celebrations –

“and you ……who do you say I am?”

Now Jesus challenges them to think more deeply – He knew their thoughts – but wanted them to speak them back to Him

Its not enough to recognise God – we have to speak about Him too –

Peter as spokesman for them all gave Him the answer Jesus hoped for –

"You are the Messiah" – He said

Jesus’ true identity had been revealed to them by God

With a personal confession – comes a personal response back from Jesus

They were now ready to learn more about the path that His ministry would take – and the true purpose of His life – and His death – He began to teach them and tell them how He – will be rejected by the church authorities – and will suffer and die a criminals death –

but Peter was still thinking in terms of a conquering Messiah – a warrior king – who would sweep the Romans from Palestine and lead Israel to power –

The idea of a suffering servant seemed to him a scandal and a disgrace – He couldn’t accept that that God’s Son should suffer and die in this way – in Peter’s eyes it amounted to failure –

Jesus rebuked Peter "You think as men think, not as God thinks" – the severity of Jesus’ reply is in direct response to the severity of the temptation presented to Him – It cost Jesus dearly to resist the suggestion that God’s victory could be won in any other way – than through the cross –

Peter’s word Messiah was true – but Peter’s and the other’s understanding of Messiah was untrue

Too often we try to change the image of Jesus to suite our own convenience – we try to put a restraining arm around Him – so that we don’t have to follow the road of suffering with Him – the idea of a king reigning from a cross – baffles and confuses us – we lose sight of the fact that Jesus’ death is really a gift from God to reunite us with Him –

Jesus came to set up the Kingdom of God into the hearts of ordinary people – like us – through dying on the cross – He made it possible for our sins to be forgiven – and for our hearts to be made clean – and fit for a king

– Jesus is what god has to say to all people – in Jesus we see what God is like – and what we might become – 

Point 2   true discipleship

But Christian discipleship is not just about recognising the truth – its about living it as well –

and taking on the responsibilities of discipleship is not easy – its expensive and costly –

Jesus tells His disciples and the crowd – they must "renounce self, take up their cross and follow Him"

This is the first mention of the cross in Mark’s Gospel – to the crowd and His disciples it would have meant what it meant to Jesus – suffering – persecution – and death –

Jesus was not mincing His words – it was time to build on the foundations He had already laid –

God gave us life to spend not to keep – if we don’t use our lives as He intended – He tells us that in the end we will lose it – A car without petrol is going nowhere – a life without God will also grind to a dead stop –

To be a follower of Jesus we must say no to our natural desire for a comfortable life – and yes to the voice and command of God – accept all the consequences that obedience to God – throws at us – take the risk – and put our faith in His promises –

If we are really honest about it – many of our problems arise because we are not prepared to listen to Jesus.

In the third servant song which forms part of our OT reading – Isaiah describes a picture of the true responsive servant –

someone who listens every day – learns the will of God – does not rebel – and obeys at cost – confident and faithful in the Lord – His primary objective is to share the word of God – with all

Jesus provides food for those around Him – yet He went hungry Himself – He is the judge yet was a victim of injustice – He gave the world life yet allowed us to murder Him –

The realisation of who Jesus is and why He came isn’t the end of our journey of discovery – but the beginning – Through the Holy Spirit – He shows us what is beyond our understanding – what God has planned for us – and gives us the strength to overcome all our earthly problems and limitations

 

 
Point 3   what does it all mean?

the passage tells us – that Jesus will confront us – and ask us for our personal commitment to Him – He will ask us to confess it to Him personally –

Just as Jesus prepared and instructed His disciples – so He will prepare and instruct us – through the power of the Holy Spirit

like the disciples – we too will be given an understanding of what God has planned for us – and be asked to bear our own cross of responsibility and privilege in His name

Being a disciple is a tremendous responsibility – and like Peter we too can become the tempter –

James uses the illustrations of the rudder of a ship, a horses bit and a fire in the tinder dry conditions of Palestine to show that our actions can have far reaching consequences on others -How we are and how we behave – is not just for our salvation – but for the salvation of those around us –

the world desperately needs to understand the message of Jesus Christ – but they will have no grounds to believe or respond to it – unless they can see the character and love of Jesus Christ in our lives –

Just as the disciples saw God in the Son – so others must see Jesus in us

we must all keep our eyes fixed on Jesus – and work to open the door of the kingdom to others – using the gifts given to us by God for His purpose

 

Conclusion

In today’s uncertain world – people need to have their eyes opened to the presence and promises of Jesus Christ –

and as part of His church – God expects us to be witnesses to the reconciling love that He offers – through Jesus

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life,
no one comes to the Father except by me”

Jesus told the disciples the honest truth – about what it means to follow in His footsteps – that for them to go forward in His name – they must depend upon Him -and go where He leads

So if we want to be a follower of Jesus Christ there is only one course of action for us – and that is to hand over the keys – and put Jesus firmly in the driving seat – if we do that then we are certain to reach the right destination –

Prayer to finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN