Week 38: Who is Jesus to You?

Who is Jesus to you?

Mark 8:27-38

Growing up, before I left the house, my mom would have this imaginary checklist that she would use to make sure I had everything. She would ask if my phone was fully charged, if I had a couple dollars in my pocket, if I had my keys and this inquisition would go on. When she got to the end of the list, I knew what was coming and I would do an eternal eye roll because she would say, “When you leave this house, girl make sure you act like you have some sense.” This statement was said every time I left home. My parents told me I was a reflection of them, so I had to act accordingly when I left the house.

I chuckle now because in hindsight my mom was preparing to leave the house so, when I left the home I knew how to act. The teachings and principles my parents instilled in me were carried to every place I went. She wanted to make sure that it did not fall to the waist side and remind me that just because she was not with me that the values remained with me. This reminder does not only remain within my household but can be seen in the Gospel today. Jesus prepares his disciples to be without him. So, in order to do that He asks them who do people say that he is? The people who are peering in on the margins. This question is then followed by Jesus asking the people closest to him, the men who gave up their life, turned away everything they knew to accompany him. He wanted to make sure the people following him knew who he was. He wanted to know if they were going to be an example of him. So, he asked them who am I?

Jesus wanted their perspective of who he is. It was Peter who stood up and found a conviction and said the Messiah. We know the Messiah means the promised deliverer, the savior, or the leader. Jesus, the Messiah was content with this answer and told them not to tell anyone. Yet, why did the people who have walked with him not automatically know who Jesus was? We saw in last week’s text that Jesus healed a blind and deaf man and he drove a demon out of the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman. We heard Jesus doing miraculous things. Those miraculous things aren’t solely in the text from last week but in the chapters of Mark that leads us up to this point;

·         Jesus has fed the five thousand with 5 loaves of bread and two fish on the bay of Capernaum

·         Walked on water

·         Restored a demon-possessed man in Gerasenes

·         Raised a girl from the dead

·         Healed a sick woman and paralyzed man

·         Stretched the crippled hands of a man on the steps of a synagogue and made them right

·         Told us of the parable of the mustard seed, he ate with the tax collectors and sinners, and crowds followed him.

Jesus did all of this as they watched so when Jesus asked in today’s Gospel who is he? The answer should have been easy. The response of the Messiah should have rolled off of their tongue in unison. Yet, that was not the case. Only Peter answered. My friends, I am here to tell you that Jesus is omnipotent. He is the healer for the sick, the friend to the lonely, the light amidst the darkness and the savior for all.

Jesus the Messiah, the savior, and the lord, is confirmed in the next couple of verses if it hasn’t already been displayed with all his great acts of selflessness we just heard. After Peters response, Jesus predicts his death. He informs us that the crowds who have followed him will dissipate and the leaders of society will go against him. He will be rejected! After Jesus tells this to the disciples he looks at Peter and rebukes him. I would argue that he is rebuked or in other words reprimanded because his doubt got in the way. I think he instinctively knew that Jesus was the messiah but after hearing what Jesus would have to endure he was skeptical and doubted he would be protected from this wrath that was coming. I believe Peter believed that If this great man who has done all of these miraculous deeds and raised the dead questioned why he couldn’t possibly do that for himself. Peters anxiety, his wellbeing, and doubt in Jesus caused him to be reprimanded. Peter put his self in front and stared away from Jesus. Just as we put ourselves in front of when we are called on unexpectedly rather it’s in the classroom, at work or in life. When we are put on the spot we second-guess ourselves, our instinct falters or we may even freeze up. All of these are normal reactions.

Peters hope dwindled after he received the hardships that were coming ahead of him. His faith falters. Yet Peter is not alone. There are countless times we put ourselves first. We look out for no one and seek out benefits that only advance us.  Peter is everyone sitting in this room who have lost hope, lost love in Christ and had their faith shaken. Peter is the example when doubt eats at us and tells us that we are no good, we are not good enough, we couldn’t possibly do that and the list goes on. But my friends I am here to tell you that you need to carry your stuff, the stuff that is put between you and your relationship with Christ, the stuff that halts you in your steps and the stuff that is used to cripple you. There is good news in the text we read today because Jesus is the way of the cross.

Whoever follows him musty deny yourself

·         Stop placing your wellbeing before the Messiah who died on the cross for our sins

·         Stop worrying about not fully knowing and trust in the savior

·         Stop saying no to yourself and growth and yes to the lord

·         Stop trying to save yourself

·         Stop placing yourself first and put Jesus first

·         We try to save ourselves so often in life and that’s not our job, our job is to put it in the hands of the Messiah.

You may be asking Why is it important to turn to Jesus?  Because When you're unexpectedly called on in life you scramble and try to reach for others assistance and not place it with the savior. It is important to turn to Jesus because;

·         Jesus brings calm to waves of life.

·         Jesus offers clarity to your muddled vision.

·         He lays out the foundation of how we are supposed to treat our siblings in Christ

·         He tells us that we are called to love, show mercy and welcome anyone we encounter

·         When you turn to Jesus life is lighter and the anxiety you held so close seeps away

·         When you turn to Jesus your days are brighter and fuller----there are less cloudy days

Then and only then can you truly see what Jesus has given you. And once you see yourself more clearly, once you see your brokenness you are abler to carry it with you and see the cross.

Your brokenness is that negativity that takes over. The self-loathing that we let sometimes consume us. Your brokenness is your doubt and that little voice in the back of your head that tells you, you aren’t good enough. It is that negative speech we use when we measure ourselves to others when we look in the mirror and criticize when we look for matristic items to give us worth. Brokenness is nestled in every crevice of our humanity surfacing at times when we stare away from the cross.  

The only way we can carry our cross because Jesus carries his cross. Jesus’s body was pinned to the cross, riddled with lashes and his last breath slowly seeped from his lifeless body but, it didn’t stop there. In three days, he rose again to the kingdom and sat at the left hand of our father for you. He endured it for me, you and us.

Even though his public ministry had to end we continue it by walking in the steps he has laid out generations ago. And as you walk in those footsteps it is okay to not to know the answer just give it over to the Messiah. Bring your brokenness, your stuff that has been weighing you down, the doubt that has slowly crept into your silos, the unanswered questions and your burdens to the cross because Jesus is the Messiah, the lord, and the savior. 

So, I leave you with this question:

Who is Jesus to you?

To the Biblical people he was John the Baptist, Elijah or a prophet

To Peter, he was the Messiah

Who is Jesus to you?

What image do you use to reflect on who he is?

What footsteps are you following and what teachings are you using to encounter ALL your siblings in Christ.

Who is Jesus to you when you leave this place and go out in the world?

Identity him, pick up your cross and follow him.

Amen!!!

By: Ralen Robinson 

Email: vicarrobinson@lc-hc.org