A little boy was asked by a Sunday school teacher to draw a picture of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus
in the midst of their flight into Egypt.
They were studying Matthew 2 verse 13,
where the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to flee with his family
from the murderous clutches of King Herod.
And so this little boy put his best evidence into drawing a picture of an aeroplane.
And when his teacher asked him, what have you done?
He said, well, that's the flight to Egypt.
And he pointed to the middle of the plane and said, can't you see?
There's Joseph, there's Mary, there's the baby Jesus.
And the teacher said, well, who's that?
Pointing at the front of the aeroplane in the cockpit, a little figure that was drawn there.
The little boy glanced at her in a quizzical look, thinking, you're the Sunday school teacher.
How could you be so ignorant?
And he said, really?
That's Pontius the pilot, of course.
Of course.
It's so easy to be familiar with bits of the Christian faith and yet to totally misunderstand
what it's about.
In fact, there are millions of people in this country who have rejected the Christian faith.
They've got little bits of it, but have rejected the Christian faith for what is nothing more
than a pale imitation of the Christian faith.
And so Mark's gospel, as we've been going through in the last number of weeks, is that he does
not want us to be vague about the Christian faith at all.
Above all, he wants us to get Jesus' identity right and his mission right.
And for us to get those things right totally changes our view of this world and purpose and meaning
and everything else.
And so he longs for us to get an accurate picture of who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do.
And so Mark 8 is the pivotal chapter in this gospel.
It is the climax of the first act in which the disciples finally begin to see the true identity of Jesus.
And we see that just before this passage which is in front of us here in the early section of Mark 8.
And from here on in, all events move towards Jerusalem.
The betrayal, the whipping post, and the bloody cross.
And so in this few verses in front of us this morning, Jesus says two things.
He says, firstly, I am.
Peter, you're right.
I am the king.
I'm the king who goes to the cross.
And secondly, he says, if you want to follow me, you've got to come to the cross too.
So firstly, verse 29, Peter answers the big question of the first half of Mark's gospel.
Who is this Jesus?
Jesus.
And Peter declares, you are the Christ.
He's using a word that literally means you are the anointed one.
The anointed one.
The Messiah.
The king to end all kings.
The king who will put everything right.
And when Jesus, sorry, when Peter says that, when he makes that declaration, Jesus accepts it.
Doesn't question Peter at all.
He accepts it.
And then the very next thing that comes out of his mouth, they, Peter, the disciples, find it appalling.
It is shocking.
Take a look at verse 31 with me.
He then began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teacher of the law, and that he must be killed.
And after three days rise again.
He spoke plainly about this.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
He says, the son of man must suffer.
Now, when we read the son of man in Mark's gospel, we automatically think that, well, as opposed to him calling himself the son of God, he's affirming at this point his humanity, not just his divinity.
But what he's doing here in this moment is that Jesus picks up the title of son of man from the passage we just read from Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, the Old Testament.
There in Daniel 7, the son of man is a divine messianic figure who comes with the angels to put everything right.
And yet what Jesus does here, he picks up that image from Daniel 7 and he adds something.
He says, this son of man must suffer.
And this is the first time in the history of Israel that anyone had ever connected the Messiah, the Christ, with suffering.
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament about the mysterious servant of the Lord who suffers.
But nobody before Jesus has ever connected those prophecies with the hope of the Messiah.
The notion of the Messiah's suffering makes no sense at all to the disciples.
You see, the Messiah was meant to defeat evil and injustice and make everything right in the world.
That's what they were looking forward to for centuries.
So how could the Messiah do all of that by suffering and dying?
But Jesus is emphatic here.
He uses the word must.
He's planning to die.
He's not merely predicting that he will die.
He is planning to die.
This is a voluntary act on his behalf.
He must die.
And so at this point, Peter is offended.
This is the one thing for Jesus to say that, you know, sorry, it's one thing for Jesus to say that he will fight and be defeated.
It's another thing for him to say that the reason I came was to die.
I came to die.
And the moment Jesus says this, verse 32 says that Peter rebukes him.
This is the word that's used elsewhere in the first section of Mark for what Jesus does with the demons.
Peter is condemning Jesus in the strongest possible terms.
So what has got Peter so worked up?
He's just declared Jesus the Messiah.
So what's got him so worked up?
Well, the reality is for Peter, ever since he could crawl, he was told the Messiah would come.
The Messiah would come and defeat evil and injustice and ascend the throne.
And Jesus says that he is the Messiah, the king, to end all kings, but he has come not to live and to rule, but in fact to surrender and die.
Jesus has come not to take power, but to lose it.
He's come not to rule, but to serve.
And that is how he is going to defeat evil and put everything right.
Jesus says he must suffer, not that he would suffer.
And the word must is so essential in these verses that it's used twice.
The son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,
and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
And so what that means is in those sentences, the word must controls the whole sentence.
It controls the whole sentence in such a way that everything that's listed there is an absolute necessity.
Jesus must suffer.
Jesus must be rejected by the authorities.
Jesus must be killed.
Jesus must be resurrected.
And all of those musts have to happen for people to be saved and for the world to be renewed.
So let me just look at a couple of them very briefly.
There's a personal necessity for Jesus' death.
That is, we need Jesus to die.
That is, that's the personal necessity of it.
We all know the difference between false and true love or fake and authentic love.
That's a reality for everyone.
In false love, our aim is to use another person to fulfill our sense of happiness.
That's what happens with false love.
That is, our love at that point is conditional.
It is only given when the other person is affirming us and meeting our needs.
The moment they stop affirming us and meeting our needs, that's when our false love turns into more of an aggression towards them,
which operates in most marriages and relationships.
False love, therefore, will never allow itself to be vulnerable.
You always have to hold something back in case you need to cut your losses and run.
And the aim of true love is, in fact, to spend yourself and use yourself for the happiness of the other
because your joy is wrapped up in their joy.
That's true love.
And this love, true love, is unconditional.
You give it whether your needs are being met or not.
And it's radically vulnerable.
You spend everything.
You hold nothing back.
You give it all away.
And the problem is that there's not a single person on the face of this earth
who's actually fully capable of giving true love.
Not a single individual.
We desperately need it.
Every single one of us wants it and needs it.
But none of us are capable of giving it.
That just screws everything up.
Not that we can't give any kind of true love,
but nobody is fully capable of giving true love.
All of our love towards other people is somewhat fake and flawed.
So what are we going to do?
We need to be loved like we need oxygen or water.
We cannot live without love.
And unfortunately, the result is a kind of mercenary nature to our love.
We invest our love where we get good return of personal affirmation,
where we get love back.
Therefore, our love is always conditional and it's non-vulnerable.
And obviously, there are some people who are more able to love than others,
but nobody can give anyone else, nobody can give anyone else,
the kind or the amount of love that they are starving for.
We are all the same, really, groping for true love
and incapable of giving it.
What every one of us needs is for someone to love us
who doesn't need us to love them.
We need someone to love us
who doesn't need us at all, in fact.
Someone who loves us radically, unconditionally, vulnerably.
And that person is Jesus.
We've just celebrated, remembered this last weekend at Easter.
You might remember an earlier message in this series,
and I'll forgive you if you don't,
where I talked about God being three persons in one.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
And I mentioned that the very essence of God,
before anything was made,
the very essence of God,
is self-giving, mutual love relationship.
God existed in unconditional love,
for everlasting to everlasting.
Within himself, God has forever had all the love,
all the fulfillment, and all the joy
that he could possibly want.
And so Jesus doesn't need us
in order to extract more love for himself.
He is already filled up.
He lacks nothing at all.
And the only way we can get true love
is from someone who's already
entirely filled up with love.
Let me read to you one person's testimony
on the difference Jesus' love makes to their life now.
She wrote,
A major issue in my life has been people-pleasing.
I needed approval.
To be liked, admired, accepted.
But for the first time,
I was able to see how important it was
that I identified with Jesus.
His love towards me
has enabled me to set up
emotional boundaries with people
that I never could have before.
This has enabled me
to love my friends and my family
for who they are
and not seek more from them.
Because I find whatever is lacking
in me
in Jesus.
It's been a huge relief
to finally feel free enough
to love people
and know that in Jesus
I am safe and protected.
You see,
the security of Jesus' love
enables her
to need less
and to love more.
True love
actually creates
more true love.
It's self-perpetuating.
It's a self-perpetuating motion.
True love
actually creates
more true love.
It makes more of itself
as it goes along
from one person
to the next person
to the next person.
That's what true love does.
And so Jesus must die.
He must love us
by giving himself for us.
For God so loved the world
that he gave his only son.
He must die
because without it
this world
has got nothing
to break
the destructive cycle
of manipulative
conditional
non-vulnerable
love
where we
seek to extract it
from others.
But there's also
a legal necessity
for Jesus' death.
Jesus must also die
because it's not just
a personal necessity
and a relational necessity
it's a legal necessity
for his death.
When someone
does wrong to you
by trying to extract
love from you
for instance
what happens
in that moment
is a debt
against that person
has accumulated.
It's established.
A debt's established.
And it could be
an economic debt
for instance
if someone came
and took my iPad
and you know
ran away with it
you would owe
well not technically me
you would owe
St. Paul's Chatswood
approximately
I don't know
what these things are worth
seven, eight, nine hundred dollars
I've got no idea
whatever they're worth
and there's two options
in that moment.
I would either say
with the permission
of the wardens
that will be
nine hundred dollars
please
or
I say
I forgive you
don't worry about it
there's only two options
either
give me the money
or
I forgive you
now in the first case
you pay the debt
you hand over the money
in the second case
I pay the debt
or we collectively
pay the debt
you see
the value
of the iPad
doesn't just
disappear
it doesn't just go
it still exists
and the value
of the iPad
doesn't disappear
either
I have to pay
for a new one
or
I have to pay
for a new one
by not buying
a new one
and going back
to paper and pen
either way
I have to pay
for something
it's either
go
and if I
if I just say
forgive you
I've still got
a debt
that needs
to be paid
so I have to go
and either
buy another iPad
or I have to
insert to
paper and pen
either way
there's still a debt
that has to be paid
the debt
has to be
absorbed
in some way
and this
happens at
every level
of our
interpersonal
relationships
and society
if someone
robs us
of an opportunity
or of our
happiness
or of our
reputation
or of something
else
it creates
a sense
of relational
debt
justice
has been
violated
and a debt
has been
accrued
and there are
only two choices
in that moment
you can make
them pay
their debt
by destroying
their opportunities
by ruining
their reputation
by stealing
something of
their happiness
you can hope
that they suffer
potentially even
pray that they
suffer
maybe ensure
that they do
suffer
there's a
personal toll
to this
when you
making them
pay off
their personal
debt to you
by suffering
what happens
is
you become
like them
that's where
it doesn't win
that's where
it doesn't work
the moment
you
reciprocate
like for like
you become
like them
you become
harder
you become
colder
and
evil
wins
and the
only alternative
is to forgive
but that's
really hard
it is
agony
to
refrain
from
vengeance
and to
forgive
instead
it is
agony
because
instead
of
extracting
payment
for the
debt
you're
choosing
to
absorb
the
debt
you're
absorbing
the
cost
you're
not
trying
to get
your
reputation
back
by tearing
down
their
reputation
true
forgiveness
always
requires
suffering
there is
no sense
of forgiveness
without
suffering
debt
never just
vanishes
either
you pay
either you
pay
or they
pay
it doesn't
just vanish
but here's the
irony
only if you
pay the
price of
forgiveness
only if you
choose to
absorb
the debt
only if you
choose to
go the path
of suffering
is there
any chance
of wrong
being put
right
it's the
only way
it's the
only way
of anything
being resolved
only when
we have
refrained
from vengeance
and paid
the cost
of forgiveness
in our
hearts
will we
ever get
a perpetrator
to listen
to us
in a way
that they
will see
their error
and hopefully
for the
relationship
to be
restored
and even
if they
won't
listen
and don't
listen
the forgiveness
in our
heart
means
that the
cycle
of further
reprisals
is finally
broken
and so
it
should come
as no
surprise
whatsoever
that God
would say
the only
way I can
forgive the
sins of
the human
race
is to
suffer
either
you have
to pay
the debt
or I
have to
pay the
debt
either
way
it's
suffering
your
suffering
or mine
sin
always
requires
a penalty
to be
paid
guilt
and shame
cannot be
dealt
with
unless
someone
pays
and the
only way
God
can
pardon
us
and forgive
us
and not
judge
us
is to
go to
the cross
in our
place
and to
pay the
debt
for us
to absorb
it
himself
for us
his love
is truly
unconditional
and so
Jesus says
here
I
must
suffer
he's
saying
that he
is the
king
the king
to end
all kings
but
not like
any other
king
you've
ever
imagined
this is
the only
king
who rules
with mercy
and unconditional
love
now he's
the king
who must
die
but he
doesn't
stop there
verse 34
he keeps
reading
he keeps
speaking
and we
read from
verse 34
then he
called
the crowd
to him
along
with his
disciples
and said
whoever
wants to
be my
disciple
must
deny
themselves
take up
their cross
and follow
me
whoever
wants to
save
their life
will lose
it
but
whoever
wants to
whoever
loses
their life
for me
and for
the gospel
will save
it
what good
is it
for someone
to gain
the whole
world
and yet
forfeit
their soul
or what
can anyone
give in
exchange
for their
soul
and so
what Jesus
is saying
here
is
you know
guys
I'm not
just a
king on
a cross
but he
says that
if you
want to
follow me
the king
you too
must go
to the
cross
what does
it mean
to lose
our life
of the
gospel
in order
to save
it
the word
translated
life
verse 35
there's a
word
that's
translated
life
it's a
word
that
literally
means
our
identity
our
personality
our
selfhood
our
sense
of
self
it's
the
things
if you
like
that
make
you
distinctly
you
so
Jesus
isn't
saying
that you
need
to lose
yourself
of being
you
Jesus
is not
saying
that
you
don't
need
to
lose
your
sense
of
being
you
that's
the
teaching
of some
eastern
philosophy
and if
he
meant
that
then
he
would
have
said
you
must
lose
yourself
in order
to lose
yourself
that's
not what
he says
what he's
saying
is
that you
don't
build
your
identity
on
gaining
things
in this
world
he says
that in
verse 36
what good
is it
for someone
to gain
the whole
world
and yet
forfeit
their
soul
every
single
culture
whatever
culture
you come
back
come
from
every
single
culture
points
to
certain
things
and
says
if
you
gain
those
things
if
you
acquire
those
things
or
if
you
achieve
those
things
then
you
will
know
that
you
are
really
valuable
you're
really
someone
that
your
identity
is
attached
to
those
cultural
markers
if
you
like
so
traditional
cultures
would
say
that you
have
no
sense
of
self
as
an
individual
unless
you
gain
the
respect
and
the
legacy
of
family
and
children
individualistic
cultures
are
different
we
say
you're
a
nobody
unless
you've
got a
fulfilling
career
that
brings
you
lots
of
money
reputation
and
status
individual
status
is
what
matters
now
either
culture
ultimately
says
the same
thing
they're
saying
that
your
identity
of
who
you
are
is
performance
based
is
achievement
based
and
Jesus
says
no
they're
both
wrong
he
says
if
you
gain
the
whole
world
you
can
gain
the
whole
world
and
it
won't
be
enough
you
can
be
the
most
powerful
famous
person
in the
world
you
can
come
from
the
best
lineage
and
everyone
knows
it
but
it
won't
be
enough
to
fill
you
up
no
matter
how
many
of
these
things
you
gain
it's
never
going
to
be
enough
to
make
sure
you
know
who
you
are
and
so
if
you
build
your
identity
on
the
fact
that
someone
loves
you
or
that
you've
got
a
good
name
or
a
good
career
what
happens
when
those
things
are
gone
what
happens
when
they
go
your
sense
of
self
vanishes
that's
what
happens
so
Jesus
did
not
come
to
try
and
convince
us
to
shift
from
one
performance
based
identity
to
another
performance
based
identity
he
wants
us
to
go
in
an
entirely
different
way
he
wants
us
to
lose
the
old
self
the
old
identity
and base
our
sense
of
worth
and
value
and
self
on
him
and
the
gospel
that
we
are
much
loved
children
of
the
father
did
you
notice
verse
35
forever
wants
to
save
their
life
will
lose
it
but
whoever
loses
their
life
for
me
and
for
the
gospel
will
save
it
he's
quite
specific
there
in
that
last
sentence
the
application
we
cannot
just
go
oh
okay
so
what
I
need
to
do
now
is
I
need
to
build
my
life
on
God
so
what
I
need
is
a bit
of
religion
in
here
I
need
a bit
of
extra
stuff
a bit
of
religion
and
that's
just
way
too
general
he
calls
us
to
lose
our
life
for
the
gospel
Jesus
went
to the
cross
and on
the
cross
he
lost
his
identity
so
to
speak
the
father
turns
his
face
away
so
that
we
can
have
one
so
that
we
can
be
called
home
into
the
father's
house
and
once
we
see
the
son
of
God
loving
us
like
that
we
begin
to get
a
strength
and
assurance
and
identity
that
sets
us
free
to break
the cycle
of evil
perpetuating
evil
and
so
Peter
here
is
furious
with
Jesus
when
he
hears
Jesus
is
going
to
suffer
he's
furious
because
this
is
not
part
of
Peter's
agenda
this
is
not
the
Messiah
that
he
was
expecting
at
all
this
is
not
what
he
wanted
this
is
not
why
I've
come
to
follow
you
Jesus
Peter's
agenda
led
from
strength
to
strength
and
it
didn't
include
suffering
and
if
we
relate
to
Jesus
in
exactly
the
same
way
we
have
our
agenda
we
have
our
goals
we
have
our
vision
for
our
lives
and
we
think
it's
great
if
we
get
also
on
top
of
that
we
get
Jesus
on
our
side
if
we
have
our
end
of
what
we
expect
and
what
we
want
to
achieve
in
life
and
we
just
add
Jesus
to
that
add
God
to
it
in
a
religious
sense
then
we
are
using
him
but
if
Jesus
is the
king
to
end
all
kings
then
he
is
never
a
means
for us
to
get
to
our
end
king
and
he
go
to
with a, you know, I'll obey you, Jesus, and follow you, Jesus, F.
We're actually not seeing him as the king to end all kings.
We're not seeing him for what Peter saw him was in that moment as the Messiah.
We need to see this king as the king on the cross.
And if he was simply a king on a throne,
it's quite possible that we would obey him because we have to obey him.
If we just see him as a king on a throne,
at that point he becomes the divine ogre and we just have to obey him.
And that's called legalism.
External physical constraints of my life, but not a heart that worships God.
He is the king who went to the cross for us,
and therefore we can submit to him out of love and trust.
He is good and he is merciful.
And instead of negotiating, we just simply say,
Lord, whatever you ask, I will do.
And whatever you send, I will accept.
Whatever you ask, I will do.
And whatever you send, I will accept.
If he has utterly given himself to us,
how can we not give ourselves utterly to him?
Taking up our cross means dying to self-determination.
It means dying to self-control over our lives,
dying to using him for our own agenda
so that he might meet our needs.
So in closing, I've got a quote here from C.S. Lewis
from his book, Mere Christianity.
In fact, these are the very last words of his book, Mere Christianity.
His final conclusion of what it means to follow this king.
Lewis writes,
Let's pray.
As the music team come up,
we are going to sing in such a way,
sing a prayer of committal and confession,
in fact,
as we seek to surrender all to Christ.
Gracious Father,
we thank you for your word
and your word is hard.
And yet, Lord,
it is life-shaping.
The paradox of,
it's just astounding to surrender our life
and yet to gain it,
to give it,
and yet to win.
Lord, how is it possible
that the ones who are the losers
are the ones who win forever?
Turn our values on their head.
Help us to see with clarity
the cultural assumptions that we work with
that we just assume are just normal.
Help us to see that you have come
and you have not called us
just to refine a little bit
of our way of life,
but to totally overturn it.
Father, help us to see
that you are not just a king on a throne,
but that you're the king on the throne
that went via the cross,
that you love us,
that you gave everything for us,
and help us to give everything to you.
Amen.