Mark 8:22-30 Sermon by the Revd Karl Przywala - Part 2 Jesus now turns the spotlight directly on the disciples. Verse 29: “‘But what about you?’ he asked, ‘Whom do you say I am?’” It’s the same question that Jesus directs at us. And we must answer it for ourselves, not on the basis of the opinions of others. “Whom do you say I am?” Peter gives his answer. Wonderful, impetuous Peter who, I’m afraid, so often gets it wrong, this time gets it right: “Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ.’” What does it mean to say that Jesus is the Christ? It’s the same word as Messiah, one is Greek the other Hebrew. The Messiah or Christ was the one whom the Jews were waiting for. He was God’s anointed one. It’s akin to Holy One of God, Son of the Most High God – the evil spirits got it right. The Messiah was to be the go-between between God and his people: the mediator. He would rule forever and those who accepted his reign would be brought into God’s family forever. To believe in the Messiah, is to believe that God saves his people, he forgives their sins, God calls his people to himself through the Messiah. That’s why confessing Jesus as the Christ is at the heart of being a Christian, as the name suggests. To be a Christian is to say, ‘I believe that Jesus is the Christ’. If you don’t believe that, then it doesn’t make much sense being a Christian. It would make more sense in that case to follow the Jewish religion. Most Jews are still waiting for the coming of the Messiah on the basis that Jesus wasn’t the Christ. Unfortunately, that also means that you’re stuck under the Old Testament law approach to religion – being aware of your failure to keep God’s law but without the love and forgiveness that Jesus is able to offer us as the Christ. Jesus being the Christ is such good news, we might find ourselves wondering why more people don’t embrace that belief, indeed, why everyone doesn’t. Remember what Jesus said in last week’s reading. Verse 17: “‘Do you not yet see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?’” To have a hard heart is to be unable to accept a spiritual truth. It’s like ground that is baked so hard that water can’t penetrate. And people can be spiritually blind. That’s why Mark places the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida immediately before Peter’s confession of Christ. This was an actual physical healing – I don’t want to take away from that. But Mark’s telling of this miracle gives us more. People who are spiritually blind can have their eyes opened by God. The things that prevent them from seeing the truth about Jesus are what he referred to in verse 15 as “the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” Yeast is the Bible’s way of referring to corruption – the sin that separates us from God. Jesus warns us to “be careful” of this. When faced with the Pharisees, Jesus “sighed deeply”. He does so, because he’s not going to force himself on anyone – they have to be willing to accept him. The two stage healing of the blind man is an important part of this. Verse 23, “Jesus asked [the man], ‘Do you see anything?’ He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around.” The man’s healing was gradual. It took more than one go. And that’s what it can be like with people’s coming to faith in Jesus. It may not happen immediately, but over time. Verse 25: “Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” Just as the man came to see clearly, people who have a distorted picture of Jesus can have their eyes opened and see him clearly for who he is: “You are the Christ”. God plays a part in this, just as Jesus did in healing the blind man. But people’s hearts also need to be softened, to be receptive. A hard heart is unable to accept Jesus for whom he is: the Christ. To soften one’s heart is to be careful, to watch out for the yeast – the corruption – of the Pharisees and that of Herod: the sin that separates us from God. This is something of which we need to be aware. The Christian path is not always an easy one to travel. There are likely to be wobbles, even what the Bible refers to as “backsliding”. Peter found this out. Immediately after getting it right and confessing Jesus as the Christ, Peter was to get it terribly wrong, earning the rebuke from Jesus, “Get behind me, Satan”, verse 33. He was later to deny even knowing Jesus: “I don’t know this man you’re talking about”, chapter 14, verse 71. The way we live our lives as Christians is important for us in our relation with God. We need to be aware of this for the sake of ourselves. But also for the sake of others, to whom we seek to witness what it means to say of Jesus, “You are the Christ”. We are to do as Peter did, confessing with our mouth that Jesus is the Christ – he is our Lord and Saviour. And we help others to hear this by the way that we live our lives as those who see Jesus clearly for whom he is. In this way we can help with softening the hearts of others. So that they too, perhaps after a period of time, may come to see Jesus clearly for whom he is and may join Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ”. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 08:34:57 +0000
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