Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
As we work our
way through the Lenten season we are also working our way to the remembrance of
Jesus’ suffering and death. And, really, this is an important focus in the
Gospels. For instance, the Gospel of Mark, which we are primarily reading from
this year, devotes over a third of the book to the events of the last week of
Jesus’ life. The other Gospels are similar. This is because this is the core of
Jesus’ ministry – He died and rose for us. There were times earlier in Jesus’
ministry that He pointed ahead and said that He would suffer, die, and rise
again. Today’s reading is the first of those events and it ties Jesus’
suffering, death, and resurrection to Jesus’ identity as the Christ.
The Gospel
reading for the 2nd Sunday of Lent is Mark 8:27-38, and I will be
reading from the ESV.
The Reading:
Mark 8:27-38
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the
villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who
do people say that I am?" 28 And they told him, "John the
Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." 29
And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered
him, "You are the Christ." 30 And he strictly charged them
to tell no one about him.
31 And he
began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected
by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after
three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his
disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are
not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
34 And
calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone
would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man
to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man
give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of
my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man
also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels."
Comments
Often when we
read this lesson we focus on the Q & A with Jesus and the disciples. “Who
do people say that I am?” “Who do you say that I am?” These are important
topics, because even today people misunderstand who Jesus is – they say He is
something other than what He actually is. And even we who believe that Jesus is
the Christ – the Messiah, the Savior – sometimes get a little messed up on what
that means. Like Peter, who rebuked Jesus for saying that He would suffer, die,
and rise, we begin to tell Jesus what He can or can’t do, what He will or won’t
do.
We should notice
that for Jesus his identity as the Christ is wrapped up with rejection, being
killed, and rising from the dead. The following verses show us that those
events have something to do with our souls. “What does it profit a man to gain
the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Jesus asks. There is also a hint here
that we should be ready for rejection, suffering, and death, just as Jesus was.
He calls us to take up our crosses to follow him. Crosses are tools used to
kill people. It is better to lose this life for Jesus’ sake, than to lose the
life He offers through His resurrection.
Jesus’ express
purpose was to suffer and die for us. Thanks be to God that He was not deterred
from that mission! He was handed over, was rejected, and was killed. Then, most
gloriously, He rose from the dead. The sinless Christ was vindicated and
overcame rejection and death and won eternal life for all who are not ashamed
of Him and His words.
It is our express
purpose to not be ashamed of Jesus and His words, and to willingly face
rejection and die for His sake so that we can join Him in a resurrection like
His.
Meditate on this
today: For Jesus to be the Christ meant that He would be rejected, be killed
and rise again. For us to be Christ’s followers – Christians – we should expect
much the same as we take up our cross to follow Him unashamedly into rejection,
death, and eventually new life. So what will it look like for you to take up
your cross and follow Jesus today?
Prayers
O God, You see
that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all
adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may
assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Joel 2:13 - Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents
over disaster. (Joel 2:13 ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
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favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
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God bless you!
Comments