Mark 10:32-34 * February 6, 2008 * Ash Wednesday * Pastor Pagels

In the name of the One who died so that we might live, dear friends:

The Via Dolorosa (Latin for the “Way of Grief” or the “Way of Sorrows”) is the name of a famous street in the Old City of Jerusalem. Tradition has it that this road was the path that Jesus walked on the way to Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, the place where he was crucified.

When I visited Jerusalem in 1999 I had every intention of walking the Via Dolorosa. I wanted to go where Jesus had been. I wanted to walk where Jesus had walked. I wanted to visit the places of Jesus’ passion, not just read about them. I wanted to see the place where Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the word.

And then the tour guide ruined everything. He told our group that the Via Dolorosa was only a “traditional” route. Because Jerusalem had been destroyed and rebuilt several times since the time of Christ it was very unlikely that we were walking where Jesus had walked. In fact, most of first century Jerusalem was now buried several feet below street level.

Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I crushed? No. It would have been nice to follow in Jesus’ actual footsteps, but my faith didn’t depend on it. My faith depends on what Jesus has done for me (not on a personal religious pilgrimage), and the Savior’s journey began long before he walked the original Way of Sorrows.

You could make the case that it began in the Garden of Eden, when God promised to send the seed of the woman to crush the serpent’s head. But you could also say that the journey began in Galilee, where Jesus predicted his suffering and death and resurrection. This is where our Lenten journey begins. On this Ash Wednesday we travel with our Savior on the first leg of a six week journey that will eventually lead to the cross. And as we travel…

CROSSROAD ONE – FROM GALILEE TO JUDEA

I. We will see Jesus as leader

II. We will see Jesus as teacher

III. We will see Jesus as Savior

Someone once said that a real leader is willing to face the music even if he doesn’t like the tune. If you think about it, that is pretty good description of Jesus. He knew who was waiting for him in Jerusalem. He knew what was waiting for him in Jerusalem. He could see the Roman soldiers hammering the spikes into his hands. He could hear the shouts and jeers of his enemies and the deafening silence of those who claimed to be his friends.

And still Jesus was willing to face the music. He wasn’t swept up with the crowds of Jewish pilgrims who were on their way to celebrate the Passover. No one was dragging him along. No one was pushing him from behind. In spite of what he knew, in spite of what he knew he would endure, Mark reports that Jesus was leading the way.

When the disciples saw this, they were astonished. They didn’t know everything Jesus knew. They didn’t know what was going to happen in Jerusalem, but they were able to make an educated guess. Jesus was knowingly entering enemy territory. Jesus was willingly (almost eagerly) going into a death trap. And they couldn’t figure out why. Why was Jesus placing himself in danger? Why didn’t he stay away? Why didn’t he keep himself out of harm’s way?

The people who were following Jesus didn’t know him like the disciples did, but even they could sense the danger in the air. We are told that they were afraid. Afraid for Jesus? Afraid for the Twelve? Afraid for their own lives? Maybe all of the above.

The time is different. The place is different. The circumstances are different, but followers of Jesus are basically the same. We don’t always understand God. We don’t always understand what God does or why he does it. We get wrapped up in our problems and our struggles and our fears and our noses get closer and closer to the ground.

And then we hear a voice. We look up and see Jesus. He takes us by hand. He says: “Don’t be afraid.” He says: “Follow me. I will lead you through the valley of the shadow of death. I will protect you from all harm and danger. I will take you to the promised land.”

Jesus was a great leader. He led by example, but he didn’t stop there. For Jesus, the long road from Galilee to Judea was more than a journey. It was an opportunity. The road became his classroom, and he became the teacher.

The text continues: “Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him” (32b). This is actually the third time in Mark’s gospel where Jesus told his disciples about his upcoming suffering and death (see 8:31 & 9:31). And who knows how many more of these conversations there were that are not recorded in the pages of Scripture?

What is the significance of this repetition? What is the significance of that little word, “again?” It shows us how patient Jesus was. He taught his disciples, but they didn’t get it. He repeated the lesson, but they still didn’t get it.

How many teachers would have given up on the disciples? How many teachers would have thrown up their hands in despair? But not Jesus. Jesus was patient with these men because he loved them. And so he patiently taught them one more time to prepare them for what was about to happen to him…and to them.

Jesus said: “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him” (33,34a).

Sometimes I wonder if the disciples didn’t comprehend what Jesus was saying because there was a part of them that didn’t want to believe it. Jesus was their teacher, but he was also their friend. And they didn’t want their friend to be humiliated. They didn’t want their friend to get hurt. And they certainly didn’t want their friend to die.

Do you think that it was easy for Jesus to have this conversation? Do you think that he enjoyed going over the graphic details of his pain and suffering again and again? He didn’t like talking about it any more than his disciples did, but he did it. Not to confuse the disciples. Not to confound the disciples. But to comfort them.

After all of his predictions came true, after his crucifixion and his resurrection, the disciples remembered Jesus’ words. And then they understood. They understood that God was in control. They understood that God’s plan had been fulfilled. They understood how much Jesus loved them.

Jesus’ love for his disciples is something that will never change, but we don’t always get it either. We know the story well enough. We know how Jesus was mocked and ridiculed. We know that Jesus condemned and crucified, but there is a part of us that would like to forget why.

Why did Jesus have to suffer? Why was he flogged? Why was he brutally murdered? God’s law tells us what we don’t want to hear. God’s law lets us in on a dirty, little secret: “It was because of you. Jesus suffered and died because of you. Your sins hurt him far more than the lashes that laced his back. Your sins weighed on him more heavily than the cross he was forced to bear.

The truth hurts, but we need to hear it. Unless we accept our sin for what it is (rebellion against God), unless we see ourselves for what we are (helpless, hopeless sinners), we will never get it. But when we recognize our sin, when we repent of our sin, then everything becomes clear. Then the guilt disappears. Then Jesus appears to us and says: “I am your Savior.”

Picture two heavyweights in a boxing ring, and one of the boxers appears to have the upper hand. He is pounding his opponent with blows to the body. It looks like it will only be a matter of time before the fight is over. The losing fighter falls to the canvas. Even if he is able to get up, he can’t last much longer.

And then something amazing happens, something almost miraculous. The bloodied boxer gets up and deals his opponent a decisive blow. He is knocked down. He doesn’t get up. He doesn’t even move. And the boxer no one gave a chance stands alone with his arms raised in victory.

This might sound like a scene from one or more of the Rocky movies, but it isn’t. It’s Jesus’ description of his upcoming passion. Jesus stood toe to toe with the devil, and the prince of darkness gave him everything he had. Jesus was betrayed, arrested, beaten, mocked, spit on and even killed. And when the Son of God died the devil and his demons began to celebrate.

But their celebration was premature because Jesus got up. He lifted himself up off the mat and dealt Satan a crushing blow when he rose from the dead. For us that victory is an accomplished fact. For the disciples it was a promise: “Three days later he will rise” (34b).

The resurrection of Jesus makes all the difference in the world. It means that the Son of Man is also the Son of God. It means that Satan is defeated. It means that our sins are forgiven. It means that Jesus was more than a martyr. He is our Savior. Because he lives we live. Because he lives we will forever.

When a person has a difficult choice to make, when a person has to make a decision that will have a significant impact on his life and the lives of others, we sometimes say that the person is at a crossroads. When Jesus embarked on a journey that would eventually lead to the cross, he was NOT at a crossroads. There was no hesitation. There was no indecision because the decision had already been made.

From the day he was born Jesus was on a divine mission. He came to do his Father’s will. He came to fulfill God’s master plan to save the world from sin. And in these six weeks of Lent we will see God’s plan unfold. We will see God’s love on display. And tonight as we travel the crossroad from Galilee to Judea we see Jesus, our fearless leader, our patient teacher, the world’s Savior. Amen.