21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must
go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests
and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be
raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never,
Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned
and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are
a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the
things of men.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If
anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow
me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life
will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his
soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Matthew 16:21-26, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today is Ash Wednesday. I believe it is safe to assume that we all know it’s the beginning of Lent. But did you know...
The original period of Lent was 40 hours? It was spent in fasting to commemorate the suffering of Christ. Then it became 30 days, then 36, and finally in the reign of Charlemagne about the year 800, 40 days, not including Sundays.
Did you know that the 40 days of Lent correspond to a number of 40-day periods mentioned in the Bible, most notably Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness?
Did you know that the date of Lent is determined by the date of Easter? The date of Easter, determined by the Council of Nicea in the year 325, is always the first Sunday after the full moon which happens upon or next after the 21st day of March.
Did you know that the earliest Lent can begin is February 5, something which last happened in 1818, and the latest it can start is March 10, which won’t happen again until the year 2038?
Did you know that Lent comes from on old English word for Spring, "lenten"?
Did you know that Ash Wednesday derives its name from the custom dating back to Old Testament times of wearing sackcloth and ashes as signs of grief and repentance, and that a ritual in some Christian churches is the "imposition of ashes" -- putting a smudge of ash on one’s forehead, and that the ashes come from the previous year’s burned Palm Sunday palms?
But, finally, do you know what else? These are interesting facts, but they are not what Lent is all about. Lent is all about Jesus. Lent is all about meditating on what Jesus did for us. And Lent is about reflecting upon our relationship with Jesus, in view of what He’s done.
And that’s what we’d like to do on this Ash Wednesday. Using as our overall Lenten theme, "Follow Jesus," tonight let us
FOLLOW JESUS… AS RESOLUTE FOLLOWERS
Turning to our text, we see how Jesus went forward with a dogged determination to finish what He started. From that time on (this is in reference to the disciple Peter’s bold and beautiful confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of God) Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Twice Jesus says the things He’s talking about must happen. He doesn’t say that they might happen or that they could happen; they must happen. And He knew exactly what this meant.
If He persisted in this plan it would mean, among other things, His closest friends forsaking Him... His own people rejecting Him... the spiritual leaders of the people mocking Him... the chief priests accusing Him of blasphemy... the Roman governor caving into political pressure and condemning Him... and finally Roman soldiers leading Him away and executing Him.
Forsakeness. Rejection. Mockery. Accusation. Condemnation. Execution. Not exactly a pleasure trip. Yet Jesus told His disciples that He must proceed. The Gospel writer Luke, in a parallel passage, puts it this way: "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem." My dictionary defines the word "resolutely" as "characterized by firmness or determination; pursuing a fixed purpose; unwavering." Some Bible translations convey a more literal meaning of the Greek words here and tell us that Jesus "set his face" toward Jerusalem. In other words, there was no turning back. Jesus was a man on a mission.
However, that’s not the way the disciples saw it. So we have Peter – good old speak-before-you-think Peter, old ready-fire-aim Peter – running some interference. Our text tells us that Peter actually began to rebuke Jesus. We can only imagine what he said. Probably told Jesus to quit with the morbid talk. Maybe told Jesus that this pronouncement was scaring the disciples. Undoubtedly he told Jesus that nothing bad was going to happen because he and the disciples would see to it. At any rate, Peter tries to break Jesus’ resolve.
But Jesus does not break His resolve. Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. He identifies Peter’s suggestion for what it is – Satanic and earthly.
Just the opposite of Himself, and in direct opposition to what He came to do. What He came to do Jesus spelled out succinctly and specifically in Mark 10:45: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus’ purpose was to finish what He had started. He began it in the cradle and now was inexorably marching to the conclusion of it in the crown of heaven. But before the crown there was a single obstacle. An obstacle not to be avoided or skirted around, but to be embraced. And that was the cross. So he resolutely goes forward to meet the cross.
And we follow Him because we know what the cross means for us. The cross means our redemption. The cross means our forgiveness. Upon that cross Jesus died as my substitute and yours, satisfactorily paying the full price for my sins and yours. When Jesus came off that cross and was buried in the tomb, so were all our sins. We are redeemed, restored, forgiven. We are in a right relationship with God. We are not the objects of His anger or displeasure, because we are His beloved children. And as His beloved children we are heirs of eternal life meaning we have a reservation in heaven that has no check out time.
And so we follow Him now with the same resolve He showed toward us when he followed the path to Calvary.
Well, what’s involved in being resolute followers of Jesus? Jesus tells us: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me willfind it.
Self-denial doesn’t mean equating Christianity with a life of forced poverty or planned joylessness. It means finding our joy in living for our Lord rather than giving in to the cult of self-absorption. It means understanding that when the First Commandment says, "You shall have no other gods before me," the chief rival god we all have to deal with is the one we look at in the mirror each day.
Jesus talks about taking up our cross. We sometimes talk about difficulties we endure as our "crosses to bear." And that can certainly be understood correctly. But the crosses Jesus talks about here are those which come as a direct result of our relationship with Him. And those crosses come in various shapes and forms, sometimes on a daily basis.
It may be the cross of ridicule or exclusion by others because we hold to our Christian principles. It may be the cross of loneliness when no one else around us seems to be troubled by violating God’s will. It may be the cross of doing the right thing when others – sometimes even our own fellow Christians – seemingly have no pangs of conscience in doing the wrong thing.
Jesus reminds us that cross-bearing is a part of discipleship. Jesus tells us to remember that before the crown comes the cross.
And, Jesus says, be resolute in these areas and the quest for meaning and significance will be over. So He offers us this paradox: Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. Meaning: True life – eternal in the future and fulfilled in the present – can only be found in knowing and living for Jesus Christ.
And that is why Lent is such a special time of the year. In a way Ash Wednesday is like New Year’s Eve. It’s the opportunity to get a fresh start, a second chance to "get it right."
Lent is our chance to slow down from lives that often seem spiraling out of control and concentrate on the spiritual. Luther suggested that Christians devote themselves to reading the Gospels during Lent. Not a bad idea. Especially if it’s been a while since we’ve spent time with our good friends Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Lent is our chance to become reflective and introspective. A time to take a spiritual inventory. A time for an honest self-evaluation of our life of discipleship. Where am I when it comes to properly understood self-denial? Where am I when it comes to willingly bearing my crosses? Do I see my Christianity as a duty to be perfunctorily performed, or as the core of my life to be joyously lived?
Which means Lent is also a time for repentance. A time for daily confession of our sins with the blessed knowledge that at the cross of Jesus Christ there is full and free absolution, as well as empowerment to live our lives to His glory.
In the words of the writer to the Hebrews, Lent is our time to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Followed by these words of Lenten encouragement regarding our personal cross bearing: "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
If we find that we have grown weary or lost heart, Lent is our time for spiritual refreshment and renewal.
Lent is our time to follow Jesus. To the cross and throughout our lives. So let us consciously follow Jesus now as he followed His path to Calvary for us some 20 centuries ago – resolutely and with dogged determination. Amen.