The Third Way of Discipleship 2nd Sunday of Lent (B) Livingston United Methodist Church
Mark 8 And Jesus begins to teach them that it is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders + priests + scribes and to be killed and after three days to rise again Gospel of Mark = part 1 + part 2 Part 1 Galilee / who is this??? Answer = You are the Christ
Part 2 Do we understand? What kind of Messiah? How do we follow him? Messiah as king and/or general How we normally understand power We are the disciples Mean well? Wrong for right reasons?
What is the problem Peter pulls Jesus aside + rebukes him Who is in charge??? Who decides what it means to be Messiah? It is necessary… it is God’s plan that Son of Man must suffer + be rejected + killed + and rise again
How Jesus responds (1) Get away behind me (2) Satan We follow Jesus (2) Satan Temptation Messiah can avoid suffering + death (3) Thinking human not divine things Trying to defend God (!) Do we put ourselves in authority over God?
Way of discipleship Jesus summons the crowd Includes us Explains way of discipleship Part 1 = Galilee… who is this? Part 2 = Jerusalem… Messiah? Discipleship? Sends disciples to heal and preach Whoever wants to follow me must (1) deny himself (2) pick up cross (3) follow me
The third way We do not seek suffering Discipleship will involve suffering World in rebellion against God Will experience what Christ did Demands of gospel do not match demands of society (Pheme Perkins) “Somehow devout Christians grasp Jesus of miracles and miss word of the cross”