"Heaven Is For Losers"
31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” 34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
Fill in the blank. “___________ is for losers.” Someone who drives a BMW might say: “Fords are for losers.” A burly football player might say: “Soccer is for losers.” And a foodie might say: “Frozen pizza is for losers.” Even if those comments are offered in jest, they would still rankle wouldn’t they? No one wants to be thought of as a loser. That’s why we try to keep up with the latest fashions and technology, or at least do our best to fake that we are keeping up. But our sermon text today teaches that being a loser isn’t a bad thing. In fact it’s essential. That’s because heaven is for losers, and for losers only. That was Jesus’ surprising claim in our sermon text this morning. Let’s take a closer look at it.
Our text takes place just after the Apostle Peter had said of Jesus: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mathew 16:16). Peter and the other disciples had come to believe that Jesus was divine, but there was another lesson they still had to learn. They had to learn what it meant that Jesus was the Christ. That title tells us that Jesus was appointed for an important mission: to save the world from God’s anger over its sins. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to accomplish his mission like this: “…the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31).
We’re used to hearing how Jesus had to suffer and die to pay for sins, but this was the first time the disciples had heard Jesus speak so plainly about his upcoming death and they were shocked. They must have felt like the homeowner who seeks a quote to fix his leaky roof. Since it’s just one spot that leaks, the homeowner supposes that it won’t cost more than a few hundred dollars to patch up. But the quote he receives is for $20,000! Why? Because to properly fix the problem the rotten timbers and worn out shingles all need replacing.
Because the disciples did not yet really understand Jesus’ mission or how bad the problem of sin was, they didn’t suppose Jesus would have to go to such lengths – to suffer and die – to fix the problem. And so Peter tried to dissuade Jesus. There was no need for this loser talk. Suffer and die? No! That wasn’t the way for a king to think. But when Peter took Jesus aside to make this point, the savior rebuked him and said: “‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?’ ” (Mark 8:33–36)
By insisting there was no need for Jesus to suffer and die, Peter had unwittingly become one of Satan’s minions. At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Satan had offered the same temptation when he told Jesus that if he wanted to rule the world, he just had to bow down to him. There was no need for Jesus to suffer and die and in that way receive all glory and power as the God-man.
But Jesus didn’t even entertain Peter’s suggestion. Is that the way we deal with temptation? No. We often mull it over until we’ve convinced ourselves that to commit the particular sin is OK. And so we bad-mouth our classmate because we’ve concluded that they deserve it for being so mean. Or we ignore the obvious help our parents need around the house because, well, we’ve already put in long hours at school.
Not only does our text remind us to rebuke temptation immediately, like a tennis player rushing over to slap the ball back over to the other side of the net, our text also illustrates how temptation can come from well-meaning friends. Maybe it comes from the girlfriend who suggests that you move in together to cut down on living expenses. Or it comes from your spouse who suggests that you’ve been too focused on others lately and that you have to spend more time thinking of your own needs. These are the temptations that are the most dangerous because they come to us from those we trust. So be on your toes. Remain ready to reject temptation even when it comes from a trusted source.
But now what did Jesus mean when he said to Peter “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mark 8:34-35)? Our sermon theme is meant to answer that question. Heaven is for losers. What that means is that heaven is for those who have despaired of themselves, who know that God shouldn’t want to hang out with someone like them. And so heaven is for the pastor who trembles every time he thinks of the responsibility God has given him to feed his flock the bread of life. On one hand it’s such a simple task, but on the other it’s impossible to do without thoughts of pride or to go through the motions. Heaven is for the child who can’t figure out why she keeps dishonoring her parents by the curt responses she gives to their simple questions. Heaven is for all those who have lost pride in themselves and know that they daily and consistently fail God and the people around them.
While heaven isn’t for those who simply brush away those sins, as if they’re just bothersome flies, neither is it for those who despair over their sins and refuse to be comforted by Jesus’ promise of forgiveness. I realized this week that Jesus never said, “Take up my cross and follow me.” Jesus’ cross is different than ours. With his cross Jesus let himself be ground into nothing by God’s blades of righteous anger. He did that so we wouldn’t have to go through the same thing. In other words, there is no need to keep beating yourself up over your sins. Yes, confess them, be sorry for them, and stop living in them, but don’t continue to dwell on them as if God could never forgive you for what you have done. He did! That’s what Jesus accomplished at the cross. And he doesn’t ask us now to carry his cross. So put it down in thankful relief, just as you’d gratefully put down the snow shovel when you learn that a Bobcat has already been contracted to clear the snow!
Jesus doesn’t ask us to carry his cross, but he does say that we need to carry ours. We sometimes think that our cross is anything that is unpleasant, like cancer or lack of employment, but it isn’t. Taking up your cross means denying every desire to put yourself before others. It means pinching yourself whenever you say, “If I were in charge, I would set things right.” Maybe you would, but if God hasn’t put you in charge of the family, of your company, or of your church, then he’s put you in a position to support and encourage. If he has put you in charge, your cross then is to use your position to serve, not to see how much you can get others to serve you.
The world, on the other hand, wants power and idolizes those who have it. That’s why we’re fascinated by the annual list of the top ten wealthiest people and wish we could be on it. But did you catch Jesus’ warning in regard to such thoughts? He said, “What’s the point of gaining all the power and all the riches in this world if you end up losing an eternal life of happiness?” If a teacher said to you, “You can spend an hour in math class and have the rest of the day free to do what you want, or you can spend an hour doing what you want, but then have to sit in math class the rest of the day,” which would you choose? My apologies to all you math lovers out there but I would choose the one hour of pain as I wrestle with numbers in math class so that I can enjoy the rest of the day in freedom!
I’m not suggesting that following Jesus is a pain, like sitting through math class. It often feels painful as we daily take up our cross and deny our will so that we can serve others. But it’s the kind of “pain” a mother endures when she spends an afternoon baking favorites for her family. She will get tired, she will make a mess, but she’s happy to do it for the family she loves. It’s that kind of joyful service we will be happy to give others because Jesus continues to joyfully serve us.
Heaven is for losers. Aren’t you glad? After all, what do you have that God needs? You don’t have anything that isn’t tainted by sin. So despair of yourself and then deny yourself as you take up your cross daily. Let go of your “right” to be angry and brusque with others. Say no to the urge to put yourself first. And don’t make it your goal to fill your arms with the riches and accolades of this world. Sure, the world might think you’re a loser for acting like this, but that’s a good thing because heaven is for such losers. Amen.
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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission. Sermon contributed by Daniel Habben on Mar 1, 2015.
Today's lesson remind us to rebuke temptation immediately and how temptation can come from well-meaning friends.
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