February 10, 2006

THE CROSS AND THE CROWN

Mark 8:34-38

I want to talk today about “deep magic”. Esther Ruth and I recently went to see the film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ classic book: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In one of the scenes Aslan, the lion who represents Christ in the story, is about to die as a sacrifice for the traitorous actions of Edmund, one of the children. In the set up for this climactic event, there is a discussion of the “deep magic” of the kingdom of Narnia. It is a metaphor for the deep, fundamental, mysterious principles by which the spiritual world and the kingdom of God operates.

I want to discuss one of those principles of deep magic in my message this morning. Here it is: On the path of discipleship, the cross precedes the crown. This is one of the underlying, deep truths of the kingdom of God. It lies at the very heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. On the path of discipleship, the cross precedes the crown.

For the first 8 chapters of his book, Mark has been marshaling the evidence and the eye-witness accounts to support his basic thesis: That Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. In the passage we looked at last time, Jesus posed this question to his followers: “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered for them all when he said, “You are the Christ.”

Immediately upon hearing that bold declaration of faith, Jesus began to reveal the deep magic of his kingdom. On the path of discipleship, the cross precedes the crown. We find that this truth is first seen in Christ’s example. I know I am reviewing ground we covered two weeks ago, but it is important to set the context for today’s message. In verse 31, we read: He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this…

Clearly in Jesus’ own words, and we know in his own life as it was lived out in fulfillment of his prophecy, the cross preceded the crown. First there was suffering, rejection and death. There would be resurrection and a crown afterwards. But the cross must come first. Peter didn’t like this principle. In fact, as we saw last time, he began to rebuke Jesus for talking that way. But in response, Jesus rebuked him. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. You do not understand the deep magic of the things of God.

So he begins to expound on this deep magic, this fundamental principle. On the path of discipleship, the cross precedes the crown. Jesus demonstrates this in his own example, but it is also seen in Christ’s teaching. And this is where we want to focus in our message today. We read in the opening words of verse 34: Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: So we know that his audience included those who were already committed to him. But it also included the crowd: those who hadn’t made up their minds yet. They were potential disciples. To both groups he wanted to spell out the reality of being his followers; the deep magic of his kingdom.

Here it is in verse 34: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” In the original, the word for “come” and the word for “follow” are the same word. “If anyone wants to follow me, this is what it is going to cost. This is the deep magic of my kingdom. On the path of discipleship, the cross precedes the crown. A follower of mine must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

We have all heard these words. But what do they really mean? What did they mean to the disciples and the crowd that day when Jesus first spoke them? What did they mean to the Roman audience to whom Mark was writing his Gospel?

Let’s take the first phrase: he must deny himself. Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary on Mark, makes the comment: “Denying one’s self is not the same as self-denial.” It is not just denying one’s self certain of life’s pleasures. It is more than self-discipline or saying no to sensual desires. It is deeper and more fundamental than that. Strong’s Greek dictionary gives the meaning as “forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.”

Here are some additional phrases of explanation taken from different commentaries: “To renounce self – to cease to make self the object of one’s life and actions. God, not self must be the center of life. It means to turn away from the idolatry of self-centeredness and every attempt to orient one’s life by the dictates of self-interest.”

In an attempt to explain what Jesus meant by these words, let me describe a simple diagram to you, and then capture it in a phrase. The diagram is one that is used in the training materials of Campus Crusade for Christ and their witnessing tracts. In the diagram, the life of the unbeliever, the person without Christ, is described as a circle. At the center of the circle is a chair or throne. This throne represents the control center of the life. For the unbeliever, the letter S representing the Self is on the throne. Christ, represented by a cross, is outside the circle. They use another diagram to describe a Christian who has not yet discovered the deep magic of the kingdom. In this diagram, Christ is now inside the circle – but the Self is still on the throne. In the third diagram depicting the Christian who is pursuing the path of discipleship, however, the cross, or Christ, is on the throne. The Self is seated submissively at the foot of the throne. I think these diagrams capture in a visual sense what Jesus is saying in words, and I would offer this phrase to capture the meaning. If anyone would come after me he must dethrone himself.

Now, what about the next phrase: take up his cross. What did this image call to mind in Jesus’ hearers? When Jesus first spoke these words, he had not yet been crucified. His first prophecy of his suffering only speaks of his death. It makes no mention of crucifixion or a cross. So the disciples and the multitude that day had no reason to associate a cross with Jesus. But they had good reason to know about crosses and crucifixion. According to history, when Jesus was about 11 years old, a man named Simon led a Galilean revolt against Rome. They attacked the Roman armory at Sephoris, a Roman town just four miles from Nazareth. The Roman legions counter-attacked and put down the rebellion and in retaliation they crucified over 2000 rebels on crosses which lined the roads of the district.

So what do you think the disciples thought when Jesus told them to take up their cross? It was not a pretty image. The cross was an object of horror, or shame, of terrible suffering. A man who was carrying a cross was a man whose life was virtually over. His last act is to participate in his own death by carrying his own instrument of execution out to the place of his death. I am not sure we can fully plumb the depths of this image. But we can conclude certain things. Following Jesus is costly. It involves submission. It will involve suffering. For some it may mean actual physical death. For others it may mean the death of one’s ambitions, one’s personal dreams, the end of the self’s right to do what I want, when I want. I think Paul is communicating the same deep magic in Romans 12:1 where he urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God.

One other phrase in the immediate context captures the force of this image. It is in verse 35, the second part: whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel…To take up my cross is to give up my life for the sake of Christ and his Gospel; to spend my life for Christ and his kingdom. It describes a life given over to doing God’s will, not my own will. It is a life in which I have taken myself off the throne and put Christ on it.

These are powerful and disturbing images: Deny self, take up your cross, lose your life for my sake. The question before us is simple and demands an answer. Why would anyone want to do that? Where is the sense in it? The answer to that question lies in the deep magic of the kingdom of God. Here it is: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. There it is. The deep magic of the kingdom of God.

You say, “What does it mean and how does it work?” I can only answer: “I don’t know, because it is deep magic.” But we know it does work because Jesus says it does, and because countless believers have tested it and found it true. When we hang on to life with all of our strength, hoarding it, trying to save up all its treasures and pleasures for ourselves, it runs through our fingers like water and is gone. It’s like trying to capture a beautiful smell in a butterfly net. But on the other hand, if we yield the throne of our lives to Christ, and spend our lives for him and for his Gospel, not only will we lay up treasures in heaven, but we will also discover an abundant life here on earth; a life that overflows with meaning and purpose and significance.

To drive home the importance of the magic and the costliness of making the wrong choice, Jesus asks two rhetorical questions. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Now these questions, I believe, are deliberately ambiguous. They are ambiguous because of a peculiarity of the Greek language. In Greek, this same word can be translated either “soul” or “life”. And it is the same word that was used in verse 35 and translated there as “life”. Only the context can determine which meaning is intended. Why do I say that it is deliberately ambiguous in these verses? Because I believe the deep magic of the kingdom holds true either way we translate it.

If you are not a follower of Christ, and have not received him as Savior, if you are like one of those in the multitude that day, you face a choice. Will you follow this Christ, even if it means suffering, persecution and even physical death? Or will you cling to the pleasures of this life and continue on your merry way? The deep magic tells us that there will come a time when you will regret that decision. What good will it do you, even if you have gained the whole world, but lost your own soul? Then it will be too late. No matter how many earthly riches you have accumulated, none of them will suffice as payment to buy back your soul. So this is meaning, or application number one. If you are considering whether or not to follow Christ, you may be put off by what it may cost you to follow him, what you will have to give up. But as you weigh the decision, ask this question: What will it cost me if I don’t follow him?

On the other hand, maybe you are a follower of Christ. You do believe in him. You have trusted in him as Savior. Even as Christ’s followers, we still face the challenge of how we will invest our lives, and how we spend our time on earth. Will we live by the deep magic, dethrone ourselves, take up our cross and live in submission to Christ and for the sake of his kingdom? If we do, we will find all that life has to offer. If we don’t, we will waste life and its opportunities. And when we come to the end of life, it will be too late then to buy back those opportunities or to trade in our earthly treasure for heavenly gain. You see the principle of the deep magic works, whether you are a believer in Christ or not.

Finally Jesus concludes his teaching that day by dialing forward to a future day. What day is it? It’s the day of crowns. The day of glory. Remember the fundamental truth of the deep magic? On the path of discipleship, the cross precedes the crown. Look at Jesus’ words in verse 38: If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.

I want to highlight a couple truths here from the deep magic. First, Jesus is coming back. The suffering, crucified and resurrected Christ is going to return. He doesn’t say “if”. He says “when”. Second, when he comes back, he is coming back in glory; in his Father’s glory. He is coming back wearing a crown. When he does who will share his glory, and who will be excluded? Those who have carried their cross and shared his shame, will on that day wear a crown and share his glory. Those who have shirked the cross, who have turned away in shame, he will turn from in shame. On the path of discipleship, the cross precedes the crown. If we will not carry the cross, we shall not share the crown. I believe this image has application both for those who have turned from Christ in unbelief, for whom this loss is the eternal loss of their souls. I belief it also has application for those who have trusted in Christ, but have shied away from the cost of discipleship and who will suffer the loss of reward and experience the regret of lost opportunities and a wasted life. The deep magic of the kingdom of God is true for both. You have to give your life up in order to keep it.

Let me close this message with a challenge, a quote and a story.

The challenge is this. I challenge you to memorize the verses we have studied this morning (Mark 8:34-38). Why do I say that? I believe these are some of the most challenging and profound truths Jesus ever uttered. I have tried my best to make them clear and understandable, but I have done so with a deep sense of the inadequacy of my own words. The actual words of Jesus have an inherent power; the power of the “deep magic”. This power will find multiplied applications in our lives if we will allow it to. The best way I know to do that is to commit these words to memory, and to meditate on them repeatedly and as they pertain to the many situations and choices we face in life.

Secondly, the quote. It is a famous one. Maybe it’s been overused, but I think it clearly captures the essence of the deep magic. It is a quote from Jim Elliot, one of the five missionaries who were killed in attempting to bring the Gospel to the Auca Indians in Ecuador. “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Finally a story from my own family history. My mother and father left the U.S. in 1946, shortly after the end of World War 2, to serve as missionaries in Africa. My mother had a sister named Edna. Edna was a nominal Christian, but she could not understand the choice that my mother was making. Before they left, she went to my father and spoke to him in her typical blunt way. “You can go throw your life away in Africa if you want to, but why do you have to take my sister with you!” In spite of her opposition, they left, and spent the next 44 years in missionary service in Africa while Edna kept her safe life in middle America. Late in life when they were both nearing retirement age, Edna went to visit my parents in Africa. She stayed in their home and saw and experienced the life they had led there. When the time came for her to get back on the plane to return to America, she gave my mother a hug and she said, with tears in her eyes, “I envy you!”

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  The deep magic of the kingdom of God still works!