By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
September 15, 2024
Click Here to Join our Meeting for Worship
Mark 8:27–38 (ESV)
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
There are many moments within my life that a question is raised and it leaves me wondering for several minutes, or even several days after. This began in school when there was a question on one of my biology tests that asked, “in what ways would the human body change if we were able to obtain all of our nutrients in a capsule?”
It was a test so I quickly wrote down one answer and went on with my life. Except that question sat in my mind for the complete next day. I answered that the digestive enzymes would change where we would only be able to digest the capsule and would not be able to digest anything else. But there are so many more answers to that question. Just imagine what could happen. The answers are endless and could fill several science fiction novels.
Then there were other questions that have come up. Questions of various sorts from various places. Some of these questions I had my own quick answer for, but then I have sat and pondered them a while and decided that maybe I probably should have thought things through a bit more. I do this often when I approach the writings in scripture. I will find myself reading through the books of the law and I will suddenly find myself staring off into space thinking about why or what would make one thing unclean but not something else? When I couple the readings of scripture with other writings about ancient customs within the same general area, it raises even more questions and thoughts. For example, “why did God require certain portions of a sacrifice to be burned, or why was blood so important to God that this would be burned or buried and never to be eaten? When we look at the surrounding cultures we will see that many of the other religions would use certain parts of the sacrificial animal to gain insight into the future, yet those parts in scripture should be burned.
I think about these things, I wonder about them, I look for reasons. These questions come to me and I cannot just leave them be. I study and I pray. I try to consider things from multiple perspectives, I will even intentionally try to consider things from the opposite perspective than my own. I do this because I believe that what is written in scripture is important.
Now since I brought up the topic of what God wants to be place on the alter in reference to what other cultures at that same time used there is an interesting reason there. Many of the ancient cultures would use certain parts to seek answers or omens from their gods in reference to their future actions. If they wanted to go to battle against their enemies they would bring a sacrifice to the temple and have them read the future. Torah demanded that those parts should be immediately burned, which most people would say is in reference to not practicing magic, which is not wrong. But it goes deeper, it is saying that you trust God with your future, that you do not need to know what might happen because you are living in faith that God will provide all that is necessary.
This happens often in scripture. Most of the Old Testament has similarities with the practices of many of cultures surrounding Israel, but there are slight differences. The similarities are interesting, and often when pastors mention these similarities people get upset saying that we are saying that all religions are the same. But is the differences that point to the greater truth.
I have gone off on a rant here and you are probably wondering why I am saying all of this. The reason is because Jesus went with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Caesarea Philippi is in the far northern regions of Israel, the area now known as the Golan Heights. In many ancient religions the source of a river is often held as being a holy site, because without water life becomes extremely difficult. Caesarea Philippi is no different. The source of the Jordan River comes out of the mountains just north of this city, mainly from Mount Hermon. The cultures that lived in the Jordan Valley held this mountain as sacred because it was the source of this life giving and maintaining water. And religious shrines can be found along the slopes of that mountain.
Jesus went to these villages. He traveled north to the borderlands of Israel, to a city named after the Emperor of Rome and the son of the self named king of the Jews Herod the Great. He traveled to this multicultural religious shrine with his disciples, and he asked them a question. “Who do people say that I am?”
Mount Hermon has deep spiritual significance among the Hebrew people and the various cultures that lived in that region throughout the ages. There are networks of caves throughout that many regarded as the gateway to the underworld, and the house of Pan: the pagan god of the wild, shepherds, and folk music. The part that is the most important is the wild. Pan was a deity of chaos, from which the terms pandemonium and pandemic are derived. Here in the villages surrounding Caesarea Philippi, this city steeped in pagan religious ideologies, Jesus asks one of the deepest questions of his disciples. “Who am I?”
The answers they give are not really that surprising. “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets.” This is what the world says. This is not that much different from what people say today. Who is Jesus?
Gandhi, the great teacher that inspired the independence movement within India is credited with saying, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” This teacher of the Hindu religious likes your Christ. When I was attending school it was common to hear people on campus say things that were similar. They loved the teachings of Jesus but.
Who is he? Is he a teacher? Is he a prophet? John the Baptist was the man crying in the wilderness, he was a teacher that inspired many. He stood on the banks of the Jordan River crying out to all that came to listen to repent and be baptized. He would say your heritage is not enough to make you a child of Israel, that God could fashion children for Abraham out of the stones and that would not make them worthy of that great name. Elijah was the father of the prophets, he was the one that challenged the prophets of Baal on a Mt Carmel.
The teacher and the prophet. That is what the world thought of Jesus. He was a great teacher. He spoke words of truth.
Jesus then asks a second question, “Who do you say that I am?”
At this question, Peter quickly answers, “You are the Christ.”
This is a word that is loaded with meaning. Christ means anointed. It is used in the Greek language for many things, from smearing an ointment on the body for medicinal purpose, to applying oil to weapons, or in the case in reference to the Hebrew use of the word, to appoint and bless a king or prophet.
In the history of the Hebrew people there were several anointed people. The priest were all annointed, the kings including King David were each annointed. If you were to do a word study you would find that each of these could be called annointed, or christ. But there was a deeper teaching the annointed of the annointed. The king of kings and lord of Lords. The one that would set all things right and restore all that was lost. The Christ.
The teachings of the Hebrew people was that there were three major falls within humanity that sent the world into its tragic existence. The fall in the garden, the fall that brought about the flood, and the tower of Babel. These three stories are what set the stage for the calling of Abraham and brought about the nation of Israel. And within these stories was the hope that God would bring all of fallen humanity back to him.
The second fall is what is significant to today’s scripture. The traditions of the Hebrew people say that the corruption that brought about the flood, originated on Mt Hermon, at Caesarea Philippi.
The various falls of humanity revolved around a desire of humankind seeking something that was not intended for them. Our first parents, desired the knowledge of good and evil, that could be obtained by eating of the fruit of the tree. They were deceived into eating this fruit by the serpent, who created the desire within them that if they had that knowledge, they would become like God.
They wanted power. They wanted influence. They wanted to be like God. The reality is they were already bearers of God’s image. They already had the power and influence they wanted. They already had what they wanted, but they wanted it on their terms not God’s.
The second fall that lead to the flood spoke of a similar desire. We are told that there was great corruption and no one had faith in God. It speaks of the great men, men of renown. The teachings of the Hebrew people say that the sin here, the fall was that people continued to desire power and influence over others and over nature. They sought knowledge, and power from beings in a manner that denied God. Knowledge of war, of magic, of sensuality. They sought power and they sold their souls to obtain it. This started a war between heaven and earth. Instead of living in cooperation we wanted control.
The Christ that the Hebrew people looked forward to was going to reverse the curse that began on Mt Hermon. The Christ was going to take the weapons of war and beat them into plows. Instead of seeking power over others, the Christ was going to usher in a age of mutual profit, where humanity would once again live in communion with creation and their creator.
Who Am I? Jesus asks.
Peter says you are the one we have all been waiting for. You are the one that will restore and set creation to right.
Jesus then begins to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. That he would be rejected, and killed and after three days would rise again. We are told that he said this plainly.
He did not teach this using a parable or a story to prompt a deeper spiritual conversation. He just told them what was going to be in clear terms that would not be left to interpretation. But Peter, the one that just moments ago claimed that Jesus was The Christ. The annointed one that would restore all things, listened to these words and he pulled Jesus aside and began to rebuke Jesus.
I feel as if we do not fully grasp the scene within scripture as we read these words. To rebuke is more than a mere disagreement, it is a condemnation. Peter take Jesus aside and tells him that he is speaking blasphemy. Peter is telling Jesus, the one whom he called the Christ, that he is speaking untruth.
Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter saying, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
This is an arrow through the heart of Peter. Peter’s greatest desire was for God to be honored and praised. His greatest desire was that God would send the Christ into the world to restore what was once lost. His greatest desire was to honor and praise God. But Peter wanted to do this according to his own ways. He wanted God to do things the way Peter thought they should be done. He wanted. He desired.
Peter was no different than the people that once sought power and influence in the days of corruption. He wanted to manipulate the things of God for his own. He wanted to over throw Rome and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. He wanted the annointed king to reign. He wanted. Ninety percent of what Peter wanted was righteous and holy. He was what we would call a good man. A man of faith. Yet in that moment even this righteous man was called Satan.
Peter was in league with the evil one not God. And this was evident because Peter was setting his mind on the things of man instead of God. He was focused on what he wanted instead of what God wanted to do for all people.
We can so easily fall into this trap. I know what is good. I am a righteous person. I read scriptures and I study them. I am a Christian, a pastor. We can make a list of all of our good traits, but how are we going about influencing the world? Are we making laws for others based on our beliefs? Are we fighting wars to force the people of some other nation or culture to start doing things our way instead of theirs? Are we using our power and influence to force, persuade or manipulate others to live in a manner they do not actually believe?
Jesus then called the crowd to him with his disciples and he began to show Peter and everyone that witnessed that interaction. He called them because they all, like Peter and like us, they believed that it was good to use the power we have to force others into a righteous lifestyle. Jesus called them to listen and he taught them the most profound lesson we could ever learn.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
There are three commands here, three imperative verbs. Deny, Take, and Follow.
This word deny, is in many ways a negative thought. It is restrict or even to steal, it is to hinder access. This word is to use force against something. This is what Peter wanted to do, he wanted Jesus to deny, to force the world into their way of thinking. This is the language that many people understand use power on others, but Jesus turns it around. We are not to use our power on others, but ourselves. If you want to influence the world for God, we do not deny others, we do not force them to adhere to our thoughts and our desires. We use all that power and influence on the only person we actually have power over. We deny ourselves.
We cannot make someone act a certain way. We cannot force someone to stop thinking a particular thought. We only have true power over ourselves. Everything we want them to do, Jesus says, you need to turn that attention to yourself. He said this another way in scripture. “Before you attempt to removed the speck out of your brother’s eye take the plank out of your own.”
We need to deny ourselves, and then the second command it to take. This word means to lift, carry, to bear. This goes back to the ten commandments, the wisdom or teaching of God. “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.” We often interpret that commandment to mean do not misuse the name of God in our manner of speech, but it means so much more than that. It is bearing the name of God, it is living into his image that we bear. If we bear or carry the image of God in us, we should not do so in vain because every action we participate in, every conversation or interaction we engage in, is representing God. We are reflecting who God is in that interaction. So do not take the name of God in vain.
This is similar in Jesus teaching here, we are to “Take up his cross” or our cross.
What is the cross? On this side of Easter, in the life after the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus we see the cross differently than the people prior to the crucifixion saw it. Today’s passage comes before not after. Before the cross was a symbol of justice or injustice. It was the sign of lorded power of the Emperor over the people. The cross was a symbol of exploitation and repression. Those that opposed the power of man suffered the cross.
Jesus is telling us that we need to deny ourselves, use our power first on ourselves. Then we need to take up the cross. This means we are to see the areas of injustice in our culture and stand against that injustice. But not just stand against it, take it up, bear it. We are to take ownership of that injustice and work to turn it around.
If we see that abortion is an injustice, we need to take up that cross. That does not mean we go out and protest, it means we become the other option, we become the ones willing to adopt. We become the ones that will take on the burden of maintaining life. If we are unwilling to become the solution we are the problem. If we feel that student loan forgiveness is an injustice, how are you going to step in and help? We cannot merely say word, we must take up the cross, we must bear the burden because if we are unwilling to live into that injustice, if we are unwilling to deny ourselves, we are just participants and collaborators in the injustice.
The last commandment is to follow. This means to go behind. The ideas here is to be a disciple. Someone that takes on the life and lifestyle of a teacher. When Jesus says, “follow me,” he is asking us to step away from the life we are living on our terms, and to take on his lifestyle. And what is that lifestyle? Jesus made it his custom to worship with the community. He withdrew often to the isolated places to pray, and he ministered to the needs of those around him in word and in action. This is the core of our mission and purpose here at Willow Creek. Our mission statement is, “Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the Love of Christ with Others.” Worship, prayer, and service. Deny, take, and follow. All of these speak of the same things.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” In our era of social justice, woke-ness, and culture wars we often get caught in the same trap that Peter found himself. We do not like the way the world is doing things and we want things to change. But like Peter we often think that the way to make the changes we so desire to see within our world is to set our mind on the things of man. We want to use power, force, elections and the courts to bring about the change we want. We want to use the tools of men.
“Who is Jesus?” that is the question that so often rings in my ears as I walk through my life. I have answered that question in a variety of ways, but if I am honest my answers are not always good. So often I regard Jesus as the teacher in the wilderness that gives some good advice. I often think of him as the prophet that speaks words of truth with authority. So often I am the person that Gandhi speaks of, “He likes our Jesus but not our Christians.” If anyone would come after Jesus, we need to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him.
Previous Messages:
Broken Dreams Restored
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 05, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili John 20:1–18 (ESV) 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the…
The Mind of Christ
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 29, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 3: Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy…
Walk as Children of Light
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 15, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Ephesians 5:8–14 (ESV) 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit…
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