Download Ash Wednesday – February 25, 2009

Pentecost 5 – June 27, 2010
Pastor Brauer
Jesus Knows Life’s Necessities
Luke 9:18-24
Jesus knew life’s necessities. When he was a 12-year-old boy, there he was at the temple, sitting among the teachers,
listening and learning and asking questions. When his mother found him and asked him why, remember his reply? “Didn’t
you know I had to be in my Father’s house, I must be about my Father’s business?” When he was 30, there was Jesus,
making his way down from Nazareth to the Jordan River, to be baptized by John. When John asked him why, considering
that John needed to be baptized by Jesus for forgiveness of sins and not the other way around, remember Jesus’ reply? “Let
it be so now. It’s proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” And so Jesus the Savior began his ministry of service to
sinners. He healed the sick. He drove demons out of people miserably possessed. He preached good news to the poor,
freedom to the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind. He proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor. But when one
group up in Galilee wanted to keep him from leaving them, remember his reply? “I must preach the good news of the
kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” Jesus knew life’s necessities.
1. “I must suffer.”
First, Jesus knew what was necessary for his own life. He knew this all along, but the time had come for him to start
explaining to his disciples what was necessary for him to go through. He needed them to know the necessity of his life, the
necessity of his death, and the necessity of his resurrection from the dead. Jesus found a time when he and his disciples
were away from all the crowds. They were alone by themselves. Jesus was praying to the heavenly Father. Then he
addressed the men learning from his words and deeds, his disciples. He questioned them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
The disciples had their ear to the ground as they followed Jesus around Galilee up north and around Jerusalem down south.
They knew what people were saying about Jesus. After all, Jesus was a public figure. Just about everybody had something
to say about Jesus. And the disciples answered Jesus’ question. “Some say [you are] John the Baptist. That you are John
the Baptist come back from the dead after Herod beheaded him.” “Others say [you are] Elijah. That great prophet who stood
up for the Lord’s truth and did such mighty miracles. Some say you are Elijah come back down to earth after going up to
heaven in a whirlwind with a fiery chariot centuries ago.” “Still others [are saying] that one of the prophets of long ago has
come back to life. A prophet like Isaiah or Jeremiah.”
Jesus of course didn’t really need to know from the disciples what the crowds were saying about him. He was setting up his
next question. “But what about you?” he asked [the disciples]. Who do you say I am?” A necessary question. And there
must necessarily be an answer. After all, you can’t just endlessly speculate about who Jesus Christ is. You can’t just
endlessly comment on this person’s take or that person’s take about Jesus. Every person must answer this necessary
question for himself, for herself. “But what about you?” he asked [the disciples]. Who do you say I am?”
“The Christ of God.” There it is. Peter bluntly said it. “You are greater than John the Baptist. You are greater than Elijah.
You are greater than any of the prophets of old. You are the Christ – The Anointed One. God sent you down from heaven to
be here among us. You are the fulfillment of all God’s promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are the Christ
David wrote about in his psalms. You are the one and only Son of God, who has now also become a human being just like
us because this has been God’s plan all along.” A necessary confession of faith. A marvelous confession of faith. But for
the time being, Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. The disciples didn’t know it yet, but that’s what
Pentecost would be for, and that’s what the rest of their lives would be for, to tell people in public that the man Jesus is
indeed the Christ of God. For now, now that the disciples knew who Jesus was, now they needed to learn some more things
about Jesus. About what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ.
Jesus said, “The Son of Man” – by the way, interesting, the shift there. Jesus acknowledged he was the Christ, the Anointed
One promised in the Old Testament. But he prefers to use another Old Testament name for himself: The Son of Man. It
emphasizes that he is a human being, yes. But it also makes us think of Daniel’s words about “one like a son of man” (Dn 7).
The “son of man” would have authority over all peoples. All peoples should worship him. His dominion would be everlasting,
and his kingdom would never fade away. Jesus said to his disciples, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and he must be killed, and on the third day be raised to life.”
This is the first time the disciples had heard Jesus talk like this. In such straightforward language, “I’m going to suffer. I’m
going to treated like trash by the leaders of our people. I’m going to be killed. But, at the end of it all, I’m going to come back
to life from the dead.”
Jesus knew the necessity of his own life. He had to suffer. That was the Father’s will for him and for his life. And deep
down, that’s what Jesus wanted, not because he enjoyed suffering, but because he knew the wonderfully good things that
suffering was going to accomplish. For those disciples. For you. For me. Jesus knew it was necessary that he suffer for
our sake. He would be delivered over to death for our sins. He would be raised to life for our justification. God would
reconcile us sinners, his enemies, reconcile us back to him through the death of his Son. God would save us through his
Son’s return to life. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus knew
life’s necessities, the necessity of his own life: “I must suffer.”
2. “You Must Carry Your Cross.”
The Bible says the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives (2 Cor 1). It has been granted to you – it’s a gift of God’s grace!
– it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him (Phlp 1). Jesus knew
this necessity of life for those first disciples he was addressing in Luke chapter 9. So he instructed them and prepared them
for it. Those men’s earthly lives are now over; they already experienced suffering in their lives for Jesus’ sake. Now this
Gospel lesson is directed at you and me. Jesus knows our life’s necessities, and this morning he wants to instruct us about
them.
Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” We need to
chew on this statement in detail. If anyone… Anyone. There are no exceptions here. You or I cannot say, “Well, I’ll be the
exception to this rule, these words don’t really apply to me.” No, what Jesus has to say here is true of anybody and
everybody who wants to come after him. And we do want to keep following behind our Savior.
“He must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” In language terms, that’s three imperatives in a row. An
imperative expresses the will of the speaker, what the speaker wants. These are not suggestions nor even encouragements,
these are commands. In street talk, each one is a “must.” “You must deny yourself. You must take up your cross daily. You
must keep following me.”
First, deny yourself. It’s pretty simple when you think about it. Either you deny yourself or you deny Christ. You can’t put
Christ’s will and your own self-will side-by-side in your life. They are incompatible. They will not mix, like oil and water just
will not mix together. Deny yourself. It’s the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods. Fear, love, and trust in
God above all things.” The flesh, as we are by conception and birth, is minded against God. That stinker, our flesh, just
wants to do its own thing, waving away God’s warnings, pushing away God’s promises, planning and thinking and saying
and doing its own thing instead of God’s. The flesh is all about self-preservation. It’s doesn’t want to go away. And the
sinful world, which is really just a whole bunch of other sinful natures combined, only encourages our own flesh in the wrong
direction. And over the sinful world reigns the prince of this world, the devil himself. He is constantly at work in those who
are disobedient. He tempts us Christians to sin. Where we think we are strong, where we think we are weak, doesn’t matter
to him, he will exploit any opening he gets. Against all this, against our own flesh (which is in us to the day we die), against
this sinful world (which will continue until judgment day), against Satan (who will continue his destructive work until he is
thrown into the lake of fire once and for all), Jesus clearly tells everyone of us, “You must deny yourself.”
And “You must take up your cross daily.” Want to hear something really fascinating? The first time the word “cross” or
“crucify” comes up in the Gospel of Luke is right here. The first time it comes up, he is speaking not of his cross, but of my
cross and your cross. Significant? I think so! Right up front Jesus wants us to understand this necessity for living as a
Christian. Who’s a Christian? What defines being a Christian? Anyone who confesses their sin and believes in Jesus Christ
for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. That’s a Christian. Now here’s what living as a Christian in this life means for you
and me: “You must take up your cross daily.” It’s a day by day affair, this living as a follower of Christ. Yesterday’s sins are
covered and forgiven by the blood of Christ. Yesterday’s successes are attributed to the power and goodness of God.
Tomorrow? Well, what about it? It’s not here yet. And so it’s not my major concern. Jesus says, “Take up your cross daily.”
The cross comes from God. Maybe it’s surprising, but it’s true. The cross comes from God. You know that ancient Rome
used to have its gladiator contests. For the delight of the sick crowds, the sick planners used to concoct all types of weird
combinations. It wasn’t enough for a man to be pitted one-on-one on equal terms. It’s more exciting and novel if a guy is
burdened in a strange way. A guy would get a handicap, if you will. So, for example, this guy fights with a sword, but this
guy fights with a neat and a spear. This guy goes helmet-less, but this guy fights blind with a helmet that has no eye holes
punched in it. These are the kinds of things that demented mankind comes up with. But maybe that’s how we start to feel
about the crosses God puts into our lives. Wouldn’t it be easier to battle my flesh without this handicap or this weakness or
this thorn in my flesh? But, my dear fellow Christian friends, we must stop thinking that way. The cross of his sending may
look like a handicap to us. But in fact, it’s exactly what we need so his power and his grace go on display. Plus, we are not
pawns in some demented gladiator game. We are sons of God through faith in Christ. Baptized into Christ, we have put on
Christ. And whatever difficult cross he sends into our life is being used by him to keep us close to him and to his grace so we
may finally be saved only by God-given faith in Christ without any reliance on ourselves. “So take up your cross daily,” our
Savior tells us, “And follow me.”
Why? Because whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” I wonder how much
added stress and difficulty we bring on ourselves in our frantic attempt to preserve both lives. Both a life lived only for this
world and a life lived only in gratitude for the life to come. Jesus speaks of giving up and losing our life – this present life –
for his sake. Not seeking a reward, but losing it daily for his sake. Because he suffered for me, he died and rose so I now
have and will have eternal life with him.
Jesus knows life’s necessities. He had to suffer for us, and he did. Now we must carry our cross daily as we follow him.
And all the while, his promise holds true, “By standing firm you will gain life” (Lk 21). Amen.