For the Sake of the Gospel
By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal
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?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. (Mark 8:27-30)
I’ve made several pilgrimage trips to Israel, leading groups from the various churches that I've served as Pastor. On these trips we’ve visited Caesarea Philippi, where Peter professed that Jesus was the Messiah. While there, we toured the ruins of the gentile religious complex that included the temple to Pan and the temple to the Imperial cult. Walking up the hillside, negotiating the steps that were long-ago carved into stone, you approach a massive cave where the altar to Pan is located. Those who worshiped there in ancient times believed that this cave was the gateway to Hades, the abode of the dead; as such, standing in front of the opening of the cave and gazing on the stone altar in its center is rather sobering. Next to the cave are the remains of the Roman Imperial temple. These gentile ruins are here because Caesarea Philippi was, from its beginning, a Greek and then Roman town built at the headwaters of the Jordan River. It’s incredible to walk through the complex and see how the waters come out of the springs under Mount Hermon, flow down into the Jordan river valley, and then on towards the Sea of Galilee. With the waters quietly trickling through the rocks, you can walk along the tops of what remains of the city walls and metaphorically drink in the presence of the ancient world that still surrounds you. You can see the remains to the side, and under your feet, and it’s in this setting that I remember our group stopping to read this passage from Mark’s Gospel. This is Peter's profession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the Christ, the one whom God had selected to bring God’s news, God’s word, God’s presence into a broken and hurting world.
It was in Israel, not too far from that site, up on the Golan Heights overlooking the Jordan river valley, that I can remember standing and watching as missiles came flying over the mountain range from Lebanon to crash just outside of Tiberias, a city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Even in the midst of that danger, knowing that a war was brewing and troops were on the move, and even while rushing to get off the Heights and out of harm’s way, I couldn’t shake the sense of the real presence of Christ, the presence of God, the presence that must have been part of the reason why Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah. That’s very similar to the context in which all of this was said. That’s the context in which the early church began to proclaim the Gospel: they was living at a time of war and conflict, oppression and disagreement. It wasn't too long after the death and resurrection of Jesus – not quite 40 years, by 70 AD – that the Jews launched an insurrection against the Roman occupation of Judea and the Romans massed an army, surrounded Jerusalem, then took the city and destroyed the Temple … the religious heart of the Hebrew people. In that context, in the midst of the exile from Jerusalem, the early Christians remembered Jesus’s words and deeds; they remembered his preaching and his teaching; they remembered this event at Caesarea Philippi, and Peter’s profession of Jesus as the Anointed One of God. That affirmation of faith is the core and source of the Good News.
What’s good about the good news? The phrase “good news” or “gospel” is rooted in the Old English word for “good story,” or “good account” or “good message.” It translates a Greek word euangelion, which means the announcement of the arrival or birth of the King. The Romans used this term to proclaim the good news of the birth or ascendency of each new Emperor; the church, from its earliest days, also used this word to speak both about the message of Christ and about Christ himself. For Christians the word “gospel” means both the message of Jesus and the message about Jesus: Jesus is the anointed one of God, the Christ, the Son of God, God incarnate in human flesh. The Gospel is the message about what Jesus said and did in his ministry: the feeding of the 5000, the healing of the sick, his sermon on the mount, his parables, his institution of the Last Supper, his arrest in the Garden, his trial before the Sanhedrin, his trial before Pilate, his conviction, his journey up Golgotha, his crucifixion, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. The Gospel is the whole story about Jesus, and particularly of how the Church understood Jesus; it’s the good news about Jesus and the good news of Jesus.
How do we live out that Good News? Jesus tells us:
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34b)
These words have echoed around in my brain this week. How do we take up the cross, and what is our cross to bear? We may have many different crosses – I know I do – but regardless of which ones we may have, Jesus tells us that we have to take it up in order to follow him. How do we do that?
Wow. My reply back was: “I’ll pray for you, too … especially for that jewell of Christian charity!” Talk about the crosses that we bear, huh? That’s one of them, right there. There have been times when I’ve had hurting people, people who have been harmed by the church, who have been hurt by the church, who have been oppressed by the church, who have been told that they don’t belong in the Church … I’ve had them look at me and tell me that I, as a vicarious representative of the Church, have hurt them. Oh, they knew it wasn’t me, but I was present and they were in pain. And that’s ok. The cross that I and other progressive Christians bear is often the cross of the pain, harm, and oppression that has been done to people by the church. We must bear the cross of the church’s judgmentalism, oppression, exclusion, and segregation. You know, this is something that I heard many, many years ago, and even though it’s the year 2021 it’s still true today: the most segregated hour of American life is the church hour … when we worship, we tend to split into racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups; worship time is our most segregated hour. And we wonder why people look in on the church from the outside, see what the church does and what the church says, and don’t want to have anything to do with us? Our creed doesn’t match our deed. Our words and our actions are often so disjointed.
What we say may be beautiful, but what we do is often a failure of the Gospel. And, indeed, sometimes what we say isn’t pretty at all, but words that hurt, words that divide, words that exclude. One of the crosses that we must bear, as Christians, is the cross of our failure to be the people that Jesus has called us to be. Whether it is our own failure, or the failure of other Christians, it matters not: Christians frequently fail to live the life of the Gospel … the life of Christ’s love. And, when we fail, we do precisely what Peter did.
Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, but then quickly went on to deny Jesus’ self-giving love … a love that would die for us all. Jesus’ response to Peter was stunning: “Get behind me, Satan!” Yes, Peter! The one about whom Jesus had said: “on you I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” It was to Peter that Jesus said quickly had to say: “get behind me, Satan.” This same Peter would eventually go on to deny Jesus three times while Jesus was on trial before the Sanhedrin! Peter repeatedly failed Jesus. And, yes, the church has done what Peter did: when our actions don’t equate with our words, when our deeds don’t match our creed, we deny Jesus every time … and we have that cross to bear. “Oh, Greg, we don’t preach condemnation and judgmentalism here.” No, we don’t. “We don’t practice that here.” No, we don’t. I don’t preach a message of judgment and condemnation; I don’t, and I never have. But … Christians, for centuries, have and still do. And that’s one of the crosses that we must bear.
We must take up our cross, confess our joint sin, and follow Jesus. That’s part of what living the Gospel means. We are to live as Jesus called us to live: welcoming and accepting, giving and forgiving, proclaiming and loving. As we go out these doors and into this world, may we look and see and know and embrace others, making our deeds match our creed. May we not just proclaim Jesus as the Messiah! May we not just proclaim the Good News of the coming of the King! May we not just say the right words! May we also live them!
© 2021 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
All Rights Reserved
The Reverend Dr. Gregory S. Neal is the Senior Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Des Moines, Iowa, and an ordained Elder of the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Duke University, and Trinity College, Dr. Neal is a scholar of Systematic Theology, New Testament origins, and Biblical Languages. His areas of specialization include the theology of the sacraments, in which he did his doctoral dissertation, and the formation and early transmission of the New Testament. Trained as a Christian educator, he has taught classes in these and related fields while also serving for more than 30 years as the pastor of United Methodist churches in North Texas.
As a popular teacher, preacher, and retreat leader, Dr. Neal is known for his ability to translate complex theological concepts into common, everyday terms. HIs preaching and teaching ministry is in demand around the world, and much of his work can be found on this website. He is the author of several books, including Grace Upon Grace: Sacramental Theology and the Christian Life, which is in its second edition, and Seeking the Shepherd's Arms: Reflections from the Pastoral Side of Life, a work of devotional literature. Both of these books are currently available from Amazon.com.
As a popular teacher, preacher, and retreat leader, Dr. Neal is known for his ability to translate complex theological concepts into common, everyday terms. HIs preaching and teaching ministry is in demand around the world, and much of his work can be found on this website. He is the author of several books, including Grace Upon Grace: Sacramental Theology and the Christian Life, which is in its second edition, and Seeking the Shepherd's Arms: Reflections from the Pastoral Side of Life, a work of devotional literature. Both of these books are currently available from Amazon.com.