What Will It Cost?

by Mike Chong Perkinson
March 2007

Saving One’s Life Out of Fear – or – Losing One’s Life for Others

The Gospel of Mark paints a rather clear picture of two contrasting ways of life. Jesus sternly rebukes Peter at one point in the narrative for not thinking on the things of God but the things of men (8:33). Here we see the contrasting values set in opposition, two orientations of life: what God wills for people and what people want for themselves. I realize this is a rather blunt statement, but is no less the picture Mark paints.

At the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem (8:22-10:52), Jesus teaches these standards to His disciples. The disciples resist the teachings at every point, but eventually come to submit to them. The journey can then be pictured as a clash of values between Jesus who teaches what God wills for people and the disciples who exemplify what people want for themselves. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus prophecies three times to the disciples about his impending persecution and death (8:31-9:1; 9:30-50; 10:32-45). After each prophecy, the disciples demonstrate that they do not understand the nature and depth of the prophetic word or accept his teaching. After each of these prophetic moments, Jesus takes some time to teach the disciples the values of the rule of God that underlie his words and actions.

Kingdom Values

After the first prophecy, Jesus says: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (8:35). After the second prophecy, Jesus says: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (9:35). After the third prophecy, Jesus says: “And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (10:44-45).

Let me break them down for you:
· In order to save your life you must lose it
· The pursuit of status is not the standard for God’s people
· To have power one must be a servant and relinquish the pursuit of power for oneself

There is a sharp line of demarcation that Jesus is drawing between acquisition (saving) and relinquishing (losing). People who follow the world’s standards seek to acquire status and power for themselves. This way of life is motivated by fear resulting in self-protection and self-promotion. One wonders just how much of our current ministry practices are motivated by such.

In contrast, people who follow Jesus’ standards receive the blessings of the Kingdom and are willing to relinquish life, status, and power in order to bring the good news of the Kingdom to others. This way of life is only made possible by faith. It is through the empowering of the Holy Spirit that we find such a life possible.

Mark portrays in rather dramatic fashion that only two ways of life are possible: “saving one’s life out of fear” or “losing one’s life for others.” The characteristics for these two opposing modes of life are highlighted in one word - love. God’s way then involves risk – risking for others.

Let me illustrate, in the late 1980’s a volunteer approached a leader of the Sanctuary Movement in the United States serving refugees from Central America, and she asked to join in the work of the movement. The leader said to her, “Before you say whether you really wish to join us, let me pose some questions: Are you ready to have your telephone tapped by the government? Are you prepared to have your neighbors shun you? Are you strong enough to have your children ridiculed and harassed at school? Are you ready to be arrested and tried, with full media coverage? If you are not prepared for these things, you may not be ready to join the movement. For when push comes to shove, if you fear these things, you will not be ready to do what needs to be done for the refugees.” The woman decided to think it over.

In the same vein, if the followers of Jesus are not ready to abandon or relinquish their status and power over others, then they will not be ready to proclaim the good news to others and the potential of a revolution will pass us by.

Maybe this is precisely why the power of the Gospel has been rendered relatively powerless in the West. We have become more consumed with our kingdoms, our reputations, our success than serving the King Himself with our very lives. The revolution is not about power, status or position. It is about Jesus and how the Christ in me is incarnated to a hungry and searching world.

May we all abandon our egos, our ways, our rights, and our agendas so that the reign of the Kingdom might manifest in our daily lives! May pastors, churches, denominational leaders, and denominations gather around the Irreducible Core with one set agenda of seeing the Kingdom of God lived out in word and deed!

Tell me what you think. Let’s talk about it.