by Mike Chong Perkinson
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 the things of God but of the things of men (Mark 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.
At the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem (8:22-10:52), Jesus teaches these contradictory 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 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:
1. In order to save your life you must lose it.
2. The pursuit of status is not the standard for God’s people.
3. 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). Let me explain: people who follow the world’s standards seek to acquire status and power for themselves. This way of life is motivated by fear.
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 and is motivated by love. 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 can be stated as follows in this diagram:
Jesus embodies “what God wills for people.” He brings healing, drives out the demonic, forgives sin, and ultimately dies for the mission. In stark contrast we find the religious leaders, who exemplify “what people want for themselves.” They are afraid of losing their position and aggrandize themselves at the expense of the people. The disciples, in Mark’s narrative, are caught in the middle and vacillate between the two positions. The dissonance they feel is due to their struggle in following Jesus to promote the good news of the Kingdom of God or following Jesus to acquire status and power for themselves.
May we become a people that are motivated by love and not by fear. May we choose to reject our human need to acquire status, reputation, and power for ourselves and give our lives to the One who gave His life for us so that His life, healing and salvation would shine through us, the Church, His Bride.
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 the things of God but of the things of men (Mark 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.
At the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem (8:22-10:52), Jesus teaches these contradictory 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 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:
1. In order to save your life you must lose it.
2. The pursuit of status is not the standard for God’s people.
3. 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). Let me explain: people who follow the world’s standards seek to acquire status and power for themselves. This way of life is motivated by fear.
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 and is motivated by love. 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 can be stated as follows in this diagram:
Jesus embodies “what God wills for people.” He brings healing, drives out the demonic, forgives sin, and ultimately dies for the mission. In stark contrast we find the religious leaders, who exemplify “what people want for themselves.” They are afraid of losing their position and aggrandize themselves at the expense of the people. The disciples, in Mark’s narrative, are caught in the middle and vacillate between the two positions. The dissonance they feel is due to their struggle in following Jesus to promote the good news of the Kingdom of God or following Jesus to acquire status and power for themselves.
May we become a people that are motivated by love and not by fear. May we choose to reject our human need to acquire status, reputation, and power for ourselves and give our lives to the One who gave His life for us so that His life, healing and salvation would shine through us, the Church, His Bride.
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