The Invitation - Part 2

 

Behind Jesus and the band of disciples, walking a respectful distance all this time…is a crowd…the ever present crowd of lookers – on, hangers – on…some are there so they won’t miss the next healing service…others are there lest they miss a good meal of loaves and fishes…and others…well others are the vocational kibitzers…the ones who hover around the religious goings on of the day and provide a running commentary to friends and neighbors.

This latter group equates religious vocabulary with spirituality, with knowing looks they quote Scripture as if every time they do so God looks down upon them with immense pleasure…as military men wear medals on their uniforms their religious knowledge and jargon represent their perceived place in God’s chain – of – command.

As Jesus places one foot in front of the other…as He moves deliberately towards His appointment in Gethsemane, His appointment with the High Priest, His appointment with Pilate, His appointment on Golgotha…He stops…turns…and beckons the crowd to draw near with His disciples.  It is time to bring the reality of God home to these people…it is time to bring the reality of the Son of God home to His generation…

Were there any disciples with Jesus that day?  Where were those people going?  Why were they there?  Why are we here tonight?  Where are we going?   Are there any disciples here with Jesus tonight?  Who do we say that Jesus is?

Please take your Bibles and turn with me to Mark chapter 8, Mark chapter 8, verses 34 – 38…Mark chapter 8:34 – 38.  Let’s stand as we read…

MK 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

All of these people surrounding Jesus…all of these people here tonight in this building.  All of these people walking with Jesus…walking behind Jesus…one foot in front of the other…but where are they going?  Why are they there?  Why are we here?  Why are those people on that road in Galilee?  Why are we on route 8 this evening?  Jesus knows where He is going…do they know where they are going?  Jesus has an appointment with suffering, rejection and death…Jesus knows where He is going…do they know where they are going…do we know where we are going?

“If anyone would come after Me…” There’s the invitation…open to all…open to all on that road in Galilee…open to all here tonight…

This is not an invitation to a spiritual or religious carnival…it is not an invitation to display one’s spiritual knowledge…not an invitation to sit at the front of the class…not an invitation to gorge ourselves on loaves and fishes…it is an invitation to follow Jesus…it is an invitation to be bound to Him.

It is…an invitation…and we can choose to accept it…or reject it…it has an automatic RSVP attached to it…Jesus knows…He knows…how we have handled this invitation…oh yes…we have a choice…the invitation has been given…it has been received…sent certified mail…return receipt requested…certified mail…God has come to earth…God has walked this earth…God has spoken on this earth…and we have nailed Him to a tree…and He has taken our sins upon Himself…and we have heard the Good News of God’s love…we have received the invitation…and He knows that we have received it…what have we done with it? 

Is it on our desk of life buried beneath the clutter?  Have we misplaced it on a workbench in the basement?  Must we dig through our glove compartment to retrieve it?  Must I ask my wife where she put it?…after all…I knew where it was before she cleaned my office.  What have we done with the invitation?  Why are we here tonight?

“Let him deny himself.”  Here we have not an invitation, here we have not a choice…but here…for those who accept the invitation…we have a command…an imperative.  An imperative command to utterly denounce oneself without regard to one’s own advantage or convenience…because to accept the invitation is to relinquish ownership of one’s life to Jesus Christ.

“And take up his cross and follow me.”

What are we doing in this place?  What are you doing in this place?  What was that crowd doing on that road in Galilee?  Following for loaves and fishes, following to receive “things” from Jesus?  Following to be seen by others?   Following to be in the forefront?   Following to obtain more religious medals and accolades to wear on their religious personas?  Who among them would surrender these trinkets of a temporal life, who among them would denounce himself…herself…who would accept the invitation to follow Him?  Tonight…why am I here?  Why are we here?  Why are you here?  What is it that you seek to satisfy your life…what feeds the hunger for significance within you?  What satisfies your heart, mind and soul?  What do you look to for fulfillment?  Where are you going when you leave here tonight?

to be continued...