Who is this Man?
No one recognized who Jesus was except the demons that he exorcised. Only in his death can his true identity be understood.
This
ironic storyline is threaded throughout the gospel of Mark, and it leads
to the stunning conclusion - Until his crucifixion, no one could recognize who
Jesus was, and no one acknowledged him as the “Son of God” with the sole
exception of the demons he cast out and the heavenly voice at his baptism.
At
the Jordan River, the voice from heaven proclaimed him to be the beloved “Son.”
Later, when he began to exorcise demons, the “unclean spirits” recognized
him as the "Son of God,” though whenever any demon made an
outcry he silenced it, “for they knew who he was.”
UNRECOGNIZED IN GALILEE
In
contrast, the men and women of the Jewish nation proved incapable of understanding
his identity or mission, including members of his immediate family and his
inner circle of disciples. After casting out one demon, amazed, the crowd “began
to discuss among themselves saying: What is this?” - (Mark
1:10-11, 1:24-34, 5:7).
Following
his miraculous calming of the storm, the disciples asked one another, “Who
is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?” In fact, they
were even more fearful after Jesus commanded the storm to desist than they were
during the storm.
Even
a display of the power of that magnitude was insufficient to open the eyes of his
closest followers to perceive just what kind of Messiah he was - (Mark 1:27,
4:41).
Later,
while on the verge of grasping his identity, Peter declared - “You are the
Messiah.” But when Jesus explained just what his calling meant - suffering,
rejection, death - Peter “began to rebuke him,” and whatever
momentary glimmer of insight he had disappeared.
The
idea of Israel’s Messiah being crucified by her enemies was inconceivable to a devout
and patriotic Jew. But Jesus reacted by sharply reprimanding Peter: “Withdraw
behind me, Satan, because you are not regarding the things of God but the
things of men!” - (Mark 8:29-32).
AT CALVARY
Only
at the Cross did one man finally recognize who he was, and quite ironically, none
other than the very Roman centurion in charge of his execution. When Jesus
breathed his last, that pagan officer declared: “Truly this man was
the Son of God.”
The
Roman officer perceived what none of the religious leaders of Israel or even
his own disciples could comprehend. Only when he was crucified did someone
begin to understand who Jesus was, the “Son of God,” and what it meant
to be the Messiah of Israel.
Thus, there is no Christianity without Christ, and there is no saving faith or knowledge apart from Christ Crucified.
Writing
years later to the Philippians, Paul presented Christ’s submission to the shameful
death of execution on a Roman cross as the paradigm for Christian conduct,
especially within the congregation.
The
Son of God “poured himself out, taking the form of a slave,” and humbled
himself by becoming “obedient as far as death, even death upon a cross.”
In his letter, this becomes the paradigm for the disciple of Christ to count
his fellow believer better than himself “in lowliness of mind each” - (Philippians
2:6-11).
DISCIPLESHIP
To
follow Jesus means to reconfigure your life for conformity to his teachings and
example. And this pattern of discipleship goes back to Christ himself when he
taught his disciples that his “disciple is not above the
teacher, nor a slave above his master… He that does not take his cross and
follow me is not worthy of me” - (Matthew 10:24-38).
One
day, his disciples were disputing which of them would be the “greatest”
in the kingdom. But Jesus admonished them, “Not so is it
to be among you, but whoever shall desire to become great among you shall be
your minister, and whosoever shall desire to be first among you shall be your
slave: just as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom instead of many.”
“Greatness”
is achieved only by self-sacrificial service to others.
To follow "the Lamb wherever he goes" means to live a life of
humble service, submission to the will of the Father, and a willingness to
suffer for his sake.
Jesus cannot be
understood by his miraculous deeds. Only in his sacrificial death for others can
we begin to perceive just who he is and the nature of his mission.
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