IN THIS Sunday’s gospel (Mark 8:27-35), Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” The replies varied. Some were saying he was John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets. Then Jesus addresses the question to the disciples, themselves, “But you, who do you say that I am?” Peter, in representing the group and all of us believers, declares, “You are the Christ.”
Christ, as we know, comes from the Greek “Christos,” which means, “The Anointed One.” To be anointed is to be chosen and consecrated for a special task or mission. Jesus was chosen by the Father to carry out the most important mission of all −to be the Savior of the world.
But what kind of Savior was Jesus? People of his days thought that he was an earthly Savior – one who would save them from Roman domination. Yet, Jesus made it clear, he came to save us from sin. He came to save us from the works of the devil. And he came to make us a part of his heavenly kingdom. As he said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world (John 18:36a).” His saving power transcends the physical to include, more importantly, the spiritual.
People of his days, including his own disciples, also thought that Jesus as Savior will come with great power as humanity understood it to be – using physical/military might to overthrow Israel’s enemies. But this was not so. Jesus taught “that the Son of Man must suffer greatly, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days” (Mark 8:31). We know the story. On hearing this, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But Jesus rebuked Peter in return saying, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do (Mark 8:33).”
Jesus conquered the enemy, the devil, not with the sword but with the cross. He offered his life on the cross, so that what man cannot do to win God’s favor and be saved, he did. All it takes is to believe in him and follow him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18). He also said, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).
To follow Jesus is to follow the way of the cross. And to follow the way of the cross is to suffer and die every day to our sinful passions and desires, and to choose goodness over evil, no matter what the cost. While this may appear hard to do, and indeed it is, what God told the Israelites, through Moses, in their fight against evil nations, he probably tells us also in our fight against sin, “Be strong and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). In Jesus’ own words, “Behold, I am with you always until the end of age” (Matthew 28:20).
To follow Jesus brings with it everlasting rewards. St. Paul says, “If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:11-12). St. James adds, “Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). Thus, in our Christian journey, “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).