Jesus has been traveling across Galilee proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” At first the response of the crowds was electrifying and great throngs flocked to hear him. Then Jesus began to challenge some of the accepted traditions of the faith. His disciples, who were excited to be part of a winning team, approached Jesus and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” (Mathew 15:12) They tried to explain to Jesus the nature of reality and that it was necessary in his society to not offend those who held power. Jesus did not seem to understand. Perhaps he was too caught up in his own vision of how things should be.
Some signs of danger began to appear. “And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.” (Mark 11:18) The fact that crowds were still coming gave the disciples courage. Maybe they were part of a revolution and were still on the winning side.
Then there was some slacking of the attendance of the crowds. He was saying some demanding things. “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.” Jesus also noticed and confronted the other disciples, “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter girded up his courage and said, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the word of eternal life.” (John 6:66-68) Then did Peter say, “But perhaps, Lord, you could be a little more politic about how you frame your message.” Don’t we sometimes caution our preachers with the same advice?
In Mark, a rich young ruler came to Jesus and said, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Like many in our culture, he wanted the spiritual secret that could resolve the ambiguity and alienation that he sensed in life. The power, comforts, security and deference that came with wealth were already his. Yet what he could obtain by means of his material wealth still left him dissatisfied. He wanted something that money could not buy. He asked Jesus to show him the principles or secret by which he might obtain what was missing in his life.
Jesus pointed him towards behavior rather than an abstract set of principles. He reminded the young man of that portion of the Ten Commandments that was focused on relationships among humans in a community. When the young man asserted that he had kept these commandments since he was young, we are told in Mark that Jesus loved him. This was not a self-righteous religious leader with whom Jesus was debating but a young man about whom he personally cared. Jesus told him to go and sell what he had, give the money to the poor, and to come and follow him. Imagine the challenge this presented to the man. To give up his wealth would mean losing control of his options. Such an action would make him truly dependent upon God.”When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (Mark 10:22)
The church that is so focused on how it can sell itself to its customers, might want to reflect on what it must have felt like for Jesus to see someone he loved turn away. The thrust of the church growth movement is to mold our response in a fashion that pleases. Yet Jesus did not go running down the path crying out, “Wait, maybe we can compromise.” The difference may have been that Jesus was more certain about the truth that he proclaimed. Perhaps it is time that the church revisits its own theology and reexamines what is the nature of the church and the truth that we have to proclaim to the world. While we should be always alert to the dangers of dogmatism, perhaps we need to reexamine the meaning of servanthood. Can you be a servant to others while remaining faithful to the one who called you to servanthood?
