Is the Cost Too High?

2nd Sunday in Lent, 2/25/18
Mark 8:31-38


Is the Cost Too High?
I. Not for Jesus
II. But is it for you?


If you’re at all familiar with British history, you’re probably aware that 80 years ago Edward VIII put down the royal crown and walked away. His abdication not only stunned his British subjects, it was international news. Why would he do such a thing?

Historians will point to two issues. One, he was disillusioned with the concept of a monarchy to begin with and he loathed the demands and expectations of the royal position. Two, he was in love with an American socialite by the name of Wallis Simpson. Since she was a divorced woman, it was unlawful for the King of England as the head of the Anglican Church to marry her. So, he walked away from it all. All the pomp and circumstance wasn’t worth it to him. Personally, the price was too high.

You and I undergo the same cost-reward analysis countless times every day. Your mechanic advises you that your vehicle needs $X amount of repairs. You have a decision to make. What are you willing to spend on that vehicle? Or, you have the opportunity to spend a weekend away, but you have other responsibilities and commitments for that same weekend. How will you spend your time—enjoying yourself or walking away from your responsibilities?

During this season of Lent we’re reminded what it cost Jesus to be our Savior. As we recite with Martin Luther in his explanation to the 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed: “He has redeemed me a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.” He paid the ultimate price for us to belong to him and enjoy eternity with him!

But was that price too high? In a way, as we read in today’s text, that’s what his dear friend, Peter, unwittingly was telling him. But Jesus insisted on paying it. And then Jesus turned the conversation immediately into asking what Peter and his other followers were willing to pay to stay connected to him.

As his modern followers, we now need to consider the issue at hand. Is the price too high?

Let’s keep that question before us and may the Holy Spirit lead us realize how priceless we are to Jesus and how priceless he is to us!

Part I.

Which type of person are you? The type of person that feels the need to have every detail of your life planned, or do you tend to take life as it comes? I can see benefits to both approaches. If you feel compelled to plan your life as much as possible, you avoid unwanted surprises as much as possible. On the other hand, if you simply take life as it comes, you may spare yourself a good deal of stress and anxiety.

Jesus never worried about his life—that would have been sinful. He trusted his Father perfectly and completely. But he also had his life planned out for him down to the last, saving detail. When he was betrayed, when his disciples fled from him, when the soldiers refrained from breaking his bones on the cross—every one of these details were part of God’s plan to save all sinners. And Jesus was keenly aware of that plan.

He announced that very thing to his disciples in the opening words of our text, “[Jesus] then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this.” Jesus spoke these words to his disciples while they were physically near Caesarea Philippi, roughly 130 miles due north of Jerusalem. But spiritually, at least for Jesus, the view of Calvary’s hill just outside Jerusalem was in full view. He knew that’s where he was heading. He knew that’s where he had to go. But most importantly, that’s where he wanted to go because that was his Father’s will and that’s what we needed him to do most of all.

And so, along the way, he made sure that’s exactly what occurred at exactly the time appointed. He didn’t make any side trips, delaying the inevitable. He didn’t allow for any distractions. He didn’t bargain with his Father for a little R&R before the most difficult part of his work of redemption occurred. Instead, he set his sights on Calvary.

Even in the face of intense temptation. That temptation came from one of his closest disciples—Peter—who had just confessed for the other disciples that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus commended him for this confession. But just that quickly Peter became the mouthpiece of Satan. “[He] took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him.” Can you imagine what Peter said to him? “Never, Lord! Don’t talk so foolishly! Don’t waste this opportunity to become everything every Jew is looking forward to! Use your power to begin your earthly reign over your kingdom of glory right here, right now!” As tempting as it was for Jesus, he knew the devilish source of Peter’s words. “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” In other words, Jesus was willing not only to set aside the opportunity to rule in glory here, but also to humble himself to death on a cross. The holy Son of God was willing to take the place of sinful humankind and suffer hell on the cross.

Why would he do such a thing? From a purely human, worldly standpoint, it sounds ridiculous and foolish. But that’s how much he loves us. And the depths of his love for every sinner drove him to the cross.

Is the price too high? Not for Jesus.

We live in a cold, heartless world. Wouldn’t you agree? And supporting evidence of that opinion is that, even when we meet people who express an interest in helping us, they want to know immediately what’s in it for them. Is there anyone left who does something purely out of love? Well, maybe a mother does for her child. You’ve seen or heard the accounts. They’re willing to die for one of their own, even when that child has abused their love. But even such a love has limits. You’ve seen and heard those accounts, too. She can’t take it anymore. Her own child has hurt her so often and for so long, that for her own emotional and physical well-being, she has to put up a wall, a limit, a boundary. If she doesn’t, the price will get too high.

But not for Jesus. Not for a world full of rebellious sinners and not for you and me as individual sinful rebels. It might be different if we didn’t know what we were doing, but the truth is that we know where the God who loves us has set the boundaries and we’ve obliterated them with our sins. We have disappointed his holy will our entire sinful lives. You would think Jesus would need to set up a wall to protect his heart from any more of our assaults. But he doesn’t. In fact, he won’t listen to Satan or his friend Peter who tell him to do that very thing. Instead, he fully realizes what it will cost him to redeem us. The price is his holy blood and life. And he pays it gladly, willingly!

Part II.

But having paid that price for you and me, Jesus has to wonder. He wants to know if we’re willing to follow him. And so he informs his disciples—you and me, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” What’s the cost of following Jesus? Jesus says it means to lose yourself. How so? It means we empty ourselves of our self-worth and find our value in Christ. It means we drop our worldly goals for ourselves and hold tightly onto Jesus’ heavenly goal for us. It means we’ll cut out of our lives anything and everything that gets in the way of our relationship with Jesus, even if that means we have to choose between a loved one and Jesus.

Not sure you want to make that choice? Then ponder this, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 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.” It’s up to you—what you have and can still get in this life or the eternal life which Jesus won for you. What’s most important to you? Are you willing to let yourself and this life go to hold on to Jesus and the life he won for you? Is the price too high? I hope it isn’t. I pray it isn’t. Let your loving God convince you it isn’t.

It won’t be when you realize and embrace how much Jesus loves you and how much you mean to him. His love for us produces our love for him. He loved us first, even when we were unlovable, even before we became members of his kingdom by faith in Jesus. Where can you see his love for you? Look no further than the cross. He embraced the cross on a dark and evil Friday we call “Good” so that he could embrace you forever. That’s love. Pure love. Divine love. Eternal love. And that love calls for you to love him in return. That love calls for you to let go of everything else rather than let go of Jesus.

Is the price too high? Not at all. Not when you consider that what Jesus offers you lasts forever and can never be taken from you. Not when what he offers is a glorious life with the One who loves you more than anyone else. Is the price too high? Absolutely not! Amen.