Fifth Sunday of Lent, 2023 - Follow Me

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me,” Mark 8:34.

With this statement, Jesus described what is involved in being one of his followers. The three phrases he used – deny themselves, take up their cross, follow me – are best understood against the backdrop of his warning, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod,” Mark 8:15.

In last week’s blog, I identified the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod as the merit-based, deserving-oriented thinking of the world. To take up one’s cross is to reject this way of thinking, living as an insurrectionist against it. To deny self is to die to the constructed, ego-centric persona we created based upon this way of thinking – what the world told us to be and do if we wanted to be accepted and valued. To follow me is to live in relationship with Jesus as our teacher-rabbi, learning from him a different way of thinking and living – thinking shaped by the character of God and the ways of God, what Jesus called the kingdom of God.

The way of thinking Jesus taught was (is) at odds with the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod – the way the world thinks and functions.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod is merit-based, deserving-oriented thinking whereas Jesus taught grace-based thinking that is expressed in forgiveness.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod emphasizes rules, laws, codes of conduct, moral and religious standards, each defining what is expected and telling us what to do whereas Jesus taught us to follow the way of mercy and compassion. “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” (Matthew 9:13, Hosea 6:6).

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod focuses upon behavior - the external - whereas Jesus taught us to focus on the interior – the heart, the attitudes and spirit that govern our lives (Mark 7:17-23).

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod emphasizes conformity to expectations and obedience to the law (behavior) whereas Jesus focused upon spiritual growth and the transformation of the heart.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod with its focus on rules and laws fosters rigid black-and-white, either-or thinking whereas Jesus dealt compassionately with the complexities of life.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod results in us-them thinking whereas Jesus taught us to view and value, accept and embrace everyone as a beloved child of God.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod operates out of comparing and competing whereas Jesus taught the way of humility that recognizes all of life as a gift from God.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod, operating out of comparing and competing, fosters better than-less than thinking whereas Jesus taught us to treat every person with dignity and respect as a beloved child of God (Mark 9:36-37).

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod creates hierarchal thinking that assigns status and standing, power and privilege to those who have higher ranking in the hierarchy whereas Jesus taught that the measure of true greatness was a servant spirit (Mark 9:35).

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod with its deserving-oriented thinking fosters a judging, critical spirit that traffics in condemnation, judgment, punishment, and rejection whereas Jesus taught us to respond to others with forgiveness (Luke 7:26-50; Matthew 18:21-35).

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod, operating out of a judging, condemning spirit, uses power over, down against others, for personal benefit at the other’s expense whereas Jesus used – and taught his disciples to use – power to serve, that is, alongside the other, on behalf of the other, for the other’s good at personal expense (Mark 10:42-45).

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod creates on an underlying emotional tone of fear whereas the ways of Jesus lead to joy and peace.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod fosters shame whereas the ways Jesus taught produces freedom.

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod relies on self-effort and self-reliance whereas Jesus taught us to live in glad dependency on the Spirit, trusting the Father’s faithful provision and extravagant generosity (Luke 12:22-34).

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod produces a persona we present to others – what I call the constructed, ego-centric self, based on what world says we need to do and be if we want to be accepted and valued - whereas the ways of Jesus lead us to discover our true self, the person God created us to be (Mark 8:35-37).

Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of God “has come near” (Mark 1:15, NRSV) or was “at hand” (NIV). The word he used meant the kingdom was here, now – in our midst. It was a reality that could be experienced now, that we could be a part of now. The way of living he embodied and taught is something we can experience in our own lives today.

As he proclaimed the reality of the kingdom, Jesus called people to repent (Mark 1:15). The word he used meant to think with a different mind. The yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod is how the world trained us to think. Like the disciples, it blocks our ability to recognize the kingdom, much less respond to it. Being a part of the kingdom requires us to learn a different way of thinking – the kind of thinking Jesus taught.

To follow Jesus is to move from the way the world trained us to think – merit-based, deserving-oriented thinking – to the grace-based way of thinking Jesus embodied and taught, i.e., kingdom-oriented thinking.