Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
- Confession in the Cross
- The Cross of Christ
- The Crosses of Christians
SERMON TEXT: Mark 8:27-35
Jesus went away with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They told him, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others say one of the prophets.” “But who do you say I am?” he asked them. Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. He was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.” He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
Bible Readings
FIRST LESSON: Jeremiah 38:1-13
Shephatiah son of Mattah, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had told the people when he said, “This is what the LORD says. Whoever remains in this city will die by sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes over to the Chaldeans will live. He will escape with his life, and he will live. This is what the LORD says. This city will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.” Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death because he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city. He is demoralizing all the people by saying these things to them. This man is not seeking the welfare of the people. He wants to hurt them.” King Zedekiah answered, “Very well. He is in your hands. The king cannot do anything to stop you.” So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They let Jeremiah down by ropes. There was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. Ebed Melek the Cushite, an official in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed Melek left the palace and said to the king, “My lord the king, everything that these men have done to Jeremiah the prophet is evil. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he is likely to die because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city.” Then the king gave orders to Ebed Melek the Cushite: “Take thirty men from here under your command and lift Jeremiah the prophet up out of the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed Melek took command of the men and entered a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothing from there, and he lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” After Jeremiah did that, they lifted him up with the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. After this Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
SECOND LESSON: 1 Peter 4:12–19
Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery trial that is happening among you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead rejoice whenever you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or as a meddler. But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God in connection with this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. Now if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who disobey the gospel of God? And if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, where will the ungodly sinner end up? So let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to their faithful Creator while doing what is good.
VERSE OF THE DAY: Romans 15:4
Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
GOSPEL: Mark 8:27-35
See Sermon Text