Special Episode Recap: The Cross Is Not A Flagpole
What if the problem isn’t that we misunderstand the cross—but that we’ve repurposed it?
In this special NT 602 episode of Wesleyan Threads, we step beyond the expected terrain of Methodist polity and into the heart of Markan discipleship. Anchored in Mark 8:27–9:1, the episode explores what happens when Peter confesses Jesus as Messiah—but cannot accept what that means.
The conversation turns toward the cost of following a crucified Christ. When Jesus rebukes Peter and calls the crowd to take up their cross, it isn’t a metaphor for inconvenience. It’s a call to a radically different way of being—one marked by surrender, solidarity, and sacrifice. This isn’t the cross lifted as a symbol of cultural dominance. It’s the cross borne in vulnerability and love.
Through narrative and theological reflection, the episode challenges listeners to consider the temptation to wield the cross like a flagpole—using it to rally power, define identity, or shield ideology. True discipleship, Mark insists, is not about preserving our image of a victorious Christ. It’s about following the real one—down the road of suffering, service, and transformation.
Key Threads:
Peter’s confession and the paradox of messiahship
The narrative and theological pivot in Mark 8:27–9:1
Discipleship as costly and cruciform
The cross as symbol of vulnerability, not power
Reclaiming Mark’s Christology in a context of distorted triumphalism
Takeaway Quote:
“The cross is not a flagpole. It’s not a brand or a platform. It’s a protest — a wound — a way of life that tells the truth even when it hurts.”
Explore More:
Brian K. Blount and Gary W. Charles, Preaching Mark in Two Voices
R. Alan Culpepper, Mark (Smyth & Helwys)
M. Eugene Boring, Mark: A Commentary (Westminster John Knox)
Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man
🎧 Listen to The Cross Is Not a Flagpole wherever you get your podcasts or here at wesleyanthreads.org
🔗 Follow up with “Wound Yet Risen” for further reflection on trauma and resurrection in Mark 15.
