Sermon – September 20

Text: Mark 8:27-35
Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” 28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” 34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

It Pays to Have Complete Information
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ:

1. Regarding the work of the Messiah
In this eighth chapter of Mark we find Jesus once again teaching His disciples, but this time by leading them through questions, not for His sake but for their own. Who do men say that I am? There was a lot of speculation about Jesus. People could tell that He was not ordinary. Even though He had an appearance of lowliness, He attracted crowds with both His teachings and miracles. However most people could not make the final leap in their minds. They pegged Him as a prophet, and even a great prophet like Elijah or John the Baptist, but would not go so far as to identify Him as the Messiah.

Jesus then gave the disciples an opportunity for their own confession, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” The Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew term Messiah. Both mean “the anointed One.” The One set aside not just as a prophet, but as Prophet, Priest, and King. Only the Christ could check all those boxes. Peter and the rest of the apostles listened to Jesus, studied the prophecies of the Old Testament and by the power of the Spirit came to the conclusion that Jesus was the One they had been waiting for.

Why then do we read in verse 30, Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. That’s puzzling isn’t it? The verses that follow, though, indicate, that they didn’t have enough information. Yes, they knew that Jesus was the Christ, but they didn’t know what the Christ was. They understood that the Christ would be a King, but they didn’t know what kind. They knew that He would have glory, but didn’t know that He was also a servant. They only grabbed onto prophecies about changes the Messiah would bring but did not grasp passages like Isaiah 50 which spoke of a Suffering Servant. So while people may have been ready to hear about Jesus, the disciples were not ready to tell. They were not going to give complete information about the Messiah.

Up to this point Jesus had been giving indications and speaking in vague terms about what was to come at the end of His ministry, but now in verse 31 He speaks plainly: And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. This was necessary. In order for there to be a release from the bondage of sin and death, then Jesus would have to undergo the suffering, the rejection, and death that He spoke of.

Yet it was surprising to the disciples how both the secular and religious leaders teamed up to bring Him down. I think we all would have been taken aback to have witnessed then the suffering. It sometimes makes us upset just reading about it. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50) This was not only painful, but also humiliating. Here He was the Creator of the world, and was getting smacked around and spit on, His beard torn out. Then they watched as Jesus’ life drained away on the cross.

This was necessary though. Jesus would live the perfect life in our place, but what about all the evil that we had done? Who could account for that? God could not pretend that it didn’t happen. He is a God of justice. It would have been going back on His statement that sin produced death. But in His love, Jesus volunteered to give Himself over into this rejection, suffering, and death knowing that it was the only way to pay for sin and to save sinners. It was the only way. Jesus would ask that the cup of suffering be removed if it were possible, but it wasn’t. Sin has to be paid for by blood, and only the blood of the Christ would do. But there would be a triumph. Jesus would overcome death. And after three days rise again

Whether Peter wasn’t listening to the last phrase or just thought that Jesus was exaggerating by saying must, he took upon himself to correct Jesus. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. You can picture Peter maybe grabbing Jesus by the arm and saying, “Look, Jesus, you don’t have to do this. This isn’t the way it should be.” That took some nerve, but it shows what happens when you don’t have all the information. You make incorrect and even deadly assumptions. Peter was actually tempting Jesus.

We know this because Jesus said, Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. I cannot think of anything worse to be called than Satan. Yet it was Satan himself who tried to convince Jesus in the wilderness that He should take the easy way out and gather the kingdoms of the world to Himself rather than suffer.

We cannot tempt Christ, but we can put roadblocks and temptations up in front of people when we are mindful of the things of men rather than God. We do this when we minimize sin and its penalty. We do this when we present the work of Jesus as incomplete. We do this when we don’t want to hurt feelings and present all religions as valid as Christianity. We do this when we talk one way and live another. Know the complete information about the Christ. A King, yes but of a spiritual kingdom. A Servant, yes, but only for a time and a purpose that led to salvation and glory.

2. Regarding what it is involved when you are the Messiah’s disciples
Jesus does give complete information about His work and also what it is involved in being one of His disciples. There should be no surprises to the followers of Jesus. There’s no excuse to say, “This is too hard, or this is not what I signed up for.” He tells us of both the cross and the crown. First He says, Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself.

Self-denial here is more than not allowing yourself certain things. It is disowning yourself. Think of Peter’s denial of Jesus. He disowned Him, and declared that he wanted nothing to do with Him. This is the way it is to be with self. You have to be willing to say, “That used to be me, but no longer.” Disciples of Jesus don’t live for themselves, but for Christ. This is not a natural way of thinking. We’re very comfortable with putting ourselves first, and finding ways to please ourselves even if it is spiritually harmful.

Secondly, Jesus says that discipleship means taking up your cross. He uses a picture that was all too familiar to a nation occupied by the Roman empire. The cross was the ultimate suffering that they could imagine and was a symbol of pain. The cross for the Christian is not your ordinary affliction. Unbelievers also suffer from sickness and death and all the ramifications that come with living in a sinful world. The disciple of Christ has to be willing to suffer in particular because he is a Christian.
The hatred of the world for Christ spills over onto His followers. All of the apostles suffered beatings and imprisonment and all but one was killed because of following Christ. Thousands more have had the cross of physical suffering.

More common is ridicule. When you profess a belief in creation, you may be called ignorant. When you say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, you’ll be called a hatemonger. When you stick with God’s ways when it comes to sexual relationships, you’ll be called a prude or worse. You will carry a cross as a Christian. As Jesus said, A servant is not greater than his Master. The world hated Christ and mistreated Him. Don’t expect anything different for those who follow Him. You don’t even need to go looking for trouble. It will come to you when the world knows you belong to Christ. Jesus, though, gives full disclosure. The only way to give up the cross is to give up Christ. And that’s a trade not worth making.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. If we stop following Jesus because we want to protect our life, we’re killing ourselves spiritually. It’s ironic that those who are so focused on themselves and their own life actually give it up. There’s no future.

Are you willing to lose your life for the sake of the Gospel? Most of us would say yes without hesitation. In fact, many of us have said that in our confirmation vow. But what happens when the going gets rough as a Christian – even before there is one threat to the body – is that we cave in. We don’t want to put up with being different. We don’t want to stand out. We’d rather live in the shadows as Christians.

Just like people only really heard just part of the prophecies of Jesus, and just as Peter seemed to hear just the part about Jesus’ suffering and not the rising again, we too often focus on just the negatives of discipleship. Whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. Don’t forget that when we lose on this earth for Jesus, we win.

Jesus gives us this complete picture not to discourage us, but to prepare us. After the cross comes the crown. After a lifetime of what seems like defeats comes the victory. After death comes everlasting life. Jesus gives us the complete picture of discipleship so that we don’t quit. Following Jesus also means that we will go where He is now, to everlasting glory in heaven. This is no secret. By having the complete picture of Jesus the Messiah you can say goodbye to self, pick up the baggage of the cross, and proceed with the journey that ends in everlasting life. Amen.