Who Is Jesus? Series

GOSPEL OF MARK: GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION

WHO IS JESUS?

A. WHO IS JESUS? That was the question that was asked on the streets of New York City. (VIDEO)

1. There are a lot of OPINIONS out there about who Jesus is, aren’t there?

ILLUSTRATION:

Some believe that he was a fictional character—that he never existed. Others would say that He was a man who tried to DO GOOD and bring people together with a MESSAGE of LOVE, but He was NOT the Son of God. One woman said that “He was the Son of God, but so is Ghandi and Mahammad.” A man in the video, who had a liking to pigeons, alluded to Jesus as being a MAGICIAN like David Copperfield—all of His miracles were MAGIC TRICKS—a slight of hand.

2. WHO IS JESUS? How we answer this question is infinitely important, because it will DETERMINE

where we spend ETERNITY.

COMMENT:

A young woman in the video said, “He is my Lord and Savior.” And a young man said, “He is God…and as I grow in my faith, I see Him as my closest friend.”

3. This is the same question that Jesus asked His apostles.

B. Today we conclude our Summer Series on the Gospel of Mark, and will finish the rest of the GOSPEL

starting next YEAR.

1. Jesus summarized the reason for COMING to this earth in Mark 10:45- “For even the Son of Man did

not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.”

a. Jesus came to SERVE and to SAVE.

b. For the past three months we have been studying about Jesus as SERVANT, and starting in January

(if the Lord is willing) we will be studying about Jesus as SAVIOR.

COMMENT:

We will be looking at the last 6 months of Jesus life leading up to His CRUCIFIXION, RESURRECTION, and ASCENSION.

2. So, the conclusion of the Gospel of Mark will take us from January through the Sunday after Easter.

C. Let’s get to today’s TEXT: Mark 8:27-33 (READ)

1. Jesus had been with the APOSTLES for 2½ years.

a. During this time the TWELVE have witnessed many MIRACLES, and their FAITH in Jesus as the

Christ, the Son of God, has been challenged time and again.

b. From the first DAY each of these men accepted the INVITATION to “FOLLOW” Jesus, they had

HOPED that He would be the “MESSIAH”.

c. It took some doing, but now after 2½ they are CERTAIN that this is the Messiah—the Christ.

2. When asked “Who is Jesus?”, Peter is quick to answer, “You are the Christ”.

a. But, as we will see in our study this morning, although the APOSTLES have come to the point of

fully believing in the MAN, they completely misunderstand the PLAN.

b. At one moment Peter pats himself on the BACK for giving the right answer of who Jesus is, and the next he is sharply REBUKED by our Lord.

MESSAGE:

I. WHO DO PEOPLE SAY JESUS IS? (vv. 27-28)

A. As we studied last week, “Jesus went up north to the Tyre and Sidon area, a Gentile district, where

He healed a Canaanite woman’s demon-possessed daughter”- Mark 7:24-30.

1. As Jesus traveled back down to the Sea of Galilee, “He healed a deaf man in Decapolis and a blind man in Bethsaida.” (As a side note, just last month it was reported that archaeologists have

discovered and excavated the towns of Julius and Bethsaida.)

a. As they are traveling on the outskirts of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do

people say I am?”

COMMENT:

This might sound like a strange question to you. If I got up here this morning and asked, “What are people saying about me?”, you would think that either I have a “poor self-esteem who

desperately need affirmation” or, just the opposite, I am a bit “conceited and arrogant.”

Of course, today we don’t have to ask what people think about others, all we need to do is

read their TWITTER FEED.

ILLUSTRATION:

This question asked by Jesus reminds me of a story that was told of the late George H W Bush

when he was PRESIDENT about visiting a nursing home in Houston, Texas (not sure if it’s true).

According to the story, then President Bush walked up to one of the residents in the nursing home, shook his hand and asked, “Do you know who I am?” The old man in a wheelchair replied,

“No! But if ask that nurse over there, she can tell you.”

b. Again Jesus asked, “Who do people say I am?”- v. 29. I don’t think Jesus is asking this question because He really wants to know what people are saying about Him (remember, Jesus can read minds). This question is for the BENEFIT of His disciples.