SERIES: WALKING WITH JESUS
“THE SERVANT REVEALS”
MARK 8:27-9:50
OPEN
There is a great story in 2 Kings 6. The nations of Aram (Syria) and Israel are at war. The king of Aram decides he will muster his troops in a certain place to set up an ambush. The prophet Elisha discerns where they will be and informs the king of Israel. The army of Israel avoids that place and the ambush.
The same thing happens several times. The king of Aram believes there is a traitor somewhere in his chain of command. Let’s pick up the events of this story at vs. 11.
2 Kings 6:11-17 – “This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, ‘Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?’ ‘None of us, my lord the king,’ said one of his
officers, ‘but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your
bedroom.’ ‘Go, find out where he is,’ the king ordered, ‘so I can send men and capture him.’ The report came
back: ‘He is in Dothan.’ Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and
surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. ‘Oh, my lord, what shall we do?’ the servant asked. ‘Don't be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
Every one of us suffers from different conditions of spiritual blindness. Last week in our study through the Gospel of Mark, we saw that both the enemies of Jesus and his closest disciples suffered from forms of this malady.
In the passages of Mark that we’re studying together this morning, Jesus begins to reveal some important spiritual truths to his followers. His earthly ministry is coming to a close. The time for his death, burial and resurrection would soon be upon him. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, it is only seven to nine months until the final week. The cross looms large in the distance.
Everything about Jesus’ mission is dependent on the cross. There are some essential concepts that Jesus’ followers must grasp. Jesus removes the cover to unveil these concepts. As Christ’s followers in the 21st century, we need to grasp these concepts as well. The entire scope of Christian living rests on these concepts.
SUFFERING LEADS TO GLORY
Jesus wants to spend some “alone time” with his disciples away from the crowds and the distractions of battling with the Jewish religious leaders. He takes them to a place about 25 miles north of Bethsaida to the region of Caesarea Philippi at the foot of Mt. Hermon.
The town of Caesarea Philippi was built by Herod Philip. He named it after Caesar Augustus and himself. In this town stood a marble temple dedicated to emperor worship. Warren Wiersbe notes, “It was a place dedicated to the glory of Rome and that glory is now gone, but the glory of Jesus Christ remains and will go on eternally.”
Confession
Mk. 8:27-30 – “Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still
others, one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You
are the Christ.’ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”
If you asked people what others said about you, it might seem like you had a problem with pride. Jesus asks the question as a teaching technique. He is using one question to prepare his disciples to answer the most important question of all. What people believe and say about us is not necessarily all that important. But what people believe and say about Jesus Christ is extremely and eternally important.
Who do people say Jesus is? There are many opinions and ideas and most of them are wrong. It’s not enough to discuss what other people think. You have to answer the question yourself.
Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” The good news is that Jesus invites you to weigh the evidence, to search the Scriptures, to see what he did and to wrestle with all that he said and did. But at some point the question has to be called. You need to reach a verdict.
Peter did and he was right. Matthew’s account expands Peter’s answer just a bit. In Mt. 16:16 Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” The word “Christ” means “the Anointed One” and is the equivalent of the Hebrew word “Messiah.”
“Anointing” is the process of setting someone apart for a specific role or job. In the Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed. Jesus is the ultimate prophet, priest, and king.
Confusion
Mk. 8:31-9:1 – “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the things of
God, but the things of men.’ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone
would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to
gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is
ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him
when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.’ And he said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, some who
are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.’’
The disciples are confused. The common teaching concerning the Messiah was that he would be an earthly king. He would defeat the Gentile invaders and again establish the earthly glory of the kingdom of Israel like it was under King David.
What was confusing was that there was no place in this teaching concerning suffering and death. The disciples couldn’t wrap their minds around what Jesus was saying. Peter is the one who expresses his disagreement but he is speaking for the whole group.
One minute Pete is confessing his faith in Jesus Christ and the next he is disagreeing with what Jesus has to say. Understand that when we begin to argue with God’s word, we open the door for Satan’s lies.
From this point forward in the Gospel of Mark, the focus is on the journey to Jerusalem for Jesus’ last week of life on this earth. The emphasis is on Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
The teaching that Jesus gives here imposes huge implications for us, because the path we have been called to follow is also the path to the cross. Listen again to what Jesus says in Mk. 8:34 – “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
To take up the cross means to take up the instrument of our own execution. In those days, criminals and slaves who were condemned to death, before they crucified, were made to carry their crosses to the place of execution. Jesus says that following him means that we follow without limits, even to the point of being condemned and killed for him.
The path he chose – the path to the cross – is the path he calls us to follow as well. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The cross is laid on every Christian…When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
Confirmation
Mk. 9:2-8 – “After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain,
where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter
than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were
talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one
for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.”
The radiance of God’s glory in His Son is revealed here during this mountain-top experience. Heb. 1:3 – “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
. Peter later describes it this way in 2 Pet. 1:16-18 – “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he
received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.”
Jesus is the Messiah, the radiance of God’s glory, but he has chosen the way to the cross. He is the king on a cross. He has come to die for his people, and to be raised again so that we can live.
Correction
Mk. 9:9-13 – “As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they
had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what
‘rising from the dead’ meant. And they asked him, ‘Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come
first?’ Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.’”
Notice that Peter, James, and John are confused about the resurrection. The concept of Jesus dying has not sunk in. If they don’t understand the cross, they don’t understand the resurrection. So they ask Jesus a question about the teaching that Elijah would come before the Messiah.
POWER COMES FROM FAITH
Mk. 9:14-29 – “When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers
of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and
ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing with them about?’ he asked. A man in the crowd answered, ‘Teacher, I
brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it
throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.’ ‘O unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with
you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’ So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, ‘How long has he been like this?’ ‘From childhood,’ he answered. ‘It has
often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you
can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’ Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, ‘I do
believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked
the evil spirit. ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that
many said, ‘He's dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn't we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘This kind can
come out only by prayer.’”
The remaining disciples have a problem. There is a demon they cannot remove from the boy who is possessed. Jesus had given his chosen disciples authority to cast out demons: Mk. 3:13-15 – “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” Mk. 6:7 – “Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.”
But this demon just seemed too tough. But the problem, according to Jesus, wasn’t really the demon. The problem, Jesus says, is not that the demon is too big. It’s that the faith of the disciples is too small. The problem isn’t the demon; the problem is the disciples. They were trying to handle things on their own.
We try to do the same thing, don’t we? We face our problems and difficulties and we do it in our own strength. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But when it doesn’t, we try to figure out what went wrong.
There is a right way and a wrong way to go about things. The wrong way is revealed in a discussion following these events between Jesus and his disciples. Mk. 9:28-29 – “After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn't we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer.’”
This is shocking. It looks like the disciples relied on their own devices to handle the demon. It’s unthinkable, isn’t it? But let’s think about that a bit more. How many times have we tried to serve others with the same self-reliance as the disciples? Could it be that this is one of the reasons for our lack of power?
The wrong way is modeled by Jesus’ disciples. The right way is modeled by the boy’s father. The father in this passage realizes he’s in way over his head. Is he self-confident? Not at all. “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” He’s not even sure that Jesus can help him. He’s not someone who has it all together.
The problem is that we think Jesus only deals with people who have it all together. But it’s the opposite: Jesus gives grace to those who acknowledge their need. When Jesus challenges him, the father says, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Do you realize what he’s saying? He is saying, “Help me just as I am, a doubter.” He does not plead based on how together he is. He realizes that he has nothing to make himself worthy. He doesn’t say, “Please heal my boy based on how much faith I have!” Instead, he pleads for mercy and throws himself at Jesus’ feet. True faith is always aware of how inadequate it is.
There’s a hint in this passage of how important this concept is. Mark has been drawing parallels between an Old Testament passage when Moses went up the mountain and met with God. When Moses came down, do you remember what he found? He found the Israelites worshiping a golden calf. Here, Jesus has come down from the mountain after meeting with God. Do you see what he found? Prayerless ministry. Do you see what Mark is saying here? It’s the same thing. Prayerless ministry is no better than idolatry. It’s dethroning God and putting our trust in technique and human strength instead of trusting in God alone.
I think we need to learn a lot from the father in this passage, and to admit to God that we believe, but we really don’t. We don’t even know how dependent we are on him. We accept that Jesus came to serve, to give his life, to rise so that we could have power and new life, but we still try to live on our own strength. Maybe this morning we need to repent and even admit that we don’t know how to be dependent, and then ask God to help us. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Then Jesus said, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” What challenges are we facing as a church that can only come out by prayer? When we encounter needs like the disciples did, where are we trying and arguing but not having any measurable impact? I wonder how things would change if we really believed what Jesus said in this passage; if we really acknowledged our need and depended on God for what only he can do.
Mk. 9:30-32 – “They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.”
They still don’t get it. The cross is not part of their plan. But it is part of God’s plan. And thank God, it is.
SERVICE LEADS TO HONOR
These next passages describe a series of problems that we all face. Of course, the 1st century discples serve as our example of what not to do.
Mk. 9:33-37 – “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you
arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the
greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last,
and the servant of all.’ He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to
them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me
does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’”
The first problem that this passage identifies is self-absorption. Ashleigh Brilliant, cartoonist and author, wrote: “All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own importance.” And if we’re honest, we would have to admit that this is our problem too.
The disciples were following Jesus. They understood that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. This means that they were closely connected to the deliverer who would rescue Israel and gain status and honor and even worship. They began to think about how they could place themselves so that they could milk their relationship with Jesus so that they too could receive positions of power and glory.
Mk. 9:38-41 – “‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to
stop, because he was not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘No one who does a miracle in my name
can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth,
anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his
reward. “
The second problem is very closely related the first. It’s judging others based on our own insecurity.
Listen again to Mk. 9:38 – “ ‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told
him to stop, because he was not one of us.’”
It’s interesting that John never said, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following you.” He said, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
The real issue seems to come out here. The concern has the appearance of being a noble one, but it’s hiding something far more sinister. This man was a blow to their sense of identity. It undermined their special status. They had just failed to cast out a demon shortly before this, and here was this man who wasn’t even one of them casting out demons, apparently with success. They were not happy, but it wasn’t primarily out of a concern for Jesus. It was out of their own insecurity.
Again, this still happens today. Jesus spoke of love as the distinguishing mark that characterizes his disciples. We aren’t generally known for our love. We are pretty good at expressing concerns about other groups that name Jesus because they’re different from us. We can even make it sound good and noble. But often it’s just a cover for our own insecurity.
Mk. 9:42-48 – “ ‘And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”
This is some over-the-top language. You’ve got people being drowned, body parts being cut off, people being thrown into hell. Using hyperbole, Jesus identifies a third problem: not taking sin seriously.
He’s intentionally overstating his point. We know this because Scripture elsewhere forbids self-mutilation. Jesus is intentionally overstating his case so that we understand the severity of sin. No sin is worth going to hell for. It’s far better to deal with sin and temptation severely than to have our souls destroyed by sin. Nothing less than eternal life and death is at stake. We can’t afford to fool around with sin.
We tend to minimize sin and its consequences. We think it’s not a big deal. We do not take the necessary steps to eradicate sin from our lives. We tend to tolerate it, wink at it, think that it’s no big deal. Jesus says it will destroy us, and that dealing with these areas is more important than even the things that are indispensable to us.
CLOSE
Throughout this whole section of the Gospel of Mark there is an underlying problem: not understanding the cross. In other words, the fundamental issue here is a failure to understand that we serve a Savior who went to the cross, and who invites us to follow him and share in his suffering. The basic problem is that the disciples failed to grasp the way to the cross as not only the path Jesus would take, but the path that they were called to take as well.
You see, if they had understood that Jesus was walking on ahead to a sacrificial death, they would have realized how ludicrous it is to push and shove to establish the order of the procession behind him. When you’re marching to a cross, you stop pushing to get to the front of the line. If they had understood that Jesus was laying his life down in service by going to the cross, they wouldn’t be threatened by somebody casting out demons who wasn’t part of their group, because servants don’t get threatened. They aren’t worried about their position; they are worried about serving.
It’s the same with us. Whatever issue you are facing in your life, you can trace it back to one underlying issue: you haven’t yet worked out the implications of the cross in that area of your life. When we understand the cross, and when we understand that we have been called not only to enjoy the benefits of the cross, but to follow Christ in giving our lives away, then we will be transformed in these areas.
Mk. 9:49-50 – “‘Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you
make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.’”
What does it mean to be salted with fire? There is one place where salt and fire came together: when offering a sacrifice. Lev. 2:13 – “Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.”
What Jesus says here is that following him is like making your life a burnt offering. It’s total and irrevocable. Then he uses salt in a different way, referring to its preserving and purifying qualities. You see, in Jesus’ day, they didn’t just sprinkle salt on something. They poured it on. It was covered in salt.
