The Gospel of Mark #21 – “Follow Me”
Mark 8:27-38
Intro –
1. Have you ever been asked a tough question? I mean the type of question that has intense ramifications on your immediate future. The type of questions where you know the wrong answer could have severe repercussions.
2. ILL – Comedian Jeff Foxworthy lists 10 questions that a husband should NEVER answer – 10) Do I look like my mother? 9) How old do you think I look? 8) What are you thinking right now? 7) Do you know how to get there? 6) Have you seen my keys? 5) How do you feel about my folks moving in with us? 4) Whose cooking do you like better, mine or your mothers? 3) If you could change one thing about me, what would it be? 2) Do you remember what today is? 1) Does this outfit make me look fat?
3. This section of Mark’s gospel starts with 2 questions that Jesus asks his disciples. “Who do people say that I am?”(vs. 27) and more pointedly, “Who do you say that I am?” (vs. 29).
4. As we will see, the answer to the first may be interesting, but the answer to the second has ultimate & eternal consequences.
5. Mark 8:27-38 (Read)
6. It is important for us to understand that everything Mark has written up to this point, from 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God” has been for the purpose of answering the question, “Who do you say that I am?”
7. Jesus had been teaching his disciples for about 2 years. He had been preparing his disciples for this private meeting at which he intended to reveal to them what would happen to him at Jerusalem. He had given hints along the way, but now he would explain matters to them more fully.
8. The #1 lesson he was trying to get over to them was the realization of his identity.
I. Jesus’ Questions about His Identity – Vs. 27-30
We all need to know who Jesus is. That is the most important question we will ever answer. When we answer that question, it will answer many other questions in our lives.
A. An interesting question – vs. 27-28 “Who do people say that I am?”
1. Of course, people had many opinions about Jesus & still do today.
2. 3 common ideas of that time were –
a. People thought he was John the Baptist because of his preaching. John preached to huge crowds of people. So did Jesus. The message they preached was identical – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 3:2, 4:17).
b. People thought he was Elijah because of his praying. Elijah was a great man of prayer. So was Jesus. Elijah had such power in prayer that he could shut up the heavens so that it didn’t rain for 3½ years. Then, in answer to his prayer, God sent rain to end the drought (James 5:17-18). When Jesus prayed, the deaf heard, the blind saw, the mute spoke, the lame walked, the seas calmed & even the dead were raised. The disciples were so impressed with his prayer life that they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
c. People thought he was 1 of the Old Testament prophets because of his passion. The prophets were men of God who spoke with great passion for God & compassion for people. Jesus spoke as no other man ever spoke (John 7:46)! When he spoke there was compassion in his voice. There was deep love for those who were hurting & hopeless.
3. As good as these may have sounded; they were all cases of mistaken identity!
4. 1 Cor. 8:6b “…there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”
B. An individual question – vs. 29-30 “Who do you say that I am?”
1. After hearing His disciples tell Him what others say, Jesus asks for their opinion.
2. For 2 years, Jesus was trying to get them to understand that he was not a mere man; that he was not just one of the prophets; that he was in fact God in human flesh.
3. The disciples had seen 1st hand Jesus’ preaching, his praying, his power & his passion. They had intimate knowledge, not only of what Jesus did among crowds, but how he lived in private.
4. ILL – A little boy often told great lies at school. The teacher would ask, “What did you do this weekend?” And the boy would say, “I Went fishing & caught 36 fish this long!” or “I went deer hunting & killed 8 ten point bucks.” or “I played baseball & hit 16 home runs in one inning!” Finally, she took him to the office. The principal decided to use reverse psychology on him. He said, “I want to tell you about my weekend. I was walking through the woods & saw a huge black bear & it started chasing me...but just then a Chihuahua came out from behind a tree & killed that black bear, & ate it whole. Do you believe that?” Billy replied, “Sure I do, he’s my dog! That was his 3rd bear this week!”
5. The disciples had no reason to think they were being convinced to accept a lie.
6. In fact, they had every reason to believe that everything Jesus said was in fact the truth of God. So when Peter answers the question, “Who do you say that I am?” He speaks under divine inspiration & answers correctly, “You are the Christ!”
7. What about us? Who do we say Jesus is? What we choose to believe about Jesus is the most important decision we will ever make. We cannot be neutral about Jesus – neutrality is actually a choice to reject him.
8. 1 John 5:12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
II. Jesus’ Teaching about His Death – Vs. 31-33
For the longest time, the disciples were blind to Jesus’ identity – they could not grasp just who he was. In our text, the connection is made & they finally understand. Their statement of faith is summed up in vs. 29, “You are the Christ!” As soon as that connection is made, Jesus begins to teach His disciples what His mission is really all about.
A. Jesus reveals God’s plan – vs. 31-32a “the Son of man must suffer many things…”
1. The word “must” is a word of necessity. Jesus used this word several times.
2. John 3:14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.”
3. Why the must? Jesus was not just going to be the victim of tragic circumstances; he had to be crucified to fulfill the plan of God! It was the only way to secure humanity’s redemption. This was the whole reason for his coming.
4. But, the story doesn’t end there – vs. 31b “after three days rise again.”
5. Yes, there was suffering, pain & death in Jesus’ future, but there was also glory! He would conquer death, Hell & the grave for all those who would believe in him.
6. Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
B. Jesus rebukes Peter’s plan – vs. 32b-33
1. The thought of the Messiah being killed was more than Peter could handle.
2. When Jesus started talking about that cross business, Peter wouldn’t hear of it. So he takes Jesus aside & begins to rebuke him.
3. Matt. 16:22 “Never Lord!... This shall never happen to you!”
4. Many people have problems with the idea of a suffering Savior.
5. 1 Cor. 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us which are being saved it is the power of God.”
6. Oswald Chambers, “All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.”
7. ILL – Chuck Colson tells the story of how Polish Prime Minister Jaruzelski ordered crucifixes removed from classroom walls. Catholic bishops attacked the ban & ultimately the government relented, insisting that the law remain on the books, but agreeing not to press for removal of the crucifixes. But one zealous Communist school administrator in Garwolin decided that the law was the law. So one evening he had 7 large crucifixes removed from lecture halls. A group of parents entered the school & hung more crosses. The administrator promptly had these taken down as well. The next day 2/3 of the school's 600 students staged a sit-in. When police arrived, the students were forced into the streets & they marched to a nearby church where they were joined by 2,500 other students from nearby schools for a morning of prayer in support of the protest. Soldiers surrounded the church. But the pictures from inside of students holding crosses high above their heads flashed around the world on TV. So did the words of the priest who delivered the message to the weeping congregation that morning. “There is no Poland without a cross.”
8. There is no Christianity without the cross! It is the center of everything Jesus did.
9. The devil wants people to avoid the cross. The things Peter said revealed that Satan was using Peter to attack him. That is why Jesus rebukes Satan.
III. Jesus’ Challenge about being His Disciple – Vs. 34-38 “If anyone would come after me”
Jesus turns to the crowd & makes an offer to them, to the disciples & to us. He is inviting us to follow him. It involves a decision of the will – you must decide to follow him!
A. The pattern of how to follow Jesus – vs. 34
1. This is a serious decision. Jesus didn’t say, “follow me & I’ll make you popular & all your problems will go away.” No he said vs. 34 (read again).
2. What does it mean to deny ourselves? Does it mean to give up some things we really like? No, to deny yourself means you renounce the right to run your life!
3. If you are a Christian, you don’t belong to yourself.
4. 1 Cor. 6:19-20 “19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
5. Jesus Christ has absolute claim to your life. To deny yourself means that you are no longer to live a self-centered life, you are to start living a Christ-centered life!
6. There are 2 crosses mentioned in the Bible – the cross of Christ & the cross of the believer. “Take up your cross” means, “be prepared to die for me.”
7. Most of us are willing to follow Jesus until it interferes with our plans.
8. Luke 14:33 “any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
B. The paradox of following Jesus – vs. 35-37
1. Jesus talked about 2 choices in life with 2 consequences. You do not have to follow Jesus. You have a choice.
2. You can live your life on your own terms, but in the end, you will lose your life. When you reach the end of your way, you will find that there is nothing but a Christ-less eternity waiting for you.
3. ILL – Around 1,000 AD the tomb of Charlemagne was opened. The king had been dead for about 180 years by then. When they opened his tomb, they found great treasure, but they also encountered an amazing site. They saw the skeleton of Charlemagne sitting on throne, with a crown still sitting on the skull. In his bony hands was a copy of the Gospels. A bony finger was pointing to this text, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Charlemagne was a great king, but in the end, none of that mattered. When it came time for him to die, he left his robes, his riches and his royalty behind and he went out into eternity to meet his God.
4. If you decide that you want to follow Jesus, you will make the discovery of meaning & purpose in your life.
5. Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
C. The penalty for not following Jesus – vs. 38
1. The word “ashamed”, in this context, means “unwilling because of fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval.” It refers to those who will not come to Jesus for salvation & who will not follow Him because they refuse to accept him or his message.
2. We can reject Jesus now & be rejected by him at his 2nd coming or we can accept him now & be accepted by him then.
Conc. –
1. Let me ask you 2 questions today –
a. Who do you say Jesus is? There is only one Jesus! The sinless Son of God who died & rose again in victory! Do you know Him?
b. Are you his follower? Have you given all that you are to Jesus?
2. God’s greatest concern is what you do with Jesus while you are here on earth!
