Who do you say Jesus is?
Mark 8:27-33
Introduction
- Jesus is demonstrated in this book as a “servant”
-- Key verse: Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- IMP: What God says to us here is critical application for living for Him
- Encouragement: When we encounter God’s truth, it should cause a change
-- We should feel uncomfortable in some areas of our life
-- Sometimes however, it IS our entire life that needs to change
-- The Gospel is not for the weak at heart, so count it an honor to be included
- Continuing in our study, we see Jesus performing more miracles/healings
-- His approach is direct, but sometimes the “why” is hidden from us
-- Let’s explore these passages and see if we can discover the “why” for ourselves
- They travel intentionally, and they minister to whomever they cross
-- It’s a great encouragement to us to SEEK ways to reach other people
- Read Mark 8:27-33
∆ Point 1 – Who do you say He is? (27-30)
- What we are going to see tonight leads us into a great exploration on Sunday
- When Jesus begins to examine the disciples, it’s a tremendous encouragement
-- It shows that even they can be tested and asked to respond to Jesus Himself
-- To us, we get to see the revelation of an intimate discussion between them
-- Challenge: I don’t know about you, but I can use this about now in my life
- The disciples obviously were getting smarter as they traveled with Jesus
-- They were being shown great things and God was expounding their knowledge
-- Jesus is literally testing them to see how far their knowledge had grown
- In v27, Jesus is asking the disciples about the public opinion of Himself
-- Our knowledge however, is never going to be enough (it has human limits)
-- We must not only grow, but decide for ourselves who Jesus really is
-- We must come to Him on our own, and ask the tough questions internally
- Matthew shows Peter’s response (v29) in a much fuller detail
-- Matthew 16:13-19, “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
- Since many believe that Peter dictated this Gospel to Mark, it shows his intention
-- APP: Peter only wanted Jesus to be glorified, so He limits his “chatter”
-- He delivers the summation, which is the greatest information ever
-- “You are the Messiah” (v29) … wow, what truth, what revelation we have!
- Jesus knew the disciples didn’t yet have the full explanation of who He is
-- His warning (request - v30) is not to silence the message of the Gospel
-- It is simply, to give them time to continue learning what they’re being taught
-- APP: This is a great lesson for us: “Sometimes silence is better”
- TRANS: What Jesus does next is to prepare them with more information
-- This however, is information that I don’t think they ever expected to hear
∆ Point 2 – Jesus Reveals His Mission (31-33)
- For the first time, Jesus reveals to the disciples what He must endure
-- After Peter confesses He is the Christ, we get a preview of how He is the One
-- The Passion of the Christ is not just a movie title, but a revelation of Him
- What Jesus is revealing is that He will be the suffering Messiah of Isa 53
-- The cross will not be His only suffering though, which is clear for us
-- Rejection, scorn, humiliation, loneliness, assault, and murder will be His
- This isn’t going to be pleasant, but I encourage you to hang with me
- What is most painful: The rejection comes from those who represent God
-- These are the ones who call themselves “godly” and teach those without
-- They are the “elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law” (v31)
- These men, who say they are Godly, refuse to recognize One from God
-- APP: Here is a chance to check ourselves and our intentions, here it is
-- HUGE: “Do we lead people to like us or to worship God?”
- This is why preaching the Gospel is unpopular to Christians today
-- It’s unpopular because it means denying ourselves and revealing the Christ
- Peter decides that this is too harsh and so he takes Jesus aside (v32)
-- Wow … the disciple with the big mouth and attitude, rebukes Jesus
-- But why? Why does He rebuke Jesus or try to teach Jesus something?
-- It’s exactly what we do: “I want to serve God but really only as an advisor …”
- I want you to imagine this conversation for a moment
-- “Jesus, I love you, but you cannot go around saying things like this … it’s not good nor is it popular and really this kind of truth is not going to help us.”
- What happens in v33 is the strongest rebuke ever given to a Christian
-- Jesus says, “I cannot avoid the cross because it IS the will of God”
-- Peter is not thinking Kingdom, he is thinking only of his desires/preferences
-- His thought process is to run Satan’s errands for him; but not living Godly
- Satan exists to do one thing and one thing alone, tear down God’s purposes
-- Peter wasn’t actually possessed by Satan, but he was acting like him
-- His intent was to try to persuade Jesus’ mission by doing something else
- Jesus’ rebuke is to all the disciples (v33) and this is where we fall as well
-- We must not try to change what God has set in motion – but to follow His lead
-- This is where we pause for Sunday … believe me, you WANT to be here!
- Pray
