Introduction:
A. One day, two men with the same qualifications interviewed for the same job and both did equally well in the interview.
1. The hiring manager decided to have them both take an exam with 10 questions to help him make a decision about who to hire.
2. As it turned out, both men only missed one of the questions.
3. The manager went to one of the men and said, “Thank you for your interest in this position, and even though you and the other man are equally qualified and both only missed one question, I’ve decided to give the job to the other man.”
4. The man replied, “If we are equally qualified and interviewed equally well, and both correctly answered 9 questions, then why is he getting the job rather than me?”
5. The manager replied, “It was your different answers for the one question you both missed that determined my decision. The other man’s answer to the question was, ‘I don’t know.’ But your answer was, ‘Neither do I.’ ”
B. How we answer the most important questions in life makes a huge difference and it doesn’t help to copy other people's answers.
1. In today’s section from the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus asking His disciples “life’s most important question” and the question isn’t “where did we come from?”, or “why are we here?”, or “where are we going?”, as important as those questions are.
2. The question Jesus asked them is: Who do you say that I am?”
a. That is life’s most important question and how we answer that question has earthly and eternal consequences.
3. But as we will see in today’s passage from Mark, giving the right answer requires the right understanding and brings with it a specific set of expectations.
C. Ultimately, Jesus is who Jesus is, He’s not whoever you want Him to be.
1. Some people want to keep Jesus in the realm of fairy tale or comic book characters.
2. Some people want to believe that He was just a good man who did good things.
3. Others want to believe that Jesus was always loving and accepting, and was never critical or condemning.
4. Still others want to accept Him as just a great teacher with great teachings.
5. But what does Scripture declare about who Jesus really is?
D. Chapter 8 of Mark’s Gospel is a pivotal chapter because it’s the climax of the first act.
1. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, the disciples have been with Him for about 2 years and they have been growing in their understanding of who Jesus really is.
2. They have come to know Him as someone who can do great and powerful things beyond imagination: like; cast out demons, heal the sick, feed the multitudes, calm the wind and waves, and even raise the dead.
3. All of these things point to the fact that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King that they had been waiting centuries for.
4. But now what they need to understand is that He is a different kind of King than they had imagined.
5. In today’s passage Jesus will declare that He is their King, but as their King, He is headed for a cross, and if they want to follow Him, then they have to experience crosses as well.
I. Peter’s Right Answer (Mark 8:27-30)
A. Mark wrote: 27 Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him. (Mk. 8:27-30)
1. Before Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, He asked them about the sentiments of the crowds.
2. Jesus knew that some people viewed Him as a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of sinners, and a pawn of Beelzebub, but the apostles didn’t mention any of those negative opinions.
3. The apostles chose to report the more favorable views they had heard about Him: Some thought Jesus is John the Baptist, or Elijah, or one of the prophets.
4. This is the same list of possible identities for Jesus that was brought up back in Mark 6:14-15.
5. If you or I were always asking our friends “What do people say about me?” or if we were constantly Googling ourselves to see what is out there about us, then we might be considered a narcissist or have a problem with pride.
6. But Jesus asked this question as a teaching moment and also to frame the next question: But who do you say that I am?
7. I’m sure there was a breathless silence in heaven as all the angelic host waited for the apostles to answer the question.
8. As we might expect, it was Peter who blurted out the answer: “You are the Messiah!” and he was likely speaking for the others as well.
B. This word “Messiah” or “Christ” is not a name, rather it’s a title, meaning “God’s anointed one.”
1. Mark has been revealing to his readers the identity of Jesus throughout his Gospel.
a. In Mark 1:1, Mark wrote: The Gospel of Jesus Christ (Messiah), the Son of God.
b. At Jesus’ baptism in Mark 1:11, God the Father spoke from heaven, “You are my beloved Son…”
c. In Mark 3:11 and 5:7, Jesus’ identity is declared by the demons: “You are the Son of God.”
d. When Peter gave his right answer, it’s a wonder that a chorus of angels didn’t break into song: “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
2. But no sooner had Peter made his pronouncement than Jesus told him that he must tell no one about it.
a. Why? Because Jesus had to teach Peter and the others what Messiahship really meant.
3. The Jewish people had developed many ideas about what the Messiah would do when he came.
a. They expected that he would do supernatural things.
b. They expected that he would be the King to end all kings and that he would put everything right.
c. They expected that the Messiah would drive out the Romans and the whole world would turn to Judaism.
4. Jesus’ disciples likely shared the same expectations and that’s why Jesus told them to remain silent at this point about His identity as the Messiah.
a. Jesus knew that He had to give them the right understanding of what kind of Messiah He intended to be and He needed to do it before He returned to heaven.
II. Peter’s Wrong Rebuke (Mk. 8:31-33)
A. In the very next verse from Mark 8, Jesus immediately began to teach them that the Messiah would have to suffer many things.
1. Mark wrote: 31 Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.” (Mk. 8:31-33)
2. Mark states that “Jesus began to teach them…” – this is a key turn in Mark’s Gospel, because Jesus for the 1st time explicitly predicted the suffering He would face in the near future.
a. This topic is the main thought and focus in this section of Mark, from chapter 8, verse 31 through chapter 10, verse 52.
b. Three specific passages about the death of the Son of Man are found in Mark – the first is here in 8:31, and the other two are 9:31 and 10:33-34.
c. The last thing the disciples expected to hear on the heels of the grand confession of Peter about Jesus’ identity was a prediction of Jesus’ suffering and death.
3. Jesus’ first important statement in this surprising section is “The Son of Man must suffer.
a. When Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man,” He wasn’t trying to highlight His humanity, rather He was linking Himself to the prophesies from Daniel 7:13-14, where Daniel pointed to a divine messianic figure who was to come and was supposed to put everything right.
4. But Jesus said that it is necessary for the Son of Man to “suffer” – never before that moment had anyone in Israel connected suffering with the Messiah.
a. There are many prophesies in the Old Testament about a mysterious Servant of the Lord who suffers (note Isaiah chapters 43, 44, and 53).
b. But nobody before Jesus had ever associated those texts with the hope of the Messiah.
c. The notion that the Messiah would suffer made no sense at all, because the messiah was supposed to defeat evil and injustice and make everything right in the world.
d. How could he defeat evil by suffering and dying? That seemed ridiculous and counter- productive.
5. By using the word “necessary” or “must,” Jesus was also indicating that He was planning to die and that He was doing it voluntarily.
a. Jesus was not merely predicting that it would happen, but that it had to happen.
b. It would have been one thing for Jesus to say, “I will fight, but will die in defeat,” but it is a very different thing to say, “I will be handed over and won’t put up a fight, and the reason I came was to die and be raised after three days.
c. Can you imagine how shocking this must have been to Peter and the other apostles?
d. Jesus was saying, “Yes, I’m the Messiah, the King, but I came not to live but to die. I’m not here to take power, but to lose it; I’m not here to rule, but to serve. And that’s how I’m going to defeat evil and put everything right.”
6. As Jesus discussed His approaching death, He spoke with them plainly, meaning openly, or even bluntly – He was not using parabolic or vague language; it was too late for that.
B. All of this was way too much for Peter to take and he just had to say something to Jesus about this.
1. Peter went from being a spokesperson for God to being a mouthpiece for Satan.
a. Peter pulled Jesus aside and began to rebuke him – this is the same word used elsewhere for what Jesus did to the demons.
2. Peter somehow found the nerve and thought he had the right to contradict the Creator Himself.
a. What Jesus said must happen, Peter insisted would never happen! (Mt. 16:22)
b. Peter had good intensions, but he ended up speaking the very desire of Satan.
c. So, in the blink of an eye, he went from the highest peak to the lowest depth.
3. Peter’s rebuke could not go unanswered, and so Jesus rebuked Peter.
a. The fact that Jesus turned and looked at all the disciples suggests that Peter’s rebuke reflected their view as well and so Jesus responded to them all.
b. Jesus rebuked Peter sternly: “Get behind me, Satan!” Ouch! That had to hurt!
c. Perhaps Peter’s words took Jesus back to Satan’s temptations in the wilderness when Satan tried to get Jesus to give up the way of the cross and gain worldly power by bowing down to Satan.
d. Satan had come back to tempt Jesus again, not as a roaring lion, but in the voice of a caring friend.
4. How sobering to realize that Satan can come at us from many different fronts and can even use those closest to us to try to derail us from God’s ways and God’s plan.
a. Satan might speak through those closest to us and say things like:
1. “Don’t you think you are going overboard with this Jesus stuff?”
2. “You don’t really have to be that committed to be a good Christian.”
3. “You don’t need to give so much of your time and money to God, you need to think of yourself and put your own needs first.”
b. The tempter used the voice of a friend against Jesus that day, but Jesus stood firm and we must do the same.
c. We must hear God’s voice above the rest of the competing voices and stay true to God’s plan and our commitment to the Lord.
5. After Peter’s right answer and wrong advice, Jesus then gave His right requirements.
III. Jesus’ Right Requirements (Mk. 8:34-9:1)
A. Mark wrote: 34 Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. 36 For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? 37 What can anyone give in exchange for his life? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mk. 8:34-38)
1. At this point, Jesus had come to another point of no return.
a. Jesus had brought His disciples to the point of confessing who He was.
b. Jesus had then made it clear what it meant for Him to be the Messiah.
c. And now He called the crowd around Him to announce to the world and to all generations what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
d. Jesus laid out the specific, right requirements expected of those who intended to confess with their lips and lives that Jesus is Lord.
2. Before we look at the specific requirements, let’s notice two things that stand out immediately about these requirements.
3. First, there is almost a startling honesty and clarity in Jesus’ words.
a. No one could ever say that they were persuaded to follow Jesus under false pretenses.
b. Jesus never tried to manipulate people by promising an easy way.
c. This is such a contrast from the “health and wealth” Gospel peddled by many TV and internet evangelists who tell their followers that God promises you’ll be healthy and wealthy – all you have to do is believe and send them your seed money.
d. In the days of WWII, when Winston Churchill who stepped forward to lead his country, this is what he promised the men who would fight for their freedom: “I promise you blood, toil, tears and sweat.” – Nothing easy about that!
e. Similarly, Garibaldi, the Italian patriot of the 17th century, appealed for recruits in these terms: “I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, battles and death. Let him who loves his country in his heart, and not with his lips only, follow me.”
f. Jesus never offered an easy way – His way is a challenging way, none could be higher or harder.
4. The second thing that immediately stands out is that Jesus never called on others to do or face anything that He was not prepared to do and to face Himself.
a. When Alexander the Great was in pursuit of Darius, he made one of the wonder marches of history.
b. In eleven days, he and his men marched 400 miles and they were near giving up, mainly because of thirst for there was no water.
c. A Macedonian happened to be passing by and offered Alexander the Great some water.
d. Alexander took the water jar into his hands and glancing around saw all his men looking earnestly and stretching out their hands for a drink.
e. Alexander the Great immediately returned the water without taking a drop of it.
f. His soldiers took notice of his actions and cried out for him to lead on, because it was easy to follow a leader who never demanded from his men anything he wasn’t willing to endure himself.
g. Jesus was not the kind of leader who sat in safety and ease while demanding great sacrifice from His men.
h. Whatever Jesus required of His followers, He first required of Himself.
B. Now let’s look at Jesus’ right requirements of discipleship.
1. First, Jesus requires that His disciples deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.
a. This is the first time that the word “cross” appears in the Gospel of Mark.
b. Those who follow Jesus must say “no” to self and “yes” to Christ.
1. We must say “no” to our natural love for ease and comfort.
2. We must say “no” to lives of selfishness and self-will.
3. But, we must say “yes” to hard work, responsibility and service in spiritual activities.
4. And we must say “yes” to the study and application of God’s Word and sharing the truths of God with others.
c. When we learn to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus we will be able to say what Paul said: “I’ve been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)
2. Second, Jesus requires that His disciples lose their lives in order to save them.
a. There are certain things that are lost by being kept, and certain things that are kept by giving them up.
b. This is certainly true when it comes to our lives or our souls.
c. They aren’t really ours to begin with, they belong to God and come from God, but God gives them to us.
d. The only way we get to keep them is to offer them back to God.
3. Third, Jesus requires that His disciples give priority to their souls.
a. It is possible for a person to be a huge success in life, and yet not live a life worth living.
b. We might end up on the list of the world’s richest and most famous people, but lose our most valuable possession – our souls.
c. How does that happen? How can a person gain the whole world and lose their soul?
d. It happens when we don’t give the highest priority to the care of our spiritual lives.
e. It happens when we sacrifice integrity for profit – the world is full of temptations toward profitable dishonesty.
f. It happens when we sacrifice principle for popularity – if we will do anything to be liked or to fit in, then we are in danger of losing our soul.
g. Also, it happens when we sacrifice eternity for a moment of pleasure – there are many things that are pleasurable for the moment, but are lethal in the long run.
h. The person who gives priority to their soul will never spend their lives on things that will lose their soul.
4. The final thing Jesus says that He requires from His disciples is public allegiance.
a. We can’t say that we believe in Jesus and are committed to Him, but we don’t want anyone to know about it and want to keep it hidden.
b. How good a friend would you be if you were only willing to be with your friend privately but didn’t want to be seen with them in public?
c. If a person is too ashamed of Jesus for people to know they are aligned with Jesus, then they cannot expect a place in God’s kingdom.
d. As disciples of Jesus, our ultimate goal must be to know Christ and to make Him known.
e. We should want everyone to know that Jesus is everything to us and that we are committed to being faithful and loyal to Him until the end; no matter what happens.
Conclusion:
A. Today, in our section from Mark’s Gospel, we are brought face to face with life’s greatest question: Who do you say Jesus is?
1. It won’t be helpful to say, “Well, my mom (or dad, or husband or wife) thinks that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.”
2. Your soul’s salvation, and my soul’s salvation, has nothing to do what other people think of Jesus.
3. The critically important question is who is Jesus to you? Is Jesus your Savior and Lord?
B. When Jesus asked Peter who he thought Jesus was, Peter had the right answer, but he didn’t understand the implications of his answer.
1. Jesus made it perfectly clear what it meant for Him to be the Messiah and what it meant for anyone to follow Him as the Messiah.
2. Jesus’ right requirements include:
a. Deny yourself and take up your cross daily.
b. Give your life in order to keep it.
c. Give priority to your soul.
d. Maintain your public allegiance to Jesus.
C. These right requirements touch on every part of us and our lives.
1. They encompass all of our strivings – our thoughts and motives, and our values and goals.
a. Disciples of Christ can’t be motivated by selfishness nor can their highest priorities be security, success and status.
b. Disciples of Christ must strive to have the mind of Christ which values cross-bearing and life losing in order to keep our souls and bring glory to God.
2. Jesus has made it clear that those who claim that Jesus is the Lord of their lives must show it by how they live.
3. There is no way that a true follower of Jesus could ever be confused with a non-follower, because they live by opposite values, principles and priorities.
D. So how are you answering life’s most important question: who is Jesus to you?
1. Have you put your faith in Jesus, and have you repented and been baptized into Christ?
2. Are you living like He is the Lord of your life? Is it clear to everyone around you?
3. If you aren’t following Jesus at all, or aren’t following Him whole-heartedly, then why not start following Him rightly today.
Resources:
• Truth for Today Commentary: Mark 1-8 and 9-16, Martel Pace, Resources Communications.
• Life’s Greatest Question, Sermon by David Owens
• Jesus the King, Timothy Keller
• Who Do You Say I Am?, Sermon by Nate Shinn
