HE SPOKE OPENLY
Mk. 8:27-38 Matt. 10:34; 16:16 Lk. 9:20 1 Cor. 15:24-25 2 Tim. 2:11–13
The message of Christ, which we heard this morning, is not easy to accept and especially not easy to follow. Yet, its truth cannot be dismissed if we are sincerely seeking God. Consequently, many want to take the teachings of the Bible and water them down, make them more palatable for the common person, less harsh and a bit easier to both accept and to follow. Even Peter had a very hard time accepting them as we see in verse 33 when Jesus rebuked him. Nevertheless, we must accept them if we hope for God’s truth.
T. J. Tipton once told this story. George W. Bush was in an airport lobby when he noticed a man with a long white beard, wearing a long white robe and holding some stone tablets under his arm. George W. approached the man and inquired, "Aren’t you Moses?" The man ignored George W. and stared at the ceiling. George W. positioned himself more directly in the man’s view and asked again, "Aren’t you Moses?" The man continued to stare at the ceiling. George W. tugged at the man’s sleeve and asked again, "Aren’t you Moses?"
The man finally responded in an irritated voice, "Yes I am".
George W. asked him why he was so unfriendly and Moses replied, "The last time I spoke to a Bush I had to spend forty years in the wilderness.”
• Understanding God’s Truth comes at a cost. Sometimes that cost is very high, and all the time it requires a sacrifice. That sacrifice might be our time and resources, but it always includes that most difficult sacrifice of all . . . our total surrender. God is never content with half-hearted efforts.
The place where Jesus delivered his revelation in Mark 8 was Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles north of Bethsaida and the Sea of Galilee. It stands on the southern edge of Mount Hermon and today is called Banias. One of the sources of the Jordan River originates from under a large rocky cliff that rises a hundred or more feet above the village. Many idols were carved into that rock facade. The contrast between Jesus Christ and these local gods was striking—a perfect place for Christ to ask the question of v. 29, “Who do you say that I am?”
• Stone idols, like those of the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, were created in man’s effort to explain the mysteries of the world. Instinctively, people have always sought some way to explain the mysteries of life and thereby try to acquire some degree of control over the frequently frightening elements of nature surrounding them . . . as well as the physical and spiritual drives within themselves.
• God, however, created us to have a relationship with Him that requires humility and not control. But pride had driven people to reject the true God and to create their own gods instead; gods fashioned after their own desires.
Knowing this about the heart of man, Jesus had to prepare the hearts of his disciples to receive a higher degree of insight than they had previously known. In verse 29, Jesus set the stage by asking for their opinions. The disciples’ answers reflected the popular misconceptions held by most who had heard or heard of Jesus. They were the attitudes of Herod and others who said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’”
Jesus then emphatically asked them for their own understanding. The word “you”, “Who do YOU say that I am?” is prominent in Jesus’ question. Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” Matthew 16:16 says, “You are the Messiah; Son of the Living God.” Luke 9:20 says, “You are the Messiah of God.” It was the ultimate revelation. Jesus wanted His disciples to grasp His true identity before He revealed to them the necessity of His coming death and Resurrection. Only by knowing his true authority could they ever hope to have confidence in his ultimate victory. Yet, even so, they still doubted.
Only the disciples were told who Jesus was. The opposition of the religious leaders and the disciples’ dullness was suddenly overshadowed by Peter’s wonderful confession, the revelation given to him by God.
Lisa DeLay writes in “Wit 4 Life”, “I’m reminded of my daughter trying on her father’s shoes. It was so endearing to see her walk around thinking she didn’t look utterly ridiculous. To her nothing was wrong with clomping around in shoes 14 inches longer than her chubby little feet. She was all at once very silly and very lovable to me. I think that must be how God sees us as we make up our guesses about Him.”
Personally, I don’t believe that God really expected the disciples to understand Peter’s revelation even after Jesus explained it. But
• God’s designs never rest in the moment. They are eternally unfolding. God knew that, given time, the disciples would remember Jesus’ words, and then would come understanding.
In 8:30, Jesus’ warning to tell no one about Him may seem strange. Its explanation, however, lies in the fact that the Jews expected the Messiah to be a political liberator. Most Hebrews believed the Messiah would be like the Maccabees, a Jewish family that had led Israel to independence against the Syrians over a century earlier. The Hebrews longed for such a leader to drive the Romans out of Israel. But Jesus’ first coming was meant to accomplish another kind of liberation — our liberation from the tyranny of sin. Hence Jesus was careful not to use the name Messiah publicly which was misunderstood by Jews and Romans alike.
Curiously enough, it’s frequently misunderstood even today. So many Christians look to Jesus as the harbinger of peace and reconciliation. These things he is, but he is so much more. The peace which he brings is our personal peace with God and not peace in this world . . . although we are called to strive for it. It’s the peace that will ultimately come to this world when he returns, and it’s the peace that we will receive in the hereafter.
But about this world, Jesus had this to say in Matthew 10:34: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”
These are hard words, indeed; so hard in fact that I haven’t known too many ministers who would preach on this passage. The gospel of Jesus Christ divided the people in His day and still divides today. That’s because
• Our sinful nature only seeks the truth that satisfies itself. The sinful nature seeks truths that give them pleasures in this world. It’s the author of instant gratification.
• The reward Jesus promises, however, does not reside here but in the hereafter. For this reason, Jesus wanted them to know what was coming, what to expect. He didn’t want them discouraged or surprised when their own family members turned on them and maybe even persecuted them.
Verse 8:31 is the first of several clear predictions Jesus made about His coming death and resurrection (9:31; 10:33, 34). In Mark 9:31, it is said, “for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.”
The phrase, “He began to teach them” signals this new disclosure of His death, burial, and resurrection to His apostles. The Son of Man is a title that Jesus uses. It’s a messianic title that indicates more than Messiahship since he was fully man but also of heaven. The elders and chief priests, former high priests, and scribes made up the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. These men would condemn Jesus to death which was the fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction.
8:32 Jesus spoke . . . openly, that’s to say he spoke plainly, not in parables. Peter clearly understood Jesus’ prediction of death and couldn’t accept or understand it, and so he began to rebuke Him. But Peter’s thoughts were born of fear and concern and not of faith. While his intentions were no doubt good, he didn’t take into account God’s eternal purposes and plan. In fact, he did what Peter usually did. He spoke impetuously without thinking or waiting for God’s lead. In popular vernacular, “He popped off at the mouth.” Peter wasn’t possessed by Satan, but Satan had certainly suggested his thoughts; just another sterling example of the importance of bridling our own tongues to give God a chance to speak.
Mark 8:35 tells us that, to preserve one’s life eternally, one must surrender earthly possessions and relationships held so dearly. In his book, "I Shall Not Want", Robert Ketchum tells about a Sunday school teacher who asked her group of children if any of them could quote the entire 23rd Psalm. A little four-year-old girl raised her hand. The girl came to the podium, faced the class, made a little bow, and said: "The Lord is my shepherd, that’s all I want." She then bowed again and sat down.
She may have overlooked a few verses, but I think that little girl captured David’s heart in Psalm 23. The idea is that we are utterly contented in the shepherd’s care and there’s nothing else we desire.
“When He comes in His glory” is the key to Jesus’ disclosure to his disciples. It’s the first glimpse of the fulfillment of all history. In 1 Corinthians 15:24, Paul later reflected, “Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
• That is God’s promise and our hope. Those who would reign with Christ invest their lives in that which will last. Those who are willing to deny this world and confess Him today will be rewarded before the Father in heaven.
As we’re reminded in 2 Timothy 2:11–13: “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.”
PLEASE JOIN WITH ME IN PRAYER
Receive our hearts and our lives this day as we surrender all to you, Heavenly Father. Be the Lord of our lives who corrects us continually with your Truth. Guide us in your holy ways, and fill us with full confidence in your grace and Christ’s victory. In Jesus’ name. Amen
