2.10.15 3.5.2023 Mark 8.27-9.1 Beginning the Journey to the Cross.

Start:

Mark 8:27–9:1 ESV

27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

Entice: Our culture is often numbed by choices. Even the best public opinion polls include the undecided, unpersuaded, and untraceable in their models.

Engage: Did the disciples, having seen and heard so much become numb to Jesus—His power and transforming words? Perhaps. They seemed to be tracking the public opinion. When He asked, they had a quick answer.

Mark 8:27 ESV

27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

Their answers reflected what their culture thought. There were specific and vague answers. Jesus had held His identity close to the vest, He had maintained what scholars call the messianic secret to avoid misunderstanding and misalignment. This poll gives Him a starting point to declare to this select company of witnesses who He really is and what will happen to Him.

Expand: The real heart of this so called

“Messianic Secret”

could really be called the

“Cross Secret.”

Jesus now clarifies that

before He will be crowned

He will be crucified.

Before He will be enthroned

He will be disowned.

Before His reign

comes His resurrection.

Jesus now begins to disperse all that

numbness,

misunderstanding,

and

mystery.

He replaced it with

a new Messianic vision,

a new conception of discipleship,

and

a deepened expectation for all of us.

He wants us to know that the parade we join is first and foremost a journey to the Cross.

Excite At its most elementary level that is the Christian life. Each of us individually and the Church corporately making with Him the journey to the cross.

One of the reasons I am adamant about the content of scripture, faithfully and theologically applied to the formation of Christian character is that there are far too many who want a Cross on their flag but not on their shoulder. Too many who see Jesus as a slogan and not as Savior and Sovereign.

Knowing the authentic Jesus means

knowing His cross,

living with humility as we each carry our own cross,

and

finding in this journey the life we cannot otherwise discover.

Explore:

The cross is at the heart of the gospel defining what it means for Jesus to be the Christ and defining for us it means to follow Him.

Expand: The way of the cross, requires some adjustments. The first adjustment is a

1 New Mindset.

This new mindset admittedly begins in

1.1 Confusion.

Mark 8:28 ESV

28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

Once we get the cultural confusion out of the way, once we clear. The debris, then we can soberly look at the claims of Jesus and join in Peter’s

1.2 Confession.

Mark 8:29–30 ESV

29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Even those of us who accept and confess that Jesus is Christ will need to deal with internal and external

1.3 Conflict.

Mark 8:31–32 ESV

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

The adversary (Satan) will advance His attack on Christ by convincing us that we know more and understand better How Jesus should run His kingdom. Which brings

1.4 Correction.

Mark 8:33 ESV

33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

The things of God…

The things of man

The next adjustment is that we must grasp

2 Necessity of the Cross.

Many Christians, lifelong believers understand the cross a s a tragic accident that is in some way “corrected” by the resurrection. That’s not really how it works. The emptying of Jesus that began in His incarnation is fully expressed upon the cross. The cross was not an obstacle to be overcome, it was always essential to the plan. Look more closely at

Mark 8:31 ESV

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

2.1 Suffering.

2.2 Rejected.

2.3 Killed.

2.4 Resurrected.

Without these particulars, without these facts, without these elements there is no Gospel. Just a story about a miracle-working teacher who made the wrong people mad.

The cross is not an afterthought or a footnote to the Gospel. It’s the whole point.

Now that we properly understand the Cross of Christ, we must understand what He says about our own cross. Particularly in our culture that is going to require a major adjustment regarding the

3 Nature of Discipleship.

3.1 Desire.

Mark 8:34 (ESV)

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

It’s not easy. It can be crushing. You’ve got to want it. Discipleship begins with a desire to follow Jesus.

Discipleship is not “natural.”

Discipleship is not comfortable.

Discipleship is not popular.

Once we understand the role that our desire plays in discipleship we can consider the

3.2 Decision.

we must make.

Mark 8:34 (ESV)

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

To make this decision we must rise up to three challenges…

deciding Daily to

Deny Self.

Take up my cross.

Follow after Jesus.

To understand the purpose, we need to consider the

3.3 Design.

of discipleship

Mark 8:35–38 ESV

35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Discipleship is designed to allow us to recover our true self, defaced by the fall, discolored by sin, tortured by temptation but redeemed by the Cross of Christ and strengthened by the walk of discipleship.

Shut Down

Real Discipleship begins with a true confession of Jesus. This confession is based upon His credentials. Because Jesus is Lord, He sets the conditions of our discipleship and articulates clearly what it will cost us.

When the Gospel is rightly preached, no one comes to Jesus unawares.

(Intellectual…) The ultimate questions in life require us to choose between apparently unseeable and unfathomable, answers. Mark clearly shows us that Jesus links the theological and the practical. Christology is the study of the nature of the Incarnate Word, it’s about Jesus. Discipleship is the theology of Christian Living, for You and me. The Post-Modern world sees the linking of these two issues as odd. Not Jesus.

(Emotional…)Once our mind submits to the Lordship of Christ it can then bring our heart along and we will not only know but feel that Jesus is Lord and be ready to shoulder any burden or bear any sacrifice.

(Volitional…) The road of discipleship that you and I walk begins with a day one, step one. Often that first step comes with stumbling and hesitation. They become easier even as the path rises and the way becomes more difficult. Yet every disciple, every Christian here, every Jesus-follower has to decide for themselves the time, and the place where they say “today, I will pick up my cross, and follow the Savior.” This would be a good day to do just that.

Must Jesus bear the cross alone

And all the world go free?

No, there’s a cross for everyone,

And there’s a cross for me.