A Sobering Prophecy

A sobering prophecy - Mark 8:31-33. (CCBC Palm Sunday Musical 4-2-23)

Textual Idea – Jesus told the disciples clearly God’s plan of redemption involved His rejection, death, burial & resurrection.

Sermon Idea – People need to hear of God’s redemptive plan, His death, burial and resurrection and act on it.

Interrogative – What is God’s redemptive plan?

Transition w/ key word – Our text presents two contrasts that make God’s redemptive plan clear.

Introduction – Here on Sunday mornings, we’ve been studying the Big Picture of the Bible, a chronological Bible storying series from Creation to Christ explaining God’s plan of redemption which is the theme of the entire Bible. This week is called Holy Week because it is the highlight of this redemptive plan of God that God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit hatched in eternity past to pay for the sin of the world.

Redemption means to release from bondage through payment of a price. It can also refer to the buying back of something or someone that was previously owned. See God as the Creator owns the universe. The crowning glory of His Creative work was mankind God made in HIs own image, male and female.

God gave Adam & Eve, the first couple a choice to obey or disobey Him. He didn’t program humans to be robots without a choice because truly meaningful relationships are built on love and trust.

Unfortunately, mankind rebelled against God by believing Satan’s lies and plunged the world into sin under the curse of God who must punish sin. Mankind has been in bondage ever since that dreadful day when Adam & Eve ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil God had commanded they must not eat of.

So God implemented His plan of redemption, a plan that would cost Him the very best He had, to redeem sinful humans from the bondage of sin.

Today is Palm Sunday. It refers to when Jesus came riding into Jerusalem a few short days before His death on a Roman cross. It’s really ironic that the very same crowds waving palm branches and singing “Hosannah: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” would be screaming “crucify Him” on Friday. By any standard of measure this is a profound change of events.

Why such a change in attitude from the crowds of people who loved Jesus’ and all His miracles? How could they turn on the Lord Jesus that quickly and demand His death? In Mark 8:31-33 - Jesus Himself provides the answer as He gave His disciples “A Sobering Prophecy.” There are two contrasting viewpoints revealed in these 3 verses that reveal God’s redemptive plan.

Read Mark 8:27-33 for context

1. God’s plan of redemption - vs. 31-32a

Explanation - Jesus has been performing throughout Mark’s Gospel. a number of miracles and signs that Jesus has done to reveal His deity. He’s healed the blind, made the deaf to hear and mute to speak. He’s healed paralyzed people, cast demons out of people and He’s even fed over 5000 men with 5 loaves and 2 small fish and for good measure He fed another group of over 4000 with 7 loaves and few small fish.

Ironically in 8:11-12, the Pharisees, the creme de la creme of the religious power brokers came demanding a sign. I guess healing paralyzed people, deaf mute people, blind people and feeding thousands of people with a sack lunch wasn’t a big enough sign!

In vs. 22-26, Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida!

In vs. 27-30 Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah in response to questions Jesus asked the disciples about His identity.

Some people claimed he was John the Baptist resurrected (JTB had been beheaded in Mark 6 for calling out King Herod over his adulterous relationship with his sister in-law, Herod’s brother’s wife.)

Other people said he was a resurrected version of Elijah the prophet.

While these were high compliments, they were foolish comparisons b/c Jesus could be none other than the very Son of God, fully God & fully man. God in the flesh, Immanuel, God with us. To ascribe to Jesus the rank as a mere man is beneath Him. So the Lord gave His disciples a chance to give their own verdict. Peter spoke for all them: “You are the Christ” - In Matthew’s account (16:16) he added the rest of the sentence, “the Son of the Living God.” the God appointed Messiah that had been prophesied thousands of years before. The word “Christ” means anointed one, Prophet, Priest & King. Jesus uniquely fills all of these roles in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus’ popularity at this point was at an all time high but the Pharisees & religious leaders were becoming more solidified in their opposition to Jesus. The Messiah was to come from Bethlehem, but Jesus was from Nazareth. Yet Jesus was born in Bethlehem, of the house & lineage of David. The facts were there, but the religious leaders would not and could not handle the truth. To do so meant they would have to surrender their power & authority to Jesus.

So Jesus began to teach the disciples that the “Son of Man” must be rejected by the religious leaders, must be killed but after 3 days He promised He’d rise again. “The Son of Man” was Jesus favorite term for Himself - He took this phrase from Daniel’s prophecy in Dan. 7:13-14 where Daniel saw a vision of one like the “Son of Man” coming on the clouds into the presence of the Ancient of Days who gave the Son of Man control of the universal and eternal Kingdom of God. This phrase identifies Jesus as fully the Son of God who became flesh. He’s fully God and fully man all at the same time.

Maybe Jesus’ taught the disciples OT Messianic prophecies like Ps. 22, 69 or Isaiah 53 and applied them to Himself. God’s plan of redemption included being rejected by the religious leaders - the expert teachers of the Bible. You would expect that Jesus’ death would come from the worst of society; but the religious leaders were supposedly the “best of society.”

“Rejected” - Term refers to how they would test coins to see if they were counterfeit. The idea is the religious leaders would have examined and tested Jesus’ against their interpretation of the OT but they refused to acknowledge Him as the Messiah and they would reject Him like we’d reject a $3 bill. John 16:2 tells us the religious leaders believed they were doing God a service.

Jesus told them He was going to die, a burial is inferred and after 3 days He’d rise again. The idea was so scandalous to Peter he grabbed Jesus and took him aside and began to reveal Satan’s plan by rebuking the Lord. We shouldn’t be too hard on Peter, his expectations were different than God’s. Isn’t that how we are most of the time, we think we know better than God.

“I know what God says but this is different...”

2. Satan’s plan of destruction - vs. 32b-33

Explanation - How do we know this is Satan’s plan? Because that’s what Jesus called it. Jesus didn’t call Peter Satan; as a matter of fact he turned his back on Peter and looked at the disciples in general before saying “Get behind me Satan.” Jesus was saying however that what Peter expressed is Satan’s plan.

Satan has been fighting against God and since he tried to overthrow God off His throne in Heaven in a failed coup attempt. His plan is to kill steal and destroy using every means necessary and every lie necessary to lie to us and lead us astray.

Illustrate - The story is told of a woman who came home in an economy much like ours today, with an extremely expensive dress, I mean outrageously expensive. When her husband found out how much the dress cost, he said “Why in the world would you buy such an expensive dress? You know we can’t afford that. As much as I wish we could honey, we can’t afford that!”

She looked at her husband and said “But sweetheart, you don’t understand, the devil made me do it. I tried it on and he said to me, “You look awesome girlfriend, you deserve that dress, that’s you all over and you have got to have that dress.”

The husband replied, “Why didn’t you say “Get behind me Satan?”

She said “I did tell him to get behind me, he went behind me and said I looked good from back there too and so I just had to have this dress.” (Dr. Tony Evans’ Illustrations p. 272)

(Pause for laughter)

See the problem is that’s how Satan is, you can’t get rid of him, he’s always got an argument waiting to lead you astray and tempt you to sin against God.

Peter, the disciples, and the crowds wanted a political Messiah, one who would deliver them from the cruelty of the Roman Empire. They could not imagine that God’s plan involved their Messiah being killed after the religious leaders rejected Him. This was how Satan tempted Jesus at the beginning of His ministry - Satan offered Jesus earthly kingdoms if He’d bow down and worship Satan as God. If Jesus had done that it would have destroyed God’s redemptive plan. A political Messiah would have only provided temporary relief from the oppression of Rome. God however was more concerned with the permanent solution to man’s problem with the oppression and bondage of sin which dooms us to eternal damnation and separation from God.

Satan’s plan is a religious self-help plan.

The disciples were looking for a crown, Jesus came to bear a cross.

The disciples were looking for fame and fortune but Jesus came to be poor and suffer the shame of death on a cross reserved for the worst criminals.

God’s plan of redemption was through the path of suffering but the disciples were looking for the path through the courts of the King.

No more parables or stories. Jesus told them plainly what was coming their way.

Is. 55:8 - “For as My thoughts are not your thoughts and neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord.”

Prov.14:12 - “There is a way that seems right to a man but the end is death.”

Question for you to answer: Do I want to follow God’s plan or mine?

Every area of life, God has a plan, and Satan has a counterfeit plan:

Salvation - God says I’ll give you salvation as a free gift by my grace and mercy. You don’t deserve it, you can’t earn it, you just have to accept it by faith as a free gift because I’m going to sacrifice My Son in your place. Satan, oh there’s no way God would do that for you. Besides, you can save yourself by doing good deeds, giving to the poor, going to church and being a religious & good person by keeping a strict set of rules, you’ll make God happy with you. (The Pharisees were working this plan…)

Share the ABC’s of Salvation

Human life - God says humans are precious, special, made in His image and that life is to be valued from the womb to the tomb. Satan says babies in the womb aren’t babies and can be destroyed if it’s not convenient. God says honor your father and mother, respect your elders and give honor to them by how you care for them. Satan, they are a burden, disposable and in the way.

Marriage & Sexual Intimacy - God’s plan, one man/woman united for one life time. Satan, marriage does’t matter how you define it, if it feels good, do it. Result is debauchery & broken families, are everywhere, a broken society, a broken human race.

Jobs - God says whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. Represent Me well by working hard whether the boss is watching or not, honor your boss with respect and be obedient to what he tells you because you work for me not him. Satan, nobody’s going to look out for you so you better take what’s yours. Do enough to get by, nobody else in this job cares so why should you? You boss is greedy and stingy, go ahead and cut corners or steal from him.

Finances - Live by faith in me by being a good steward of what I entrusted to you by giving me back the first 10% of your income, I’ll help you live farther on 90%. Satan, are you crazy? You worked hard for that, it’s a tough time, you better keep it all for yourself.

Government - I have a Kingdom, I rule by my rules and am working out my agenda. You receive immense blessings if you follow Me as King, play by my rules and pursue my agenda. Satan, Government will save you, character doesn’t matter as long as the economy is good.

Close - The incredible thing is God’s plan of redemption unfolded exactly how Jesus said! He was rejected, killed & rose again! Jesus proved He was a prophet by everything coming to pass as He said it would. Jesus proved He was the ultimate High Priest & Son of God by offering a once and for all sacrifice for sin coming back to life the 3rd day. He proved He is King of the Universe by ascending into Heaven in front of the disciples, there were about 120 of them. He promised He would come back to get us so we better be ready!