To Confess and Follow

Scripture Reading

Mark 8:27–38 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.”

Good morning. I hope you all had a merry Christmas this week and enjoy your New Year celebrations tonight.

Announcements

Just a brief announcement:

The Missions Team is continuing to fundraise for our trip to Catania, Italy this Spring. A fun way to contribute is catching a Tri-City Americans hockey game. 15% of the proceeds go towards our fundraising for the trip. You can also give directly to our mission trip through your online giving. Please ask me or any of our mission board members later if you have any questions.

Recap

Every Christmas we celebrate Jesus being sent to earth. The Son of God covered in our flesh. A savior who would change the world and restore all people to be reconciled to one another and to be reconciled to God. A gift of God covered in flesh. The incarnation of the Son of God. Messiah.

I want to use our time together to ask two fundamental questions that I think are crucial to our Christian life, and easily forgotten or neglected.

Who do we say that Jesus is,

and how does that affect our discipleship.

(Repeat)

I think these questions are so important especially in a world that wants to trivialize everything. We are drowning in triviality. I can barely resist the temptation to look up where I’ve seen an actor or actress before from a movie or look up the reviews for a dive restaurant before eating there because I’m so accustomed to trivial information. While I don’t regularly check football scores, ammo prices, or tik-tok, I absolutely NEED to know who mixed and mastered Good Times from Chic or early Earth, Wind and Fire records. It was Bob Clearmountain by the way. There you don’t have to look it up.

But this is so much of what we excuse as having fellowship with one another. When so much of our information we read about, or talk about with friends and family is trivial, it’s hard to see anything as having a real substance, importance, or meaning. Our love of trivia, makes us live trivially. With the LORD’s help, I hope to help de-trivialize our understanding of Jesus as Messiah and our response as disciples of the Messiah.

Introduction

Who do you love? (Pause)

How do you know that’s who you love? (Pause)

How does that person know that you love them? (Pause)

These are fundamental questions we ask all of the time in our relationships, even if we don’t realize we’re asking them all of the time.

Relationships are everywhere and they’re never one-sided. If you’re a talker, the amount of fat that you chew can diminish your friend’s ability to listen. If you’re a listener, you may to push your loquacious friend to their limits. There’s a give and a take in every relationship. Even ignoring, or pretending someone isn’t there is a relational decision.

In the gospel of Mark, we see the relationship between Jesus and His Disciples in a “less positive light.” They’re pretty dense.

Earlier in this chapter, the disciples see Jesus feed the 4,000. This is after Jesus fed the 5,000 in Chapter 6. But again, the disciples are like, “How’re you going to feed all of these people?” What’s even better is what happens with the disciples after the Pharisees demand a sign after hearing about this:

Mark 8:14 ESV

14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

Jesus is like, “I just fed 4,000 people and…you guys forgot to bring bread…

Mark 8:18–21 ESV

18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

They don’t have eyes to see. Jesus’ very next miracle is healing the blind man at Bethsaida. He spits in his eyes and lays hands on him and the man’s response is:

Mark 8:24–26 ESV

24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

This last miracle is considered a metaphor for how the disciples see Jesus. Where the disciples see Jesus, they don’t see Him fully.

They don’t understand yet what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah, and what is required of them.

Jesus is the Messiah. What we believe about that determines everything else about our lives. To believe “Messiah” in any other way than how Jesus defines it means that we are following a false Messiah. The kind of lives we live determine who we believe Messiah to be.

This morning we’ll look at the rest of Mark 8 and examine:

Propositional Outline

The Confession of a Disciple

The Lifestyle of a Disciple

The Suffering Disciple

Here’s what I want to stress this morning.

The discipleship that we practice reveals who we believe the Messiah to be. We are who we love.

Pray

Father, thank you for revealing the Messiah to us, your Son, Jesus. Thank you for sharing him with the world. For salvation from our rebellion against you. For giving hope to those of us who have a hard time looking up. Our redemption and our hope of living without sin in the new creation can’t come from anyone else but you. Some of us are in awe of Jesus and love to hear truth about Him. Some of us gathered here this morning don’t have any idea who Jesus is or what it means to be Messiah. Maybe we’re just beginning to seek Him. Some of us have muddied the words, “Christ,” and “Messiah” so much that they’ve become mundane or incomprehensible. Some of us have no idea what it means for Jesus to be our Messiah after years of faithful service to Him. Unveil our eyes, Father. Motivate our hearts! Let us stand in the light and warmth of the love of Jesus as the redeemer, as the anointed one. As the one for whom, and by whom all things are created and by whom all can be restored. Reconcile us to one another because of our Messiah. Reconcile us to You, Father. Thank you for the gift of Christ, of Messiah Jesus. Teach us what it means to be His disciples. Amen.

The Confession of a Disciple

The gospel of Mark is packed with so many goodies. If you like literary structure and analysis, you can’t help but be amazed at how Mark wrote this gospel. However, we don’t have time to unpack every literary feature of how our text this morning fits into Mark’s overall narrative. So. Here are some highlights about the gospel Mark before we dive in.

The gospel of Mark was written in the mid 60s. It was written before Matthew, Luke, or John. It was most likely used as a source for those gospels.

John Mark, or just Mark, was not an apostle.

But, Simon Peter, or just Peter, was Mark’s source for most of his gospel.

Every narrative, event, story, and parable was placed in Mark with a specific purpose.

That includes our text for today. This text is the middle of Mark’s gospel. It is the hinge between Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and his journey to the cross. The previous accounts of Mark point to this moment. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah. The rest of Mark’s gospel reveals what kind of Messiah Jesus’ would be.

Let’s take a look at the text.

Beginning in Mark 8:27

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?”

Caesarea Philippi is located at the base of Mount Hermon. In this place, there was a temple in a cave dedicated to Pan, the God of the desert or wilderness. Pan is also the god of flocks of sheep and shepherds. Weirdly, Pan looks a lot like Mr. Tumnus from the Chronicles of Narnia. This place Jesus brought them to is known for pagan worship and idols. It was the capital city of the region.

It’s here, among the idols, false gods, and idol worshipers that Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?”

We have a similar backdrop here too. Just on bombing range road there is a Mosque, Hindu Temple, Church, and a Mormon Ward. Jesus is asking “Who do people say that I am?” I assure you that someone in every one of those buildings has a different answer.

Mark 8:28 ESV

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

The disciples are like, “the people think you’re really great! Like, John the Baptist great, or Elijah great or you know, one of those other prophet guys great. They love you man.”

“John the Baptist was beheaded two chapters ago, so maybe Jesus is…a resurrected John the Baptist? Elijah didn’t die in 2 Kings 2:11 but was caught up in a whirlwind. Those other guys, like the Minor Prophets we forget to read were probably cool too so he could be one of those…”

Do they really think Jesus didn’t know what the people thought of him? Again, Mark presents the disciples as being pretty dense. Of course He knows. Jesus is asking this to establish who He is apart from popular opinions and speculation.

Mark 8:29 ESV

29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

I wonder how long of a pause there was between Jesus’ question and Peter’s answer here. In the gospels, Peter is known for being the spokesman for the disciples. Probably because he talks. A lot.

“But, wait, isn’t Christ, Jesus’ last name?”

No! Peter isn’t giving Jesus another name or revealing another name for Jesus!

Jesus is the name of God’s Son and “Christ” is his title. The word “Christ” is a greek rendering of the Hebrew Word “Messiah.” This Word means “anointed one.”

The Anointed One

This anointed one was first spoken of in Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The offspring of the woman bruising the head of the serpent is the first proclamation of what Messiah will do.

Moving past numerous other examples of the promised Messiah, we can look at the exile of Israel.

When the Kingdom of Israel fell to Babylon in 586 BC an expectation grew in Israel that God would raise up a new and even greater king like David:

Jeremiah 23:5 ESV

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

The popular assumption in Jesus’ day was that the Messiah would be given miraculous powers, mighty and wise with the Holy Spirit. He would deliver Jerusalem from the gentiles, and restore the Jews to their land. He would show his power and use strength to establish His authority over all creation. He would be a military leader, crush his enemies, rule like David did, and be seen as perfect by everyone.

People just like us, for thousands of years, have placed our hopes in strong leaders. Good and bad leaders don’t come into power all on their own. David, the good King, was anointed by God through the prophet Samuel, who anointed Saul, the bad king, chosen earlier by the people so they could be like “the other nations.” We’re drawn to people we believe are powerful.

Peter and the disciples are drawn to people they believe are powerful too. They believe that Jesus will be like David but even stronger. Like a Super-David!

Application: We need to be cautious before we throw our hopes on any earthly leader. We listen to them. We pray for them. But as Christians, our allegiance is to a King His kingdom before any man-made fiefdom. Our worldly kingdoms are best served when Christ is first.

Before we jump to the next verse, let me point out that Matthew and Luke point out something that Mark doesn’t have. Jesus readily affirms Peter in those passages. Let’s look at just one of them in Matthew 16:17-19

Matthew 16:17–19 ESV

17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

That’s a lot of affirmation. But look closely, Jesus is telling Peter that he is blessed! God is the one who revealed it to Peter, not mankind. Not the world or the opinions of who people believe Jesus to be.

I can't imagine the elation that Peter must've felt from hearing words like that from someone who he loved so much.

Why is it that in Marks gospel, none of this is revealed to us? It's probably because Peter was Mark source in writing his gospel. Peter, knowing what his next interaction with Jesus would be, would humbly make no mention of it to Mark. Matthew and Luke knew though.

With this stirring revelation of Jesus being “the Christ” Jesus wants peter to tell the whole world! “Time go evangelize boys!”

Not even close.

Mark 8:30 ESV

30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Wait what? What doesn’t Jesus want peter or the disciples to tell anyone about?

Jesus doesn’t want the disciples to tell anyone that He is the messiah for the same reason a doctor doesn’t want an ultrasound tech to reveal the sex of a baby after their first radiology class. They will tell the family “it’s a girl” when it’s really a boy. Unless they guess and get it right. I would image some pretty upset parents talking to the doctor after having that awkward gender reveal party where the dad’s friend lights a firework and it blows up pink while accidently starting a small fire at the neighbor’s house and then they find out it was a boy all along.

Jesus doesn’t want the disciples to reveal who he is because their picture of Messiah is wrong. And Jesus knows it.

Application

When Jesus commands Peter and the disciples to not tell anyone, he wants their silence for two reasons:

He wants them to know who the Messiah REALLY is. Not what they’ve built up in their expectation of who He is. He will reign over all creation, and deal wisely and execute justice. Just not in the way they expect.

This is not the time for a revolution. Yet. Jesus will face the priests and Scribes, but in His timing. Soon, the world will know exactly HOW the Messiah will show His power.

Jesus asks “Who do people say that I am?” with a backdrop of false gods and idols. This is a question of public opinion. No one really knows who he is yet, but they think he’s a great figure. When he asks “who do you say that I am?” he is asking those closest to him.

Jesus is asking us, right here, today, “Who do the people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?”

Our world wants to answer that question. Islam says that Jesus is a great prophet, but not the Son of God. Hinduism says that Jesus is one god among many. Mormonism believe that Jesus is “a god” among the polytheism of gods we could one day become. Our universities say that he had great teachings, but anything miraculous he did in Scripture is counterfeit to the way our natural world works. Even we Christians get comfused sometimes. We sell images with his face through television shows or on our walls, but who is he?

“Who do you say that I am?”

“You are the Christ” “You are the Messiah”

The discipleship that we practice reveals who we believe the Messiah to be. We are who we love.

Jesus swears Peter to silence, lest a false report of him bring revolutionary fervor too soon. Jesus must now begin to teach the true meaning of Peter’s confession. For this, Peter and the disciples are unprepared.

The Lifestyle of a Disciple

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.

The Messiah will suffer, be rejected by everyone who believes what the Messiah really is, be killed, and will rise again. This flies right in the face of what a Messiah should be by the standards of the day.

Jesus doesn’t fit the messianic stereotype. Not only that, he defines his mission in utter contrast to it. The meaning of his life and mission isn’t about victory and success, at least not in the way mankind defines it, but about rejection, suffering, and death.

“But, mankind would never kill the Messiah!” That would be impossible! It’s not humanity at its worst that will crucify the Son of God, but humanity at its absolute best. This isn’t a lapse in judgment, but a plotted killing by men who justify their high standards of morality by founding them in their service to God.

Mark 8:32 ESV

32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Jesus! You’re not fitting the mold! You’re supposed to be exactly what I expected you to be and what everyone else thinks too. Here, let me take you under my wing and tell you who the Messiah is supposed to be, Lord.

We pray too often like this: God! You’re supposed to give me health! Wealth, and Prosperity! What about my plans? What about my toys and my trinkets? Here Lord, this is why you should take care of me. This is how you’re supposed to work as my Messiah. Be what I expected!

Maybe, we believe ourselves to be the Messiah in those moments since everything we ask is really about ourselves.

Peter’s rebuke indicates the degree of Jesus’ error about a suffering messiah in Peter’s mind. But Jesus doesn’t leave this rebuke and wrong understanding of Messiah go unchallenged.

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.”

All of the disciples witness this altercation.

Imagine Jesus saying this to you.

Do you remember when Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the Wilderness? In Matthew 4, at the end of Jesus’ temptation of food, exercising authority over angels, and submitting to Satan.

Matthew 4:8–11 ESV

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus has said this rebuke to Satan before. When Peter pulls Jesus aside, he is saying that Jesus should turn stones into bread, to exercise authority over angels. One moment, Peter is blessed for being used by God to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah and the next he’s a tool for the devil. Peter doesn’t know what he’s saying, but Jesus knows. Jesus knows that to follow a messiah other than what he is proposing is to follow the words of the devil.

Just where does that kind of Messiah lead?

God doesn’t do what we expect here. He embraces weakness. Christ comes as a man to suffer and to die. It’s because of the weakness that comes from the suffering of Christ that the apostle Paul can write

2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV

10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

A strong Messiah is a suffering Messiah. A strong disciple is a suffering disciple.

If we are confessing Jesus as the Christ, as the Messiah, as the anointed one we are confessing that God’s Son who has suffered to death is stronger than our any other power. If we are confessing Christ we confess only a suffering s

A wrong view of the Messiah, leads to a wrong view of discipleship.

Everything is upside down.

The discipleship that we practice reveals who we believe the Messiah to be. We are who we love.

The Suffering Disciple

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.

The cross wasn’t something like we think of today where we wear it on necklaces or place it in our homes to remind us of our faith. It was something avoided because it was grotesque and represented torture at the hands of the Romans.

When Jesus speaks of anyone following him carrying their crosses what is he talking about?

Our crosses are not simply trials or hardships. Having an unfair boss, or employee; or needing to work long hours. It’s not a medical handicap, mental illness, or illness. Just ask the Apostle Paul about his thorn in the flesh in 2 corinthians 12. That was given to Paul to keep him from being conceited, from being proud!

Carrying your cross is not living with the consequences of your sin either. (Pause)

Carrying your cross is walking in Christ’s steps, embracing his life and his way of life. It comes from living the ethics of Christ where embracing weakness is greater than embracing power. It comes from extending oneself in difficult circumstances for the sake of the gospel. Our crosses come from and are proportionate to our dedication to Christ. Difficulties are not an indication of cross-bearing, but difficulties for Christ’s sake are. If you haven’t asked this in a long time, I hope I’m giving you reason to ask yourself if you’ve been having any difficulties because you are following close after Christ.

Mark 8:35 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.

The paradox of carrying a cross is that you embrace the same torture, persecution, suffering, and death that Christ experienced.

Ancient, primitive people used to drink the blood of their enemies to capture their souls. In this day and age we believe we can capture virtues by what we eat, drink, or wear. As narcissists, we ease our souls into a living death through our vices and selfishness.

Instead we should be living sacrifices.

Mark 8:36–37 ESV

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?

There is nothing in this whole world that one can gain on his own to exchange for authority over his soul. There is no prosperity, health, wealth, that is of greater value than following the path of carrying one’s cross. Any other pursuit against the cross is forfeiture of the soul. We have nothing to give because there is nothing we can take with us to the grave.

Mark 8:38 ESV

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.”

We must confess Christ as the suffering Messiah and Savior. We must embrace the life he lived and practice living it for ourselves. We must bear our crosses because we are living like Jesus. If losers are keepers, we must be willing to lose our lives for him. When we confess Jesus as Messiah, he rejoices in us.

The discipleship that we practice reveals who we believe the Messiah to be. We are who we love.

Turning to Communion

In Mark’s Gospel, this is the first times Jesus announces that he will be killed by crucifixion. Our Messiah came to take the wrath we deserve for our sin which is why we can fellowship together at the Lord’s table as His disciples.

› As the ushers come forward, let’s turn to the table before us.

If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior from sin and expressed that faith in Him through baptism, then this is for you. This is an opportunity to fellowship with one another as sons and daughters of God to remember Christ’s sacrifice. His body broken for us. His blood shed for us. That our sin would be covered by the mercy and grace of God.

If you have not received Christ as your Lord and savior and expressed that through baptism I would ask you to refrain from communion. Instead, pray that God would make known the truth of His Son known to you and to teach you true obedience.

Pray

Communion

› Be sure to give elements to the ushers and music team.

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

› Eat the bread.

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

› Drink the cup

Pray

Benediction

There are so many voices clamoring to know the Messiah but have never followed in His steps. Listen for the voice of Jesus and follow his voice to the cross.

Jude 24–25 ESV

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.