Spitting Image

“Peace be with you”

“Let us pray. Father may your will be done. Jesus may your word be proclaimed. Spirit may your work be accomplished in us we pray. Amen.”

Three Scenes of the Gospel Lesson.

I. The Confession (v. 27-30)

II. The Confrontation (v. 31-33)

III. The Calling. (v. 34-38)

I. The Confession (v.27-30)

Mark 8:27–30 (NASB95)

27 Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” 29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And He warned them to tell no one about Him.

a. Who do people say Jesus is?

b. Who am I?

c. Jesus the Christ.

Jesus is identified as the Messiah, the Christ, the one who is to come.

Being the Messiah is more than just a title. It is the identification of the one who has come to redeem and rescue God’s people.

What has He come to do? Jesus tells us plainly.

Peter’s Confession of Jesus being the Messiah correct. Next Jesus share with us how exactly He will be our Messiah and bring redemption to the people.

It has been revealed for the first time in Mark’s Gospel that Jesus is Christ. It has not been made plain that Jesus is the sent one who has come to give his life as a ransom for many. We learn that in identifying Jesus for who He is, what he has come to do, that His name is the only name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12) and his work on the cross is what is required to save us (Gal. 2:21).

II. The Confrontation (v.31-33)

Mark 8:31–33 NASB95

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 was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

A. Jesus addresses His Disciples plainly that He must be rejected, killed, and resurrected.

1. Rejected by the world and rejected for claiming to be their messiah.

2. Killed because he is despised by men; But to make atonement for the sin of man. What we meant for evil God worked for God for those who love him (Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” )

3. Resurrected. To evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God, and that his death does atone for the sins of the world. Resurrection is the verdict of a job well done.

B. Peter’s Rebuke.

Presumed Innocent.

Regardless of how innocent or purely motivated, our interests may still be aligned with Satan more than God’s.

How easily we are deceived.

Why we need the clarity of God’s interest from his own Word.

How Satan would use even our closest friends to detour us from accomplishing God’s purposes.

How we must be in tune with God to be in Harmony with His will

c. Jesus’ Rebuke.

1. His ways are not our ways.

Isaiah 55:8 NASB95

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

2. For Him or against Him.

Matthew 12:30 NASB95

30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

3. If we oppose Him, we are his enemy.

Upon the Confession of Christ as the Messiah, Peter attempts to detour how Jesus will be the Messiah. But Jesus confronts Peter in front of the Disciples so that they might know that What He has planned to do is the only way that the title of Messiah can be realized.

III. The Calling (v. 34-38)

Mark 8:34–38 NASB95

34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 “For whoever wishes to 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 will a man give in exchange for his soul? 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.”

a. Answering the Call of Discipleship-

1. Self-Denial- There is nothing good in you. You are a sinner.

2. Take up the cross- Joining Christ in his death and rejection of from this world.

We admit our sin and therefore a need for a sinner. We don’t hide the fact that we have broken the laws. That is the first step in confessing Jesus as Christ. We put to death the deeds of the flesh identifying that it is corrupted. Then we live to the Spirit which is being renewed day by day.

we are guilty as charged and don’t deny our shame. But we do not live in it as Christ has removed it on his cross for us.

3. Follow Me- We are to follow Christ in resurrection.

Resurrection life is a life lived by the power of the Spirit. Renewing our hearts and minds. It signifies a life that is following Jesus on a daily basis doing His will and not our own. Abiding by His word and not ours. Living a life of liberty not law.

b. The Upside down. Jesus is calling his disciples into a life that bears the marks of death in order to gain life.

c. Questioning your motives. Jesus then asks two questions to determine the motives of his disciples and at the same time help lead them to consider which is better in life?

To gain the world and forfeit the soul.

How much is your soul worth? Could you purchase it back with anything that you have access to in this world?

Is there anything that could be as matchless as the death of God’s Son that could purchase your soul so that you might receive eternal life?

How we live is telling of whether or not we believe Christ is more than enough for us. Gauge to see how much your life looks like the rest of the world.

Many of us have not changed our position in Christ. We have not move toward that next step or season of imaging the life of Christ. The call to discipleship is a call to remodel your life so live less like the world and more like Jesus. That is the way forward and many of you have not advance upon the path of Christlikeness. Take Counsel with the Lord and ask him what your next step ought to be. What worldliness He would have you to place upon the cross and then what your next act of resurrection life He would have you move into.

d. Unashamed. This passage ends with a sobering declaration from the lips of Jesus the Christ.

Monkey see, Monkey do in reverse. If we be ashamed to embrace all that Jesus offers, if we deny Christ or deny his way of life for us who are his disciples, than He will be ashamed of us and we will be denied entrance into His eternal Kingdom of which those of the world will have no part in.

We have learned that there is more than just confessing Jesus as the Messiah. We must come to trust in how He is the Messiah. Embracing our redemption through His death and resurrection. Then Jesus calls us to embrace Him through imaging His life, which will lead us to be less like the world and more like Him.

Closing.

For anyone how would or who has confessed that Jesus is the Messiah. That he is the only one who can save. What follows after that confession is faith which always manifests in action. If Christ be your Savior then your next step is to get on His same page, which comes from learning His Word, and following Him as you life your life. Surrender, that is to say, deny yourself and rely on Christ to guide you in the way.

Beware that what you might think is a better plan, might be against the will of God. Grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. The more you grow in the knowledge of Christ the more you will bear his image and understand His will for your life.

Be unapologetically and unashamedly about Jesus. Don’t bring Jesus through the back door of your life. Make his front and center. Creating no doubt that He is yours and you are His.

Baptism. It is the act given for us to identify those who are marked as His people. It is the Member’s Only Jacket that we put on that incorporates us into the people of God. It is the wedding band that symbolizes that we are not ashamed of Christ but belong to Him. It is for you and your household (Acts 16:33).