Realizing Where the Road Leads

Intro

There has been a movement in Christianity in the United States over the last few decades. and the motives of this movement were good. it was to bring as many people to Jesus as possible. The problem lies on how its done. They viewed Jesus as medicine that was needed but is hard to swallow. so in order to get people to take the medicine they watered it down. they added some sugar to it.

The problem when you do to most medicines it loses its healing power, and people feel good because in their mind they took the medicine but it had no effect.

That is what many American churches have done with Jesus. We have watered down what it means to be follower of Christ to try to get people on board to the point that they aren’t even following Jesus anymore.

Exalting Jesus in Mark The Normal Christian Life: Following and Serving the King (Mark 8:27–38)

We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with. A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream.

Many of us have grown up with ideas of what it means to be a follower of Christ. That are watered down and easy. so much so that when we are confronted with what Jesus actually said what following him is like we think that’s too radical. And it is radical but it isnt radical Christianity it is Biblical Christianity and anything less is watered down medicine that isn’t going to help you.

I could water it down and make it easier for you to swallow. and we would probably grow faster if I did that. But I love and respect each of you too much to waste your time or harm you by not giving you full truth. All I can do is show you as clearly what I can what God’s word says.

In Mark 8 Jesus is going to lay out very clearly what it means to follow him. And I want to make clear that if this isn’t what following Christ means to you, you arent some lesser Christian. According to Jesus it means you aren’t following him at all.

Mark 8:27–30 CSB

Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him.

We are going to look at three sections of text and they answer three crucial questions. Who is Jesus? What did he come to do? and What does he expect of you?

In this first section Jesus asks the disciples for clarity. He asked them what people were saying about who he is. and they say Elijah or John the Baptist. High praise. Each is positive and affirming, much like those who today would applaud Him as a great moral teacher, the example all should emulate. They honor Him but misrepresent Him. They applaud Him while denying who He really is.

but then he gets to the point he wants the disciples to clearly state who they say that he is. And Peter as the oldest and likely the spokesperson for the 12 answers the question for us of who is Jesus by saying you are the Messiah.

1.Confess the True Jesus.

For Peter and the 12 this was a huge moment. They gave the one and only acceptable answer. They gave a clear confession that Jesus is the one and only Messiah, the one and only Son of God. One way that signifies just how big of moment this was for them.

Before the moment Jesus’ teaching was aimed at the crowds at the 12 were present. After this moment it was like they graduated and Jesus spent his time teaching to the 12 and the crowds were listening in. Jesus spent his time discipling the ones who made a clear confession of who he is. He did not waste his time teaching the ones who were still keeping their options open. He poured everything into the ones who clearly confessed him as the one and only Son of God. the savior of the world.

When you make that confession. People will call you closed minded. They will think its crazy that you put all your faith in one thing. and guess what we are closed minded. Because when you realize that something is completely true you should close your mind to believing what is false. That is not radical Christianity. That is basic Biblical Christianity. and it starts with a clear confession personally, publically and proudly declaring your alligiance to jesus proclaiming he is the son God, the messiah the one and only savior of the world.

in these verses Jesus answers the question of who he is and shows that we need to clearly confess who he is.

In these next verses he is going to show us what he came to do. and Peter does not do as well as he did in the last verses.

Mark 8:31–33 CSB

Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

Peter has a fundemental missunderstanding of our second question what did Jesus come to do? Jesus came to fulfill his fathers will not Peter’s will, not the Jew’s will, not Rome’s will, and not your will either. He game to do the father’s will. That was his mission. The mistake that Peter made is he didnt trust that mission.

2. Trust the Mission of Jesus

Jesus has just told the disciples for the first time he is going to die. This does not line up with what Peter expected of Jesus. Growing up learning about the Messiah. the images in his mind always involved a military leader who would trumphantly destroy Rome bringing freedom to the Jews. and now he’s hearing Jesus say what the messiah must actually do is to be a suffering servant. who lays down his life to set his people free from what is actually their biggest enemy.

The two images don’t fit together. and that’s because one is what Peter wants Jesus to be and the other is who he actually is. Peter is trying to make the Messiah what he wants. This is what is so dangerous because if we aren’t careful we will fall into the exact same trap. We fail to trust the mission because we think we have one better.

Jesus did not come to do your will. Jesus does not exist to serve you. His primary goal is not to make your life easier. He is not working overtime to make sure you become rich. If that’s the image that you have in your mind of Jesus. Than you are just as far off as Peter was.

Jesus came to earth to do the will of the father. and thank God the will of the father is that each and every one of us would be saved. He does not exist to serve you, you exist to serve him. His goal isn’t to make your life easier, his goal is to give you life. He isn’t working overtime to make you rich. His work is completed and he as already provided you the opportunity receive the riches of heaven as a coheir in the kingdom.

Peter was dissappointed when the expectations who he thought Jesus was didn’t line up with who he actually was.

Church don’t build your faith on your expectations of who you think Jesus should be. Because that’s not Jesus. The Jesus you have in your mind that is happy with minimal commitment, that wants you to be comfortable, that affirms your choices even when they dont line up with God’s word, who would always call you to avoid danger. That isn’t Jesus. and if you are following that Jesus that you created in your head or were introduced to by a pastor who is scared of the Bible than you aren’t a Christian.

Peter was holding on to version of Jesus he created instead who he actually was. We got to make sure we aren’t doing the same because the real Jesus is better than any version you can make up. and it is the only one that gives life. You can trust the mission of Jesus.

So if we answered who Jesus is. The one and only Son of God the savior of the world. and we answered what he came to do. which is the will of the father by dying. the question is now what does he expect of you. the good news is that Jesus is clear about this.

Mark 8:34–38 CSB

Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? What can anyone give in exchange for his life? 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.”

Jesus says he calls anyone to follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross and then follow him. Here’s whats always gotten me about this passage when Jesus says take up your cross. We have foundness for the cross because of Jesus. and the victory that he secured on it. but for the disciples it was not a symbol of victory. It was a symbol of death. it was like Jesus was saying take up your electric chair and follow me. I dont know anyone with an electric chair necklace they dont sing songs about it. and they didnt do any of that back then with a cross.

I want to be clear. Jesus is not using cross bearing to describe the human experience of carrying some burden through life.

I hate to break it to you but you having a taco bell addiction is not a cross that your bearing. my office being vandalized constantly is not a cross that I have to bear.

More seriously. please hear my heart as I say this because these are real things that you may be struggling with and God is with you if you are going through them but they aren’t what Jesus is talking about. Your rebellious or prodigal child is not your cross to bear, your struggling marriage is not your cross to bear. your anxiety is not your cross to bear. barely making your rent payment is not your cross to bear, your diagnosis is not your cross to bear. and your greatest temptation is not your cross to bear. Bearing your cross is not a catch all for all the difficult things we go through in this life. People who were carrying a cross weren’t going through a difficult time they were marching towards execution.

Cross bearing as a follower of Jesus means nothing less than giving one’s whole life over to following him.

3. Jesus Calls you to Die

What does Jesus expect of you? He expects you to come and die. Just like he did.

There’s a reason that we come to an altar. You know what happens at an altar. things are killed. Lives are given up. The call that Jesus gives is not come so I can make your wildest dreams come to true like how Peter wanted. The call that Jesus gives is come and die. Give me your life so the old you can die and you can receive the life that only I can give.

Heres the thing about carrying crosses. Their heavy.

Pull out cross. This one here is small but reality is you can’t carry a cross and other things at the same time. If I am loaded down by carrying my old plans like this map. I am loaded down by carrying my old identity like Peter was with the net, and my hands are full carrying the weight of my sin. Which to be clear my sin is way heavier than this rock. Than how can I possibly carry a big heavy cross.

That is why Jesus said deny yourself. then take up your cross.

You have to deny that your plans are better than his plans, you have to deny that your old identity is better than being a child of the king. and you have to deny that you would rather have your sin than Jesus, and once you lay all that down. Along with your life. you are able to pick up that cross.

Because the only way to truly live is to surrender your life to the one who defeated death. Because unlike the 10s of thousands of people that were crucified who carried their cross towards their execution you aren’t carrying a cross towards execution you are carrying it towards resurrection.

Because you know the only way to save your life is to give it up. trying harder wont save your life, gripping tighter to your life wont save it. The only thing that will save it is Jesus the real Jesus. The one who says die with me so that you can be raised with me.

Conclusion

My heart for you today is this don’t settle. Don’t settle for a watered down version of Jesus who’s only goal is your happiness. That is a medicine that wont heal and a savior that won’t save.

Instead of settling surrender to the real Jesus. The Jesus who doesn’t say come and I will make all your dreams come true. But the Jesus who says come and let your life go. Let it die so that I can give you real life and real freedom.

Who is Jesus? You got to confess him as the son of God, the messiah, the only one who can save.

Why did he come? He came to die because it was his fathers will that you would live. You can trust that mission over any other that you want to give him.

What does he want you to do? come and die. Come and surrender. If you believe he is who he says he is, and he did what he came to do? What other response could there be? He either has all of you or he has none of you. You are either fully alive or fully dead there is no in between. He doesnt call you to half measures, he doesn’t call you to compromise he call you to the cross. To walk the road with him that leads to the death of your self and the birth of a new life.

Today the invitation is simple. If you’ve been holding on to your life, your plans, your sin, your identity — Jesus is inviting you to lay it down. The altar is open this morning. If you need to surrender your life to Christ, or if you realize you’ve been following a watered-down version of Jesus and need to come back to the real one, this is your moment to respond.

The cross was never meant to decorate your life it was meant to end it. A watered-down Jesus may make you comfortable, but only the real Jesus can save you.

Look at your life have you chosen comfort or complete and total surrender.

It’s the same invitation Jesus gave. Come and die. Lay your life on the altar today — and walk out of here truly alive.