(Mark 8:31) The Divinely Planned Victory of Christ
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INTRODUCTION:
Christianity begin as a small community of believers in Jerusalem, but quickly spread across the world.
Christianity begin as a small community of believers in Jerusalem, but quickly spread across the world.
Eventually, Ethiopia, Egypt, Rome, and even the British Isles all become center’s for Christianity.
What was it about the message of Christianity that caused it to spread far beyond the borders of Israel?
Principally, it was a message about a person named Jesus of Nazareth and His teachings.
There are certainly other names we remember from Ancient Times.
- Alexander the Great
- Julius Caesar
- Plato
- Aristotle
But we do not really follow any of these.
>Sure, people who like philosophy may study Plato and Aristotle,
>>but I have meet hundreds of people - farmers, ranchers, construction workers, who could care less about what Plato or Aristotle.
Yet, they spend countless hours studying the Words of Jesus.
- They pray
- and worship Christ.
- In fact, they are willing to endure family resentment so long as they can follow Christ.
Why?
Our passage addresses that today.
Further, Jesus is different from any of those men.
>He was a common man from a poor family among a nation that for hundreds of years has not ruled itself.
>>Yet, there are millions of people who follow him.
Why do we remember a common man from a poor family in a land that has been ruled by outsiders for hundreds of years?
It is because his ministry was unlike any ministry we have ever seen.
His Work was planned in the Mind of God before the creation of the World and it’s impact has effected every generation that has ever lived,
past, present, and future.
The Gospel of Mark record’s Jesus ministry on earth.
CAVEAT: We will read the whole paragraph in order to understand the passage, but we will primarily be focusing on this morning.
Proposition: And from this text, we will understand why we also ought to be followers of Jesus.
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.”
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.”
Mark 8:31-
From the Gospel of Mark, we learn that
and the work the God called him to do.
True Christianity, is centered upon the name of Jesus Christ and following His Teachings.
This is a name that has stood the teast of time. It has stood the
There are certainly other names we remember from Ancient Times.
Alexander the Great
Julius Caesar
Plato
Aristotle
Need for Jesus, who is Jesus,
Why should we follow Jesus?
No one follows Ceaser, Greek Gods, ...
Proposition: We Ought to be Followers of Jesus.
Proposition: We Ought to be Followers of Jesus.
Proposition: We Ought to be Followers of Jesus.
Proposition: We Ought to be Followers of Jesus.
Transition: and this text gives us 3 aspects of Christ that demand us to be followers of Him.
Transition: and this text gives us 3 aspects of Christ that demand us to be followers of Him.
The first aspect that demands us to follow him is that he is the:
1) Son of Man.
1) Son of Man.
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.
For many of us, the idea of the Son of Man has no real meaning.
For many of us, the idea of the Son of Man has no real meaning.
I am a son of man, what’s the point.
Perhaps, some of our ladies might say I am the daughter of a Women. What’s the point.
But this title is meant to describe a very specific person with a very specific purpose.
The title, “Son of Man” originated first in .
13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
After reading the description of the “Son of Man” you quickly realize why the title is no ordinary title.
13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Son of Man
Messianic title used by Jesus to express his heavenly origin, earthly mission, and glorious future coming
describes a man who was to be a King like no other king has ever been.
This “Son of Man” will one day
- begin a Kingdom
- that will never end
- and every nation and person will bow before this King.
Understand,
Jesus was that King.
CAVEAT: Now we will learn from this passage that Jesus did not come to establish that Kingdom yet.
We await that Kingdom and it is one of the great future hopes of the Bible.
One day Jesus will return as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He will come and establish His kingdom.
One day the will the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He will come and establish His kingdom.
From other texts this eternal Kingdom will not simply have a single King,
but he he will be
- a wise-counselor,
- a righteous judge,
- ruling in physical and spiritual blessing.
ILLUSTRATION:
How many of us have been wronged by someone in power?
Whether a common police officer, or some of our Presidents, we all at some point have been dismayed by the wickedness of the government.
Example: One of our former Presidents was actually impeached for His lying and manipulation.
Even when faced with well-meaning people in government, they are not able to establish law that meets every situation.
Example: I remember making a camping trip in Canada a few years back. We were flying in to Canada and leaving by car. Unfortunately, the TSA system would not allow us to fly because they assume you will fly back into the U.S. We were blocked by a well-meaning system that could not account for all the situations.
Understand, the “Son of Man” will rule righteously, wisely, forever.
This is the Kingdom that every person wishes he had. This is that king, but his mission here on Earth in 33 AD was not to establish the Kingdom, but to do a different work.
This is the government that every person wishes they had.
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Now think about this, according to this text, Jesus is the “Son of Man”.
One of the reasons we ought to be followers of Christ is he is the righteous, wise, King that every knee will bow too.
But this Kingdom is still future.
His mission here on Earth in 33 AD was not to establish the Kingdom, but to do a different work.
Our text tells us what that work was.
The Second aspect of Jesus that demands us to follow hims is that His Suffering was:
2) Spiritually Necessary.
2) Spiritually Necessary.
Our text tells us Jesus work “must” happen.
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 suffering of Christ was necessary because:
a. God planned it.
a. God planned it.
- Remember this, the work of Christ wasn’t something that Jesus thought of in AD 33.
- Nor was it something that suddenly occurred to God,
after-all, God knows everything.
The suffering was something planned before the foundations of the World.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Understand, the suffering of Jesus was planned by God in advance.
>>Before he created, he planned the work of Redemption.
>>>Because it was planned by God, it must happen.
b. God Orchestrated it.
b. God Orchestrated it.
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.
Now this text gives us a clue that the suffering of Jesus was absolutely necessary.
Now as we read this text there are two clues from the text that tell us that God is accomplishing his purpose through the work of Jesus.
The word “must” communicates that this suffering was absolutely necessary.
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.
Because God has planned before creation our salvation through Jesus’s suffering, it must happen.
Because God has planned before creation our salvation through Jesus’s suffering, it must happen.
ILLUSTRATION:
We understand this from our laws.
When congress passes a law, it must be obeyed. We might disagree with it, but that doesn’t matter. The Law of the Land must be obeyed.
In the same way, God planned our salvation from before creation.
Because God planned it, it must happen.
Further,
c. Man was doomed without it.
c. Man was doomed without it.
b. Humanity was doomed without it.
b. Humanity was doomed without it.
Understand, the state of humanity apart from Christ.
- God created a morally perfect and fantastically made world for Adam and Eve.
- However, when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree, sin entered into the world.
As a consequence physical death and humanity became exceedingly wicked.
>>This sin problem left us with a debt before God that deserved punishment.
Further, sin changed us. We became entirely wicked.
- The Great King David said in .
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
- The Prophet Jeremiah described our hearts as being wholly corrupted.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
The fact is we face a hopeless situation.
- No sacrifice is strong enough to transform our wicked hearts.
- Sin is now so intertwined with our flesh and hearts that there is no way we could fix our sin problem.
Sin is now so interwinted with our flesh and hearts that there is no way we could fix our sin problem.
The Third aspect of Christ is that he is the:
Yet, the sacrificial blood sacrifice of the innocent Jesus was sufficient to do what none of us could do on our own.
- He paid our debt and transformed our hearts.
The fact is, Jesus, had to do His work because without it we would be doomed.
The Third aspect of Christ that demands that we follow him is that he is the:
3) Suffering Servant.
3) Suffering Servant.
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.
Our world
Because of Sin, we live in a world of suffering.
In a normal life time a person will suffer in a multitude of ways. But the reality is that none of us like to suffer.
In fact, many people tried to go out of their way to avoid as much suffering as possible.
Think about this,
Jesus did the opposite.
Jesus did the opposite.
He was born in order to ultimately suffer for humanity.
What suffering was Christ born to?
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 first suffering was that he was to be:
a. Rejection
a. Rejection
a. Rejection
a. Rejected
a. Rejected
To be rejected by your country as a traitor is one of the most repulsive titles one could have.
AND
I would say that most Americans would be repulsed at being called a traitor by His fellow country-men.
ILLUSTRATION:
A traitor of His country is repulsive because his betrayal is looked at as a
Think about it this way.
How hated was Bin Ladin after 9/11?
Can you imagine someone betraying His country to support Al Qaeda?
Yet, that is actually what Adam Gadahn did. He become a personal interpreter and propagandist for Al Qaeda becoming the first American indited for treason since WW2.
This is exactly what it was like for Jesus, except Jesus was actually innocent.
The Elders, Chief Priests, and Scribes condemned Jesus for a number of reasons such as the fact that he claimed to be the Son of God according to .
18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
To be rejected and condemned in the Israelite society over Blasphemy was to commit perhaps the biggest sin in Israel.
It was viewed as though he was the traitor against their nation and their God.
Here is the catch, Christ really was the Son of God.
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
Christ suffered because he was wrongly rejected and condemned by his fellow country-man.
But the suffering of Jesus was not simply because he was rejected.
He also was murdered.
b. Murdered
b. Murdered
b. Murder
b. Murder
What great a suffering it would be if we became a murder victim.
ILLUSTRATION:
We all have seen the detective TV shows that document some horrific murder.
How horrible it must have been if you had been that person?
According to our text, Jesus was that victim.
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 Jewish leadership were horrified at the teachings and claims of Jesus.
They were so horrified that they sought to kill him.
18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
As we read in the Gospels, Jesus was:
- falsely arrested by the Jewish leadership.
And
- Immorally sentenced to Crucifixion.
He died like a criminal upon a cross, rejected and Murdered by the Jewish leadership.
Talk about suffering.
Yet, if this was the end of the Gospel we would have nothing unique.
- Many innocent probably died of the many centuries before Christ and after Christ.
- Further, How do we know that he was not a criminal guilty of blasphemy against God?
Chiefly because he did not stay dead.
Christ may have suffered by being rejected and murdered, but he also was
c. Resurrected
c. Resurrected
The resurrection is the single greatest proof that Jesus really was the Son of Man
The Son of Man who will return and rule the greatest kingdom in Human history.
There have been many skeptics over the years who have sought to discredit the claims the of Jesus.
They sought to demonstrate that Jesus is not somebody worth following.
And it is fair to ask, maybe Jesus was guilty of blasphemy against God.
EXHORTATION:
>Understand, the early church were no fools either. They had never seen or heard of someone rising from the dead.
>>Like us, they considered dead people as there after always being dead.
So what convinced early believers that Jesus was the truly the Christ, the Son of Man?
It was not simply an empty tomb, but they personally talked to a risen Jesus Christ.
Paul summarizes Jesus living appearance in .
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
The fact is that the Jesus they watched murdered upon the Cross walked among them until he was taken up to Heaven by the Father.
For them, the resurrection of Christ authenticates Jesus as the Son of man.
And remember, his suffering was not for himself, but for us.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Therefore, in the ultimate authentication, Jesus is worthy of being followed.
Therefore, in ultimate demonstration, Jesus is worthy of being followed.
It was not simply that Jesus was resurrected, but that he was risen and walked among his disciples, appeared
CONCLUSION:
So what do we learn from Mark 8:31?
Proposition: We Ought to be Followers of Jesus.
Transition: and this text gives us 3 aspects of Christ that demand us to be followers of Him.
That is because:
1) Son of Man.
2) Spiritually Necessary.
a. God planned it.
b. Humanity was doomed without it.
3) Suffering Servant.
a. Rejected
b. Murdered
c. Resurrected
And Remember, this is a prediction!
Jesus is telling the crowds what he ultimately must do.
ILLUSTRATION:
The prediction of rejection and murder is not that bold.
29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”
But the Jews only underst
ILLUSTRATION:
Last summer we got a chance to go to the Wyoming State Territorial Prison here in town.
One of their exhibits talks about the notorious Jesse James.
Now think about this,
If Jesse James claimed he would be rejected and die, would that be a surprise?
He is a notorious bank robber.
- It would not be surprising if he predicted he would be rejected because he already was being hunted down by the Law.
- It would not be surprising if he predicted he would be killed. He is already being hunted for His Crimes.
It would not be surprising if he predicted he would be killed. He is already being hunted for His Crimes.
Jesus is in the same vote.
If Jesus simply claimed he would be rejected and be killed, would there be anything surprising.
He is already being rejected and hunted down by the Jewish leaders. There is nothing surprising about that.
It is really the last part that makes all the difference.
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.
He predicted in three days he would be resurrected.
Now that is surprising.
Understand, Jesus predicted that he would die, and then predicted that he would be resurrected.
The fact of Jesus’s resurrection, demonstrates that he is exactly who he claimed to be and we ought to follow him.
Also understand, there are two responses to the suffering of Christ.
- The wrong response is to reject Christ’s suffering and resurrection.
Peter did this at first, and he was told he was like Satan.
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.”
Mark 8:32-33
We ought not reject Jesus’s suffering.
- The right response is to follow him as His disciples, that is those who follow His Teachings.
Mark 8:
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.
This Easter, let us be followers of Jesus because his suffering and resurrection demonstrate he is the Son of Man. He is the future King that we ought to be longing and looking for.
His Resurrection demonstrates that Christ really did die on the Cross to save each one of us from the penalty of our sin.