Most important answer, ever!
Gospel of Mark: Jesus a life to serve • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsIt's a matter of life and death on who you say, believe Jesus is
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The Eternal Divide
The Eternal Divide
This passage of scripture divides the Gospel of Mark in two. The first half being Who is Jesus; the second half the How. How we look at, answer, what we believe what we confess regarding the who Jesus is has eternal results.
If you were to ask people, your friends, “what do people say about me?” They may thing you are being arrogant or prideful, because what does it matter what others think about you, it matters what you think and say about Jesus though.
Your confession concerning Jesus is a matter of life and death (Jn8:24; 1Jn4:1-3; Rom10:9-10)
21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.”
24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
What you believe matters!
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
What you confess matters!
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
How you confess matters! It must be because of belief, and belief in your heart
I mentioned that this is an eternal divide, this is also the end of the second cycle of Mark in feeding the multitudes; confronting the Pharisees and healing, all leading to this confession. This confession that has eternal consequences.
Mark the eloquent writer who proves his skill as a journalist, an attorney, a dramatist.
As a journalist he answers the questions, the who, what, when, where, why and how.
As an attorney he has the confidence that the evidence previously presented will without a shadow of a doubt prove his point, who Jesus is.
As a dramatist he has interwoven a fast paced story that captures the attention and keeps the attention of the reader, of the audience.
Now may we look at the passage in two sections, we will read in context then break down as
Who do men say I am?
Who do you say i am?
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?”
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.”
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.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
Who do people say I am?
Who do people say I am?
People then, people today, who do they say Jesus is?
To the people then, in that region, Cesarea Philippi, there were many pagan god’s where Baal worship and Pan worship with common, so saying Jesus is the messiah was not likely.
Ask the Roman’s and they would not confess Jesus as Lord for they believed Caesar was Lord.
To the religious Jews they had varied answers, just as people today have varied answers. But let’s look at their answers.
John the Baptist, Elijah
John though performed no miracles, Jesus was a miracle worker (Jn10:37-42)
Jesus in Jn10 asserts His deity and proves it by His works; John performed no miracles and no signs but John pointed to Jesus;
Even Herod thought that Jesus was John resurrected (Mk6:14-16)
41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.”
Even Herod thought that Jesus was John resurrected (Mk6:14-16)
14 And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
16 But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
John came with spirit and power of Elijah (Lk1:17) even dressed like him (2Kngs1:8; Mk1:6)
17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
8 They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
2kngs1:8
and Marks proof of John like Elijah
6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
Can think was Elijah do to misunderstanding of the Malachi prophesy (Mal4:5) in which Jesus explains the fulfillment of this prophesy (Mt17:10-13)
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things;
Mt17:10-11
12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
Mt17
Mt17
; )
others say one of the prophets
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
which prophet? Maybe Jeremiah (Mt16:14); Jeremiah was weeping prophet; Jesus was a man of sorrows; Jeremiah called for repentance that comes from the heart, so did Jesus. Both were rejected by their people. Both were condemned, both were persecuted.
which prophet? Maybe Jeremiah (Mt16:14); Jeremiah was weeping prophet; Jesus was a man of sorrows; Jeremiah called for repentance that comes from the heart, so did Jesus. Both were rejected by their people. Both were condemned, both were persecuted.
Some say Jeremiah (Mt16:14)
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
People then, people today oftentimes listen to the popular opinion.
People then, people today oftentimes listen to the popular opinion.
One of the prophets (Lk9:19)
People want others to tell them what to think, what to believe instead of checking things out for themselves and drawing a conclusion based on the evidence presented. People have opinions instead of convictions.
In Matthew account Beelzebub (Mt10:25; Mt12:24 and Mk3:22)
Elbert Hubbard said this.
Mentally deranged (Mk3:21; Jn10:30)
“The judgment of the incapable many, opposed to that of the discerning few.”
Others thought, claimed Beelzebub (Mt10:25; Mk3:22)
25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
Even mentally deranged (Mk3:21)
21 When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”
30 “I and the Father are one.”
Finally, some the Christ the Son of the Living God (Mk8:27; Mt16:16; Jn11:27; Jn20:31)
Or yes, even Christ the Son of the Living God (Mt16:16; Jn1:40; Jn11:27)
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
In the Matthew account adding you are the Son of he living God it means the anointed one, the promised Messiah. Prophets, priests and kings were all anointed, Jesus was all three, but that is another message for another day when we study the book of Hebrews.
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Well, we have a few minutes and before moving to the next point, who do you say I am, how about looking at who people say He is today
To the Atheist they say he never existed he is a fabrication, a folk story
Others say He was a good man, a good teacher, the likes of Mahatma Gandhi.
I like what C.S. Lewis said.
“Yet the biblical claims do not this this option; You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or your can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
- - - he did not intend to because of the resurrection and the fulfillment of some 330 prophesies about Him.
some say prophet of God, but not the Son of God (like Islam)
Finally, to the Christians today, He is the Christ, the Son of the living God and goes by many other names (see the attached sheet)
But, who do you say that I am?
But, who do you say that I am?
Having put what man says out there and not aside, Jesus asks the personally, eternal destination determining question. All the teaching, the signs, the wonders, all the evidence presented comes down to this (Mk8:29; Mt16:16).
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.”
Or in the Matthew account
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
What can you tell from Peters confession?
It was bold, it was confident, it was sure, it was uncompromising
Though the Apostles knew who He was, confessed who He was, believed who He was, they still did not see far enough as to How Jesus is the Messiah, remember they still had nationalist eyes, not eternal.
Stop, I want you to remember when you had your eyes, your heart opened and you were able to make that confession personally. (maybe it was a still quiet time, maybe it was a time when you thought the heavens were opening up)
We had to get to a point where we came to our own conclusion, our own opinion for the opinions of others will not get us into heaven.
We may not know everything about Jesus, but we have enough to know Jesus and what confessing Him entails (Php2:10-11)
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We know enough to be transferred into the kingdom (Col1:13)
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
we know enough that He is coming back for us (Jn14:3)
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
How you answer the posed question is the most important answer ever because (Act17:30-31; Mt28:18-20)
30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
And how we live our life today.
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
One day everyone, everywhere is going to confess Jesus, every knee will bow, let’s make sure as many as possible are doing it in heaven!