THE Most Important Question! (Part 2)-Mark 8:27-33

As we begin this morning, go ahead and turn in your copies of God’s Word to Mark 8:27-33 we will read these verse shortly.

Last Sunday morning we began to look at these verses. As we started, we took a few minutes to look at the setting of this event, the setting was in the region of Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, far from the Jewish religious epicenter in Jerusalem. As a result of the distance from Jerusalem, where the Jewish Temple was located, as well as the fact that this was an area predominantly inhabited by Gentiles, topped off with the presence of numerous idols and at least 14 temples to false gods in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and His disciples were surrounded on all sides by pagan worship. It was in that setting the Jesus began to question His disciples about His perceived identity among the people of the Nation of Israel. It was an ideal setting for the Living God to probe the minds of His Disciples, as they were in a region dominated by false god’s, none of which had a breath of life in their lounges.

With that as an introduction, would you please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word?

Mark 8:27–33 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.”

In this real life scene and with the vivid backdrop we just discussed before reading this passage, Jesus chose this time to have the disciples take a seat, take out their Number 2 pencils, at participate in a 2 question Final Exam. The first question of this Final Exam, was a question designed to get a feel for their knowledge of the people, people whom they would soon be given the task of ministering to, minus the presence of the great Rabbi, the great Teacher, Jesus Himself. Their current location was likely chosen specifically, because it highlighted the difference between false gods, which came from the imaginations and were literally formed by the hands of the worshippers. And the One true God, Who literally stood in their presence.

That question 1: Who do people say that I am? Such an important question, really for several reasons, but one-that I see as relevant for us today is, it gave an indication of the types of conversations the Disciples were having with others. We need to work hard to learn how to lead our conversations with people, into conversations about Jesus, something the disciples were in the process of learning, but their quick response gave clear evidence that they had been making progress. They knew exactly how to answer this important question. As I quickly go through the names they gave, let me preface this by saying, each of these names were the names of highly respected individuals from the annals of Jewish history, who were to pave the way for the coming Messiah. I was thinking of a way to illustrate this, the best I could come up with is, it would be like the Colts drafting a rookie quarterback and the consensus among every General Manager in the NFL was that he knew the game like Peyton Manning, had the arm strength of John Elway, the quick release of Philipp Rivers, the ability to adapt to plays like Patrick Mahomes and the winning mentality of Tom Brady. If that was the case, every Colts fan would be salivating for the start of the 2021 season. These were huge names from the Jewish Hall of Fame; John The Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or One of the Prophets. However, when you compare these names to the very God of Creation, the One Who spoke the World into existence, parted the Red Sea, brought down the Walls of Jericho, gave Daniel a pillow of a soft lions mane to rest his head on in the lions den, and walked with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace, those names were at best an insult. The disciples had their work cut out for them, their job was to point the people to Who Jesus really was....but first, they had to answer the question themselves. Next Slide

The Final Exam. Question 2: But Who Do You say that I am? Mk. 8:29; Mt. 16:15 & 16, Lk. 9:20

This was the only question that really mattered on this final exam, to get the incorrect answer on this question brought with it terrible eternal consequences, then and now. Jesus moves from what the people believed to what His closest followers believed.

Peter was now the spokesman for the 12. In Mark, written from his perspective, we only see part of his answer, but Matthew 16:16 gives Peter’s full answer. Next Slide

Matthew 16:16 ESV

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Based on how quickly he answered, we get the idea that this was something that was frequently discussed among the 12. They had come close to this full declaration in the past, they had concluded Him to be “the Holy One of God” in John 6:68-69, and at the very beginning of His ministry, Andrew told Peter that he had found the Messiah, later when Jesus calmed the Sea by speaking “Peace be still” they said “Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey?” But they had never fully put the 2 together, at least not verbally, until now.

Even here, while they got the full title right, they still lacked a complete understanding of what all that meant, which we will see as we move forward this morning. But Peter got it right. Peter said; “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Emphasis on the word living, because they were currently in a region filled with dead gods, gods who came from the imagination of men, gods who had been made by human hands, gods made from gold, silver, wood hay and stubble. But Jesus, Jesus was the One true God, the God of the Universe, the God of creation, He was the true and living God. Peter answered the question correctly. Next Slide

The Command of Silence. Mark 8:30

From there Jesus does something rather strange, of course we have seen Him tell those He had healed to not identify Him, but now....now when the 12 finally got to the point where they understood more fully who He was, we read in Mark 8:30; “And He strictly charged them to tell no one about Him.” What gives? They finally realized that He was both the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah, and He wants them to remain silent…why? There are several potential reasons why, but based on what takes place in verses 31-33, I believe the best reason is....well before I get to the answer, let me ask you all a question. Who all here remembers Paul Harvey?

Paul Harvey had a daily commentary on ABC radio from 1951-2008. His broadcast was carried on 1200 radio stations nationwide, and it was hugely popular, so popular that people wanted more, so in 1976 he started an additional broadcast that gave the back stories to a lot of popular people and events. Anyone here remember the name of his second popular broadcast? (The Rest of the Story).

Now let’s get to what I believe to be the reason why Jesus wanted them to keep silent on His identity. The story they had was not complete. The were still waiting for “The Rest of the Story”.

Next Slide

The Rest of the Story. Mark 8:31

They now understood Who Jesus was as a Person, He was “the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, but they completely missed the ultimate Plan. Their knowledge of the coming Messiah was closer to that of the rest of the Nation of Israel, than it was to the full truth. You see, while they embraced His identity as both the Son of the Living God and the Messiah, they, like the Nation of Israel, were anticipating a Messiah Who would come as a conquering King…with them by His side! We have seen that in the past and will continue to see it moving forward all the way up to the night of the Last Supper. They were expecting a king, a ruler who would lead a revolution, this becomes evident in verse 32, which we will look at shortly. Next Slide

The Dangers of An Incomplete Knowledge. Matthew 11:1-5

Something else to consider, even John the Baptist struggled with The Plan. In Matthew 11 we read that John the Baptist was in prison, and as you might expect, being in prison affected the lenses John was looking through. Keep in mind, from day one he had been taught Who Jesus was, from day one he had been taught that he (John) was the forerunner to The Messiah. I would imagine he had been told multiple times of how he, still in his mother womb, leapt when Mary walked into the room, with Jesus in her womb. After he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, he watched as a dove descended from heaven and landed on Jesus and heard God declare from heaven “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” Yet with all of that having taken place, here in prison, the doubts crept in, he was wearing lenses of doubt and despair. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One, or should he look for another. Jesus responded by saying “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”

Then, here in Mark 8:31 Jesus begins to tell them “The Rest of the Story”. By the way, notice the word “began” in verse 31? From this point forward, when it came to teaching the 12, His mode of teaching changed. He began to put more emphasis on His death and resurrection in instructing the 12. He was giving them “The Rest of the Story”. The reason He didn’t want them to start proclaiming His Messiahship was, they still didn’t understand Him to be the suffering Servant, they only saw Him as the conquering King, their knowledge was incomplete, and would remain incomplete until the time of the Great Commission, when finally, He told them to “Go into all the world and make disciples.” But for now, 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.” This was a shocking revelation to all of them, one they were not remotely interested in believing, in fact, it appears they didn’t even hear the last phrase of Jesus statement. Have you ever been in the middle of telling a story of something you did, only for the listeners ignore the end of the story because of something you said during the story? They heard nothing beyond Him being killed. Which is why in verse 32 we see Peter move from:

Next Slide

The Penthouse To The Outhouse.

In Matthew account of this event, he points out that Jesus publically praised Peter for his earlier declaration. Matthew wrote that Jesus said to Peter; “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.” I can imagine that had I been Peter, my head would have greatly increased in size. Based on what we read in Mark 8:32, Peter’s did as well! We read in the last half of verse 32; “And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.” Let’s think about this for a moment. Who was it Peter had just proclaimed Jesus to be? “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Yet here Peter is, rebuking “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Let that sink in for a moment, and as it is sinking in, let me add to that thought. The word for rebuke here in verse 32, is the exact same Greek word that Jesus used in rebuking demons. Do you get a picture of the magnitude of what Peter is doing here? And please don’t miss the fact that he is rebuking the God of creation, the God of the Universe, the All Powerful God. Yeah, I think Peter’s head may have swelled a bit here! He was living in the Penthouse, but it didn’t last long, in fact it looks like he didn’t even finish his statement, because we read that Peter “began to rebuke Him.” In other words, Jesus didn’t let him finish, stopped him dead in his tracks....before he would literally end up dead in his tracks! In verse 33 we read; Next Slide

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.”

Notice He doesn’t pull Peter to the side, His rebuke, which by the way is the same word used of what Peter had just attempted to do to Him, His rebuke of Peter was public, in front of all the disciples.

The Importance Of Getting The Story Right.

There is probably a couple reasons for this, the first is, Jesus was making it clear so that each and every one of the 12 understood the severity of what had just taken place. Less than a year from this time, He would be sending them all out to proclaim the Gospel. He wanted all of them to understand that they were going to be spokesmen for the Almighty, but if they operated in their own flesh, they could easily be spokesmen for Satan....their minds could easily be “on the things of man.” His warning wasn’t just for Peter, it was for all of them. But there is a second reason why this rebuke was public. Peter had become the spokesman for the 12, we get the impression here that Peter wasn’t just speaking for himself, he was speaking for all of them. As a result, Jesus made His rebuke of Peter public. Delivering to all of them this powerful rebuke.

The Personal Application.

So, what does all of this mean for us this morning? What is the application. Well to begin with, for those of us that have fully embraced Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God”. We have now been commissioned to be spokespersons for Him and we have to be very careful with our words.

The Personal Application. 1. Our words, spoken, written and posted Matter.

With how we speak, with what we write, what we post. In one breath Peter was making a proclamation that brought about the praise of the God of the universe. In the next breath he was a spokesmen for Satan himself. His mind, and as a result his words, were not set on “the things of God, but on the things of man.” And Peter, no doubt, felt he was doing the right thing.

We need to be bathing our words in prayer. Starting each day surrendering our lives, our thoughts, our actions, our mouthes to Him, that we might in turn be His mouthpiece. That our minds would be constantly focused on the things of God. One wrong statement can do such great damage. When Jesus turned and spoke to the disciples in His public rebuke of Peter, it was as if He was speaking to us as well. Our words count, they are powerful, and if they are not surrendered to the Lord, great damage can take place.

The Personal Application. 1. Our words, spoken, written and posted Matter. 2. Our Living Answer to the Question Matters.

The next lesson for us to consider this morning is found in the second question on the Disciples Final Exam. It is a question we will all have to answer one day. That is why I entitled this morning’s message “THE Most Important Question!” Our eternity hangs in the balance based on our response to this question. And I believe Scripture is very clear, our verbal response means nothing, if it’s not backed by a transformed life. Need proof of this? Look at James 2:19;

Next Slide

James 2:19 ESV

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Not only do the demons have a full knowledge of Who Jesus is, they shudder in His presence. But they don’t live transformed lives.

Our eternity is based, not just on our verbal response the the question of “Who do you say that I am?” But also on our living response too that question. I place no confidence what people say in regards to who Jesus is, if their verbal response isn’t followed by a transformed life.

You want to know what my greatest fear is as the pastor of Liberty Chapel? Many times this fear has woken me up in the middle of the night. It’s not that the church won’t grow. Don’t get me wrong, I want this church to grow. I want us to be busting at the seems to the point we have to have multiple services or have to build a bigger sanctuary to hold everyone. My greatest fear is that people I have fallen in love with, people that are regulars here, that are here Sunday after Sunday, that sit under the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, that know exactly what to say, even have a good knowledge of God’s Word, have prayed the sinners prayer, the so-called prayer of salvation. That their head knowledge never penetrates into their heart, never results in a transformed life. The hardest thing I do as a pastor, is to do the funeral of someone I knew well, someone that verbally claimed to know Jesus, but whose life didn’t back up that claim. You have no idea how hard that is, because I realize that if they didn’t truly surrender their life to the Lord. It’s too late.

Perhaps some of you are a little uncomfortable right now, maybe thinking; “Wait a second Jim, your laying it on a little thick here.” Guess what, I’m with you! I’m uncomfortable too! But I don’t one anyone listening this morning, to go into a Christ-less eternity, without doing everything in my power to change the course of their eternity! If I am too afraid to speak up, am I not setting my mind on the things of man, and as a result I could easily become a spokesman for Satan? I would rather be uncomfortable, among the uncomfortable, to plead with you if that’s what it takes, that everyone listening would take the truth’s of this God’s Word and be transformed by them, that our words and our actions would boldly proclaim; “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Closing prayer