The Center of the Gospel - Mark 8:27-9:1

Sermon Series: Spare Me the Details - Just Give Me Jesus

Allow me to start off with a question, “What are the most important parts of our bodies?”  We’d probably have to say some of our internal organs, things like our brains, our hearts, and our lungs, right?  While we might appreciate the things that our eyes, ears, arms, and legs allow us to do, but they aren’t crucial for life.  Now think about where those parts are located.  The parts of our bodies that are most important for life are in the middle aren’t they?  The things that are central to life are located in the center of our bodies.

With the text that we are going to cover in this blog we find ourselves right in the middle of Mark’s gospel.  It’s the central point if you will.  And Mark has chosen to put the most important part of His gospel message right here.  It’s the central part of his message in the central point of his letter.  And I would argue, that just like our brain, our heart, and our lungs provide life for our physical bodies, that what Mark puts right in the middle of his gospel is essential for giving spiritual and eternal life.  So we need to look at and examine the text well and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what exactly is so important about the center of Mark’s gospel.  I believe in the center of his gospel Mark has provided both a question and an explanation which are central to our understanding of the gospel message.

Verse 27 tells us that Jesus was on His way with the disciples to the villages near and around Caesarea Philippi.  This was an area about 25 miles north of Bethsaida, where we noted that Jesus was in verse 22-26.  By most estimations it would have taken about a full day to make this journey.  So Jesus would have had some real quality time with His disciples over the course of this trip.  And since they didn’t have any iPods or cell phones their time would have been given completely to discussion.  It appears that Jesus began the discussion by asking the disciples an easy question, “Who do people say that I am?”  This is an interesting question for a couple of reasons.  For one, in our context and culture, most people ask what you ‘do,’ not who you ‘are.’  Secondly, this question is one that the disciples have wrestled with in the past.  You’ll recall that when Jesus and His disciples found themselves in the midst of a great storm on the sea that Jesus did a phenomenal miracle in calming the storm and the sea.  And right after He had done so the disciples asked a question.  Do you remember what it was?  “Who then is this, that even the sea and wind obey Him?” (Mark 4:41).  At this point we are still unclear as to whether the disciples had come to a conclusion regarding the identity of Jesus in their own hearts and minds, but the question concerning who others thought that Jesus was, was most likely an easy one for the disciples.  The opinions regarding who Jesus was had been spreading for some time.  In fact, we saw back in chapter 6 that opinions concerning the identity of Jesus had been circulating.  Now in verse 28 the disciples begin to share those popular opinions, “they told Him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’”  Now let’s not just move past these without first making mention of the significance of these opinions.  “To liken Jesus to John, Elijah, or a prophet was to rank Him among the stellar figures in Israel’s long and illustrious history” (James Edwards).  Certainly the people had an incredibly high regard for Jesus.  And certainly these designations were intended to prop Jesus up and to make much of Him.  But the problem is, while John and Elijah and the prophets were outstanding men, they were just that – men.  Though these designation were probably intended to convey honor, they fall miserably short of who Jesus really is.  Jesus isn’t an outstanding man of faith who has come back to life, He is God, Himself, who had taken on flesh and come to earth.  So while many believed Him to be an extraordinary man, the popular answers of the day didn’t rightly answer the question of who Jesus was.

Jesus intensifies the discussion with His next question in verse 29.  Now Jesus turns the direction of the discussion from popular opinion to personal belief.  In verse 29 Jesus asks His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”  Who others believe that He is doesn’t concern Him – who His followers believe He is does.  So Jesus asks the question to those closest to Him and seeks their response.  Peter then speaks up on behalf of the group and answers, “You are the Christ.”  Peter’s answer is absolutely right in his terminology.  Jesus is the Christ!  Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word ‘Messiah,’ which means ‘anointed one.’  When Peter offered an answer to Jesus on behalf of the disciples, Peter said that they believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah in the OT.  And while Peter and the disciples rightly answered the question, their understanding of the Messiah was terribly wrong.  The Jewish people understood that there were only three positions for which a person was anointed with oil to symbolize that they had been set apart by God for service to Him – they were prophet, priest, and king.  The Jews also understood that the OT taught that the coming Messiah would have great power and that He would set His people free.  So the Jews began to hold the opinion that the ‘anointed one’ who came in power to set his people free was most likely going to be a king, rather than a prophet or priest.  Their expectation was that the Messiah would be a mighty king who would re-estabish the power and prominence of the Jewish people by freeing them from their captors.  When Peter answers ‘the Christ’ on behalf of the disciples, this is what they had in mind.  You may recall when we studied the narrative in Mark’s gospel where Jesus fed the five thousand that Jesus quickly dismissed the people and gave the disciples orders to immediately get in the boat.  We noted that while Mark’s gospel doesn’t give an explanation for why, John’s gospel does – it was because the people were trying to take Jesus by force in order to make Him king.  Most likely the crowd was wanting to force this man they perceived to be a great miracle worker into the position of kingly Messiah that they were anticipating.  It seems that the disciples may have held this opinion of Jesus as well and that rather than forcing Him to be king they were patiently waiting on Him.  What we need to note though is that while their terminology was correct, their understanding was wrong.  So Jesus gives the command once again that the disciples ought to keep silent and not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.  With Jesus’ growing popularity, the miraculous works He had done, and the disciples openly proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah king to come, the Jews would have gone wild with excitement and the Romans would have taken whatever means necessary to put down such a revolt and to do away with anyone who tried to usurp their power and control.

While Peter’s response is an intriguing one, let’s be clear on what the emphasis in these few verses is.  It’s a question.  “Who do you say that I am?”  That’s the central question of the gospel.  Salvation isn’t obtained by what others believe about Jesus.  Our salvation has everything to do with who we believe He is and how we respond.  It’s not determined by the masses or by popular opinion.  The question is a personal one that Jesus asks of each of us.  Who do we say that He is?  That is the most important question we have to answer in our life.  Is He a fable, a myth, a created individual?  Is He just a good man, good teacher, good person?  Or is He the perfect Son of God, sent by God to earth to accomplish a very specific purpose?  Who do you say that He is?  It is the most important question in life and a question that carries eternal consequences.

In John 4 the apostle John tells about a time that Jesus encountered a woman from Samaria.  We don’t have time to go into all of the details of this story, but allow me to point out a couple of verses in this text that show that this woman was wrestling with this same question and what happens as she comes to the right answer.  As the narrative begins in chapter 4 Jesus is resting by a well while He is traveling through the region of Samaria.  A woman comes to the well to draw water and Jesus begins to have a conversation with her.  As they are talking, Jesus begins to reveal some things that He knows about her that no stranger could have known.  So in verse 19 the woman says to Jesus, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”  At this point in the narrative, her answer to the question, “Who do you say that I am?” is that Jesus is simply a prophet.  But the discussion continues and eventually the conversation turns to discussion about the Messiah.  She says to Jesus in verse 25, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ).”  This woman knew about the Messiah and knew that He was coming, but she still didn’t believe that Jesus was the Christ.  But their discussion continues and a few verses later, in verse 29 we see the woman running back into town and proclaiming, “Come, see a man who told me all I ever did.  Can this be the Christ?”  This Samaritan woman was continuing to wrestle with this central question of the gospel.  And as she talks to the people in the town and convinces them to come and hear what Jesus has to say, many come to a right understanding of Jesus and put their faith and trust in Him.  Listen to what the people say to the woman in verse 42, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”  This woman and the people from her town weren’t relying on what others said or believed.  They were each asking the question of themselves and each having to come to a conclusion of their own.  They understood the question that was central to their salvation and they made it a point to each personally answer it.

Mark records this question (“Who do you say that I am?”) in an incredibly important position in his gospel – right in the middle.  It is without a doubt the central and most important question each one of us can ask ourselves.  We can’t ignore it and hope for the best.  Neither can we think that someone else’s answer will work for ours.  Jesus asks each of us, “Who do you say that I am,” and that’s a question we have to answer.

The response of Peter on behalf of the disciples was encouraging in one sense.  Last week we saw how Jesus healed a blind man and did so in stages.  You’ll recall that after Jesus’ first touch the man began to see, but his vision wasn’t completely clear.  When Jesus asked him if he saw anything he answered, “I see men, but they look like trees, walking” (8:24).  The grace of Jesus as He has spent time with the disciples teaching them and doing ministry in their presence is beginning to help them see more clearly.  While their understanding isn’t complete yet, they are beginning to see vaguely who Jesus is.  So that is something the reader ought to be encouraged by.  Jesus by His grace is bringing clarity to the disciples’ understanding.  And in these next few verses it appears that Jesus tries to help bring even more clarity, rather than allow them to continue in their misunderstanding. 

Verse 31 says that “He [Jesus] began to teach them.”  Because the disciples are remaining with Jesus He has the opportunity to help teach them and to help them grow in their understanding.  Here again we see the idea of abiding with Him and the grace which produces change in their lives as a result.  Jesus began to teach them, but verse 31 is even more specific.  “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.”  We can’t miss the significance of what Jesus is doing here.  Jesus is teaching a radically different understanding of the Christ, and it is an explanation that is central to the gospel, for it is an explanation of who the Christ is.  Jesus is teaching the disciples that the ‘Christ’ isn’t going to be a mighty, political king whose strong military power is going to rescue the Jewish people and free them from their captors.  The ‘Christ’ isn’t going to be a leader who the people admire and respect.  And neither is the ‘Christ’ going to live an extraordinary life of recognition, luxury, and wealth.  That is a wrong understanding of who the ‘Christ’ will be.  Instead, the ‘Christ’ is going to be one who suffers many things.  The ‘Christ’ isn’t going to be admired or respected, but one who is rejected.  And the ‘Christ’ isn’t going to be comfortable in his luxury and wealth, He is going to be killed by the “best” people among the Jewish nation – the elders, chief priests, and scribes.  Then after three days the Christ would rise again.  This explanation is certainly one that would have troubled the disciples considering that what Jesus was teaching them was so incredibly far from what they had always been taught.  The explanation that Jesus gives Mark says was done so plainly.  He wasn’t teaching in parables that would have perhaps confused the disciples.  Instead, He was instructing them in a way that they would have been able to understand.  That’s probably what led Peter to do what he did next.  Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him.  Peter was a Jew.  He knew, at least from the Jewish perspective, what the Christ would be.  For Jesus to say that the Christ would suffer, be rejected and killed was something which Peter probably believed to be blasphemous.  These things couldn’t have been true of the Christ – the mighty, anointed One of God who was coming to rule and reign – and Peter wasn’t going to stand for it.  But this is what God had sent the Christ to do.  The means by which the Christ would rescue men would be through suffering death on the cross.  And the freedom which He brought wasn’t going to be freedom from the Romans, but rather freedom from sin.  And if Peter was arguing this, He was simply standing in the way.  So Jesus answered Peter’s rebuke with a rebuke of His own, telling Peter, “Get behind me, Satan.”  If Peter wasn’t standing with Jesus in this mission then he was an adversary in opposition to Him.

Jesus was often pointing to who He was and what He had been sent to do.  In John 2 we find an account of Jesus casting out merchants and money changers from the temple in Jerusalem.  Some of the Jews were frustrated by this and began to ask Jesus for a sign that would prove He had authority to do such things.  Jesus answered them in verse 19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  The Jews who heard Him say this thought that Jesus was talking about the temple building and they began to mock Him for His answer.  But John tells us in verse 21 that Jesus wasn’t talking about the building, He was talking about Himself.  Jesus understood that the Father had sent Him to earth to suffer and die for the sins of humanity.  It was His physical body that would be completely destroyed.  But three days later He would conquer death and return to life.  This was what He, the Christ, had come to do.  He hadn’t come to rule in military strength and power.  He had come to bear the punishment for our sin, to die on a cross, and to liberate us from sin and death by His victory over both.  This ias the explanation of the Christ that Jesus wants each of us to understand.

In verse 34 Jesus calls the crowd to Him along with His disciples.  This has a lot of significance for Mark’s readers because what Jesus says next isn’t going to be just for His disciples, what He says next has great significance for everyone.  Here we find Jesus’ call to follow Him, the Christ.  And that call to follow Him has everything to do with a right understanding of the Christ.  Here’s what Jesus calls His followers to do: Followers of Christ must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.  Listen, I know this sounds really hard – and it is.  But let’s make sure we’re clear on what Jesus isn’t calling us to.  He isn’t calling us to give up everything we enjoy.  The call to deny ourselves doesn’t mean no more chocolate ice cream, no more trips to the beach, and no more going to football games.  What it means is that we no longer live as if we are our own god.  The decisions we make can’t be all about promoting our own selves, our own glory, and our own exaltation.  We have to recognize the that there is One who created all things, reigns over all things, and who gave His all so that we might be rescued from an eternity apart from Him.  That one true God has said there is a way that we ought to live and has commanded us to live according to His standard of holiness.  But we prefer to indulge our sinful desires and to do those things that seem pleasurable to us.  Those are the things we must deny ourselves.  So guys, we can still go to a football game and have a good time because there is nothing inherently sinful about football.  But we can’t get on the computer and start surfing a bunch of pornography sites because of the desire in our heart to look at that.  Ladies, you can still go to Dairy Queen and get the Chocolate Extreme Blizzard if you’re craving one because there isn’t anything inherently sinful in a Dairy Queen Blizzard.  But you can’t sit around talking bad about and gossiping about other women that you don’t like in order to make yourself feel better.  We have to deny those sinful desires that fill our hearts.  We have to live as though we have crucified the part of ourselves that says we should be living for ourselves only. Jesus’ call to us is a call to treasure God above every other thing, including ourselves.  Then we follow Him in whole-hearted devotion.

Jesus gives us some reasons for doing this in the following verses.  Verse 35 says the first reason we ought to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus is because of the eternal implications.  If we choose to live for ourselves, not giving up our own life, but indulging our own sinful desires while we are here on earth, then we lose the right to spend eternity with God.  But if, on the other hand, we want to save our spiritual lives for eternity and spend our eternity in heaven, then we’re going to have to give up our right to our physical life during our brief time on earth.  The second reason Jesus gives is in verse 36.  He says there that it isn’t any benefit for us to live for ourselves and to indulge every sinful desire we have while we are here on earth if that means that are going to lose any chance we have of spending eternity with God when we die.  This brief time on earth isn’t even a blink of an eye when compared to eternity.  Jesus asks the question, “Is it really worth it?”  Jim Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”  We can’t keep our physical life, so it makes a whole lot more sense to give it up for Jesus’ sake so that we have the assurance of an eternity with Him that we cannot lose.  The third reason we find in verse 37.  It’s a rhetorical question.  What’s your soul worth to you?  What are you willing to exchange for it?  Are a few years of living for yourself and indulging your sinful desires worth it?  The last reason is in verse 38.  If we live ashamed of Jesus now, the shame will be returned when our life is over and there is nothing to cover over our sin and shame.  We will be condemned and sentenced to an eternity apart from Him. 

Have you answered Jesus' question to you, "Who do you say that I am?"  Does your answer match up with Jesus' explanation?  Perhaps you still have questions.  If so, we have a really helpful section of our web-site called the Gospel.  You'll find a couple of videos there that can help explain who Jesus is and what He did for each of us.  I would encourage you though - don't take either Jesus' question or explanation lightly.  They are absolutely central to life!

Questions for Small Group Discussion

1. In verse 34 Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  Both self-denial and death of self appear to be prerequisites for following Christ.  Why is that?  What makes living for self so appealing?  What are the problems with living for self or self worship?

2. In verse 35 Jesus says, "whoever loses his life for my sake and ghe gospel's will save it."  Is it hard to believe Jesus when He says this, and if so, why?

3. In verse 38 Jesus says, "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."  Think about some of the situations where we've been ashamed of Jesus or His words.  What was it about those situations that made taking a stand for Jesus difficult?  How can we have more confidence and/or strength in those situations in the future?

4. What step of faith does this passage of Scripture require us to take as individuals and as a small group?  How do we work this out on mission?