Mark 8: The Confession of a Disciple

Transcription

1 1 Mark 8: The Confession of a Disciple Let me begin today by putting these verses into the context. In the immediate chapter we see different kinds of people who see Jesus differently. The last two weeks we saw the religious leaders and their seeing and understanding of Jesus. They did not see. They did not understand. They were hardened. They were unbelieving. And, they were, generally speaking, unified in their opposition to everything Jesus taught about himself. Then, we see the disciples, who also do not understand and do not see. However, they continue to walk with Jesus by faith. And we know that he will reveal himself gradually and more fully as they continue to journey all the way to Jerusalem. (The disciples had been with Jesus around a year at this time.) Then, we see a blind man and Jesus sovereign right to give sight. And, together with the context, Mark is teaching about the identity of Jesus, with a particular emphasis on Jesus as the source of all spiritual understanding. In the larger context of Mark, particularly 8:27-10:52 we will see three clear teachings by Jesus to his disciples that he must suffer and be killed, and even rise again. On every occasion, the disciples are puzzled. They don t understand. In our passage today, Peter will rebuke Jesus. Right after this rebuke Jesus will teach on the meaning of discipleship (what it means to follow him). In 9:30-31, Jesus teaches the same (he will be delivered, killed, and rise again). The disciples do not understand. And, again, Jesus will teach on discipleship, speaking about those who will be first and those who will be last. In 10:33-34 Jesus says the same thing again concerning his death, to which the disciples misunderstand. Again, Jesus will teach on discipleship. Today, I would like to focus on this confession. Next week, I will ask the question: Why did Jesus have to die? (taken from v. 31). On the following week, I will look at the lifestyle of a disciple. I know I have preached the confession of Peter from the book of Matthew a couple years ago. For those of you who were here, there will be some overlap. But, there will be some differences, especially in application. Here are two truths. 1. There are many confessions today about the identity of Christ. Look at verses 27-28: 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? And they told him, John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets. (Mar 8:27 ESV) This conversation happens on the way to Caesarea Philippi. This city was 25 miles north of Bethsaida, about a full day s walk. This particular city was under the jurisdiction of a man named Phillip who beautified the city and named it after Caesar Augustus, who ruled the Roman Empire for 57 years. It was an unlikely place for Peter s confession because this city was full of Gentiles and it was the site of two very painful memories of the Jews. In 200 B.C. Antiochus IV defeated Egypt, which was the cause of civil war and a revolt by a man named Maccabeus. The city was also famous for its sanctuary to Pan, an idol, half goat and half man. The people of the area worshipped him as the guardian of flocks and nature. One would expect the disciples first confession of Jesus as the

2 2 Christ to come in the Holy City, Jerusalem. But, it is in the outer regions of paganism and even hostility to Judaism that Jesus is first proclaimed Messiah. But, before Peter makes his confession, Jesus asks, Who do the people say that I am? Ordinarily, it was the disciples who asked questions of their teacher. But, Jesus is no ordinary teacher. Instead, he asks the question. Normally, when people ask questions about someone, they ask about what he does, not who he is. The question of Who is more personal and more probing and more serious than what. This kind of question is the kind that, in our culture, may be politically incorrect. For example, most folks, when talking about politics, focus on the issues, the voting record, facts about accomplishments, instead of who the person is behind the decisions. When it comes to certain moral issues, we simply don t ask, and don t tell. The question of who becomes very personal. It asks the question, who is behind the person? What are their desires, their motives; who are they, really? We all want to ask these questions about people, but we avoid them. In this instance, I believe the disciples want to know WHO they are following, but they are scared. They were really wondering, Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him (4:41). We will see in the coming verses that Jesus answers their questions directly and does not hide his identity any longer. Leaders of the world often hide their identity. They really don t want their followers to know who they are or what they are about. God is not like this! Aren t you glad that God is a God who reveals himself to us? He has nothing to hide. His attributes are clearly seen; his creative power, his wisdom, his sovereign rule over all things. And, in Jesus, God will answer who He is. Jesus said, If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. We would not be here today, if God withheld his identity from us. In our passage, Jesus asks the question because he intends to give the answer. And, he knows his answer will not be popular with the religious leaders of his day, or the world s leaders. Today, what you confess, reveals who you are. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. (Let s move on.) First he says, Who do people say that I am? The disciples said, Some say John the Baptist. Some say Elijah. Others say the Prophet. Why John the Baptist? He had been beheaded and after this, Herod the Tetrarch heard about Jesus and the miracles he was performing. So, he (and others) said that Jesus may be John the Baptist, who had risen from the dead. This was one of the rumors concerning Jesus. Why Elijah? Remember, Elijah did not die, but was taken to heaven. Malachi prophesied (4:5-6) that God would send Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Some of the people, thought that possibly Jesus was this Elijah. (According to Jesus in Matt. 17:11, John the Baptist was actually this Elijah who would come.) Why one of the prophets? In John 6:14, John refers to Jesus as the Prophet that is to come into the world. This is in reference to Deut. 18:15 where Moses says, God will raise up a

3 3 prophet like me. Him, you must listen to. There was a general expectation that the Messiah would be this special prophet. All of these answers were sincere desires and thoughts. However, they were all wrong. And, in asking this question, Jesus intended to emphasize who they believed he was. The disciples could not live off the confessions of other people. Instead, they must say for themselves. They must separate themselves from the majority opinion and risk a personal confession. (I will come back to this in a later application.) If the disciples were to fulfill their role in the early church they must understand the secret of the kingdom of God (4:11). They can do so only by penetrating Jesus true identity and understanding the purpose for which he had come. The same is true today. There are many who call themselves Christians, but really have no understanding of who Christ is and what He came to do. Before moving to their confession, I must ask this question: Who do men say that Jesus is today? Here are some examples. (I have shared these categories before.) Your Agnostic Friend He believes there is a God and even believes there may have been a historical Jesus, but certainly doesn t believe Jesus was God in the flesh, or that He is the true way to Heaven. In fact, this person probably thinks that Jesus was some type of a lunatic or crazy person for being so religious. Your Muslim friend He confesses that Jesus is the greatest prophet outside of Mohamed. He believes Jesus did not sin. He believes he is the greatest teacher in the history of the world outside of Mohamed. He is even a prophet who can lead someone to heaven. Your well intentioned friend This lady believes He is the Son of God, but only in the flesh. In other words, she believes him to a holy man, a rabbi, a good teacher, but not the very God incarnate. Your New Age Co-Worker This person spiritualizes everything and believes Jesus is one of the world s greatest spiritual gurus. Your All Inclusive Family Member These folks are the ones you talk with at family reunions. They think you are not a very tolerant person, but they don t tell you face to face because, after all, you are a family member who is obviously sincere. And, after all, ALL ROADS DO LEAD TO HEAVEN. Almost every interest group and segment of society in America (and the world), whether historical criticism, or rationalism, or feminism, or racism, or various types of sociology, they all have an opinion about this man Jesus.

4 4 2. There is only one true confession for a disciple of Christ. Look at v. 29. And he asked them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered him, You are the Christ! This is the central question of Mark s Gospel and of every presentation of the Gospel. Up until now in the Gospel of Mark, only God and demons have recognized Jesus as the Messiah. No human has yet declared Jesus to be the Messiah. And though Peter is the one who makes this confession, he represents all the disciples who were with him at that time. For Jesus said, Who do you (plural) say that I am? My question is: How much did they really understand in making this confession? I believe they understood very little. It was like the blind man last week who saw men walking like trees, but wasn t able to see clearly. By confessing Jesus as the Christ, they believed him to be the promised one who would come into the world as God s representative and restore all things to Israel. However, they still didn t understand much. They thought the Messiah would come and rule over them, using power and force to subdue the Roman government s control over Israel, and then conquer the world, setting Jerusalem up as God s city. This is obvious from Peter s reaction in v. 32. After Jesus said, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, after three days rise again, Peter rebuked him. He was saying, Not my Messiah, not the Messiah of Israel, not the anointed One sent from God, No way! (You will have to wait until next week for an explanation of these verses and the reasons Jesus had to suffer.) For the rest of our time, I would like to consider Peter s confession practically. Even though he didn t understand, this confession was still an example of faith in the Messiah, the Son of God. His answer was filled with bold, courageous faith. Consider the circumstances. Jesus was virtually alone in the religious community. His views were radically opposed to the religious leaders. He was rejected and without honor in his hometown. He had no formal theological training. He wasn t from a prominent family. He certainly had no wealth. For the Son of Man had no place to lay his head. The only place a confession and following of this man would lead to in the standards of the world of their day would be ridicule, shame, mocking, and persecution. The religious leaders were plotting to kill him, and following him could get the disciples killed. Little did Peter know that about two years from the time he made this confession, Jesus would be killed, the disciples will flee, and even He would deny the very one he confessed as the Messiah. My point is this. Peter s confidence in Jesus and confession of Him as the Christ was not shaken by any of these circumstances. He believed that He was the promised savior, the true Prophet greater than Moses, the long-predicted Messiah. The same must be true today in anyone who would claim to follow Jesus. We must be ready to confess Christ in this world, even as Peter did if we are to be Christ s disciples. The person and work of Christ will not be popular in this world. You must be willing to confess Christ even when few or none are on your side. Your confession of Christ today will be no different than Peter s confession in that day. Nothing has changed. Paul said to Timothy, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will

5 5 be persecuted. (2 Tim. 3:12). I must confess in my own life that I have no real persecution. This concerns me greatly. What about you? You cannot confess Christ only when it is convenient. (Apply to those in our congregation.) Before concluding this morning, I would like for us to consider one more observation in Peter s confession. Notice the mixture of grace and error which may be found in the heart of a man who truly confesses Christ. After this bold confession of faith, Peter received the strongest rebuke we find in the NT. Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. We see here that even the best of saints (filled with faith) are still poor fallible creatures. Peter did not understand the necessity of our Lord s death, and would have actually prevented His sacrifice on the cross. He thought he knew what was right and fitting for his Master, even better than Jesus himself. And, he did this with the best intentions. I believe he meant well. His motives were pure. However, zeal and earnestness are no excuse for error. A man may mean well and yet fall into tremendous mistakes. Who are we to think that we have it all right? We must learn humility from this text. We must beware of being puffed up with our own spiritual attainments, or exalted by the praise of others. Let us never think that we know everything and are not likely to fall into error. We see with Peter, that it is but a little step from making the good profession to being a Satan in Christ s way. There is much more in this passage, as we will see in the next two weeks. But, today, I will end with a charge from the Apostle Paul to Timothy. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time--he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (1Tim. 6:11)