St. Timothy's Church

2 Lent, 2009

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

Mark 8.31-38

March 8, 2009

 

Let me summarize a bit of last week’s message:

 

∙ John is in the wilderness – repent and return to the Lord – Baptism of Repentance

 

∙ Many from Judea and Jerusalem came confessing their sins – and being baptized.

 

∙ Jesus came to the Jordan from Nazareth in Galilee – Mark says nothing about Jesus coming to confess his sins: He didn’t have any.

 

∙ Jesus passively received the sign of repentance on behalf of the people. . . . .

            God is doing a new and radical thing – His judgment is coming upon the people

 

This Son who fulfills the image of the Son of Man described in Daniel is willing to take the judgment of the people upon Himself.

 

Later John was with his disciples and saw Jesus and remarked to them: “Look, the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world”.  John 1.29

 

He identifies Himself with a rebellious people – He does not separate Himself from them – He associated with sinners and tax collectors – prostitutes, the poor and the wealthy.

 

Jesus humbled Himself – we see here a voluntary self surrender.

 

∙ Immediately the Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil.

 

James tells us ¹³When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”  (James 1.13)

 

The sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer says, “¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”  (Mat. 6.13)

 

Mark 1.13 tells us, “¹³and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

 

Where Adam failed, Jesus did not.

 

God will not tempt us to sin – but God may allow us to be tempted, which is another way of saying to be tested to be strengthened.

 

Mark goes on to tell us that John was arrested, and Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God saying:  The Time is fulfilled and the KOG is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.  Mark 1.14.

 

If we were to think of Mark’s Gospel as two parts of the same story we’d divide it roughly this way:

 

Part One: Baptism and Jesus’ Ministry – 1.1 - 8.26.

 

The vast majority of these verses deal with healing body, mind and spirit. . . Jesus is constantly fighting the work of satan and restoring people to wholeness

 

Then we’d have FOUR key verses: 8.27-30, “²⁷Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" ²⁸They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets. But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." ³⁰Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

 

It’s right here that the Gospel shifts from Jesus’ ministry to focusing upon His fulfilling His mission of taking the sins of the people upon Himself.

 

In Part Two from 9.1-16.20, Virtually everything we read is focused on paying the price for the people’s sins.

 

It’s like a hinge on a door – or cutting out a heart from a piece of folded paper – when its cut out it looks like half a heart but when opened you see the whole heart.

 

The shift takes the form of three statements found in Ch. 8:31, 9:31 and 10:33 all dealing with Jesus’ suffering, death and Resurrection.

 

In making this shift from Ministry to the Cross Jesus is going to teach TWO things:

 

First, explain what it means to be the Messiah.

 

Second, Jesus explains the requirements – what it takes – to be a Christ follower.

 

This will be shocking and scandalous; it will shake them to their core; they won’t understand; it’s a very troubling time.

 

Look at Mark 8.31, “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.. . . . . “

 

Mark tells us that Jesus spoke plainly to the disciples. 

 

At least 18 times in the gospels we’re told Jesus spoke to them in parables or told them a parable (earthly story with a heavenly meaning).  In other words, Jesus often spoke of deep things in terms that were hard to understand until He explained them.

 

Here it says he told them plainly: The Son of Man (which is often a circumlocution for the word “I” when the topic of suffering or death was discussed) would suffer; be rejected by the chief priests and elders; then killed and three days later rise again.

 

It could hardly be plainer then that – could it!?

 

The last conversation I had with my father was when he looked at me and said, “Son, I’m going to die very soon . . . . . can I count on you to bury me properly?”

 

My initial reaction was like that of Peter “. . . And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

 

Messiah dying at the hands of anyone didn’t fit into Peter’s understanding of Messiah.

 

The idea was beyond his ability to comprehend it so he lashed out in denial saying NO!

 

I tried to tell my dad the same thing – as natural as it is when a parent tells you he or she is going to die you want to stop listening and deny the reality.

 

Jesus is doing something new – He’s ushering a new kingdom and it gets ushered in through His death and Resurrection. . . . . . which includes great suffering and rejection by the very watchmen who were to lead the people in righteous faith.

 

Jesus is also giving a new definition of Messiah . . . . . .

 

Whereas the popular idea of Messiah included special qualities of ability the teachers of the law anticipated the messiah to be an anointed leader like Aaron or David; a ruler from David’s linage.

 

Literally a very talented, anointed, human leader with extraordinary gifts and talents.

 

This included the notion that Messiah would have a special relationship to God and to the people. . . . . a great combination of earthly and heavenly match.

 

So in Mark 8.29 when Peter says to Jesus that he is the Christ (the anointed one) what he’s saying is more along the line of “You Jesus are God’s agent – you fulfill the divine promise of the prophets and therefore are Israel’s hope.”

 

Right answer as far as it goes but wrong conception of how that hope is going to really get played out.

 

Jesus wasn’t traveling down the road to the City of David to sit on a throne with a gold crown on His head; He’s going to Jerusalem to get nailed to a cross with a crown of thorns stuck to his bloody head.

 

Three times Jesus describes what true discipleship will look like – what it will mean for anyone to follow after Him.

 

So he tells them his death is necessary – that is what it meant to be the Christ;

 

It’s a startling message but it was the Fathers will (John 3.16; Rom. 8.32)

          It was promised in the psalms (40.7); Prophesized in Isaiah 53;

                   The law demands atonement for sin (Lev. 17.11; Heb. 9.22, Rom. 5.12-21)

 

BUT Three days later “On the Third Day” Jesus would rise again.  (Is. 53.10; Luke 24.26-27)

 

Jesus was revealing a tragic truth: the elders, chief priests, and scribes would be responsible for messiahs death.

 

He spared them all the gruesome details but he spoke the truth – plainly -  to them; he did not use parables (Mark 2.20; Mat. 12.39-40; 16.4)

 

Obviously Peter understood what Jesus said – and his reaction is met with a sharp rebuke from Jesus.

 

Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from such talk – and if he could to make sure Jesus didn’t do anything that would cause His death.

 

In a real way this could be taken as a type of temptation – similar to satan’s earlier.

 

What Peter doesn’t get is that the Father has appointed shame and pain on the cross as the way for the people to be redeemed and victory over evil.

 

God’s will must be done and Peter cannot stop it – he can only reject it and therefore reject Jesus or to embrace it and follow.  Ro. 8.38

 

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.” 

 

Unregenerate men think this way.

 

Lets say one of us in here has to pay for every wrong thing the rest of us have done, said, thought, or been part of to the extent that we can minus out everything good we’ve done, said, thought of or been part of. . . . . .

 

Who will volunteer to stand before a judge and accept whatever punishment is left over after the good is subtracted from the bad?

 

Satan says your sins are not anything to worry about – small slights – little white lies – little indiscretions – lustful thoughts; deceit, envy, jealousy, cheating.

 

God says it’s such a big thing that His Son will clean up the mess because when any of us subtracts the good from the bad there’s always a remainder and somehow the bill has to be paid.

 

We’re got no currency to pay it with – but Jesus did.

 

I say DID because it was paid once for all – for ever!

 

Long ago Isaiah spoke of a suffering Savior whose solution to sin did not conform with human niceties but meant suffering, rejection and shed blood that led to death.  Is. 58.8

 

From a human view what Jesus is telling Peter and the others including the crowd is unacceptable and scandalous; but from God’s viewpoint is absolutely necessary.

 

With the shedding of the blood of the perfect sacrifice atonement cannot happen (Heb. 9.22; Lev. 17.11)

 

His death will be unique.  Unlike our death, his death will save the world.

 

His death will pay the guilt price for our sins; we receive the benefit.

 

His death will remove our guilt and shame; He takes it upon Himself.

 

He takes our punishment; we get His righteousness.

 

He is hated by those He came to save; we hear the Father welcome us into His Kingdom.

 

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.

 

We are not detached observers!  Following after Jesus means we have to take some specific action – with the Lord’s help.

 

Jesus said very clearly that the requirements for following Him were the same for apostles’ and for the ordinary person.

 

We have to say NO to self and YES to God.  We have to set aside all false gods and idols

 

Graphically – we’re like condemned men who are dragging their cross over their shoulders as we go off to the sight of execution BUT BUT

Unlike those with no hope and who are truly still with the penalty of sin hanging over them we go to the cross guilt free and voluntarily.

 

It’s been said that “followers must be prepared to die – suffering with the Messiah is the condition of glorification with Him” Ro. 8.17

 

To deny oneself and take up our cross isn’t something we can do on our own.

 

It takes being reborn – being filled with the Holy Spirit.  John 3.3-5

 

And then it takes our will to agree with the Holy Spirit who will strengthen us for the task we cannot do in our own strength.

 

Jesus deny yourself:

 

Trust Him; Walk in His footsteps; obey His commands all out of gratitude.

 

Say goodbye to your old self and live anew in Him (Phil. 3.7-11.

 

35 For whoever would save his life (soul) 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.”

 

The world says “Take control over your life to keep it”  God says to really keep it you have to give it up.

 

The world says “grab all you can”  God says if you do that you’ll just loose everything anyway.

 

The world often says Jesus is just a good man or one way to God or simply a choice among man – God says don’t be ashamed of me else in the age to come I won’t know you.

 

Ch. 9.31 and 10.33 give the same message, “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.”

 

Amen.

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