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Mark 8:22-33 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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I have taken a couple week break from preaching and during that time had some opportunity to reflect upon the nature of preaching and what makes for good preaching.
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Enough for me to be a good orator, I'm not even sure that I am, or to have clever illustrations which I very rarely do.
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To speak with any level of eloquence, I often find when I try to search for an eloquent word to make a point, I come up blank and fill it in with something random or I invent a word even at times.
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The true mark of what makes a good preacher is a person who takes the scriptures and exalts Jesus Christ in them.
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And so we have a text before us today that gives us great opportunity for that.
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But before I get there, I want to say that the same is true of fathers on Father's Day.
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The measure of success for us as fathers is not necessarily just in the way that we provide or the way that we protect the home,
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but the way in which we point our children to Jesus.
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So dads, let that be the measure today as we celebrate being fathers.
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Let us, in that process, point our kids to Christ.
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We'll be reading together today from Mark chapter 8, beginning in verse 22 and reading down through verse 33.
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And they came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.
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And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.
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And when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him,
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Do you see anything?
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And he looked up and said, I see men, but they look like trees walking.
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Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes.
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His sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
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And he sent him to his home, saying, Do not even enter the village.
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And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
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And on the way he asked his disciples, Who do people say that I am?
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And they told him, John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, and others one of the prophets.
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And he asked them, But who do you say that I am?
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Peter answered him, You are the Christ.
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And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
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And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things,
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and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed,
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and after three days rise again.
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And he said this plainly.
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And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
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But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan,
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for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
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This is God's word to us.
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It was written for his glory and for our good.
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We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.
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Let's pray together.
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Father, we do thank you this day for the blessing of your word.
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The very pages we hold in front of us.
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The English translation of the original language by which you inspired it.
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And we thank you, Father, for your word incarnate.
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That is Jesus, the Christ.
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And I pray, Lord, by your spirit, as we study your word today,
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you will use it to divide the very marrow of our souls.
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That you will use it to drive out the dark places of our hearts.
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That you will further conform us into the image of your Son.
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We pray this in Christ's name.
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Amen.
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So it was fitting, not intentional, but fitting that we took a little break in the preaching through Mark
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as we've been working through it, verse by verse, story by story, where we did.
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And I didn't know that I was doing it, but we really took a break at the end of sort of an act one of Mark's gospel account.
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And we now get into the beginning of what's very commonly understood to be the second act,
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which is beginning in verse 22.
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It starts this journey, this kind of this end as he's been transitioning out of his Galilean ministry,
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where he spent the majority of his time thus far.
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And he's beginning to work his way toward Jerusalem,
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up to the passion, to the crucifixion, the resurrection of Christ.
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And we see this kind of in-between time, which is primarily focused in on the apostles.
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And we see interchangeably here, disciples and apostles.
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He's really pouring into and connecting the gospel truths into their lives.
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He's setting them up for what's going to happen and their ministry beyond that.
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So he moves.
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He's been in Galilee, southwest of the Sea of Galilee, functioning there.
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And we see some movement.
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He heads north for a little while.
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We see in our story here, he goes from Bethsaida, which is on the west coast,
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to up to Caesarea Philippi, which is located about 23 miles north of there,
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north of the Sea of Galilee, for a bit of a retreat.
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He's getting away from the Jewish population, from those people who had a misunderstanding of who he is
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and who he was claiming to be in order to spend time teaching the apostles.
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Healings now in these next couple of chapters have almost ceased.
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We see a couple of them as this focus shifts.
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We see another exorcism in chapter 9.
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And we see two accounts of the healing of blind men.
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And this second act is framed by that.
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First, we see this healing of a man at Bethsaida.
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And then we see the healing of Bartimaeus at the end of chapter 10.
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So that kind of sets this up for us and where we are.
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After we see this proclamation by Peter as a spokesman of the apostles that Jesus is the Christ,
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he also begins to teach them what his ministry will finally and fully accomplish.
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And that is his crucifixion and resurrection.
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And we see three different passion predictions here in this next act.
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In chapter 8, verse 31.
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In chapter 9, verse 31.
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And in chapter 10, verses 33 and 34.
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And we'll, of course, address one of those incidents today.
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Because we see in all of the cases that he makes these predictions,
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the apostles' immediate response as a misunderstanding of the kingdom of God.
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In fact, it would seem that all of this passage,
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these three and a half, two and a half chapters,
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kind of hang on these passion predictions.
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And so we'll be looking at those in detail in the coming weeks.
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But here we see, as the central part of our text today,
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verse 22 through verse 33,
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we see this incredible proclamation on Peter's part.
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It seems that the scales are being lifted,
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that their eyes are being opened as he responds,
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but who do you say that I am?
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And Peter responds,
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you are the Christ.
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But before we look at that in a little more detail,
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let's back up just a bit to briefly look through the first act,
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so to speak, of this book.
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Many commentators, in a rather over-reductionary kind of way,
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have said that Mark's gospel account is ultimately a passion account,
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a story of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
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with a long introduction.
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Almost the first half of the book,
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seven and a half chapters,
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seems to be just this long introduction.
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And there's some truth in that,
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because he really speeds us along through this process.
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He's really pushing very quickly.
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Some people have said that Mark is kind of the comic book version
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of the synoptic gospels as he's pressing us along,
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but we're going to find that he suddenly slows everything down.
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We get greater detail,
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greater account,
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as Jesus is teaching the apostles,
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and therefore, teaching us.
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So we see in these first eight chapters,
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words often used like immediately,
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immediately, now, and.
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If you ever have an English professor,
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college students,
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that tells you that you cannot start a sentence with and,
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show them Mark's gospel.
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They're everywhere in Mark's gospel.
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It is totally appropriate to do so.
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Right?
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And he starts his gospel account
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with a one-sentence introduction.
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Mark 1.1.
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The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
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the Son of God.
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And then in verses 2 and 3,
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he legitimizes John the Baptist's ministry,
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who he's just about to talk about,
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as the forebearer of Jesus,
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with a quotation from Isaiah.
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And then we are off and running.
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Right?
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We don't get the account of Jesus' birth.
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We're right here at the very,
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very front of his ministry,
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as we see him then,
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later on in chapter 1,
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coming and being baptized by John.
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And then we have the record
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in verse 14 of chapter 1.
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Jesus came into Galilee,
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begins his Galilean ministry,
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proclaiming the gospel of God
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and saying,
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the time is fulfilled
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and the kingdom of God is at hand.
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Repent and believe in the gospel.
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And he spends the majority of his time,
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we see him venture outside of Galilee a bit.
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He goes to the Decapolis,
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a largely Gentile region.
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He goes off to Tyre and Sidon for a while,
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kind of as a retreat from the ministry
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he has been doing.
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He's gathering large crowds.
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He's teaching far and wide.
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He's healing.
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But the great theme that we see
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as far as mankind's response
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to the teaching of Jesus Christ
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is a general rejection.
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We see some positive response.
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We see people believing that he can heal.
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But we see very little discipleship.
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We see very little of people
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leaving everything and following him.
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We see the example of the apostles doing that,
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leaving behind nets and following him.
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But they just don't get it.
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Again and again and again,
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we can see that they've been given faith to follow,
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but they don't really fully comprehend
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who it is that they're following.
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We see in chapter 3, verse 21,
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Jesus' family thinks he's a lunatic.
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In verse 22,
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the religious elite of the day
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accused him of operating under Satan's power.
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This was all by design.
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In chapter 4,
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the apostles asked Jesus
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why it is that he speaks in parables.
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Verse 11 and 12,
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he says to them,
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to you has been given
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the secret of the kingdom of God,
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but for those outside,
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everything is in parables.
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And then he quotes Isaiah 6, 9, and 10.
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They may indeed see, but not perceive.
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It may indeed hear, but not understand.
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Lest they should turn and be forgiven.
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And there's this theme
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running through these first
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eight and a half chapters
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of spiritual blindness.
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People can't see and can't understand,
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even though he's demonstrating
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in so many miraculous ways
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and legitimizing his ministry
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and his message in so many ways,
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people cannot see who he is.
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In fact, up until our text today,
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the beings who get Jesus most rightly
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are the demons.
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They're the ones that Jesus comes
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and casts out,
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puts them in pigs,
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drowns them.
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Chapter 1, verse 24,
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we see demons say,
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call him Jesus of Nazareth,
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the Holy One of God.
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Later in chapter 1, verse 34,
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the account is,
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and he healed many who were sick
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with various diseases
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and cast out many demons,
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and he would not permit the demons
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to speak because they knew him.
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They knew who he was.
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Chapter 5, verse 7,
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the great proclamation
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that Jesus is the Son
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of the Most High God.
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It's not made by man.
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It's made by something spiritual,
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a demon,
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an angel of darkness.
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And so we get this shift here
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in chapter 8, verse 22,
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as a teaching time,
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as a pulling away,
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as a stepping away time,
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and it's been introduced to us
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by these questions
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that Jesus asks
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in chapter 8, verse 17,
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18, and 21.
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So look at those with me.
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After some confusion about bread,
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Jesus has provided abundantly.
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He's fed huge crowds,
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5,000 and 4,000,
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likely more like 25,000 people,
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16,000 to 20,000 people
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that are worried about provision.
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They forgot to bring more than
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one loaf of bread on a boat.
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And he says in verse 17,
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Why are you discussing
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the fact that you have no bread?
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Do you not yet perceive
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or understand?
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Are your hearts hardened?
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Having eyes do you not see?
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And having ears do you not hear?
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And do you not remember?
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And then verse 21,
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Do you not yet understand?
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They still had yet
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to fully wrap their minds
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and therefore their hearts
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around who it is
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that Jesus is.
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And so he steps away
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as he's beginning his journey
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towards Jerusalem
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to begin to teach them more
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about who he is,
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to have them come to realize it
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and therefore serve him
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with their lives.
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He states this rather emphatically
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in chapter 9, verse 30,
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in the first half of 31.
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They went on from there
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and passed through Galilee.
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And he did not want anyone to know
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for he was teaching his disciples.
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They made a secret journey
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through Galilee
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towards their destination
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because this was the task
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of this second part
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of the Gospel of Mark.
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As previously stated,
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apart from the healing
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of two blind men
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and an exorcism in nine,
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Jesus focuses entirely
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on the teaching of the apostles.
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In fact,
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even these three miracles
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in this section
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seem to be aimed
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at the fact that Jesus
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is the Lord
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of physical blindness
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and therefore spiritual blindness.
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They seem to be set up
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in such a way
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both carried out in reality
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and recorded for us to observe
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because we're being taught something
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as the apostles
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were being taught something
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about who Jesus is.
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So we come to our test.
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Now I'm going to take it
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a little bit out of order
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because I want you to see
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and fully realize
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why it is that Jesus responds
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in the way he does
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and why it is that Mark
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was inspired to record it
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in the way that he did.
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So let's start very first
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with Peter's confession
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beginning in verse 27.
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Jesus asks the question.
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He says,
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Who do people say that I am?
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And there's much debate
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about Jesus' humanity
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and his deity
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and how those things coexisted,
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the exact nature of that.
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Some people presume
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that Jesus,
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because he was human
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but still God,
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knew things that were going to happen.
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He could predict things.
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We see some evidence of this.
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He can perceive in men's hearts
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what's going on.
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So sometimes he answers a question
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that they haven't even vocalized yet.
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Maybe this is true.
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Maybe it's not.
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Maybe in his humanity
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he really didn't know
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and all he did is
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he submitted himself to the Father.
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We see accounts of this.
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We know that all Jesus did
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was do the things
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that God told him to do,
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God the Father,
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and say the things
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that God the Father
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told him to do or to say.
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Not incredibly important.
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So Jesus either asks the question
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knowing what their answer will be
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or he's just not really sure
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in his humanity
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but they're on the edges of the crowd
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and they're walking around
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and he wants to know,
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Who are people saying that I am?
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But either way,
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the people had an opinion of him.
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John the Baptist.
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Others say Elijah,
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a great prophet of old,
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reincarnate.
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And some say one of the prophets.
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And these would have been
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flattering terms.
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Any of us,
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if you were to think me,
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John the Baptist,
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or Elijah,
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or one of the prophets
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risen from the dead,
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that'd be very flattering to me.
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But these were mere forerunners
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of who Jesus is.
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To think Jesus is one of these things
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would actually be an insult
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to who he is.
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Not a compliment to it.
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But this was common.
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Jesus is doing miraculous things.
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You can't deny that.
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Something's going on
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with this man.
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Right?
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Not just a couple people
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here and here,
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but far and wide.
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He's doing amazing,
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amazing things.
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He's calming storms.
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He's walking on water.
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He's feeding multitudes.
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He's casting out demons.
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He's proclaiming the forgiveness
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of sin.
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Doing incredible things.
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There must be something special
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about this man.
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And many people had many,
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many opinions
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about who he was.
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In fact,
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it's important for us to know
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that the name itself,
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Jesus,
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was not a particularly special name
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in this time.
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Often pronounced in the Hebrew,
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Yeshua.
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Sounds a lot like Joshua.
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Doesn't it?
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Right?
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This was a fairly common name
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in the time.
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It'd be like,
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if there was a period of time
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here at the church
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where we had four or five Johns.
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It was really confusing.
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Who are we talking about
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when we talk about John?
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This was Jesus of Nazareth.
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There's always these qualifiers
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put on who he is.
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He was a Galilean.
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We had to know where it was
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that this Josh came from.
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Rightly,
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we've given him from the Greek
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a more specific name.
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Not too many people
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use the name Jesus.
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Some cultures do.
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We've got Jesus's out there.
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But typically,
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we've reserved this Jesus name
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now for him.
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So,
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people had a,
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had just,
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Josh was going around
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and he was doing stuff.
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He was doing miraculous things
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and they didn't understand.
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They didn't have
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the spiritual sight
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to get that he was
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the Savior.
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He was the Messiah.
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The one that was promised
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from days of old.
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In fact,
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the name Yeshua,
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Joshua,
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means Savior
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or Deliverer.
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But they come to this,
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this idea of Messiah,
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this idea of the Christ.
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Christ.
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As a Jewish culture
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that was very religious
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in nature,
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the teaching was far and wide
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that there would someday
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be a man that would come
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and he would take away
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the sorrows of Israel,
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that he would reign
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as a perfect king,
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that he'd be in the lineage
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of David,
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David the greatest king
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who ever lived,
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who restored peace
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and power to Israel,
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that he would be in that line
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and he would come
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and he would do it
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once again.
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There was a massive
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cultural misunderstanding,
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a lens by which
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they understood
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who the Messiah
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was meant to be.
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And so when a humble
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carpenter boy
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shows up,
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they couldn't see him
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for who he really
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was
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and is
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now.
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In fact,
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the wide acceptance,
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and it still is true
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of many people
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of Jewish descent,
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think of the Messiah
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as someone who's going
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to come
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and is going to reign
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militarily
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and politically.
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You remember Roman rule
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reigned across this region
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in this day
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and the Jews were
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oppressed.
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They didn't have
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the same
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national fervor
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that they once had,
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the same status
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that they had enjoyed
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in the centuries past.
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They were oppressed
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by Roman rule
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and so they were looking
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for someone to come
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and to take over
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and to rule
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in the way
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they wanted him
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to rule,
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which is in fact
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likely the reason
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that Jesus is
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constantly pressing
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secrecy.
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That he's constantly
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doing something
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and then commanding
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somebody to not
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talk about it.
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We see two different
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occasions of that.
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The man he heals,
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the blind man,
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he tells them
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not to even enter
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the village.
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Don't even go around
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people because people
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are going to see you
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walking around,
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not blind,
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and they're going to
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know that something
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miraculous happened.
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And he tells the
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opposite thing we would
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think he would tell
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the apostles.
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When Jesus says
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you are the Christ,
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he goes,
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shut it.
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We'll talk about that
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right now.
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It's not the time
20:10
for these things
20:11
to be revealed.
20:12
The likely danger
20:15
was that people
20:15
would have taken
20:16
him by force
20:17
and made him king.
20:19
And that is not
20:20
the way he came
20:20
to serve.
20:21
He came to die
20:22
rather than to rule
20:23
over them
20:24
in the earthly
20:26
sense.
20:27
So there's this
20:28
massive misunderstanding
20:29
as they come
20:30
to this idea
20:32
of who
20:32
the Messiah
20:33
is.
20:35
So you see
20:35
a breakthrough,
20:37
this incredible
20:38
proclamation
20:39
on Peter's
20:40
behalf.
20:41
Likely it was
20:42
something that
20:43
the apostles
20:43
agreed upon
20:44
together.
20:45
He was often
20:45
the spokesman,
20:46
the first one
20:47
to rush in
20:48
and make
20:49
the comment.
20:50
Verse 30,
20:51
Jesus says,
20:51
or Mark records,
20:52
and he strictly
20:53
charged them
20:54
to tell no one
20:55
about him.
20:56
They were all
20:56
coming to this
20:57
realization that
20:58
he is the
20:59
Christ,
20:59
the anointed
21:00
one of God.
21:03
But isn't it
21:04
fascinating that we
21:05
see that even
21:06
the apostles,
21:07
as they make
21:07
this proclamation,
21:09
still don't
21:10
quite get it.
21:12
They get it,
21:13
but they don't
21:13
get it.
21:14
They're not all
21:15
the way there yet.
21:16
They haven't
21:16
fully come to
21:18
comprehend who
21:19
it is that
21:20
Jesus is.
21:21
That he has
21:21
come as a
21:22
suffering servant
21:24
who will be
21:25
a reigning
21:26
king.
21:27
So Jesus goes
21:28
on to teach
21:29
them.
21:29
They make this
21:29
proclamation,
21:31
and he makes
21:31
a passion
21:32
prediction.
21:33
Verse 31,
21:35
32,
21:36
and 33,
21:37
he begins to
21:37
teach them
21:38
that the
21:38
son of
21:38
man,
21:39
that he
21:39
himself,
21:40
must suffer
21:40
many things
21:41
and be
21:41
rejected by
21:42
the elders,
21:42
the chief
21:43
priests,
21:43
the scribes,
21:43
and be
21:44
killed,
21:44
and after
21:44
three days
21:45
rise again.
21:47
And I love
21:47
this little
21:48
phrase at the
21:48
beginning of
21:48
verse 32,
21:49
and he said
21:49
this plainly.
21:52
Right?
21:52
No parables at
21:53
this point.
21:54
He just said
21:54
to them
21:54
straightforward,
21:56
this is
21:56
what's going
21:57
to happen
21:57
to me.
21:59
And then the
22:00
audacity of
22:01
Peter,
22:01
who takes him
22:02
aside,
22:03
away from the
22:03
other apostles,
22:04
and rebukes
22:05
him.
22:05
So you have
22:06
Peter making
22:08
this proclamation,
22:09
you are the
22:09
Christ,
22:10
you are the
22:10
Messiah,
22:11
you are the
22:11
anointed one
22:12
of God.
22:13
We'll get into
22:14
what that means
22:14
further in just
22:16
a moment.
22:16
And then he
22:17
tells him in
22:18
the next moment,
22:19
but you don't
22:19
get the way
22:20
you were meant
22:20
to come and
22:21
serve.
22:22
That's what he
22:22
says to him.
22:24
And Jesus'
22:24
response to him
22:25
is a rebuke
22:26
in return.
22:27
But turning and
22:28
seeing his
22:28
disciples,
22:29
he rebuked
22:29
Peter and said,
22:30
get behind me,
22:31
Satan.
22:32
Now is he
22:32
literally calling
22:33
Peter Satan
22:34
in this case?
22:35
No,
22:35
but Peter's
22:36
being a
22:36
mouthpiece for
22:37
Satan.
22:38
Satan's work
22:40
in this day
22:40
was to thwart
22:41
at every turn,
22:42
to do everything
22:43
he possibly
22:43
could do to
22:44
prevent the
22:46
crucifixion of
22:47
Christ.
22:48
He knew that
22:48
his death
22:49
sentence was
22:50
made final
22:51
when Jesus
22:51
Christ was
22:52
crucified and
22:53
resurrected.
22:54
And so Peter's
22:55
serving Satan's
22:56
purposes at
22:57
this point,
22:58
and he
22:58
elaborates on
22:59
that by saying,
23:00
for you are not
23:00
setting your mind
23:01
on the things
23:01
of God,
23:02
but on the
23:02
things of man.
23:03
You have a
23:04
wrong perspective,
23:05
a culturally
23:05
defined perspective
23:06
of who the
23:07
Christ is.
23:10
Are we that
23:11
way?
23:13
Do we often
23:14
have a culturally
23:15
defined perspective
23:16
of who Jesus
23:18
is?
23:19
I believe that
23:20
those of us
23:20
who are in
23:21
the faith,
23:21
who have
23:22
recognized Jesus
23:23
as the Christ,
23:23
still are
23:24
tainted in
23:25
this way so
23:26
often.
23:28
And as we
23:28
look around at
23:29
the culture
23:29
around us,
23:29
they are
23:30
constantly at
23:30
the work of
23:31
making Jesus
23:32
into their
23:32
image,
23:33
that they
23:34
might worship
23:34
him rather
23:34
than lifting
23:35
him and
23:35
exalting him
23:36
as the
23:36
risen and
23:37
reigning
23:37
king,
23:38
the Christ,
23:39
and conforming
23:39
themselves to
23:40
him's image.
23:43
And so here
23:43
we see this
23:44
story back up
23:45
at the beginning
23:46
of our text,
23:47
verse 22
23:48
through 26,
23:50
this rather
23:51
odd healing.
23:54
Did it strike
23:54
you as strange
23:55
when we read
23:55
through it
23:55
together?
23:56
You see
23:57
Jesus doing
23:57
amazing miracles.
23:59
People are
24:00
touching him
24:01
and being
24:01
healed.
24:02
It's said
24:02
that as he
24:03
traveled through
24:03
the land
24:04
that he was
24:04
eradicating
24:05
sickness in
24:06
the areas
24:07
that he
24:07
traveled in.
24:08
And here
24:08
he has a
24:09
man who
24:09
was blind
24:10
that he
24:10
just doesn't
24:11
seem to
24:12
have enough
24:13
power to
24:13
get it on
24:14
the first
24:14
go around.
24:15
Did he
24:16
not meter
24:16
the power
24:17
right?
24:18
He gave
24:18
him power
24:18
to heal?
24:19
Not quite
24:19
enough.
24:20
And he
24:20
gave him
24:20
more power
24:21
to heal?
24:22
Or did
24:22
he do it
24:23
in this
24:23
way
24:24
specifically
24:25
to teach
24:26
us
24:26
something?
24:27
Of course
24:27
that's the
24:28
answer to
24:29
my rhetorical
24:29
question.
24:31
Now note
24:31
in verse
24:32
23 we
24:32
see again
24:33
Jesus leads
24:34
outside of
24:35
the village.
24:36
He's again
24:37
going to do
24:38
something physical
24:39
so this blind
24:40
man can
24:41
understand where
24:42
the very power
24:43
for his healing
24:43
has come from.
24:44
He does
24:44
something physical
24:45
with him and
24:46
he doesn't want
24:46
anybody to be
24:47
confused back
24:48
in the village
24:49
about what it
24:50
is that healed
24:51
this man.
24:52
He doesn't want
24:52
people to think
24:53
that spitting on
24:53
eyes is what
24:54
heals people but
24:56
that is the power
24:56
of God that
24:57
heals people.
24:58
We talked about
24:58
this at length
24:59
earlier when we
25:00
looked at the
25:01
healing of the
25:01
deaf and mute
25:02
man.
25:03
So he does
25:04
this.
25:04
He goes through
25:05
this action
25:06
to say to
25:08
this man
25:08
I am Lord
25:10
over sickness
25:11
and asks him
25:12
do you see
25:13
anything?
25:13
His response
25:14
is I see
25:15
people but
25:16
they look like
25:17
trees walking
25:18
and there's some
25:19
debate out there
25:20
if we actually
25:21
saw trees or
25:21
if we actually
25:21
saw people.
25:22
It doesn't
25:22
really matter.
25:23
He just
25:24
didn't quite
25:25
see clearly
25:26
enough.
25:27
He saw some
25:27
version of
25:29
reality but
25:30
not quite
25:30
the full
25:32
reality.
25:33
And then Jesus
25:33
lays his hands
25:33
on his eyes
25:34
again and
25:34
he opens
25:35
his eyes
25:35
and his
25:35
sight was
25:35
restored.
25:36
And the
25:36
Greek here
25:37
means literally
25:37
put back
25:38
to new
25:39
and he saw
25:39
everything
25:40
clearly.
25:43
So what is
25:43
Jesus trying to
25:44
teach us as he
25:45
begins this
25:46
teaching as he's
25:47
going through a
25:47
process of a
25:49
number of
25:49
chapters of
25:50
teaching the
25:50
apostles something
25:51
and that thing
25:52
is that he is
25:52
the Lord of
25:53
physical and
25:54
he's also the
25:54
Lord of
25:54
spiritual blindness.
25:56
That he is
25:57
unfolding who
25:58
he is to the
25:59
apostles in the
26:00
exact way that
26:02
he intends to.
26:03
That these people
26:03
are coming into a
26:04
fuller more
26:05
clear picture of
26:07
who Jesus is.
26:10
Isn't that cool?
26:12
The healing we see
26:13
at the end of the
26:14
second act is a
26:16
full final healing.
26:17
There's no stages in
26:18
it at all.
26:19
So these stories are
26:20
very cleverly placed
26:21
in this order
26:22
under inspiration
26:24
and I believe acted
26:25
out in this way
26:26
to be a teaching
26:27
tool for the
26:29
apostles and
26:30
therefore for us
26:32
spiritual clarity
26:33
of sight is a
26:35
work of the
26:36
Lord.
26:38
And as such
26:39
those who are
26:40
outside the faith
26:41
and those who are
26:41
in should pray
26:42
that God would
26:43
give us clear
26:45
eyes.
26:46
That we should
26:47
see properly
26:48
who Jesus is.
26:50
We should start
26:51
our mornings in
26:51
that way.
26:53
Lord don't let
26:53
any cultural
26:54
misunderstanding
26:55
work into my
26:56
mind and my
26:57
heart about who
26:58
you are.
26:59
I want to be a
26:59
disciple of Jesus
27:00
Christ.
27:01
I want to follow
27:02
him in purity.
27:03
I want to follow
27:03
the true Jesus
27:04
not some different
27:06
version of him.
27:07
We have so many
27:08
different versions
27:09
of who Jesus is.
27:11
These are my own
27:13
titles.
27:13
These aren't
27:13
official so please
27:14
don't think that.
27:15
We have hippie
27:16
Jesus.
27:17
Right?
27:17
Peace, love,
27:18
happiness.
27:19
Everybody get along.
27:20
Tolerance Jesus.
27:21
This is not the
27:22
Jesus of the Bible
27:23
and it's certainly
27:23
not the Jesus
27:25
who reigns on
27:25
high now.
27:27
We have slot
27:28
machine Jesus.
27:29
If you just hang
27:30
out with him long
27:31
enough it's going
27:31
to pay off big
27:32
for you.
27:33
Right?
27:33
He's going to put
27:34
the money in your
27:34
pockets.
27:36
Heresy.
27:38
We have the
27:39
puzzle Jesus.
27:40
If you get the
27:40
equation just right
27:41
salvation is yours.
27:42
Do it this way.
27:43
Walk this way.
27:44
Pray this way.
27:45
Do this thing.
27:46
Then salvation or
27:48
whatever promise
27:49
people want to
27:49
attach to that is
27:51
yours.
27:51
We need to be so
27:52
careful that we
27:53
don't make Jesus
27:53
in our image.
27:55
That we don't
27:56
bring him down
27:56
on our level.
28:00
This is why I
28:01
think it's really
28:02
important that we
28:04
speak properly
28:05
about who Jesus
28:07
is.
28:07
Luke 6.45 says
28:09
the good person
28:09
out of the good
28:10
treasure of his
28:11
heart produces
28:11
good and the evil
28:12
person out of his
28:14
evil treasure produces
28:15
evil.
28:16
For out of the
28:17
abundance of the
28:18
heart his mouth
28:20
speaks.
28:22
The things we
28:22
say give evidence
28:24
to what we think.
28:27
And so have you
28:28
noticed I have
28:30
in the past couple
28:31
of decades the use
28:33
of the word Christ
28:34
is declining.
28:36
Lots of Jesus.
28:37
Not a lot of Jesus
28:38
Christ.
28:40
How we speak of
28:41
him matters.
28:43
I think the effort
28:44
has been to make
28:45
him more relatable
28:46
to talk about our
28:47
buddy Josh.
28:48
And there is a
28:50
relatable, personal,
28:52
we are co-heirs,
28:53
we are siblings with
28:54
Jesus, he cares
28:55
about us, he's a
28:56
near friend, all
28:58
these things are
28:58
wonderful and true,
29:00
but he is the
29:01
king.
29:02
He is Jesus
29:03
Christ, the
29:04
anointed one,
29:05
prophet, priest,
29:06
and king.
29:08
The Old
29:09
Testament almost
29:10
always refers to
29:13
him as Jesus
29:14
Christ or Christ
29:15
Jesus, it rarely
29:17
refers to him
29:18
simply as Jesus.
29:20
Now I'm not
29:20
saying we can't.
29:22
I think I've done
29:22
it a bunch of
29:23
times just here in
29:24
this sermon.
29:25
But we need to be
29:26
careful about how
29:27
it is we speak
29:29
of our Lord.
29:30
Jesus is the
29:32
Christ.
29:33
We need to get a
29:33
very clear picture
29:35
of who he is.
29:40
Paul prays for the
29:41
believers at Ephesus.
29:42
Believers, right?
29:43
Believers.
29:44
People who have
29:44
believed that Jesus
29:45
is the Christ.
29:45
This is his
29:46
prayer for them
29:46
in Ephesians 1,
29:48
15-18.
29:49
He says,
29:49
For this reason,
29:51
because I have
29:51
heard of your
29:52
faith in the
29:52
Lord Jesus,
29:53
and your love
29:54
to all the
29:54
saints.
29:55
These people are
29:55
regenerate.
29:56
As far as we
29:56
can tell,
29:57
they have placed
29:57
faith in Jesus
29:58
Christ.
29:58
Verse 16,
29:59
I do not cease
30:00
to give thanks
30:01
for you,
30:01
remembering you
30:01
in my prayers,
30:02
that the God
30:03
of our Lord
30:03
Jesus Christ,
30:04
the Father of
30:05
glory,
30:05
may give you
30:06
the spirit of
30:07
wisdom and
30:08
of revelation
30:09
in the knowledge
30:09
of him,
30:10
having the eyes
30:11
of your hearts
30:12
enlightened,
30:12
that you may
30:13
know what is
30:14
the hope to
30:15
you,
30:15
what are the
30:16
riches of his
30:16
glorious inheritance
30:18
in the saints?
30:18
And he elaborates
30:19
on what that
30:20
means.
30:20
I would encourage
30:21
you to continue
30:22
reading that for
30:22
the sake of time.
30:23
I stopped it
30:23
there.
30:24
But his prayer,
30:26
Paul's prayer for
30:27
the church at
30:28
Ephesus,
30:28
is that having
30:29
placed faith in
30:30
Christ,
30:30
they will have
30:31
their eyes and
30:32
their hearts
30:32
enlightened.
30:34
That they will
30:34
continually see
30:35
in a more clear
30:36
way the hope
30:38
to which we
30:38
have been called,
30:39
what are the
30:39
riches of his
30:40
glorious inheritance
30:40
in the saints?
30:43
The psalmist,
30:44
Psalm 119,
30:45
18,
30:45
says,
30:45
open my eyes
30:47
that I may
30:48
behold wondrous
30:49
things out of
30:50
your law.
30:54
Charles Spurgeon
30:55
in a sermon
30:56
on the parallel
30:57
passage found in
30:58
Matthew,
30:59
I believe,
30:59
chapter 16,
31:02
said,
31:03
if you know
31:03
more of Christ,
31:05
if you know
31:06
no more of
31:07
Christ than
31:07
the world
31:08
knows,
31:08
than the
31:09
learned know,
31:10
than the
31:11
philosophical know,
31:12
you have not
31:13
found the
31:14
blessing.
31:15
If you know
31:16
no more of
31:17
Christ than
31:17
you have
31:18
found out
31:18
for yourselves,
31:19
even by
31:20
reading the
31:20
word of God,
31:21
unaided by
31:22
the Father,
31:23
you are not
31:24
blessed.
31:25
If you know
31:26
no more of
31:26
Jesus than
31:27
flesh and
31:27
blood has
31:28
revealed to
31:28
you,
31:28
it has brought
31:29
you no more
31:30
blessing than
31:31
the conjectures
31:32
of their age
31:33
brought to the
31:33
Pharisees and
31:34
Sadducees,
31:35
who remained
31:36
an adulterous
31:37
and unbelieving
31:38
generation.
31:39
we must have
31:41
a clear vision
31:43
of who Jesus
31:44
is.
31:45
I hope I'm
31:46
setting you up
31:46
to spend time
31:48
in the rest of
31:49
the gospel of
31:50
Mark.
31:52
Nonetheless,
31:53
even though we
31:53
see Peter here
31:54
says to Jesus,
31:56
you are the
31:57
Christ,
31:58
and then seems
31:59
to foul it all
31:59
up in his
32:00
very next
32:01
response,
32:01
it is still
32:02
an emphatic
32:03
and beautiful
32:04
and important
32:06
confession.
32:07
It seems that
32:08
they're beginning
32:09
to see and
32:10
beginning to
32:11
understand.
32:12
He is saying
32:12
to Jesus that
32:13
you are the
32:14
anointed one.
32:14
That's what this
32:15
word literally
32:16
means.
32:16
And there were
32:16
three Old
32:18
Testament offices
32:18
that were
32:19
inaugurated,
32:20
that were brought
32:21
into being by
32:22
an anointing.
32:23
This culture
32:24
would have
32:24
totally understood
32:25
that title,
32:26
what it meant
32:26
to be the
32:27
Christ, right?
32:28
The article is
32:29
there, not a
32:30
Christ, but the
32:31
Christ, the
32:32
anointed ones.
32:33
And those three
32:33
offices were the
32:34
office of prophet,
32:36
of priest,
32:37
and of king.
32:39
In fact, we
32:39
see Jesus
32:40
anointed in
32:41
Mark 1,
32:42
9-11,
32:44
a cleansing
32:45
in the
32:45
baptism of
32:46
John, and
32:47
then the
32:48
descending of
32:49
the Spirit of
32:50
God, not as
32:51
a dove, but
32:52
like a dove,
32:53
and God
32:54
speaking out of
32:55
heaven,
32:55
this is my
32:56
Son with
32:56
whom I am
32:58
well pleased.
32:59
This was
33:00
Jesus'
33:01
anointing to
33:02
fulfill and to
33:03
perfectly fulfill
33:04
these offices
33:05
forever, those
33:07
offices of
33:07
prophet, of
33:08
priest, and
33:10
of king.
33:11
So I don't
33:11
think that the
33:12
apostles totally
33:12
understood the
33:13
proclamation that
33:14
they were making.
33:14
I don't think they
33:15
were quite there
33:16
yet when they
33:16
said, you are
33:17
the Christ.
33:19
But we are now
33:19
on this side of
33:20
revelation.
33:21
We now have the
33:22
scriptures.
33:23
We can see a
33:24
more clear picture
33:25
than they could
33:26
at the time, and
33:27
so we should.
33:28
I hope you're
33:29
with me on that.
33:30
Right?
33:31
Jesus fills the
33:32
role of prophet,
33:34
the perfect prophet.
33:35
It was the job of
33:36
a prophet in the
33:37
Old Testament to
33:38
speak on behalf of
33:39
God, to warn the
33:40
people of God of
33:41
God's coming
33:42
judgment for their
33:43
sin if they would
33:44
not repent.
33:47
Brought the words of
33:48
God to the people
33:49
of God to tell them
33:50
of the danger of
33:51
their sins.
33:52
Stop what you're
33:52
doing and turn back
33:53
to God.
33:54
The Old Testament
33:54
is riddled with
33:56
this.
33:56
So much of it is
33:57
about calling God's
33:58
people back together.
34:01
The writer of
34:02
Hebrews 1,
34:03
verse 1,
34:03
first half of
34:04
verse 2 says,
34:05
long ago,
34:06
at many times
34:07
and in many ways,
34:09
God spoke to our
34:10
fathers by the
34:11
prophets.
34:12
But in these last
34:13
days, He has
34:14
spoken to us by
34:16
His Son.
34:18
Jesus is the
34:19
prophet of God.
34:22
John's account,
34:23
gospel account,
34:24
John chapter 1,
34:25
verse 1,
34:25
and the beginning
34:26
was the Word,
34:27
and the Word was
34:28
with God,
34:29
and the Word was
34:30
God.
34:30
Jesus Himself is the
34:31
very incarnate Word
34:33
of God.
34:34
And then down in
34:34
verse 14,
34:35
and the Word became
34:36
flesh and dwelt
34:37
among us,
34:38
and we have seen
34:39
His glory,
34:39
glory as of the
34:40
only Son from the
34:40
Father,
34:41
full of grace and
34:43
truth.
34:45
Jesus lived and
34:47
died and rose
34:48
again and reigns
34:50
now to speak to
34:52
us the words of
34:53
God, to call us
34:54
back to God.
34:57
Jesus fills the
34:58
office of priest.
35:00
It was the job of
35:01
the Old Testament
35:01
priest to make
35:02
sacrifice on behalf
35:03
of the people of
35:04
God, to make
35:05
atonement for
35:07
their sins, to
35:08
stand in the gap
35:09
between them and
35:12
God.
35:13
Hebrews chapter 7,
35:15
so much of Hebrews
35:15
is thematically about
35:17
Jesus being the
35:19
perfect priest.
35:21
Hebrews chapter 7
35:22
beginning in verse
35:22
23, the former
35:24
priests were many
35:25
in number because
35:26
they were prevented
35:27
by death from
35:28
continuing in office.
35:29
They died.
35:29
They couldn't do it
35:30
forever and ever.
35:31
But he, being
35:33
Jesus, holds his
35:34
priesthood permanently
35:35
because he continues
35:37
forever.
35:39
Consequently, he's
35:40
able to save to
35:41
the uttermost those
35:42
who draw near to
35:42
God through him
35:43
since he always
35:45
lives to make
35:47
intercession for
35:48
them, to stand
35:49
between them and
35:50
God.
35:51
The wonderful truth
35:52
that when God
35:53
sees us, he sees
35:56
Jesus.
35:57
Our righteousness
35:58
righteousness is
35:59
now given to us
36:00
because God
36:02
granted it to us
36:03
in Christ.
36:04
For it was indeed
36:05
fitting that we
36:05
should have such a
36:06
high priest, holy,
36:07
innocent, unstained,
36:08
separated from sinners,
36:09
and exalted above the
36:10
heavens.
36:11
He has no need like
36:12
those high priests to
36:13
offer sacrifices daily,
36:14
first for his own
36:15
sins and then for
36:16
those of the people,
36:17
since he did this
36:18
once for all when
36:20
he offered up
36:21
himself.
36:22
So Jesus fulfills
36:23
this office, the
36:24
priest, the perfect
36:25
priest.
36:26
He's also the
36:27
sacrifice that was
36:27
made on our behalf.
36:31
Jesus fills the
36:33
office of king.
36:35
I hope that these
36:35
are programming into
36:36
your mind.
36:36
You say, what offices
36:37
did Jesus fill?
36:38
Prophet, priest, and
36:39
king.
36:39
It was the job of
36:40
the king to reign
36:41
over the people of
36:41
God, but not the way
36:43
most of us think.
36:44
I think most of us
36:45
growing up and
36:46
living in a democracy
36:47
think of kings as
36:48
dictators.
36:50
We see lots of
36:50
unhealthy dictatorships
36:52
around the world.
36:52
Someone who comes
36:53
and lords unjustly
36:56
over the people.
36:57
That is not the way
36:58
God established kings
37:00
in the Old Testament.
37:00
That was not their
37:02
task.
37:02
They were to reign
37:03
over the people,
37:04
but they were to be
37:05
the people's protector.
37:06
They were to protect
37:07
them physically,
37:08
fortify cities,
37:09
have armies,
37:10
protect them from
37:11
the enemy outside,
37:12
but they were also
37:13
meant to protect
37:14
them spiritually.
37:16
It was his major
37:17
task to lead the
37:18
people of God
37:19
in the ways of God.
37:21
There are tale
37:22
after tale after tale
37:23
in the Old Testament
37:24
of kings who failed
37:25
rather miserably
37:26
at this task
37:27
given to them,
37:28
but Jesus is the
37:30
perfect king who
37:31
reigns forever.
37:34
In an interaction
37:35
found in John 1,
37:38
verse 49,
37:39
a man named
37:39
Nathaniel answers
37:40
to Jesus,
37:41
Rabbi, you are the
37:43
son of God.
37:44
You are the king
37:45
of Israel.
37:47
So Jesus is the
37:49
anointed one,
37:50
the prophet,
37:50
the priest,
37:51
and the king.
37:51
He is the one
37:52
that the Old Testament
37:52
has talked about.
37:53
He is the one
37:54
that the New Testament
37:55
continues to unfold
37:55
the realities of.
37:57
He is the very
37:58
central theme
37:59
of all that we
38:00
understand.
38:00
He is the central
38:01
theme of the
38:01
universe.
38:02
All things were
38:03
created in him
38:04
and through him
38:05
and for him.
38:06
It's an incredible
38:07
reality that Jesus
38:08
is the Christ.
38:11
And at this point,
38:11
I think rightly,
38:12
if you're a good
38:13
listener,
38:14
you should say,
38:15
okay,
38:16
I'm with you.
38:17
Jesus is the Christ.
38:18
What does it mean
38:19
for me?
38:20
What does it mean
38:20
for me today?
38:21
Does it have any real,
38:22
does it have a reality?
38:23
Is there an implication,
38:24
an explicit implication?
38:25
How should I live
38:26
in response to that
38:28
reality?
38:30
Well, let me say to you,
38:30
as Christians,
38:33
our image-bearing
38:34
capacity has been
38:35
restored.
38:36
Our hearts have been
38:37
made new.
38:38
The old heart,
38:39
the one that was
38:39
spoiled by sin,
38:40
had been replaced,
38:41
metaphorically,
38:42
with a new heart.
38:43
We have the Spirit
38:44
of God that
38:44
now lives within us.
38:47
We have the ability,
38:48
once again,
38:49
to be human.
38:50
To live as the
38:52
creation of God
38:53
was meant to live.
38:54
To worship Him
38:55
and to honor Him
38:56
with all that we do.
38:57
And in that way,
38:58
we also,
39:00
in service to Jesus,
39:03
play out these types
39:04
of roles in our living.
39:06
Jesus,
39:06
prophet,
39:07
priest,
39:08
king.
39:08
We are Christians.
39:09
We are little Christ.
39:11
We do this
39:12
in a lesser way
39:13
than our Lord,
39:14
but we are His ambassadors
39:15
and so we carry out
39:16
His will and His work
39:17
in this world.
39:18
So as Christians,
39:19
we have a prophetic role
39:21
to play.
39:22
We proclaim the Gospel
39:23
of truth.
39:25
It's our major job
39:26
as believers
39:27
is to propagate
39:28
the truth of God
39:29
far and wide,
39:30
to call men and women
39:31
back to God.
39:33
To tell them
39:34
of the danger
39:35
of sin.
39:36
To say to them,
39:38
there is an eternal
39:38
state for you.
39:40
It will be heaven
39:41
or it will be hell.
39:43
It will be punishment
39:43
or it will be reward.
39:45
And there is a way
39:46
and that way
39:47
is Jesus Christ.
39:49
2 Corinthians 5,
39:51
17-18,
39:52
Therefore,
39:52
if anyone is in Christ,
39:54
he is a new creation.
39:56
New.
39:56
We're now citizens
39:57
of God's kingdom.
39:58
The old has passed away.
39:59
Behold,
40:00
the new has come.
40:01
All this is from God
40:02
who through Christ
40:04
reconciled us to Himself
40:05
and gave us
40:07
the ministry
40:07
of reconciliation,
40:09
bringing about peace.
40:11
This enmity
40:12
that exists
40:13
between mankind
40:13
and God.
40:15
It is our job.
40:15
It is our ministry
40:16
to bring about peace.
40:19
We bear the message
40:20
of Jesus.
40:23
As His ambassadors,
40:24
we find in Mark 1, 15,
40:26
this is our message.
40:28
This is our message.
40:29
The very message
40:30
that Jesus preached.
40:31
The time is fulfilled
40:31
and the kingdom of God
40:33
is at hand.
40:34
Repent and believe
40:36
in the gospel.
40:37
As Christians,
40:39
we have a priestly role
40:41
to play.
40:44
Peter,
40:44
in 1 Peter,
40:45
calls us a royal priesthood.
40:47
Chapter 2, verse 9.
40:49
The author of Hebrews
40:50
views us as priests
40:51
as Hebrews 10, 19-22 states,
40:54
Therefore, brothers,
40:55
since we have confidence
40:57
to enter the holy places
40:58
by the blood of Jesus,
40:59
this would have been
40:59
the place that the priest
41:00
would have gone into
41:01
in the temple
41:01
to make sacrifice
41:02
on behalf of the people of God,
41:03
we now have confidence
41:05
to enter the holy places
41:06
by the perfect sacrifice
41:07
of Jesus,
41:08
by the new and living way
41:10
that He opened for us
41:10
through the curtain,
41:11
that is,
41:12
through His flesh.
41:13
And since we have
41:13
a great priest
41:14
over the house of God,
41:16
let us draw near
41:17
with a true heart
41:18
and full assurance of faith,
41:19
with our hearts sprinkled clean
41:21
from an evil conscience,
41:22
and our bodies washed
41:23
with pure water.
41:24
These were priestly activities
41:26
that took place,
41:27
a purifying
41:27
to enter into the presence of God.
41:29
We now have been granted
41:30
that in Jesus.
41:32
And later in Hebrews,
41:34
chapter 13,
41:35
15 and 16,
41:37
through Him then
41:37
let us continually offer up
41:39
a sacrifice of praise to God.
41:42
That is the fruit of lips
41:43
that acknowledge His name.
41:45
Do not neglect to do good
41:47
and to share what you have
41:48
for such sacrifices
41:49
are pleasing to God.
41:51
So we make sacrifice now
41:52
in the way in which
41:54
we praise God.
41:55
Right?
41:56
Lips that acknowledge His name
41:57
and the doing of good
41:58
and the sharing of what we have
42:00
for those around us.
42:03
The Apostle Paul
42:03
had a priestly duty in mind.
42:05
In Romans 12, verse 1,
42:06
he says,
42:07
I appeal to you, therefore,
42:08
brothers,
42:09
by the mercies of God
42:10
to present your bodies
42:11
as a living sacrifice.
42:13
Present yourself
42:13
as a sacrifice,
42:15
holy and acceptable to God,
42:17
which is your spiritual worship.
42:21
We're to be priests.
42:22
We're to offer sacrifice to God.
42:25
And we have, as Christians,
42:26
a kingly role to play.
42:28
Jesus has risen
42:29
and He is reigning.
42:32
Paul states in Ephesians 2,
42:33
4-7,
42:34
that we have been raised with Him.
42:37
Verse 4,
42:38
But God, being rich in mercy,
42:39
because of the great love
42:41
with which He loved us,
42:42
even when we were dead
42:43
in our trespasses,
42:45
made us alive together with Christ.
42:46
By grace,
42:47
you have been saved.
42:49
And raised us up with Him.
42:51
This is a present reality.
42:52
And raised us up with Him
42:53
and seated us with Him
42:55
in the heavenly places
42:56
in Christ Jesus.
42:58
So that in the coming ages
42:59
He might show the immeasurable riches
43:00
of His grace and kindness
43:01
toward us in Christ Jesus.
43:03
For His glory,
43:04
He raised us up
43:05
and He has seated us with Him
43:06
in the heavenly places.
43:08
We reign in a sense
43:10
along with Jesus.
43:12
This reality has an abounding
43:14
future implication for us.
43:16
A massive, massive,
43:17
forever future implication for us.
43:20
But it's also pertinent to today.
43:24
We have been given power over sin.
43:29
It does not reign over us,
43:30
but we reign over it.
43:32
And the same way the kings of old
43:33
were meant to protect the people of God,
43:35
we are to do the same thing.
43:38
To reign over and purge out sin
43:41
in the lives of others.
43:43
Romans 6, chapter 12,
43:45
excuse me,
43:46
chapter 6, verses 12-14.
43:47
Let not sin therefore
43:50
reign in your mortal body
43:52
to make you obey its passions.
43:54
Do not let it reign in you
43:57
who has the power in that situation.
43:59
We do.
44:00
Do not present your members to sin
44:01
as instruments for unrighteousness,
44:03
but present yourselves to God
44:05
as those who have been brought
44:06
from death to life.
44:08
Right?
44:08
Not in degree, but in kind.
44:09
We once were dead,
44:10
we are now alive.
44:11
And your members to God
44:13
as instruments for righteousness.
44:15
For sin will have no dominion over you
44:19
since you are not under law,
44:21
but under grace.
44:24
We reign over this.
44:26
We have been set free from it.
44:27
And we can now fulfill
44:29
these priestly,
44:31
these kingly,
44:32
and these prophetic roles
44:34
in the world
44:35
because Jesus is the Christ.
44:40
Beloved, we've been given
44:41
great blessing.
44:42
These men stood in an interesting place
44:45
in history.
44:46
It's a fascinating thing
44:48
that they were doing here
44:49
as they were seeing
44:50
the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy
44:53
as all of this misunderstanding
44:54
was being brought into right light
44:56
and being brought together for them.
44:58
But we now have the full revelation of God.
45:01
We are immensely blessed
45:04
to have this book.
45:05
And beyond that,
45:06
in the century in which we live,
45:08
we now have resource upon resource
45:11
upon resource upon resource
45:12
to help us understand
45:14
this book more rightly.
45:16
We have the shoulders
45:17
of spiritual giants to stand on
45:20
who have gone before us
45:21
and have worked and labored
45:23
through the understanding
45:24
of these texts.
45:26
We find in 1 Peter,
45:28
soon in chapter 9,
45:29
we're going to see
45:29
an account of the transfiguration.
45:31
And Peter talks about
45:32
getting to be with Jesus
45:33
on the mountain.
45:34
And then he says,
45:35
and we have a more sure thing.
45:37
And that's the Scriptures.
45:39
We are blessed.
45:40
You think it would have been great
45:41
to walk with Jesus.
45:42
Wouldn't that have been awesome
45:43
to get to be with Him?
45:44
Yes, it most certainly would have been.
45:46
I would take that,
45:47
but I would take this over that
45:48
because He's given me a helper.
45:50
He's given me the Spirit of God.
45:51
He's given me the Scriptures
45:52
that we might have a full
45:54
and right understanding
45:55
of who He is.
45:58
There's eternal consequence
45:59
to this question.
46:02
Who is Jesus?
46:04
Who do you say that I am?
46:06
All of us will one day
46:07
stand before Him in judgment
46:08
and He'll ask that question of us.
46:09
What are you going to say?
46:12
And will your life reflect
46:13
a proper understanding
46:15
of who He is?
46:17
Those of us who are found in Christ,
46:18
we can confidently stand before Him
46:19
and say,
46:20
you are the Christ.
46:21
But I believe there will be
46:22
reward beyond that
46:23
for those of us
46:24
who are faithful to Him,
46:25
who are disciples
46:26
in every respect,
46:27
who didn't just recognize this thing
46:29
and do this little act
46:30
and give kind of the paltry leftovers
46:32
of our life to Jesus,
46:33
but we followed Him.
46:34
Everything we had,
46:36
we left the nets
46:37
and we went,
46:38
and we went to the point of death
46:39
serving our Lord.
46:42
This question has to ring
46:44
and resonate in all of our ears.
46:47
Jesus is the anointed prophet,
46:50
priest, and king.
46:51
This is a reality.
46:52
It's not a subjective thing.
46:53
It is an objective truth.
46:55
We should align our minds
46:57
and our hearts with it.
46:58
We would do well
46:59
to worship Him as such.
47:01
Let us praise God
47:04
that this has meaning for us.
47:06
It's not some abstract thing
47:08
that Jesus lived in this day,
47:11
worked in this fashion,
47:13
did what He did,
47:14
accomplished things for us.
47:16
For now,
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it means something today.
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Our imagery and responsibility
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as God's creation
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has been restored.
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Our lives have beautiful meaning
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as we live in service
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to Jesus,
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the Christ.
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Let's pray together.
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Let's pray together.