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[0:00] Good morning, everyone. Really? I don't know why I even bother.

[0:12] What a great day to be here on Sunday, Worship Sunday, right? Amen to that? There we go. All right, turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 7.

[0:26] Mark chapter 7. And if you're new, visiting, haven't been here for a while, we are in a study called The Life of Christ. We are looking at the, through the harmony of the Gospels, and we're kind of going through the life of Christ in a chronological order.

[0:43] A couple of goals that we want to achieve through this study is I want you to see and understand the historicity that is offered in the Gospels themselves, as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John display different points of view on Jesus Christ and wonderfully how well they fit together.

[1:02] And number two, I pray that God uses this to give you perhaps a new view and understanding into the text itself to aid both your study and your worship.

[1:15] So, if you were with us last week, we're kind of leaving what was called the Galilean ministry, which was a time of public proclamation that God, or Jesus Christ, God the Son, going through Galilee, where his role was to declare himself as Savior as often as he could.

[1:36] That he actually took three tours through Galilee, explaining, preaching, healing, and doing the works that he did. And now he's moving into a specific time, which we call the time of private preparation.

[1:52] And as I told you last week, it doesn't really say in your Bibles that there's a switch going on in the ministry, but I want to show you through the text where there's some very significant differences in how Jesus operates going forward.

[2:09] So now, in the life of Christ, we are at about 32 AD. It's the springtime of 32 AD, a year from the time where Jesus is will be the resurrection.

[2:24] So he's got one year left here on earth to spend with his apostles, with his disciples, and to prepare them for the ministry that they will be taking on.

[2:35] At no time do any of the followers of Jesus Christ knows he's going to a cross. They've got no clue whatsoever. They do not know that he will die on a cross.

[2:46] They've got no clue. What they believe is that they are with this Messiah marching forward, and they're hoping, as we're going to see later on, that they're going to get special privileges kind of along the way, right?

[3:01] Some of you guys know the stories. There's some interesting dialogue that goes on. So there's three things that I want you to see. I want you to see the change in the ministry of Jesus Christ going forward, and I'm going to show you some really neat verses and phrases and words that stick to us, that tell us that he's got a different plan.

[3:22] Number two, how wonderfully the same Jesus Christ himself is through this time of change. And three, how desperately the apostles need training.

[3:34] Kind of like us, right? We need God's constant input, work in us to continue to change us. So last week we looked at two specific related events to the life of Christ.

[3:48] First, we looked at the feeding of 20,000 people. And I said it was kind of a sobering time. You know, any children's books kind of shows this feeding storybook, like it's this really big miracle, which it is.

[4:03] But the reason it happens or the result of it is kind of sad. Because the people kind of extol Jesus and call him a prophet. But we all know that Jesus has never at any time in his ministry presented himself as a prophet.

[4:20] And then he challenges them. And then the people, as we learned in John 6, 15, it says, Jesus had to leave the area because they perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king.

[4:37] So Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself, right? So all the time that Jesus has been on this earth, the one conclusion is that he is mighty, he is powerful, and they want to make him king to overthrow Rome.

[4:54] That's essentially what they're thinking. The second event that we talked about is that Jesus Christ was later found in synagogue, and he was teaching that the kingdom of God is not earned, it is given, right?

[5:11] It's not a work of flesh, it is the work of the Spirit. And I'll just read to you what it said in John 6, 63. It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all.

[5:24] The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. And he said, this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.

[5:41] After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with Jesus. If you have a hope of earning salvation or any type of righteousness in God through your flesh, meaning your works, your brilliance, your intelligence, your giving, it's not going to work.

[6:05] You're not going to get there. The clear message is unless God renews your spirit, you will not come to him.

[6:15] This has been the same message that he has been preaching. So as we all learned, the crowds are massive, the crowds are big, and everywhere Jesus Christ seems to go, he can't get away.

[6:31] So this morning, like I said, I've got three goals for you. First goal is I want you to see Jesus' methodology. Two, I want you to see that he remains the same in this methodology.

[6:44] And three, you will see the desperate need that the apostles need for time alone with Jesus. Let me just pray before we get into the bulk of this sermon. Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, we just thank you for the grace that you bestow upon us.

[6:58] Father, just as we go through this text, we're going to see, as always, your incredible heart, your incredible patience, steadfastness, your love.

[7:13] And we're going to see how it applies to us in many different ways because we are many different people. Some of us are dull of mind. Some of us are stubborn of heart.

[7:25] Some of us are weak. And we're going to see how you deal with each and every one of us as we go through these texts the next several weeks, as Jesus takes the time to prepare his disciples for the upcoming ministry that they will have.

[7:45] A ministry that they were found successful in because even here today, 2,000 years later, we still are able to claim the same gospel.

[7:58] That they were good to their learning. And they discipled and they preached your word. Just as Carl talked about in the announcements of our third E, what it means to engage the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[8:18] That's what he's training them for. And I pray through these same texts that we are trained as well. May the words of Jesus Christ be transformative on our hearts and our minds and our wills, just as much as it was on the apostles so long ago.

[8:36] So we ask these things in your most holy and gracious name. Amen. So you're in Mark 7, 24. If you're new, we're writing our Bibles.

[8:46] We're going to walk through the text together and we're going to be pulling out these truths that we see in the gospel. So Mark 7, 24. Notice it says, And from here. That's Capernaum. That's where Jesus' home base, right off the Sea of Galilee on the northwestern shore.

[9:01] So from there he travels and he goes, he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. All right. Shane's got a map for you. And we're going to put this map on for the next little bit.

[9:13] Can you guys see that okay? Tyre and Sidon is in the, or actually Tyre is in the upper left-hand corner. Can you see that okay? Okay. Sidon is actually north of that and off the map.

[9:25] All right. So just as it says, he's just like going out for a little walk. This isn't a little walk. Jesus is actually leaving Israel at this point in his ministry.

[9:36] And he's going there with a specific purpose. Why? To get away from the crowds. And we're going to see what happens here. So he's going to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know.

[9:49] All right. This is the first time that we see in the text that Jesus is actually trying to avoid people. There's other times we see he takes off to the wilderness because he wants to go and pray.

[10:01] But there's a different motivation that's going on here. And we see this truth. Yet he could not be hidden. So right now he's up in modern day Lebanon.

[10:14] The journey would have taken several days. It would have been between 60 and 70 kilometers. So as we know, Jesus is kind of getting out of Dodge, right? And notice he says he entered a house.

[10:25] Now, I don't know how things work in first century Israel. I don't know if they use VRBO or Airbnb. But somehow Jesus had premeditated a place where he was going to take his disciples.

[10:39] So it said he entered this house and for the men to stay at. But this problem happens. Verse 24. He did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.

[10:51] But immediately such was the fame of Jesus. As we all know, even those that are far north in Lebanon are hearing about Jesus.

[11:02] Notice verse 25. But immediately, it's not later in the evening. It's not the next day.

[11:13] Immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now, the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth.

[11:26] And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Now, some of you remember, I preached on this text some time ago.

[11:39] And just so you guys know, Dave's been really working hard getting our new website. In case you guys haven't looked at our website, we have a new website. Okay? And one of the things that we're doing is we're streaming live right straight to the website.

[11:51] You don't need to go to Facebook anymore. It's kind of another advancement of technology here at SBC. Yay! A couple things to know.

[12:02] So anyhow, the sermon's going to be put up there. It's not up there. But if you want to hear what really goes wrong because it's really an incredible story, I would encourage you to. But the purpose of this sermon, I want you to narrow in on some of the things that here.

[12:14] Notice in verse 26. She begged him. This is the first time we ever read in the text that someone has to beg Jesus to heal them.

[12:30] Even the fact that she is a Syrophoenician Gentile. Remember, at the end of James chapter 4, there's someone from Herod's court comes to them. They just simply ask for Jesus to heal.

[12:42] Yeah, sure, no problem. Then we read a couple of sermons ago in Matthew chapter 8, a Roman centurion, right? An enemy soldier. The one who's taken over their land.

[12:54] Comes to Jesus. Just asks for healing. Sure, no problem. But something distinctly different happens here. This woman has to beg to...

[13:09] And the Greek word has many different meanings here. But essentially, the begging is imploring. Please, please, help me. Help me. Help me. This is a desperate woman.

[13:20] Her daughter has been possessed by a demon. She's probably tried everything she has to bring freedom. And she hears that Jesus is here. So the news of Jesus has spread very fast.

[13:33] So there's this difference in that they have to beg Jesus to do the healing. But I want you to see something else that happens. The Gospel of Matthew states that, she says, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.

[13:48] What's interesting about that verse is that she's demonstrating greater knowledge than the people of Israel are at that time. Remember, they called him Messiah.

[14:00] Then they asked the question, Could this be the son of David? She's not asking a question. She's making the statement. The promised one.

[14:11] The Messiah. Can you help me? And it's interesting, as the Jews were ignorant, this Gentile woman, far outside of Israel, knows and understands who he is.

[14:27] And of course, Jesus being Jesus, what does he do? He heals her daughter. Now let me ask you a question. By healing this woman, do you think the actions of Jesus here bring more crowds or less crowds?

[14:46] More crowds, right? What I'm trying to prove to you this morning is Jesus is purposely trying to get away from the crowds so he can train his disciples.

[14:57] You with me on that? That's what I'm doing for you today. I'm trying to prove this through the text. The first one, reluctance to heal. What does that tell us? He has other priorities.

[15:07] Because everywhere else he went, he went to heal, freely, teach. But he's not doing that here. In fact, she has to beg him, implore him. So, sadly, things don't go as planned for Jesus.

[15:21] Notice verse 31. Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon. So he was actually off the map, back down through Tyre, back through the Sea of Galilee.

[15:34] And if you notice on the bottom right-hand side, you see that name Decapolis? That's where he is right now in verse 31. Decapolis was a Gentile region of 10 different villages, towns, that sort of thing.

[15:49] So he's going kind of kitty-corner. So scholars would state it would probably take two weeks to get there. So in Matthew's text, right, it just says, then he returned from the region of Tyre, went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of Decapolis.

[16:02] It's kind of casual. But there's a purpose to this long-distance journey. He's trying to get alone, right? So, Shane, you can take that.

[16:13] You guys all see the Decapolis on there? You're all good. Can we take the map down? Can I have a good, can I get an amen on that? Okay, we got thumbs up. Yes, can take the map down. So he's gone two weeks just in that verse.

[16:26] Okay? So notice what happens next when Jesus arrives, verse 32. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. And notice again, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

[16:44] All right, so here we are. Jesus is coming. He didn't even time to get into his house yet. People found out he's coming, and they're bringing this man who desperately needs to be healed.

[16:58] Yet again, we read this word begged. So Jesus is coming with a different priority in mind. But pay attention to what happens.

[17:10] Notice verse 33. Look at how Jesus handles this. In taking the man aside from the crowd privately.

[17:21] When have we ever read anywhere in the text of Scripture before this that Jesus ever took someone privately away to heal them? Never.

[17:32] It's always in the group. The crowds. It was to do the healing, which acted as proof that he was indeed the Messiah and that his words that he spoke were true.

[17:48] But Jesus doesn't have that same motivation anymore. He's not doing the same things that he previously did in Galilee. And what is the reason?

[17:59] He doesn't want this healing to go viral. Because if it goes viral, guess what? He's got to get a new BRBO home, right? He's got to leave. So Jesus knows that if the crowd sees him do this, there won't be any chance that he will have to spend time with his disciples.

[18:15] So let's continue in the text. He put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting, touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, aphathotha, that is, be opened.

[18:30] And his ears were opened. His tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. What do you think the significance is of putting his fingers in the man's ears?

[18:47] He's actually letting the man know that this is what he's going to be doing to him. Just the love and compassion that this, even this man, that Jesus removes from the crowd and says, hey, I'm doing this for you.

[18:58] So he got this healing. Verse 36, And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.

[19:13] And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, he has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. So I'm going to ask you guys another question.

[19:26] Do you think this increased the crowds or lessened the crowds? It's increased the crowds, right? In fact, book of Matthew tells us, And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others.

[19:44] And they put them at his feet, and he healed them. So that the crowd wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they glorified the God of Israel.

[20:02] These are Gentiles. These are people outside the Jewish nation. They're not the people of promise. But what a wonderfully glorious picture that we see here.

[20:15] Jesus takes the man, heals him, but they keep talking, and it's like everybody in the land knows that Jesus is here, and they all come to him. And what does he do? He does as Jesus always does.

[20:27] He heals. Here's the point of application for some of you. It's not for everyone, but it's for some of you. Jesus is never too busy for you.

[20:41] You get that? Jesus is never too busy for you. You might not think that's a big statement, but I know many people who don't want to bother God with their prayers. It's too insignificant.

[20:52] It's too small. It's too little. I'll just do it on my own. What we're seeing here is Jesus has a plan. His plan is to get away and teach his disciples.

[21:04] But people come, they beg, they implore him. And what does he do? He heals. He engages. He takes them aside. He assures them.

[21:15] He connects with them personally. The same God. And I want you to see, consistent, consistent, consistent is the same God who is unchanging. The same God we read here in the text is the same God today.

[21:28] Amen? This is the same Jesus we can call upon. He's not a busy father figure who was too busy to ignore his children. These people weren't even the ones he came to save.

[21:46] Yet he loves them in such a compelling way. Now let's switch over to chapter 8. We read that he actually just doesn't heal them.

[21:59] In those days, then again, a great crowd had gathered and they had nothing to eat. So all these people had gone in to the bush to be with Jesus and he called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.

[22:18] Guess what Jesus was doing for those three days? Healing. They just kept coming to him with more and more people that were sick, lame, blind, deaf, dumb.

[22:32] They just kept coming for him and for three days, Jesus keeps healing, healing, healing to the point that there's nothing more to eat, right? They're way out in the bush.

[22:42] It's not like there's an A&W or McDonald's set up there. So what are we going to do? And notice verse 4. First, notice he says, I have compassion on the crowd.

[22:56] Remember the other healing he said, he had compassion on his people because they did not see. Here he has compassion on them because they cannot eat.

[23:07] Verse 4. And the disciples answered him, how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place? So if you're asking me, why do the disciples need to be trained more?

[23:23] Right? This is your evidence, right? He's just done a major healing a couple of weeks prior, maybe a month ago, about 20,000 people. And here the guys are wondering once again, how can we do this?

[23:39] Right? So what does Jesus do? He gathers some loaves, fish, and he replicates the food. Verse 8. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

[23:53] The baskets that they're using, two types of baskets. There was one, it was like a shoulder basket. There was another basket that was big as a human body. Guess which basket it is? It's the basket as big as a human body.

[24:06] And what is the point that they're making here in the text? Why does this matter? Because it demonstrates God's abundant, beautiful grace. Does it not? He just doesn't give us a little.

[24:17] He feeds us till we're full and then beyond. So when we're wondering, hey Jesus, do I have this problem? Maybe it's not so big. He's busy. He can hear you.

[24:28] He's not too busy for you. Number two, wow, Jesus, can you just help me a little? You know, I just want a little patience dealing with my kids or whatever it is.

[24:41] No, no, no. Jesus is ready to dump on a lot on us. Do you know what I'm saying? He is gracious. He is loving. There is an abundance of love that he wants to pour into us.

[24:54] It's not limited. And they ate and were satisfied and they took up the broken pieces left over seven baskets. Now remember, we're seeing that Jesus is taking specific steps to get away from the crowds.

[25:12] He goes northeast, Tyre and Sidon, woman comes, begs, no good. Now he's headed southeast. People find him. He's there three days. He's feeding probably close to 20,000 people again and he's demonstrating this extravagant love.

[25:26] But he still realizes he's got one year to go before his death and he's got 12 men that he still needs to prepare.

[25:39] So what does he do? He's got to find another place. So if you look at the text, he actually starts to begin heading north. And I'm not going to go over all the verses or all the stories, but he's got to head back up to Galilee and he's actually going to get in a boat and he's going to go across the Sea of Galilee and he's going to come up at the northern point.

[25:59] And before that, he runs into some leaders, religious leaders that are asking for another sign. He's like, ah, don't bother. And he just heads north. So let's join with me at verse 16 of chapter 8 here.

[26:13] They're in the boat. They're heading north. And they, that's the apostles, began discussing with one another. Guess what? They have no bread in the boat.

[26:27] Okay? And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand?

[26:40] Are your hearts hardened? Right? Here's a food issue. I've just fed 20,000 once. I've just fed another 20,000 and guess what? Those people aren't even the ones that are my people and how much more are you guys who've been walking with me for two years.

[26:56] You know that I love you, but you're still doubting. Anybody relate to that? You've been walking with Jesus for 10, 20, 30 years, and yet sometimes there's still this doubt.

[27:14] Are you blind? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Notice verse 18. Having eyes do you not see and having ears do you not hear and do you not remember?

[27:28] When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? 12. And the seven for the 4,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?

[27:46] And they answered him, seven. Do you not understand? Do you not understand? If you at any point in this sermon were doubting that Jesus is trying to get away for some times with his disciples, this should dispel those doubts.

[28:12] You want to know something? There is no backup plan. It's not like Jesus has another 12 guys in Jerusalem just waiting to take over, right?

[28:24] It's not like if these guys flunk out the test, there's another guy, another 12 that he can take in. This is it. This is the only 12 that he's got. And this is the 12 that he stays with.

[28:36] And they're missing this kingdom. So if you notice verse 22 to 26, they come out, there's another healing and it's an incredible healing.

[28:48] And as you notice, he heals and it seems like Jesus, there's not enough power but that's actually not what's going on. Healing doesn't quite take place and he does it again.

[28:59] There's a play on the word see in there and the final question that Jesus asked him is, do you not understand? Do you not understand? So here we are, Jesus, the northern part of the sea and he's got to take his men to a place where he can train them.

[29:19] So notice verse 8, 27. And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Anybody know what Caesarea Philippi is?

[29:34] We've read our Bibles. How many times have you read about that city? Let me tell you about the extreme measure Jesus is going to train his disciples.

[29:49] Caesarea Philippi. Shane, can we have that picture again? Sorry. So you see it, it's kind of on the upper right just below Mount Hermon at the very top.

[29:59] this is actually in the hillside and it's actually a Roman garrison type place. There's actually hills and people live in the hills in that area.

[30:14] For lack of a better word, think of a city that would be about a hundred times more wicked than Las Vegas. Okay? It was a place of incredible sexual perversion.

[30:26] They worshipped the god Pan in that area which is the god of animals and they would, I'm not even going to go into the details but I just was doing some research. It was an exceptionally perverted cult and also in that place was a temple built to the Roman emperor that existed there.

[30:45] and it was also used as a place of furlough for Roman soldiers. When they wanted to get away from it all and take a break, this is where they would go.

[30:56] So it is just a place of despicable horrors and in fact there was even like a miniature coliseum that they would take their prisoners, throw them in with wild animals and celebrate them getting mauled, eaten and torn up.

[31:11] Okay? Of all the places Jesus could find to avoid the crowds, this is where he goes. And he needs to. Not because he's given them the gospel because he wants to get away because there's not a single Jew or normal person who wants to be found within a hundred miles of that city.

[31:33] So he's going up there and he's got a particular plan and that plan is he needs to train them. He needs to prepare them.

[31:47] Next week we will celebrate Easter. Their first Easter will be about a year away from these disciples. And as they've been with Jesus for two years they're still struggling to understand him.

[32:04] They have seen Jesus heal literally thousands upon thousands of people. they've seen the healings, they've heard the teachings, but they're still struggling.

[32:21] And Jesus has this very important question. If you were to take a test, say a class, there's one question, it's a pass-fail.

[32:33] There's no 60%, there's no 80%, it's just pass or fail. He gets to the point. Let's look at verse 27. And on his way he asked his disciples, who do people say that I am?

[32:50] I am. Remember, these men have already gone out two by two during the third tour of the Galilee and the ministries. They've had the power of Jesus to heal, drive out demons.

[33:02] these people have spoken in the crowds. They've talked to other people. And Jesus asked this question, who do people say that I am?

[33:14] Or another way of putting it is, what conclusions has human insight come up with for who I am?

[33:25] Notice verse 28. And they told him, John the Baptist, and others said, Elijah, and others one of the prophets. That other prophets they're referring to is the prophet Jeremiah and we read that from the gospel of Matthew.

[33:41] What's interesting, if you go back to Mark chapter six, remember the story of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is taken by Herod and he ends up having to kill him to protect his honor.

[33:55] He didn't want to do it. Then John the Baptist or Herod is mortified mortified or scared that John the Baptist might come again to come after him.

[34:08] So that's why John the Baptist gets asked. People are thinking that God has resurrected John the Baptist and even Herod himself thinks this. Elijah the prophet, if you're not familiar in the Old Testament, Elijah the prophet never died.

[34:25] God took him up to heaven. So in the Jewish belief there was a time that he would come back, the prophecies, talk about this. 2 Kings 2 11, as Elijah and Elisha his disciple went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

[34:46] So there was this idea that the prophet at some point would come when Israel needed him. And the prophet Jeremiah, there was this tradition amongst the Jews that Jeremiah would return before the time of the Messiah.

[35:01] And why? It's an interesting story. You guys remember the Ark of the Covenant? Anybody? You guys know your Old Testament or Indiana Jones for that matter, right? But what's interesting is no one knows what happened to it.

[35:14] It disappeared. And it disappeared after 583 BC. And what they believe is that priests or someone went in either, the Babylonians took it, but there was rumors within the Jewish community that Jeremiah escaped with the Ark of the Covenant.

[35:32] And if you remember, one who had the Ark of the Covenant was undefeatable in battle. So there was this hope that one of the Messiahs who could come back would be Jeremiah in possession of the Ark, and he could be one who would wipe out Rome, right?

[35:50] You with me on this? So that's what people were starting to ask about Jesus at that time. Now, there's a couple of good things about what the people were saying.

[36:04] One, they had an expectation of a Messiah, amen? All these three people, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah, all were named in prophecies of an expectation that there would come a Messiah to save them.

[36:24] These people had been waiting over 400 years for God to speak again. So what they're saying is not an insult, but a compliment.

[36:35] It meant that they were holding Jesus in high esteem. Now, the assessment of Jesus is a very high assessment.

[36:47] But guess what? it's not Jesus. He's not a prophet. If you were to call me a prophet, that would be a compliment.

[36:58] But if you were to call Jesus a prophet, that would be an insult. He's far more than a prophet. The point I'm trying to make here is that a wrong assessment of the information that you have can lead to disastrous results.

[37:18] think Titanic and the iceberg. Iceberg can't be that big, right? Twin towers. No one will ever bring those twin towers down.

[37:30] Right? The Hindenburg, all these things that man thinks are beyond God. God has a way of bringing down.

[37:41] But one of the most dangerous things that you can ever do in your life is have the wrong assessment of Jesus Christ. The reality is you can have the highest thoughts of Jesus, but if you do not believe him as the son of God, they are wrong thoughts.

[38:03] In fact, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, every major religion has the wrong assessment of Jesus. Jesus. And don't get me wrong, they all speak highly of Jesus.

[38:17] Do you know that? They all speak highly. They revere him. But they revere him as, and I would say, he's never seen above that of a prophet.

[38:29] And they will say he should be honored, he should be complimented, he's the greatest teacher, the greatest healer that ever lived. but they're still wrong.

[38:48] You see, this is what the crowd struggled with as well. Their biggest struggles that they wanted to put Jesus into a category that they could understand.

[39:01] Jews were all familiar with the old prophets. It was really easy to call Jesus a prophet. Prophet spoke for God.

[39:15] Look at verse 29. So after asking them, what do the people say who I am? He turns to his disciples and said, but who do you say that I am?

[39:33] Peter, who we understand through the pages of scripture, is kind of the leader of the group, the first one to speak, simply says you are the Christ.

[39:48] Matthew 16, 25 gives us a little bit more details. When Jesus says, who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of the living God.

[40:02] God. And Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

[40:20] If you come from a religious tradition, you understand today is Palm Sunday, right? You guys have all heard of Palm Sunday? Palm Sunday pretty much represents one of the greatest wrong assessments of Jesus.

[40:38] Yes, he's the king who comes in on the donkey, and the people gathered, the people shouted. What did they do? They wanted to make him king. But as we see in less than a week, they will crucify him.

[40:57] But because he claimed to be Lord. See, the kingdom that God offered them was a spiritual kingdom, not a physical kingdom.

[41:10] And even in a day which we regard some Christian traditions as Palm Sunday, as if that was the proper thing to do, was actually the wrong thing to do.

[41:24] you see, Jesus demands so much more than your life change here on earth for him.

[41:35] Jesus desires your heart here to be changed so you may spend the rest of your life in eternity with him in heaven. That's why it is so important for us to understand when the question is asked, who is Jesus?

[41:56] We get that answer right. What's interesting is Peter seems to answer the question right, but when we're back from Easter, we're going to look that he needed a little bit more work on that.

[42:09] Let's pray. Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, I just pray that you'd use this segue sermon to help us understand that there is devastating consequences to us getting you wrong.

[42:23] You didn't come here to make us better people. You didn't come here to make us more faithful fatherers, more loving wives, more obedient children, more profitable employees, more understanding employers.

[42:41] You actually came to redeem our souls. Father, it's so easy for us to get caught up in the temporal and forget the eternal.

[42:57] So easy to move off ourselves and move our minds and thoughts towards you. Lord, I plea for us, I beg in fact, that you'd continue to reveal yourself in real ways so that we would not be blind, we would not be deaf, and that our hearts would come and understand exactly who you are.

[43:27]  I pray none of us get it wrong. In your name we pray. Amen.