Gospel of Mark. You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and his life and his death
and his resurrection. And we'll be continuing this week in Mark chapter 8 starting at verse
31. You'll remember from last week we hit this hinge in the book, this high point where Peter
finally confesses Christ, understands his identity not just as Jesus a man but also as God himself.
But we'll find out here as we continue that Peter knows very little of what he's saying.
And so as we continue I'm going to invite you to turn now with me. You can turn with me in your
Bible. You can turn with me in your worship guide. You can turn with me in your phone. No matter where
you turn remember that this is God's word and God tells us that his word is a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path which means that God has not left us to stumble alone in the dark
but instead he's given us his word to show us the way to go. And so that's why we read now together
Mark chapter 8 starting at verse 31.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders
and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly
and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples he rebuked Peter and said
get behind me Satan for you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man.
Verse 34. And calling the crowd to him with his disciples he said to them if anyone would come after
me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it
but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. For what does it profit a man's
again the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation
of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven we come to you as we often do easily distracted with our minds on many different
things. We ask that you would help us to focus now on one thing. That is you speak to us in your word
like a good father to his children. That you would help us to be attentive. That you would
open our ears and our eyes. That you'd clear our minds. That you'd soften our hearts. That we would be able to
hear and see and understand and believe everything that you've written in your word. We ask these things in the
mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I know that many of you are familiar with the 1987 cult classic, The Princess Bride,
which tells the story of a woman named Buttercup who
has true love with a farmhand named Wesley, but of course she
encounters a variety of obstacles. One of which is that she's kidnapped
by three men.
And one of those three is a Sicilian
named Vizzini who has this favorite word that he likes to say
over and over again,
which is
inconceivable.
The problem is that he uses this word in situations that are extremely conceivable.
He sees something happening right in front of him and then he says,
well of course this can't be happening. And so it reaches this tension point.
There's another kidnapper named Inigo Montoya who finally says to him
these famous words.
You keep using that word.
I don't think it means what you think it means.
Mark chapter 8 verses 31 through 38 is Jesus' Inigo Montoya moment with Peter.
Peter has just confessed Christ.
He has said that Jesus is the anointed one.
He is not just a prophet or a priest or a king.
He is the prophet, the priest, and the king.
And Peter, like Vizzini, has no idea what that word actually means.
He is using the right word for Jesus and he has the wrong meaning.
And so that's why in this story Jesus jumps in explaining things, verse 32,
to them plainly.
He is no longer doing what he did in Mark chapter 4
where he would explain things in parables that needed to be understood with additional explanation.
Instead, he tells them clearly that being the Messiah, being the Son of Man,
means something different than what Peter and the Jews of that time expected.
It meant that he would suffer, be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes,
and be killed.
And this is the opposite of what they expect.
If Jesus is the Christ, does that not mean that he is the king?
And what is it that kings do?
Kings do not die.
Kings don't get killed.
Kings do the killing.
Jesus has flipped something upside down.
This is complete nonsense that he is talking.
And so Peter here so helpfully steps in once again
to get Jesus back on the right track.
Verse 32, Peter takes him aside and begins to rebuke him.
This is similar to what we saw in chapter 6
when Jesus was feeding the 5,000.
Remember, the disciples pulled him aside to remind him
that these people who'd been listening to him for so long
obviously needed to leave and get something to eat.
It is hard to keep Jesus on track.
In fact, it may seem at times to the disciples
that Jesus is so heavenly-minded that he is of no earthly good.
And so Peter here just needs to help Jesus understand
what it is that it means to be the Christ or the Messiah.
No, Jesus, you're not going to be killed.
You're going to kill.
You're not going to be trampled.
You're going to come and crush the Romans for us.
You're either going to be the one who finally brings
the dreams and hopes of the Jewish nation to a culmination.
But it is Peter, like Venzini, who is completely wrong.
It is Peter who does not know what the word Christ means.
And so that's why Jesus here, verse 33,
turns and rebukes him.
There's a parallel here.
Verse 32, Peter rebukes Jesus.
Verse 33, the same word, Jesus rebukes Peter
in these strong words.
Get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind
on the things of God, but on the things of man.
Now, Peter here has not somehow mysteriously
transformed into Satan.
He's not been possessed in some way.
What Jesus is saying is that the work of Satan
is the work that takes Jesus away from the cross.
And so the words that Peter is speaking
are words that are opposed to Jesus and his mission.
It's at this moment with this background
that Jesus then calls in this larger group.
He wants to talk to more than just the 12
about the true meaning of this word.
That's why verse 34, we see him call the crowd
together with him, together with his disciples
before he gives them this important teaching.
In his rebuke to Peter, he helps us understand
that there are two ways and only two ways
to live in this world.
Look with me at verse 33.
You are not setting your mind on the things of God,
but the things of man.
The things of God versus the things of man.
And Jesus is going to explain that here.
Verses 35 through 37, we begin to understand
what the things of man look like.
Verse 35, for whoever would save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and the gospels will save it.
Verse 36, he goes on to explain what it means
to try to save your life.
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world
and forfeit his soul?
For what can a man give in return for his soul?
In other words, living by the things of man
means that we want power, wealth, honor,
influence, and success now.
The person who wants the things of this world,
there's an economic undertone.
Verse 37, what can a man give in return for his soul?
In other words, how much money would it take
to buy your soul?
Never enough.
You can never experience so much success in this life
that the economic trade-off is worth it.
How would you do that though?
How would you gain the entire world?
How is it that you would experience that honor and success,
that glory, everything that you want right now?
Jesus makes it clear to us.
Verse 38,
for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation.
In other words,
there are many nice and wonderful and kind people
who are living according to the way of the world.
There are many nice and wonderful and kind people
whose beliefs and views and commitments change
based on what is best for me right now.
They are gaining temporary things
that this world has to offer at the expense of Jesus.
You can save your life,
and when Jesus says save your life,
he means save it now.
You can save your life and gain the whole world,
but you'll be ashamed of me and my words.
You cannot have Jesus
and everything that this world has to offer right now.
You cannot have Jesus
and everything this world has to offer right now.
Peter is looking for a conquering king here and now.
He is looking for Jesus to do something in that time
and that place that will look extremely powerful
in the eyes of the world.
And Jesus is saying that his power and his kingdom
in all its fullness and glory
is something that is saved for the future.
Because right now,
it is suffering and sacrifice.
Here's what the things of God really look like.
Verse 34.
Deny yourself,
take up your cross,
and follow me.
Now, it's important for us to remember
that the idea of the cross,
the image of the cross,
was not something sentimental at this time.
It would not have been something
that people would have worn as necklaces
or as jewelry.
Instead, the cross was this symbol
of incredible shame and dishonor and suffering.
The cross was only for people
who were outcasts of society.
It would have been typical
if someone was crucified
for the vertical piece of the cross
to already be waiting for them.
And so Jesus is giving them a real image
that they would have understand.
Someone who carried their cross
would have taken that horizontal bar
and they would have put it on their shoulder
as they took the trip to their crucifixion.
To carry your cross then
meant at least two things.
First, it meant you were on your journey to death.
If you saw someone carrying that horizontal bar,
you knew that within a matter of hours,
they would no longer be alive.
In addition, it meant that you were an object
of incredible shame.
If someone saw you carrying your cross,
they would know that you were the worst of the worst.
They would know that you were not just a regular criminal,
you were a terrible criminal.
They would know that you hadn't just made a small mistake,
but that you had denied the world.
And so Jesus is telling Peter here,
you are looking to honor and success and victory now.
But instead, if you follow me,
you are going to lose pleasure and comfort and ease.
You are going to lose social status.
You are going to lose this world
to be connected with me and my words.
In other words, there is an inevitable conflict
and collision with this world
if and when and as we follow after Jesus.
We cannot escape it.
There will always be a loss.
Christianity is not an extracurricular
to add on to an otherwise beautiful life.
It is instead the way of life.
It is a completely different orientation
with different loves and goals and objectives.
It's like we've talked about before
that Christianity is a keystone commitment,
not an accessory commitment.
It will limit how much we experience
of the goodness of this world
as we look forward to the goodness in the future.
When we were going through 1 and 2 Peter,
I told you some stories from the book
Candles Behind the Wall,
which tells the story of the church under communism.
One of the stories it tells is of the pressures
that teenagers experienced during this time
is they were strongly encouraged
to take part in communist youth organizations.
Even more than strongly encouraged,
it was known that if you did not take part
in these organizations,
you would be limited in two ways.
You'd be limited in the type of school
you would be able to attend
or whether you'd be able to attend school at all,
and you would be limited in the type of job
that you would be able to have.
In other words, Christians made a lot less money
if they chose to remain faithful.
Doors were closed.
Opportunities were closed to them.
And so she tells the story of two sisters,
Marsha and Vera Borisov,
who were on their way to becoming incredible surgeons.
They had studied hard in school
and they were extremely successful.
The only problem is they had to meet each of them
with a commission who would examine them
as to whether they would be allowed
to continue in their education.
They were told they met
and they're asked this question,
why was she not a member
of this communist youth organization?
Maybe it's because you're a Christian believer.
One of the examining professors ventured probingly.
Both girls had read the Bible since their childhood
and they knew well the passage where Jesus said,
I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others,
the Son of Man also will acknowledge
before the angels of God.
But whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of God.
And that's from Luke chapter 12.
As Marsha stood before the committee of 30,
all of whom were waiting for her answer,
she remembered this verse.
She imagined the company of heaven
looking on at that moment
to see how she would answer the question.
She knew what answer she had to give
regardless of what the commission thought.
Yes, she said, I am a Christian.
Interrogated separately,
her sister Vera gave the same answer.
The result of the committee's examinations
of both girls was predictable.
They were rejected.
Because they knew the word of God,
they stood firm and confessed Christ.
Those girls knew the truth of what Jesus says here.
Whoever would save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and the gospel's will save it.
Everyone wants to be a gangster
until it's time to do gangster things.
Everyone wants to be a disciple of Jesus
until it's time to do disciple things.
Following Jesus means loss in this world.
In our economic lives,
it is difficult,
if not impossible,
to live a life of constant consumption
and peak experiences
if we are following Jesus' call
to a life of radical generosity
and hospitality and service.
in our community lives,
it is difficult,
if not impossible,
to only hang out with those
who look like us
and think like us
if we are following Jesus' call
to base our communities around the gospel
rather than our preferences and hobbies.
It is difficult,
if not impossible,
in our vocational lives
to make it all the way up
the corporate ladder
in the world of the West
unless you're willing to celebrate lies
and sexual perversion.
It is difficult,
if not impossible,
to teach the next generation
to love and follow Jesus
without sacrifices and trade-offs.
Following Jesus in this world
comes at a cost.
There is a price
for valuing him
above everything else.
So I've made a pretty bad sales pitch here.
And the question is this,
why would you choose that?
Why would you want to lose out
on all those good
and wonderful and beautiful things?
Why would you say no
for gathering
with an awkward group of people
like us on Sunday morning?
Thankfully, Jesus does not just provide
a call to obedience here.
He also helps us understand
what gives us the motivation
and the power and the love
to keep going.
And it is this,
that Christians live
for something greater and higher.
Christians have a more expansive view
of the world
and view of the future.
Remember from that story,
what was it that she imagined
all around her,
but the angels looking on
to hear her answer
to the question
from that commission.
Why would you deny yourself
unless there is something greater
and more precious
and more valuable?
How do we put aside
the temptations of this world?
Well, the answer is here
right for us in this text.
Verse 34 provides a sandwich
at the beginning
and at the end
of this suffering
that he talks about.
If anyone would come after me,
suffering, suffering, suffering, suffering,
follow me.
Jesus is at the beginning
and the end.
He is the sandwich
of this statement.
This begins and ends
with us keeping Jesus clear
in our sights
as he is the vision
that we have in front of us.
We are trading honor now
for honor later.
Verse 38 tells us
what it is
that we're headed for.
If whoever is ashamed of me
and my words
in this adulterous
and sinful generation,
of him will the Son of Man
also be ashamed
when he comes
in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.
If that's true
for those who are ashamed,
what is true
for those who remain faithful?
Well, it's the opposite.
Whoever is associated
with Jesus
and his words
no matter what
in this adulterous
and sinful generation,
of him
will the Son of Man
come back
and say,
well done,
good and faithful servant.
of him
will the Son of Man
come back
and welcome
into his kingdom.
Of him
will the Son of Man
give a large embrace.
Christians are able
to put aside
the things of this world
that might pull us away
because we have
such a greater
and brighter future
to look forward to.
We are not carrying
our cross, period.
we are carrying
our cross
following Jesus.
Jesus is the reason
that this
is worth it.
He tells us
in verse 38
that he is
coming back
and so Christians
look forward
to that day.
In the spring
of 2009,
I went on
a traveling
study abroad program
that I have
mentioned a few
other times
over the years
and one of the places
that we went to
was Italy
and we spent
about two weeks
in the city of Rome.
While we were in Rome,
there was a point
at which we were
supposed to go out
to this fancy dinner
with some alumni
of our college
who were going to
teach us some things
about wine.
It was sort of
decided by many people
in this group
that we were going
to dress up
for this event.
Now,
one of my friends
was on this trip
and right before
she left,
she had started
dating a man
that she was
madly in love
with him
and he was
madly in love
with her.
She had already
committed to
the study abroad
trip.
So they started
dating maybe
two months
before she left
the country
for four or five
months.
And so they did
their best
to keep in touch
and of course
he was looking
forward to the day
and she was
looking forward
to the day
when she would
come back
to the United States
and they would
be reunited.
As we went
to this dinner
she did not
dress up
unlike all
the other girls
on the trip.
As I talked
to her on the way
she explained
to me
I only want
to dress up
for him.
I don't care
what anyone
else thinks.
Brothers and sisters
as we go
through this
world
we are
looking forward
to the verse
38 moment
when we are
reunited with
Christ and the
Son of Man
is coming on
the clouds.
We do not
care what
anyone else
thinks.
We do not
dress up
for anyone
else.
We only
want to look
good for
him.
Jesus
opinion
is the
only
opinion
we
care
about.
That's
why we
come back
week after
week and
gather
together
that we
can
remind
one
another
of
what
is
true
in the
present
and
what
would
be
true
in
the
future
that
we
would
never
lose
sight
that
our
perspective
would
say
true
that
the
horizon
line
that
we
look
toward
would
be
the
correct
one
it
would
be
the
one
that
is
high
enough
there's
a woman
named
Zane
Asher
who's
currently
a news
anchor
for
CNN
National
and
in
April
of
this
year
she
released
her
autobiography
called
Where
the
Children
Take
Us
and
she
tells
this
unlikely
story
of how
she
was
raised
by a
mom
who
was
both
a
widow
and
an
immigrant
from
Nigeria
in
South
London
and
despite
her
difficult
circumstances
against
all
these
odds
Zane
goes
on
to
become
a
student
at
Oxford
she
then
goes
on
to
work
for
CNN
much
of
it
because
of
her
mom's
vision
when
Zane
was
13
years
old
her
mom
created
this
dream
for
her
that
she
was
going
to
attend
Oxford
University
now
at
the
same
time
that
her
mother
had
given
her
this
vision
this
dream
of her
future
Zane
also
discovered
how
fun
it
was
to
party
and
so
about
a
year
later
she
had
found
out
that
she
could
sneak
out
at
night
and
if
she
was
careful
she'd
be able
to
experience
everything
that
London
had
to
offer
and
then
she
could
sneak
back
and
her
mom
would
be
none
the
wiser
until
one
night
she
came
in
around
3
a.m.
and
her
mom
finally
caught
her
now
you
have
this
strict
mother
with
great
dreams
for
her
daughter
what
do
you
expect
to
happen
at
this
point
you
expect
maybe
she
would
be
grounded
maybe
there
would
be
increased
discipline
and
punishment
but
in
fact
her
mother
does
something
very
different
she
tells
us
this
she
was
angry
but
rather
than
punishing
me
as
she
ordinarily
might
have
she
took
me
back
to
visit
Oxford
less
than
a year
after
our
first
trip
we
made
the
60
mile
pilgrimage
once
again
to
wander
those
hallowed
streets
this
time
we
stayed
a little
longer
and
again
we
returned
happy
and
inspired
in
this
way
a
mother
daughter
tradition
was
born
that
spanned
the
entirety
of my
teenage
years
whenever
I
misbehaved
or stayed
out
later
than I
should
I
was
never
grounded
or spanked
or forced
to do
chores
instead
my mother
would take
me back
to visit
Oxford
to show
me something
better
to aspire
to
brothers and
sisters
when we
are tempted
to turn
away
from Christ
when we
believe that
what this
world
has to
offer
is better
than what
Jesus
gives
us
the
answer
is not
greater
discipline
or self
control
the answer
is that
we fill
our minds
and our
hearts
again
with the
vision
of the
future
that is
true
we
remember
that
Jesus
is coming
on the
clouds
and we
will let
nothing
get in
the way
and a
few years
later
Zane
became a
student
at Oxford
verse 35
for whoever
would save
his life
will lose
it
but whoever
loses his
life for
my sake
and the
gospels
will save
it
for whoever
is ashamed
of me
and of my
words
in this
adulterous
and sinful
generation
of him
will the
son of
man
also be
ashamed
when he
comes
in the
glory
of his
father
with the
holy
angels
let's
pray
our
father
in heaven
we
thank you
this morning
that you
don't
simply
call us
to
obedience
but you
have adopted
us as
your sons
and your
daughters
and you've
given us
all the
privileges
that come
with that
that we
have an
inheritance
that is
protected
and safe
to look
forward
to
and even
more than
that
we have
you
with us
physically
separated
from sin
and death
and suffering
forever
we ask
that you
would create
a vision
in our hearts
and our minds
that would be
greater than
anything else
that this world
could offer
that you
would let
large things
eclipse
small things
that beautiful
things
would block
out ugly
things
we thank you
that you do
this by your
word and we
ask that you
continue
to grow us
to love
and follow
you
we ask
these things
in the mighty
name of
Jesus Christ
amen