Well, there are two of Jesus's miracles that are only found in the gospel of Mark.
The first one we've covered already, it was at the end of chapter 7,
and it was when Jesus healed the deaf mute man somewhere in the area of Tyre and Sidon.
The second one is this healing in chapter 8, when Jesus gives sight to the blind man.
Now, it's only, both of these are only listed in Mark's gospel,
and it's not that Mark was short on material and needed to find just a few of Jesus's mighty works
to insert here and there as a type of filler text.
That's not what's happening here.
They are actually here for a very specific purpose, as all biblical texts are.
They serve an important purpose in the overall purpose of the book,
but then also in the immediate context in which Mark places them,
these two stories are actually vitally important to Mark's purpose.
And it would be easy for us maybe to read past them
and not consider very much as to why God would put these here.
The stories may be simple,
but that doesn't mean that their points are insignificant.
To start, both of these miracles point to Jesus as the fulfillment
of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah.
And we quoted this in our study of when Jesus healed the deaf man in Isaiah 35.
This is a prophecy about the coming kingdom of God.
And what was the message that Jesus was preaching?
Repent and believe the gospel that the kingdom is now near, right?
The kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe the gospel.
Well, this passage in Isaiah 35 that I'm about to read is about that kingdom.
And here's what it said would be indicative of that kingdom.
Isaiah writes,
Strengthen the weak hands.
Make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
Be strong.
Fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance.
With the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.
And then this is what will indicate that coming.
The eyes of the blind shall be opened.
The ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then shall the lame leap like a deer.
And the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
So here in just a matter of a few verses,
Mark has now presented Christ doing three of the four miracles
that Isaiah said is indicative of the kingdom of God coming,
of this messianic prophecy being fulfilled.
So they serve an important purpose here.
What's Mark doing?
He's establishing the identity of Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God.
And these two events support the case that he's building.
He used them not only to show the supernatural power of the Lord,
but to specifically highlight that Jesus did exactly what the prophet said the Messiah would do.
That's important.
It's not just that he had power.
I mean, that's enough for us, right?
We can look at the power of Jesus and say,
who else could this be?
But there were other people in the scripture that had that power.
At least some of it.
We see miracles performed by others that God had empowered throughout the Old Testament.
Nowhere near the scale of what Jesus did, but we see it.
Some of the apostles are going to be empowered to do miracles even beyond Christ's ascension.
Satan certainly has had his counterfeits who seem to have been able to do the same things that some of these others have done.
So we can't only look at Jesus's power and say he must be the one.
But what does the scripture say specifically?
The one who is to come will do.
And Jesus fulfills all of those prophecies.
Every one of them, from his birth, to his death, to his resurrection, to the miracles that he performed, to his demeanor.
Every single one of them are fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
And Mark is setting that record straight here.
He's proving and building this case.
But it's not just about this overall purpose.
These stories also serve an essential purpose within the individual context that Mark puts them.
So the inclusion of the deaf man, if you remember, was the healing of the deaf man,
was in the midst of a series of passages that were focused on Jesus's work among Gentile people.
And the purpose in that context was a continuation of this point.
That salvation, this gospel, is not exclusive to a specific group or nation,
but that it is a gospel that is for all people and all nations and all languages and all tongues.
And so that healing of the deaf and mute man fits perfectly into what he was teaching his disciples.
It's important to that context as well.
And then we get to this particular miracle here in chapter 8.
And we find that the healing of the blind man comes amid a section of text
where Mark demonstrates the progressive nature of the disciples' understanding.
And I mentioned this last week.
Sometimes we get the idea that just because the disciples had begun to follow Jesus,
that they just understood all the reasons why they were following Jesus.
And they didn't.
There were a lot of things that just weren't clicking for them.
Indeed, much of it wouldn't click for them until after the resurrection.
It was only going to be after the resurrection that it could really bring all of these things together.
And Mark is kind of showing that in real time.
This is what was going on with the disciples.
This is how they were beginning to understand certain things,
but how they were still blind to other things.
And despite their proximity to Jesus,
the disciples were actually blind to vital elements of his identity and purpose.
And we get to this great confession of Peter in verse 29,
which marks a turning point for these men.
It also marks a turning point in Mark's book.
But it's the healing of the blind man that illustrates and teaches us how we are to interpret Peter's confession.
And then how we are to interpret Peter's rebuke in the passage just after.
And then how we are to interpret Jesus' statement here at the end of the chapter where he says,
listen, if you're going to follow me,
you're going to have to set all of your own expectations to the side
and you actually follow me and my purpose.
And all of this is stringing along together.
It's all connected together as Mark is laying out this case of who Jesus is.
And it's an important passage.
But it starts here with the blind man and what Jesus is doing.
Everything in this passage is about sight.
Whether it be physical or spiritual, it's about sight.
And the physical healing of this man illustrates how Jesus would open the eyes,
spiritual eyes, of his followers.
Okay, so let's look at it maybe in two parts here.
First, let's look at the opening of physical eyes.
The opening of physical eyes.
And let's look at this healing in particular in verses 22 to 26.
Let's read verse 22 again.
And they came to Bethsaida.
And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.
This was the hometown of a few of the disciples, including Peter and Andrew.
And perhaps this is why they periodically circled back to the town.
Jesus not only was around Capernaum very often, but we do see Bethsaida popping up time and again in the Gospels.
Time and again, they're going back to their hometowns perhaps to visit family.
But in the process of that, Jesus is teaching and he's performing many works.
It was actually near Bethsaida where Jesus had fed the 5,000 men with bread and fish, just a few pieces of bread and fish.
And he had done so many miracles in this place, actually, that later he would curse the town of Bethsaida.
This is what Matthew 11 says.
Jesus said this,
Woe to you, Chorazin!
Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago and sat cloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more bearable in the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
Now, why is it that Jesus is making that particular curse against Bethsaida?
Because he had spent a lot of time in Bethsaida.
And he's coming back to this place time and again, performing work after work after work, and they still ultimately rejected him.
And Jesus says, Woe to you, Bethsaida!
If I had done in your town, if I had done in Tyre and Sidon what I've done in your town, they would have repented just like Nineveh repented.
But you are hard-hearted and stiff-necked people, Jesus says.
So it's no surprise to us that this was a familiar place and that when they get to Bethsaida, there are people who immediately recognize the Lord.
He's been there many times.
They know the disciples because many of them had probably grown up there as well.
What's more surprising is that there was still somebody left in Bethsaida that had not been healed by Jesus.
With as many times as he had been through the area, everywhere Jesus went, we see just this amazing eradication of disease.
I mean, he's walking through towns in Gennesaret, and people are just laying on the side of the road,
and the shadows and the tassels of his garment are touching these people, and they're being healed.
I mean, we're talking massive eradication of disease everywhere that Jesus went.
So it's not surprising that people recognize him when he gets there.
What's surprising is that anybody was left to be healed.
And here comes this blind man who is certainly in need.
Well, similar to the deaf man in chapter 7, this man was brought by a few faithful friends,
and they begged that Jesus would touch him.
Have you noticed that this is becoming a more common request in Mark's gospel?
As people are coming to Jesus in the beginning chapters, this wasn't a statement that they were making,
but now more and more people are coming to Jesus, and this is the request that Jesus would touch them.
He's starting to be identified for his healing touch, which I think is significant.
We know that Jesus didn't need to touch people to heal them, but he touched them anyways.
His love and compassion literally embraced people that society, and especially the Pharisees and the other religious leaders,
considered to be untouchable.
This is now how people are viewing Jesus.
As he goes from village to village, they're coming to him,
will you touch me, or will you touch my friend?
Because they know he will touch them.
And whatever mistaken notion they may have had about a particular power being in his touch,
they were noticing that Jesus was at least willing to embrace those that no one else would embrace.
You know what a wonderful Savior that is.
He touched out of love, not out of necessity.
And this personal action ended up becoming a mark of his ministry.
And so the friends brought the man to Jesus, and that was their request.
Will you touch our friend?
Verse 23.
And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.
When he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him,
Do you see anything?
He looked up and said,
I see people, but they look like trees walking.
I love this so much.
Do you see the tender compassion and action on Jesus' part here with this man?
It's not unlike what Jesus did with the deaf man.
Remember when the friends brought the deaf man to Jesus,
and he pulls the deaf man to the side, away from the crowd.
This was a personal interaction.
And what was it that he did?
He didn't only touch him and heal him.
He communicated with him.
How?
In the only way that the man could communicate.
He used sign language.
He gets down with the man.
He gets his focus.
He puts his fingers in his ears to indicate,
I see that you can't hear me, and I'm going to take care of your ears.
And then he spits and he touches his tongue.
He says, I see that you can't speak, and I'm going to fix that.
He tenderly, compassionately, lovingly takes this man
and communicates with him in the only way that the man could communicate.
And here he does it again.
He has this tender touch.
And imagine being there in this moment.
Come here, Harper.
Can you help me?
Harper and I did this at our house the other day
because she didn't know what it meant to be blind,
and I had to explain to her what it meant to be blind.
What does it mean to be blind?
It means you can't see, right?
Can you close your eyes?
Don't look at anybody, okay?
Keep them really tight, all right?
Now, I can tell Harper, don't open your eyes,
and I want you to walk through every aisle of the room.
You think you could do that with your eyes closed?
All right, I want you to try it.
Can you walk through all the aisles?
Don't bump into nobody, okay?
Don't hit anybody.
Oh, you came close to a chair.
You think you can go through all the aisles?
No, you can't do that, can you?
All right, well, come back.
Come back.
Keep your eyes closed, though, okay?
Keep your eyes closed, all right?
That's what it means to be blind, doesn't it?
Can't see anything.
Don't know where to go.
This man couldn't go anywhere in the town unless somebody took him there.
How is he supposed to get around?
He can't get to Jesus unless somebody takes him to Jesus, right?
Same thing with the deaf man.
So he has some friends bring him to Jesus.
And what is it that Jesus does?
He grabs him by the hand.
Look at the text, verse 23.
He took him by the hand.
And what did he do?
He walked him through the town.
He wanted to get out of the village.
So he walks through the village,
and he goes around somewhere outside of the village.
This man has no idea where he's going.
He doesn't know who it is that has him.
All he knows is he can't see anything,
but this man has now grabbed my hand,
and he's being so tender.
Can you imagine the conversation that they had?
Are your eyes closed?
You're not cheating, are you?
All right, don't cheat.
Can you imagine the conversation that they had as they were walking?
I'm sure Jesus learned his name.
Of course, Jesus knew his name,
but I'm sure he asked him, well, what's your name?
How long have you been blind?
I'm sure that's been tough.
You ever been around somebody and been disarmed
by their personal care and compassion?
You could sense it, and it's disarming,
and you find yourself telling them things
that you don't usually tell people.
My mother-in-law has one of those faces
that people just like to tell things to.
We can be standing in a line at a grocery store,
and someone will just out of nowhere
just start telling them how terrible their day is
or something like that.
Like she just has compassionate eyes.
This is Jesus.
He's got the man's hand.
He's disarmed by the compassion and the love of the Lord,
and perhaps he's just opening up.
This is what it's been like for me.
And what is Jesus doing?
He's taking him.
He's leading him.
Where is he leading him to?
He's leading him to the place
where he's gonna open his eyes.
You can sit down, baby.
Thank you.
What a wonderful picture of how Jesus leads us.
We just read in Romans 3,
no one does good.
No one understands.
No one seeks God.
If you know Christ today,
it's not because you found him.
It's because he came to you,
and he took your hand,
and he guided you to the place
where he opened your eyes.
It underscores the fact
that Jesus is a personal savior.
He's not just a healer.
He's not a distant deity.
He is a personal, compassionate friend,
and savior, and Lord.
And it is he who leads us
to acknowledge that truth.
And then Jesus performs this miracle,
but he does it in a strange way.
It's atypical of Jesus.
He does it in two stages.
He spits on his eyes,
and he touches them.
But the significance is not on the action.
It's not on the spit and the touch.
The emphasis here is on his question.
What is it that Jesus has?
Do you see anything?
And what does the man say?
Yes.
I can tell that there are people in front of me,
but they look like trees, walking trees.
His eyes are no longer in complete darkness,
but he can't see clearly.
Can't see clearly.
It's blurred vision.
He can see something,
but he's not exactly sure what it is.
And as we'll see in a moment,
I think this was a part of illustrating
the disciples' spiritual sight.
They could see,
but not very clearly.
It was blurred vision.
They weren't quite getting it all yet.
And then look at verse 25.
Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again,
and he opened his eyes.
His sight was restored.
He saw everything clearly,
and he sent him to his home saying,
do not even enter the village.
So Jesus completed the miracle.
He touched the man again,
and then his sight was completely restored.
It was made perfect.
2020.
Just as all Jesus's miracles,
it was complete.
Nothing was lacking.
The results were immediate.
And I don't mean to read too much into this text.
Maybe I've done that too much already.
But maybe you think,
if you're in the position of this man,
what was it that he saw
when his eyes finally received that clarity?
Would it not be the face of the one
who had just healed him?
When he finally gets that clarity,
what is it that he sees?
Jesus.
In our spiritual blindness,
we go through moments
where the Lord begins to open our eyes,
and we have a hard time seeing all of those things.
Perhaps we come to Christ
seeing a million different blessings
that we hope to receive from him.
But when we finally get it,
when the clarity is finally there,
when the blurriness is finally gone,
what is it that we actually see?
Our eyes are then fixed on Jesus,
are they not?
Isn't this what Jesus is doing with his disciples?
By the time he gets to the end of all this,
and they can see clearly,
isn't it just Jesus that they will see?
Isn't it all about him at that point?
The miracle concluded with Jesus sending this man home
with some instructions.
He told him not to go in the village,
and I really think this is just another way of Jesus preventing the spread of the news.
We see he's doing this often now.
He's telling people that he heals,
don't tell anyone,
and I think that's really what's happening here.
And I think the reason for that is not only that he didn't want the crowds to build at this particular time,
but he was concerned that people did not see him as merely a healer.
There were these constant messianic misunderstandings about who Jesus was
and what his purpose was,
and he didn't want the man's testimony to contribute to those errant beliefs,
and I think that's why he's doing that.
And he tells them,
don't even go into the village,
just go home from there.
And of course,
eventually the news would spread.
Now,
only Jesus could open this man's eyes.
Only Jesus could do that.
Only Jesus can open our eyes.
Only he can do it.
You say,
well,
I see just fine.
I'm not talking about your eyeballs.
I'm talking about your heart.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians,
chapter 4 and verse 4.
He said that the God of this world,
a reference to Satan,
has blinded the eyes of those who do not believe.
And he has blinded the eyes of those who do not believe
so that they will not see the light of the gospel of Christ.
Every one of us are born into spiritual darkness.
We're blind.
But two verses later in verse 6,
Paul goes on to say,
that God has shown his light in our hearts
to give light of the knowledge of Christ.
Only Jesus can open the eyes of the blind,
whether it be the physically blind
or the spiritually blind.
Our best apologetic arguments
will not be sufficient enough
to open the darkened hearts of sinners.
Only Jesus can do that.
So what do we do?
We take his gospel
and we pray.
We pray.
Open my eyes, Lord.
Open the eyes of those
who you bring along my path.
It's just a wonderful miracle,
but it serves as an important illustration.
Let's just finish with verses 27 to 30
and we'll do it quickly, okay?
We see opening physical eyes in this first section.
Now we're gonna see opening spiritual eyes.
At least partially,
we're gonna get this partial opening
in verses 27 to 30.
Now again, I've said this.
I wanna keep reiterating it.
I think that Mark intended
the healing of this blind man
to serve as an illustration,
an illustration of spiritual blindness
being overcome by the gospel of Christ, okay?
The two-stage structure of this miracle,
I think, represents the two purposes
of Mark's book.
Remember the first half?
Jesus' identity.
The second half, Jesus' purpose,
specifically the crucifixion
and the resurrection, the gospel, okay?
Those are the two themes
that are happening here.
Chapter eight, specifically verse 29,
is the turning point.
He's gonna shift from identity here in this text
to purpose in this text
and I think that's what the two stages
of the blind man's healing is all about.
The first stage in a spiritual sense
is identity.
This is who Jesus is.
We begin to see.
We don't see it all,
but we begin to see
and then we get to purpose
and once we get to purpose,
the sight becomes clear, okay?
That's the progression that's happening.
That's the progression that's beginning
to happen with the disciples
and the first touch for the disciples
I think is happening
on the road to Caesarea Philippi.
Let's look at it in verse 27.
Jesus went on with his disciples
to the villages of Caesarea Philippi
and on the way he asked his disciples,
who do people say that I am?
And they told him John the Baptist,
others say Elijah,
others one of the prophets.
Caesarea Philippi is about a 30-mile walk
northeast of Galilee.
It's at the foot of Mount Hermon
or at least 30 miles or so
from Bethsaida at least.
And this would have provided a lot of time
for Jesus and the disciples to talk.
They wouldn't have had a boombox
to carry with them
so that they could drown themselves
in music or something like that.
What do they do while they walk?
They talk.
They have these discussions.
Jesus teaches and disciples them as they go.
And Jesus asked them a question in verse 27.
And the question had to do with
what are people's general thoughts about me?
And it's a unique question
because he's not asking them
what do people say about me
as far as what I do?
What do they think of me?
It's an interesting question
because he says, who do they say I am?
That's a weird question, right?
Like, would you ever go to somebody and say,
who do you say Jack is?
Well, he's Jack, right?
There couldn't be more than that.
So it's a unique question.
He's getting at something here.
And of course, the disciples understood
what he was asking.
Jesus wasn't the kind of person
that could be ignored.
His name was a household name now
in the Galilee region at least.
And there were all kinds of opinions
about who he was
and what God was doing through him.
And so these first eight chapters
have really been building up to this point.
And the disciples answers here
really summarize the common beliefs.
And this was probably an ongoing discussion
as they walked.
They offered several answers
based on what they had heard from the crowds,
maybe even based on what some of their personal thoughts
had been up to this point.
And as one response was given,
it's likely that they would enter
into an entire discussion
as to why people would think that, right?
That's how conversation goes.
Sometimes we think that what the gospel writers
have given us is the entirety
of these conversations.
This is a summary of their conversation.
Jesus says, who do people say that I am?
And perhaps somebody pipes up
and gives their answer.
And then they say, well,
why do you think they think that?
And maybe they go through the thing
and they talk it out
and maybe half an hour later,
they've exhausted that.
And so they move on to the next opinion.
Okay, you understand how this would go, right?
They're talking it through.
And this is a masterful moment of teaching
on Jesus's part, isn't it?
Because he's gonna ask them
a straightforward question in a minute.
He's gonna ask them who they think he is.
But before he ever gets there, what does he do?
Is he not leading them?
Does he not have them by the hand
as they're walking?
And he's saying, who do people say that I am?
Well, John the Baptist.
Well, why do they say that?
And so before the end of this conversation,
these men have laid out all the possible options.
They have had to evaluate who Jesus is
before he ever says, who am I?
Who do you say that I am?
This is a masterful moment.
He's leading them.
He's leading them just as he leads us.
The list given in verse 28 is the same
that is given in chapter six,
when we got into the discussion about Herod
and the murder of John the Baptist.
And John the Baptist was actually,
seems to be the common belief.
That's the first one that the disciples throw out there.
Well, people think that you're John the Baptist,
reincarnated.
And so then they get into a discussion
about John and how that could work.
It's probably the fact that Jesus's public ministry
began just as John was arrested,
that contributed to this.
But as they get into it,
it becomes less and less of an appealing opinion.
John himself had said, I'm not the Christ.
John himself had said, he is the Christ.
John himself had witnessed the miracle
of God speaking from heaven saying,
this is my beloved son and whom I am well pleased
at Jesus's baptism.
It just didn't make sense.
So maybe they move on to the next one.
Well, other people say you're Elijah.
Malachi chapter four had prophesied
that one like Elijah would come ahead of the Messiah
and would prepare the way for the kingdom.
Well, Jesus didn't really match that either.
That was more of a match to John's personality
and John's ministry and what John was doing.
And so they exhaust that and then they go on.
They say, well, some say there's other prophets
that you might be.
Matthew mentions Jeremiah in particular
because of some strange prophecies
that had been given in some apocryphal books.
No matter what, they get to the end of it
and none of the options that the people had given
could possibly be accurate.
But it is interesting to see that all the things
that the people thought of Jesus,
they were at least very highly esteeming him, right?
The Pharisees were calling him Satan.
They said, you're Beelzebub.
The people weren't saying that.
They were holding him in high regard.
John the Baptist, Elijah, these were monumental men
in the history of Judaism.
They respected Jesus.
They admired Jesus.
They perhaps even loved Jesus to an extent
based on what they understood of him.
And it just goes to show us that the people's judgments
prove that a high view of Jesus
does not equate to a right view of Jesus.
Just because you think much of Jesus
doesn't mean you think accurately of Jesus.
And except for the religious leaders,
all the people held him in high esteem.
He fit among the greatest prophets.
James Edwards said it this way,
to say that Jesus is like Elijah, John the Baptist,
or a great prophet,
or as we often hear today,
that he's a great teacher or a moral example,
may seem like an honor and a compliment,
but it is ultimately to deny him.
The authority that Jesus has demonstrated
throughout Mark's narrative
does not allow him to be defined
by something other than himself
and his relationship with the Father.
You cannot say Jesus is a great teacher.
You cannot say that he's among the great prophets.
You cannot estimate him in any other way
than to acknowledge who he actually is.
And anything short of that is not a compliment.
It's a rejection.
It's a rejection of him
and thereby a rejection of his gospel.
In verse 29,
and he asked them,
but who do you say that I am?
And Peter has this great confession.
You're the Christ.
Matthew gives more to this detailed conversation.
We won't go there.
Maybe you'll study it on your own.
Matthew 16 is where you'll find it.
But after leading the disciples
and weighing all the opinions,
Jesus addressed them directly.
Who do you think I am?
He's not content to know what others think
and say of him.
The question of his identity
ultimately comes to each one of us personally.
Who do you say that Jesus is?
It's the most important question you'll ever answer.
Even the disciples had to look at Jesus
and make a decision
that would either propel them forward into discipleship
or it would eventually sever their ties with his mission
and with his identity and with his purpose.
All of us come to that point.
Who do you say he is?
Will your answer lead you to follow him?
Will it lead you to admire him?
To get this answer right
will set you on the path toward the gospel.
But to get it wrong
is to deny him
and to actually make eternal life
and forgiveness of sin an impossibility.
Now Peter's the one who speaks up.
Presumably he speaks up on behalf of
the entire group of men
and he makes this great confession.
You are the Messiah.
You're the Christ.
Up to this point in Mark's gospel
only God the Father and demons
have made this confession.
Peter's the first human to do it.
Plainly says
you're the Christ.
And it's an expression of his faith.
He believed Christ
as much as he misunderstood Christ
he believed him
and he was following him.
He doesn't confess that Jesus is one of the prophets
but that he is the final prophet
that he will bring salvation.
And again James Edwards is helpful here.
Faith is a judgment about Jesus
and a willingness to act on the judgment
in the face of other possible judgments.
Faith is a judgment about Jesus
and a willingness to act on that judgment
in the face of many possible judgments.
And indeed for the disciples
at this point in the gospel
faith will necessitate a choice
contrary to the prevailing consensus
of the crowds or religious leaders.
Which introduces a unique question
of application to us.
It's not very hard
to come to our church services
on a Sunday
and to be asked the question
who do you say Jesus is
and to say
he's the Christ
the Son of God.
It's not quite as easy
to sit among a group of coworkers
or a group of friends
who are antagonistic against that idea
and to make the same confession.
So who do you really say he is?
Is he the Christ?
Is he the one?
Is he the one we must follow?
Is he the only way to salvation?
It's a judgment that must be made
but it's a judgment
that must produce activity, right?
The estimation of the crowds was high
but it didn't equate to a correct view
but a right view of Jesus
doesn't always equate to a saving faith.
Remember, even the demons believe
and they shudder, James says.
They've made this confession
but they weren't followers of Christ.
True saving faith
does not only produce
a confession of truth about Jesus
but through repentance
it produces a genuine follower of Jesus.
Do you understand that?
Saving faith
doesn't just produce a confession
it produces a follower.
It's one thing to say
he's the Christ
it's another thing to repent
and follow him as the Christ
and that's what the disciples
are going to be faced with having to do.
It's going to be very important
for them moving forward
especially as we get to the very next text.
Let's finish it up.
Verse 30
and he strictly charged them
to tell no one.
Tell no one.
This command is no different
than Jesus' instruction
to the blind man
not to go into the village
and it's really for the same reason.
We cannot divorce Jesus' identity
from his true purpose
but that purpose can't be understood
apart from his crucifixion and resurrection.
Right?
It's one thing to know who Jesus is
it's another thing to know his purpose.
Jesus was concerned
that the disciples
don't just start going around Galilee
saying he is the one
he is the one
he is the Christ
because there was already
a group of people
that had tried to take him by force
and force him to be their king.
Why?
Because they had a misunderstanding
of what the Messiah was
and what his purpose was.
Jesus wasn't interested in that.
This is exactly why
when Jesus goes to Jerusalem later on
remember he rides in on a donkey
and the crowds are throwing down palm branches
and they're saying
Hosanna!
God save us!
God's salvation has come!
And just a matter of days later
they're crying for his crucifixion.
Why?
Because their expectations
weren't actually met in Jesus.
Their expectations weren't met.
And so Jesus is concerned for that
and he's telling the disciples
don't tell anybody
until you get it.
And eventually they're going to get it
and Jesus is going to send these men
across the world.
And he's going to send them
across the world
with clear sight.
But they don't have clear sight yet.
They see
but it's blurry.
It's unclear
until after his resurrection.
Then we see
that the same Peter
that makes the great confession
in verse 29
rebukes the Lord
in verse 32.
We're going to get there next week
but let me just point it out to you.
Would you look at verse 32
before I finish?
And he said this plainly
talking about his gospel
his crucifixion resurrection.
And Peter took him aside
and rebuked him.
I mean we're talking
just
just before this
Peter's the one that said
you're the Christ!
You're the Christ!
And then Jesus says
okay
you got that?
Now I got to go to Jerusalem
and I'm going to be put on a cross
and after that
I'm going to raise up.
And Peter pulls him to the side
the audacity of Peter
in this moment.
He pulls him to the side
and he says
may it never be
we will never let that happen.
And what does Jesus say?
Get behind me.
You're closer to following Satan
than you are to following God.
Why?
Because Peter cared more
about what his expectations
were of Jesus
than what Jesus' true purpose was.
It's not enough
just to say
he's the Christ
we must follow him
as the Christ.
We must submit to his purpose
his will
who he says
that he is.
Is it any wonder
that it's immediately
after that
that Jesus calls the crowds
with Peter
right behind him
that he's just called him Satan
and right behind him
and he says
listen
if you're going to
if you're going to follow me
you're going to have to
deny yourself.
take up your cross
and follow me.
It doesn't matter
what your expectations are.
It doesn't matter
what you want me to be.
I'm telling you who I am
and if you're really
going to follow me
you're going to have to
submit to what I'm saying I am.
He's the Lord.
Peter can see
he's just not very clear yet.
Do you see anything?
That was the question
Jesus asked right?
Do you see anything?
Maybe you see a little bit.
I see a little bit.
It's just not very clear.
Do you see anything?
It starts with this
identifying mark.
It doesn't end there
but it starts there.
Who do you say
that he is?
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