Well, good morning, everyone. It's good to be with you this morning. You can turn with me your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8. The Gospel of Mark chapter 8, we're going to look at verses 31 through 33 this morning.
So the first prediction of Jesus' death and resurrection, verse of 3. But I will begin reading at verse 27, all the way to chapter 9, verse 1, to set the context for us. So Mark 8, begin reading at verse 27. Now Jesus and his disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi, and on the road he asked his disciples, saying to them, Who do men say that I am?
So they answered, John the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets. And he said to them, Who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to him, You are the Christ. Then he strictly warned them that they should tell no one about him.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned around and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get behind me, Satan!
For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. Now when he had called the people to himself, with his disciples also, he said to them, Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said to them, Assuredly I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power. Amen.
Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our great God, we are thankful for your blessed plan of redemption. We're thankful for this covenant even before the foundation of the world between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to save sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're thankful for its fulfillment in history. We're thankful that that second person did come down, that one, the Son of Man, We're thankful, O God, that he lived a perfect life, that he died as a perfect sacrifice and he was raised again.
We're thankful, O God, that he suffered on behalf of his people. We're thankful that he did this because we suffer. He did this because we are sinful. He did this in our stead.
We're thankful that he bore our punishments, that he bore our iniquities upon himself. We're thankful that He was the man of our sorrows and acquainted with grief on our behalf, that we might have life everlasting, that we might have life eternal, that we might have communion with You, the God of heaven and earth, through this One, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're thankful for this gospel that is hard for people to understand. We're thankful, O God, that You're the One who is mighty to save by Your Spirit and by Your Word.
So we ask, O God, today, that you would work by your Spirit with the Word, that you would save souls this day, that you would open eyes, that you would open ears, that you would change hearts, and that you might bring many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by the power of your Spirit. We're thankful that you're the one who is mighty to do this, even with this difficult reality, but still a blessed truth, that this Son of Man had to suffer and die many things. We also pray, O God, that you would be with your people, that you would prepare your saints, that you would keep us and protect us, and that you'd remind us of the suffering that the Son of Man engaged in on our behalf, that he bore upon our behalf. And we're thankful for this One who is the perfect One, who is the righteous One, who went for His people.
We pray, O God, you be pleased to feed the souls of your people this day. Encourage us. Keep us. Protect us.
Keep us from false doctrine. Keep us from things that go against the truth. Help us to set our mind on the things that are above, where Christ is at the right hand. Help us to be mindful of the things of God instead of mindful of the things of men.
We know, God, this is very difficult, this is very taxing on your people, and we pray, O God, even as we come and worship you and hear your word preached, that we would turn our eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ and see the wonders, see the glory that is found in him, and even see that with this one who hung on the tree and is now raised. So we ask, O God, that you encourage our hearts this day, feed your people, save souls, we pray, and all things we pray you would be glorified. We pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen.
Introduction
Well, perhaps if you're like me, when someone challenges your ideology or challenges your ideas, you don't always take it very well. And even for Christians, when people hear something that goes against their Christianity, sometimes we don't always like that challenge as well. I remember one time, the first time I met Pastor Butler, he challenged me in a big way. My favorite preacher before I met Pastor Butler was John Piper, and I'd assumed that John Piper was Reformed.
So the first time I met Pastor Butler, he says, hi, how are you? I'm Pastor Butler. And he's like, who are you? And well, I'm Mike.
He says, this next thing he asks, he says, have you read any reformed guys? And I said, John Piper. And the first thing he says to me is, not reformed. Now, that was a big mind.
My mind was blown in that moment. I thought, who is this grouch who has to say this right away to me concerning John Piper? But after a while, my thought process began to change, began to percolate, and sometimes we need to hear difficult things over and over again to make sure that we have it right, to make sure we have the truth, to make sure that we know what is trustworthy. And so the disciples have this challenge to them in Mark chapter 8.
They have this fundamental idea of what the Messiah is, what he looks like, what he must do, and yet Jesus is going to come and challenge them on what that means. In Mark's gospel, the main focus, the main climax is actually 829. Who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to him, you are the Christ.
So Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the promised one. And then as we transition, as Mark begins to make, Help us make our way to Jerusalem as Jesus goes toward Jerusalem We begin to see challenges to what that Messiah actually means what it actually looks like and really chapters 8 through 10 focusing on the disciples and their Misunderstanding of what the Messiah is and they're going to have lessons in Messianic identity and one thing that was not in their thought process at this time was one who suffered and And Jesus is going to shatter their reality, shatter their worldview concerning who this Jesus is. He's going to flesh out what it means for the Son of Man to suffer.
He's going to prepare them for the fact they have to suffer. But as he teaches them, as Jesus makes his way to the cross where he shall die a bloody death. And really, as they begin to make their way, we see this challenge even to Jesus' proclamation about the gospel from Peter, because he's still thinking man's thoughts. And that's the problem that we see here in this section today.
There's God's thoughts, and there's man's thoughts. And there are man's thoughts about Jesus, and God's thoughts about Jesus. Some people think they know Jesus. Some people answer the question who He is in a false way, even though they think they are right.
We see that in verses 27 and 28. Even the Old Testament people, the Israelites, they had a misunderstanding about who Yahweh is, who Yahweh was. They had misunderstandings about what the prophets were saying. They rejected the prophets.
The contemporaries of Jesus, the Pharisees, can't handle His miracles. They can't handle what he's doing. They have a misunderstanding of who he is, even the disciples. His closest allies, his closest companions still can't handle this explanation about the one who must suffer.
And I do even think in our modern context, people can't fathom the reality that your champion has to die, that your champion had to suffer, that your champion had to go on the way of every terrorist. And really, that's what the cross is. It's a death for terrorists. And really, a dead, sinful mind cannot even fathom these things because it is so unexpected.
That's why it requires the work of a Savior, requires the work of the Holy Spirit, requires the work of God with the Word to open eyes concerning this truth about who Jesus is. And even Jesus is continually opening the eyes of his disciples about who he is, and he does so with this prediction of suffering. And that's what we see in verses 31 through 33. He predicts his suffering, and it's not very well received by these disciples.
So perhaps as we go through these three verses, you need to ponder the question I'm about to ask. Who is Jesus? Who is He? And what does it mean that He is the Christ?
Who is this One, and what does it mean that He is the One, He is the promised Messiah? And
The Cross Predicted
we'll seek to answer this under two headings this morning. First of all, the cross predicted, verses 31 to 32a. Then secondly, the cross rejected, verses 32b to 33. So the cross predicted, and then the cross rejected.
The Son of Man Must Suffer
Let's first look at the cross predicted in verse 31 to 32. Notice we see teaching concerning the Son of Man. Again, it's important to know the context. The climax of Mark's gospel, the confession that he is the Messiah, comes straight from the mouth of Peter.
He's going to explain what that means to be, what it means, what the Messiah is, what he looks like, what shall happen with him. Even that confession requires divine illumination. In fact, Mark's gospel is the only gospel that includes verses 22 through 26. You see, Matthew's gospel is for men.
Men need things explained for them. And in Matthew's gospel, Jesus says that after Peter confesses these things, he says, flesh and blood have not revealed these things to you. Mark's a little bit more, he's a little bit more, he wants to keep things, you know, he wants us to enter in. He keeps things a little bit more hidden, more implicit, rather than explicit.
And one way he explains it in an implicit way is verses 22 through 26, opening the eyes. And it's a visible picture of what happens spiritually. So Mark's the only one who includes verses 22 through 26. It doesn't explicitly say, flesh and blood reveal this to you, but we know from those verses that the only way someone can confess one is the Christ is through divine illumination.
It requires teaching. And as well, what it means to be the Son of Man will require further teaching. So Jesus, and He began to teach them, verse 31, that the Son of Man. This is one of Jesus' favorite self-identifiers in the Gospels, and it can have several meanings with respect to it.
One, it can refer to humanity, Mark chapter 2. Two, it can refer to a royal figure, and I think that is in play when we get to verse 38. And then three, it can refer to humility. And certainly Israel had a hope for the coming Son of Man, had a longing for the coming One who would come to the Ancient of Days, One whose kingdom shall have no end, One who shall have dominion, this Daniel chapter 7 type of King who shall come.
And in Daniel chapter 7 we see One who's exalted, we see One who's triumphant, we see One who embodies what Israel is hoping for. And yes, that Son of Man shall come, but He must come through suffering. So what Jesus does is He equates the Son of Man with the Messiah. He equates Him with the Christ, and He equates Him with suffering.
What's interesting, too, in Mark's gospel is the last time Christ is mentioned, apart from verse 29, is all the way back in chapter 1. And as Mark goes through the Galilean ministry, again, we're asking the question, who is Jesus? Boom, here he is. He is the Christ.
But Son of Man hasn't been mentioned since Mark chapter 2 as well. So again, there's misunderstanding about what that means. So Jesus is going to explain further what that is. Really, Son of Man comes up a lot in the next several chapters.
So it could refer to humanity, a royal figure, or it could refer to humility. And I do think that it's that humility aspect that's involved here. With the Son of Man must suffer. He doesn't come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.
So perhaps Daniel 7 isn't necessarily in the background of verse 31. I think it is certainly in verse 38. There's a lot of parallels. But the focus with verse 31 is really on this one who suffers.
And the idea is that the one who suffers will bring about that triumph, but he must do so in a way that is unexpected. And even the language, must suffer. The language there highlights it's based on the divine plan. It's not focusing here on the hostility that comes from the Pharisees.
Well, that is true. There is hostility. They hate Jesus. They want to take him out.
In fact, in Acts chapter 2, when Peter's speaking to Jews, he says the cross was appointed by God, and he talks about how you killed him. divine plan, divine sovereignty, and human responsibility, hand in hand. They go together. They coalesce. God uses secondary means, and he uses the hatred of the Pharisees to take out the Lord of Glory, to accomplish his plan.
Much like he uses Cyrus to free the people from captivity, much like he uses Nebuchadnezzar to take out the Israelites for their sins. It's not as though Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus were going, yay, I want to serve you, God. They were not doing that. But God still used those ones, used secondary means to bring about his purposes.
And so the plan all along, there is no plan B, he must suffer many And even the language of divine will is found in one very clear allusion that's ripe throughout verses 31 through 33. That's Isaiah 53. This is the suffering servant's song of Isaiah. And even this suffering servant is unexpected.
And when Isaiah is prophesying during this section, it's during a time that he prophesies concerning the people in exile. And he's giving them some hope in the time of exile. And he talks about this servant who would come. We see in Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50, and Isaiah 53 all talk about the servant.
And then Isaiah 52, 13 through 53 focuses in on that suffering servant. But we do see in verse 10, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It was always the plan of God to crush this servant. It was always the plan of God to lead this one, or to have this one go and die on behalf of his people, to suffer.
So Jesus comes and He equates suffering with the Messiah. He equates suffering with the Son of Man. Something that would have been difficult for the disciples at this time. And so He must suffer many things.
He must go through a life of difficulty. And even too, when you read Isaiah 53 about the servant, everything about him is unexpected. He has an unexpected birth. He has an unexpected upbringing.
He has an unexpected occupation. People are flabbergasted about who this one is. Really? This is the king?
This is the one promised? This is the one who's going to save his people? Really? This guy?
See, God's ways are different than man's ways, and I'm very thankful for that. Man typically ruins everything. God, on the other hand, what man means for evil, God does mean for good. God even supersedes your and mine stupidity.
He supersedes our ignorance. He supersedes even for God's people. We don't always see the things that God protects us. From that's how good God is as he governs this world as he as he orchestrates all things for his glory Yes, even thing when things seem to be going insane God still operates and is still sovereign, and his plan is that his champion must suffer.
He is unexpected in so many ways. And even though the Son of Man from Daniel will be one who is triumphant, the two certainly go together. The way in which the Daniel's Son of Man shall be triumphant is it shall be through suffering. That's how he shall win.
That's how he shall bring about a restoration. That's how he shall bring about redemption. It is through suffering. We must suffer many things, and many things refers to even the Son of Man coming down.
The second person taking on human flesh, brethren, is suffering in and of itself. It is Humility, according to Philippians chapter 2. He had to hunger. He had to thirst.
He had to go without sleep. He was like us in every way, yet without sin. He suffered many things. But then Jesus begins to explain further what that suffering, or some specifics of that suffering.
Rejected by Israel's Leaders
He must be rejected by the elders and chief priests. He must be regarded as unfit. That is, the elders delay aristocracy in Jerusalem, the rulers of the religious life of Israel. These will be the ones that shall reject him.
Now this is unexpected-ish. And the reason I say ish is because the reality is these men, these elders, were not tax collectors, not heathens, weren't considered the scum of the universe at that time. They were considered the religious ones. And you'd think these religious ones who knew their Bible would not reject him.
So based on society, it's a little bit odd that they're rejecting him. But as we read the Gospels, as we read, you know, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we see the primary opposition against the Son of Man is the scribes and Pharisees. These ones who hate him. These ones who want to sign.
These ones who, even though they see signs and wonders, they don't even believe it. In fact, they're using the signs and wonders in Mark chapter 3 to see if he would heal. They knew He was going to do it. They knew He had the power.
And so what they tried to do is to try to catch Him in the act that they might bring something, a charge against Him. There was a hatred. There was a hostility. These ones are enemies of the Son of Man.
And even when we go back to Isaiah 53, as Isaiah says, who has believed our report? Brethren, who is he talking about there? What's the audience there? It's Israel!
Who has believed our report? Israel couldn't fathom, or understand, or believe, or look, who has believed? This is the champion? This is the one promised?
And even in Romans chapter 10, where Paul talks about the rejection of Israel, he quotes Isaiah 53.1 when he talks about the rejection of the gospel. Who has believed our report? You see, it's through faith. It's no longer based on ethnic descent, but it's based on faith.
And the hope out of exile will come through Yahweh's servant, and it will come through faith in this one who suffers. Even in Psalm 118, Mark's going to quote it explicitly in Mark 12, but there's some allusions here to it as well. The rejection aspect, the chief cornerstone that has been rejected. Even in Psalm 118, the psalmist is referring to the enemies of Israel.
Now look what Mark is doing. Israel is becoming the enemy. Ethnic Israel are the ones who hate the promised one. It's no longer based on ethnic descent, but it's based on faith and the new exodus that comes to this one, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.
So he must suffer, he must be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and he must be killed.
Cut Off and Killed
He must be cut off. Again, Daniel doesn't have the cutting off aspect in Daniel 7. Isaiah has that aspect in Isaiah 53. The one who was crushed for our iniquities, the one who was bruised for our transgressions, the one who was cut off according to Isaiah 53.8.
He was taken from prison and from judgment. Who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living. The language of cut off there is an Old Testamently charged word referring to one being vomited out of the land of Israel, being cut off, being rejected.
And so this one has to be rejected for his people. In fact, the Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days in Mark chapter 1, the Son of Man is cursed for his people. The Son of Man is sent out into the wilderness, cut off for his people. The Son of Man, and then in a fuller sense, must be cut off when He dies and when He is killed at the hands of these ones who hate Him.
He must suffer. He must be rejected. He must be killed. But
After Three Days, Raised
thankfully, there is that word of hope or that language of hope at the end. It's not all doom and gloom. There is the triumph of the Lamb. And after three days he shall rise again.
The death is not the end, and the death of this one is not the end of this servant. In fact, he shall triumph, he shall come to the Ancient of Days, he shall be resurrected, he shall ascend. And He does so through suffering, but He shall conquer through that suffering. He shall conquer death through that dying.
He shall conquer death through that rising. He shall conquer sin and death through His entire crosswork, through the entire gospel. In fact, verse 31 really is the gospel, isn't it? We see the one who must suffer, must die, must be raised.
What is the gospel? Christ living, dying, and rising again. And here it is for us as Jesus explains it in verse 31, as He predicts it in verse 31, as that promised prophet. He proclaims what the Son of Man shall do, alluding back and bringing in so many Old Testament texts to show the triumph that shall come even through his suffering.
In fact, there is allusion, even the language of rising again. The language certainly refers to one in Isaiah 53.10, the one who shall prolong his days, referring to his resurrection. Perhaps more specific is Hosea chapter 6.2. In Hosea, the prophet Hosea is prophesying to the Northern Kingdom.
Remember, there's the Northern Kingdom, Israel, Southern Kingdom, Judah. Israel is all bad, no good kings whatsoever in the Northern Kingdom. Hosea is prophesying to them. That's a fun ministry, isn't it?
You're going to be ridiculed and hated because nobody's going to like what you have to say. Hosea does that, and so does Amos. But after God gives the promise of judgment in Hosea 5, there is this call to repentance in chapter 6, verses 1 through 3. He talks about the return.
For he is torn, but he will heal us. He is stricken, but he will bind us. After two days he will revive us, and on the third day he will raise us up. Same word, same language used in Mark chapter 8 verse 31.
And that word for rise again isn't the typical word that we see throughout the epistles for rising again, so it's rarer, and so there certainly is an allusion back to Hosea 6 too. Even Israel shall be revived, Israel shall be brought up, and Israel shall be revived in the true Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So exile, death, suffering is not the end. This Son of Man shall triumph, He shall reign, for He is the King who came down.
He is the King who is declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. This is important. This is vital. This is the truth.
And Jesus is not afraid to proclaim it. Verse 32. 32a. And
Spoken Openly and Boldly
he spoke this word openly. The language there highlights his boldness. He's not afraid to explain these things with vigor. He's not afraid that he's going to trigger someone by saying something that they're not going to like.
He's not afraid to speak the truth, even if it means ridicule from others. And so he says very clearly he knows what's going to happen. He knows what the Jews think at this time concerning the Messiah, yet he's still not afraid. This is what the Son of Man must do.
It is the divine plan of God. He must suffer many things. Even though it's not or will not be well received, he speaks it anyway. And even the language of word there, logos, highlights it's a groundbreaking pronouncement that is going to challenge someone's worldview, and he still says it anyway.
He's not afraid of the safe space people. He's not afraid of the snowflake people. He's not afraid of those who are triggered by microaggressions. He's not afraid to speak the truth, regardless of what that outcome might be.
He is willing to suffer for the sake of His people. And brethren, we need this one to suffer for us. We need this servant to suffer in our stead.
Why We Need Him to Suffer
Brethren, you know why we suffer? One word. Sin. That's what we can boil down suffering to.
Sin and the effects of sin. When the first Adam fell and brought sin and suffering and hard work and the sweat of the brow and pain in childbirth and all the curses that we see in Genesis chapter 3, it brought about suffering. You got aches and pains. Suffer the sin.
You got relationship issues? Sin. You got other problems, anxieties? Sin.
It all can be boiled down to this very idea. This is why we suffer. Brethren, as well, sin is what we should be punished for. Brethren, everything we have in this life, whether it's temporal, that is, it's going to die or go away at the end of this present evil age, or whether it's temporal, with respect, everything we have, yeah, temporal or spiritual, is from the Lord God Most High.
We don't deserve anything we have, brethren. We do not deserve anything we have. You're not going to hear that in some self-help, moralistic, therapeutic, deistic type of view in our modern context, are you? Brother, everything God gives is a gift. everything, the food that we have, the clothing on our backs, the shelter that we live under, all those things.
But even more so, brethren, how much more in redemption that this one would be mindful of us, this one would care for us, that the sin that we deserve to be punished for, brethren, this one bore it in our stead. Brethren, sin is why we suffer, but sin is also why we should be punished. Why would this God even consider us? Who is man that you are mindful of him, the psalmist says in Psalm 8, and that it does refer to the first Adam and the last Adam.
It does refer to creation. Why are you mindful of us in creation, but why are you mindful of us even in redemption? Brethren, God in His justice could have punished us and sent us an eternal punishment forever and ever. Yet, because of His goodness, because of His mercy, because of His wisdom, He sends forth a plan that was promised before the foundation of the world, planned before the foundation of the world, to save sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this Son of Man came to suffer. And the reason He suffers is not for anything because of Him. He suffers because of you and I. He suffers in our stead.
He suffers. He was bruised for our iniquities, brethren. He was chastised for our transgressions. It was in our stead.
That's why we preach penal substitutionary atonement. Jesus isn't just some example. Jesus isn't just some special friend. Jesus is the one who died on behalf of his people.
He goes to the cross, bears the punishment upon himself that sinners deserve. And that's the blessing of the gospel. If you get that wrong, there is no eternal life. If he's just some example that you follow, that is not the way of salvation.
We must believe on this one, and the world doesn't understand this. Really, you mean, he does everything for me. Yes, He does everything for us. You mean the one who suffered?
You mean He was raised? Yes, this is the one in whom only there is eternal life. The world cannot fathom why He should suffer in such a way. And the reason the world cannot fathom that is because the world thinks they're good.
Right? The world thinks that they can earn their way. Ask anybody, hey, should you get into heaven? Well, yeah, I didn't murder anybody.
I don't steal. Okay, wow, you must be a great person because you don't do those things. What about the fifth commandment? Brother, we're going to see that tonight.
In fact, in 1 Timothy chapter 5, Paul says anybody who does not care for his family is worse than an unbeliever. Shocking, isn't it? Harsh words even for the fifth commandment. See, people think it's just killing and stealing.
Those are the worst things in the world. What about having other gods instead of the Lord God Most High? What about how we worship? What about our demeanor in worship?
Do we revere God? What about the day of worship? Do we violate that? What about honoring our father and mother and not just father and mother authorities?
It refers to those in authority and those under authority. What about maybe you haven't murdered anybody with your hands, but what about your mind? What about the seventh commandment? Maybe you haven't committed adultery physically, actually, but what about in your mind?
What about the 8th commandment? Stealing. Or perhaps the opposite side of things, being lazy. It's not just don't steal, it's also work hard so you don't have to steal.
What about the 9th commandment, brethren? What about not bearing false witness, making sure our witnesses and everything we say is truthful? Or even the 10th commandment, coveting. You see, it's not just outward things.
It's every thought, every word, every deed. Anytime we violate the law of God, it makes us liable to punishment. One iota, one wicked thought is enough to damn us to hell forever and ever. But this one, as Christ lived it perfectly and died because you and I are not enough, because you and I are not good.
It is not gratuitous. It is not meaningless. He had to suffer these things. And that's difficult for people.
And that's difficult and odd for humans. It's unexpected. Life comes through death, and it is only in the death of the Son of Man that we have life. We need Him to suffer for His people.
The Cross Rejected
So that's the cross predicted. Let's then look secondly at the cross rejected, verse 32b to 33.
Peter's Rebuke of Jesus
And right on cue, Peter can't handle it because it's so unexpected. So Peter gives him a rebuke. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Again, the Jewish understanding of the Messianic identity at this time was some nationalistic hero.
He went and got tanks. He went and got guns. He had massive biceps. He was ready to take out anybody in his way.
That's what he was going to be. He was a revolutionary. He was going to grab his guns, grab his tanks, grab everything, let's march against Caesar and take him out. That's what they thought this messianic one would be.
He will liberate Israel from Roman oppression. In fact, the Jewish writings highlight he's going to reinstate the law. There's going to be a purification of the temple. We're going to expel the Gentiles.
This is what he is going to do. Man's thoughts versus God's thoughts. Man's assumptions versus biblical reality. And so that's the thought process at that time.
And Peter's like, isn't this what you're going to be doing, Lord? Isn't this what's going to happen? Are we going to march against Rome at this time? In fact, they do sort of have those thoughts still in Acts chapter 1.
Paul, Jesus still has to remind them the kingdom is not of this world. The kingdom is not about, you know, saving us from oppressive leaders. It's about souls. It's about salvation.
That's what it is about. And so the Jewish ideology at that time was nationalistic. It was this worldly. And so Jesus, so Peter can't handle that.
In fact, even the servant of Isaiah wasn't always identified as the Messiah. But then Jesus comes and he brings all these ideas together. The Son of Man, the Messiah, the Suffering Servant. He draws them all together.
Again, who has believed our report? You see, even when we look at the servant songs, the I am, the one who shall come down. Who else is it but Yahweh come down when we see that servant in all those texts? The just one, the conquering one, the obedient one, and then the suffering one.
Who is it but Yahweh, God himself, come down for Israel, for his people? And even in the Old Testament, the Messiah really was one who engaged in physical war. You read about David. He fought bears.
He fought lions. He fought giants. He fought tons of the Philistines. There was physical warfare.
But the second David, David's greater son, he is the warrior who comes through humility. He's still a mighty one. He's still a warrior. He's still one who shall trample his enemies and make them a footstool under him.
That shall happen, but it shall be in the age to come. He's already done that now as the age to come has begun in His cross work and in His resurrection. He's declared to be the Son of God with power. He's proven to be the Lord promised in Psalm 110 by His resurrection.
And He is making His enemies a footstool now. And brethren, that's hard in our modern context. Judgment and hatred and enemies with humans. That is reality.
Brethren, there is an antithesis even from the beginning, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. None of this liberal brotherhood nonsense. Brethren, there is this antithesis between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, and it goes all the way to the end of the age. God even says, I am angry with the wicked every day in Psalm 7.
It goes against our modern, delicate sensitivities, as Pastor Butler would say, Jesus certainly is a mighty one, but he does so in a way that is far more mighty than any human shall do, and he does it through humility. So Peter can't handle that, and so he takes Jesus aside, which I guess is nice. We'll do a private rebuke for him. He's deferring maybe a little bit, and they begin to rebuke him.
His assumptions are challenged. How do people respond when their ideas are challenged? They don't usually go, yay, that's right. I think I'll think through that.
Wonderful. No, that's not how people typically respond. So he rebukes him. He charges Jesus.
He rebukes him. He takes him aside. He's this obnoxious, bold-faced leader that he is, still needs to be reined in a little bit. And it's what all the disciples would have been thinking at that time.
His ideology is challenged. But perhaps, as well, his view about his friend is challenged a little bit. You mean my friend's going to go die? You mean, Jesus, you're going to suffer?
That's hard for anybody to hear when their friend's going to go to such suffering. So his ideology is challenged. His friend and master is about to die. Strong disapproval from Peter.
Jesus Rebukes Peter Publicly
But then we see Jesus in verse 33. What was a private rebuke for Jesus, Jesus gives a public rebuke for Peter. But when? He had turned around and looked at his disciples.
The reason it has to be public is because of the absolute importance and its accordance with the will of God, with what Jesus has said. The Son of Man must suffer these things. There's no maybes. There's no ifs, ands, or buts.
There's no probabilities. It must happen. And it is by the will of God that these things must come to pass. And so Jesus has to drill it into their minds.
He has to use Peter as a bit of an example. You cannot oppose me on these things. And you shall not oppose me on these things, because these things must come to pass. Even the best of men, even Peter, even in the context.
Peter has just confessed something glorious. He is the Christ. But then thankfully, it shows that he's still a man, and he is not the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah.
That's why I love reading the Old Testament. Even throughout the Old Testament, they're asking, especially after David comes on the scene, as they go through all the kings, is this the king? Is this the king? Is this the one?
Then one seems like he's a good king. Then all of a sudden, he does something a little unsavory. OK, he's not the king. We're still looking for someone else.
We're still looking for someone else to come. The best of men are really men at best. He's just confessed who Jesus is. Now he challenges Jesus on that understanding.
So Jesus has to give him a stern rebuke, and a stern rebuke he does give. Verse 33. Get behind me, Satan. Seems harsh.
I don't know that I've ever called someone Satan before, but the Lord Jesus must hear. He wants them to understand the gravity of what he is saying. Jesus boldly proclaims his suffering, that it is the will of God, and yet it is challenged here. Because Jesus knows without his suffering, without his death, without his resurrection, there is no new exodus, and there is no new restoration for the people of Israel, for the true people of Israel, for the new people of Israel in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So he says very clearly, the plan that Peter had, the challenge that Peter gives, is against the will of God. And Satan, he has to call him Satan at this time. Satan is at odds with the plan of God. Satan tempts Jesus.
I guess that's in Mark chapter 1. The Pharisees attribute Jesus' work to Satan. That's where we see the unforgivable sin, attributing the work of the Spirit to the devil. So he hates that.
He hates He's against the plan of God. He's against the mind of Christ. He's against the plan that is set in motion. He's at odds with what God has said.
Get behind me, Satan. What's interesting, brethren, is that Satan's ways are a little more subtle than we sometimes think, aren't they? Yes, he prowls around like a roaring lion, but sometimes he slithers like a snake. Sometimes he just throws little subtle questions in there, little subtle things that might seem okay, might seem right.
Has God really said? In fact, in this case, even though Peter isn't Satan, what he has said is like Satan's challenge to the truth. It shows the gravity of it. He uses Peter, even though Peter thought he was just defending what he believed.
Peter thought he was defending what was right, yet he still, in that instance, is challenging the Word of God. What's interesting, later on in the second and third prediction, Jesus is going to give a fuller, I guess not a fuller, but more detail about what shall happen to him. He shall be betrayed. Someone in the midst of him is the one who is going to hand him over.
Really? Someone who's close by? See, brethren, sometimes I think we think Satan is the one who yells the loudest. Perhaps you heard about the little incident that happened in our church several weeks ago with two wolves who walked in, anti-Trinitarians, and they caused a ruckus in our church because I was preaching on the Trinity.
Brethren, those guys really aren't on our radar. We know that they're wrong. It's more the ones who come into church, sit in the back, are a little bit subtle, and begin to start spreading little things in the back of the church. That is far more problematic than loud-mouthed men who are just coming to stir things up.
And brethren, that's their track record. They go to churches, they sit at the back, they wait till it's over, and then they yell at the ladies when they walk out. I mean, do they have nothing better to do with their lives? They are wolves and absolute wolves, and I have no problem saying that and calling them the wolves that they are, but brethren, they're really not the problem.
Yeah, they're a problem, they're a pain in the butt, but they're really not the problem. The problem is the subtleties that can happen within the Church. That's why it's so vital and important that we cling to the truth. We cling to the Gospel in its veracity, in its truthfulness, that Christ lived, died, and rose again.
This is the only way. Eternal life is at stake. Eternal blessedness is at stake. Hope is at stake.
That's why you must cling to this truth with absolute vehemence. Certainly we've seen men throughout the ages defend this truth with absolute vehemence, and certainly Jesus does that. Get behind me, Satan! And the language of Behind Me kind of softens the blow a little bit.
It's not a term of disassociation. He doesn't completely write Peter off, even though Peter was being a numbskull. He doesn't write him off. He's going to teach him many, many things.
He's going to follow him. He's going to deny himself all those things Peter shall do, but he's going to learn the very hard way. But Jesus says, for you, verse 33, are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.
Things of God vs. Things of Men
This is the key reason for the rebuke. He's not mindful for the things of God. The disciples are still thinking nationalistically rather than spiritually. They're still thinking about this world.
Brethren, to view salvation in terms of this world is of the devil. And sometimes people focus so much on this world that we fail to see the reality of the world to come. People don't realize that there is life after death. People want it to be just rainbows and unicorns and roses, and I just can do whatever I want, and then when I die, we'll see what happens if I tip the scale.
See, that's what sin does. It makes one deluded concerning these things. It just focuses on the here and now, rather than seeing what shall come to pass, and what has already been inaugurated in the Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, do you know that when we come to church, We come to sing with the saints of heaven who go before us.
Revelation chapter 4, when we sing, holy, holy, holy, we are singing with the church triumphant that has gone before us. Brethren, I used to joke with a brother whenever I was about to come up to preach. I'd say, we're going to jump into worlds unseen. That's not a joke.
We actually do jump into worlds unseen when we come to worship God. And sometimes we're so focused on the here and now that we fail to see what we are doing when we worship. That's why worship is so vital and so important for the people of God. It helps us turn our attention off of ourselves and onto God.
Brethren, we all come out of the world with many difficulties and struggles and circumstances and anxieties, especially with the pandemic going on. We get to come to heaven on Sundays and worship God and set our mind upon God and upon Him. In fact, the language of setting one's mind, being mindful of the things of God, not the things of men, is also used by Paul in Colossians 3, where he says we must set our mind on the things that are above where Christ is at the right hand of God. Brethren, God's ways are not our ways, and Christ coming and living and suffering and being rejected is something that is hard to fathom.
But thankfully God in his mercy illumines, he changes hearts, he saves souls, and thankfully God's people can come and we can set our mind upon the things that are above where Christ is at the right hand of God. But the gospel must be defended. There's a very clear contrast between the things of God and the things of man. Get behind me, Satan, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.
Now, Jesus is going to remind them again twice. And the second time he reminds them, they're a little bit afraid to ask him what it means. And he's going to remind them again and again. Brethren, sometimes when we have things that challenge our thoughts, we need to hear it again and again.
Sometimes we need things to percolate over and over again. You mean I'm a sinner? Yeah. You mean you're a lawbreaker?
You mean I'm a wretch? Yeah, you are. You need to ponder those things and realize what they mean and what that signifies and what could happen if you die in your trespasses and sins. Think about those things.
But then think about the Savior. Think about the one who died for his people. Think about the one who went to the cross, who had the wrath of God poured out upon him, who had the last judgment punishment poured out upon him, that those in him come forward in him, that we are justified and declared not guilty in him. Ponder all of those things, percolate on those things.
You might not understand all these things, everything I'm saying, or everything perhaps friends have said. One thing you need to know, you are a sinner. You are a lawbreaker if you do not know Christ. You are one who is dead in your trespasses and sins.
But there is a Savior, and if you believe on Him, there is eternal life. There is blessed hope that is found in Him. Thoughts challenge. Hopefully, as we percolate, as we think, as we ponder these things, as we hear it again and again, we see the glories of what Christ has done for us.
We see the importance of the truth of the gospel as we ought to defend the only way of salvation that is found in him. And brethren, because these things are so unexpected, we need the Spirit to help us further understand the things of God, even to first understand the things of God. Brethren, we believe the work of salvation is the one who changes darkened minds, who removes hearts of stone, puts in hearts of flesh, The reality is one who is not in Christ is dead. The reality is this idea that this one has died is difficult and hard for people, that the way to life is death in the sun.
The divine plan makes no sense in human terms. The kingdom of God is nearness. The kingdom of God is love and forgiveness, not swords and blowing things up. The kingdom of God is what, you know, it's through the restoration for Israel, but it's not the way Israel would think it.
It just reorients everyone and reorients Israel, reorients the disciples in what the truth actually is. And it's through faith in this one that one is saved. It's through faith in this Christ where there is life. And we're thankful and we must believe that he must suffer.
J.C. Ryle says there is a far deeper meaning in the word must suffer and be killed. He meant that his death and passion were necessary in order to make atonement for man's sin. Without shedding his blood, there could be no remission.
Without the sacrifice of His body on the cross, there could be no satisfaction to God's holy law. He must suffer to make reconciliation for iniquity. He must die, because without His death as a propitiatory offering—propitiation just means turning away the wrath of God—sinners could never have life. He must suffer, because without His vicarious—vicarious just means in our stead—sufferings, our sins could never be taken away.
In a word, He must be delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification. He must suffer. for there to be any hope of eternal life. The Son of Man suffers, the Son of Man dies, the Son of Man is killed for his people. But as Jesus is going to go on to explain in verse 34, he doesn't just prepare his disciples for his suffering, he prepares his disciples for their suffering in this present evil age.
Yes, Christ is triumphant. Yes, there is the age to come. Yes, we do not need to fear. But brethren, this world is one fraught with suffering.
It's one full of suffering. It's one where the creation groans and longs for redemption. There's Christ's cross and our cross. And as Jesus will say, whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself.
What's interesting, too, brethren, that word is later on used for Peter when he denies the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter learns the hard way, doesn't he, about what the Son of Man must do. He learns the hard way about what it means to suffer. And the reason is, even in 1 Peter 3, the reason we ought to be quiet in the time of suffering, that we ought to be silent and not be grumblers and complainers, is because the suffering Son of Man suffered for us.
That's what we see in 1 Peter chapter 3. We suffer because he suffered for you and I. And brethren, we can count it all joy when we face trials of various kinds. We're not masochists.
We don't go looking for pain. We don't go looking for those things, brethren. But when they come, we must be prepared to suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. and counted a joy. And the reason we counted a joy, brethren, is because we learn things in the midst of suffering.
Pastor Butler has said often, we're never sanctified on a beach, right? And the reason we're never sanctified on a beach is because there is no pressure in our lives. There is no challenges to our faith. There is no battle.
Many of you are battling with sin, lying there, thinking about things you shouldn't, but outward external struggles. Those things, you know, trials produce character and perseverance. There are things in our lives that arise that cause us to learn how to be patient, that cause us to learn how to be forgiving. Brethren, sometimes the most impatient person learns to be patient when there are times that they want to be impatient.
That's where we learn those things, brethren. Even when we see in Romans 5, when he talks about faith, or our trials produce certain things, that production, that challenge to our very ideas and thought processes, even for Christians, even as we go through this life, as we suffer, it is a daily death to self, isn't it? We still have the remnant of the old man. We're saved in Christ.
We're not earning our way. I never say that. But when we're sanctified, it is a daily death to self, and it's a daily death to our thoughts. and further reorienting our minds to God's thoughts. That's the Christian life.
And the key way that God does that is through suffering, brethren. Brethren, even when we suffer, we need the Spirit, don't we, to help us when we suffer, to help us to suffer well, to help us not grumble or complain when people persecute us, when people say things we don't like, to stand there and take it rather than grumble and complain back. We need the Spirit so often. In fact, we need the Spirit every day in our lives, don't we?
The Spirit saved us and changed us and given us new hearts and lives and shown us the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ through illumination. But we still need the Spirit to help us in this life when we suffer and as we take up our crosses and deny Him daily. We need the Spirit to further understand the things of God. Now, if you're an unbeliever here today, I think I've already said that this might not make sense to you.
And I pray that God would open up your eyes, give you ears to hear and eyes to see, and open up your heart, because I believe he can do that, and he does do that. But without Jesus, you will die in your trespasses and sins. Without Jesus, you shall face eternal punishment. Without believing on this one who suffered and died and was raised, what do you mean he was raised?
The Bible tells us so. The Bible is clear that this one engaged in these things for his people. And if you believe on this Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the messianic mighty one, the one who did not come to be served but to serve, If you believe on him, you shall have eternal life as well. Yes, there might be suffering in this life, but there is eternal glory and eternal hope, eternal life in this one.
Suffering for a little bit, life forever. And I surmise, even as an unbeliever, you still suffer quite a bit even now, but there is hope in Jesus Christ, if you believe on the one who suffered in the stead of his people. So who is Jesus, brethren? He is the suffering Son of Man.
Let's pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Lord God, we are thankful again for the plan. We're thankful for this One who must suffer and did suffer. We're thankful for this One who was rejected. We're thankful that He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
We're thankful, O God, that He was killed, and we're thankful that He was raised on behalf of His people. We're thankful that he is the one who stood in our place, in the place of his people. We're thankful that on that cross he bore the wrath of God upon himself for his people. We're thankful, O God, that he suffered physically, he suffered spiritually for wretches like us.
We know, God, we are undeserving of so great a salvation. Truly, who is man that you are mindful of us, O God? We're thankful that you are mindful of us in the Son, in this one, in the second person, in our Christ. And we pray, O God, that you would be pleased to help us, even as your people, to further die to self day by day and further grow into the image of Christ day by day.
Prepare our hearts, O God, for suffering. Help us to pray now for those times that shall come, that will come. We pray, O God, that we would stand firm, we would not be afraid, we would be prepared to suffer for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, O God, by your Spirit to take up our crosses and deny you daily.
We confess, O God, we have much remaining corruption, we struggle with these things mightily, but we're thankful, O God, all our sins, past, present, and future are forgiven in the Lord Jesus Christ. So encourage us, spur us on, help us to set our mind upon the things that are above where Christ is, and help us, O God, to further have our thoughts in line with you according to your word. Help us to think biblically, help us to have the mind of Christ. We're thankful, O God, even when we are neglectful and forgetful, you're a God who is watching out for your people.
We also pray, O God, if there are any lost sheep here today, that you would save their souls, that you would bring them in. We pray, O God, that you give them eyes to see and ears to hear the glories of this one, that they would believe on this suffering one, this bloody champion, this bloody savior. We're thankful, O God, that he was bruised. We're thankful, O God, that he was crushed.
We're thankful that he was battered for his people. And we pray, O God, that you would be pleased to save sinners this day through your gospel. Thank you for life eternal. Thank you for hope.
Thank you for being with us in the midst of suffering. Thank you that there is life through the death in the Son and life in Him. And we're thankful, oh God, that there is eternal life that gives us hope, that gives us encouragement, that spurs us on up along the way. Thank you for walking with us as pilgrims.
We pray you encourage our souls, strengthen our souls, and help us to have the mind of Christ. We pray all these things in the name of Christ. Amen. We'll close with a brief time meditation.
When the piano's finished, you are dismissed.