Counting the Cost of Confessing Christ

Today we’re continuing on in the Gospel of Mark in chapter 8-open bibles. What we have in our text today is a question; one foundational question that’s so important that the way we answer this question will determine how we live our lives. This is a question that we must all face. This question is so important that if you get it wrong you’ll end up getting most of the other important things in life wrong. But if you get it right, you’ll be positioned to get the important things right.

For some people that question that defines us is “Am I happy?” That’s the most important thing; am I feeling good, can I do what I want to do, am I enjoying life? For others, that question might be, “Am I good?” Am I trying hard, being sincere and having good intentions, doing the best I can? Another question might be, “Am I cool?” Do other people like me, do they want to be with me, do they think highly of me? Or, “Am I true to myself?” For many in this country this is their guiding light; being true to your own inner self.

But the foundational question of Christianity is nothing like these questions and it has nothing to do with us. Read with me as I read Mark 8:27-38.

We’re now half way through the Gospel of Mark. The 1st 8 chapters have covered the majority of Jesus ministry but the next 8 chapters cover only about 2 weeks. This is the turning point in the ministry of Jesus. He’s looking toward Jerusalem and He knew that meant death. And it’s at this crucial point that Jesus asks the disciples the question, “who do people say that I am?” The disciples answered: John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets. The average man on the street thought Jesus was a great man; impressed with His teaching and power and authority.

Our culture also has an opinion on Jesus. The disciples answer isn’t much different than some of the answers we might get today: a good, moral man; a spiritual teacher; a miracle worker. All of these answers see Jesus being a respected and influential man-but they miss the mark. John, Elijah and the prophets were all forerunners to the Messiah-not the Messiah. They didn’t have a clue who Jesus was.

So Jesus asks the second question, which is really the most important question, “Who do you say that I am?” This is what He’s really concerned with - who do YOU say He is. “Who do you say that Jesus is? Because who we believe Jesus is, will determine who we are. This question leads to Peter’s confession. Look at verse 29.

The Confession
We’re going to look at this confession. Let’s start by asking how this happened? If you’ve been following along in our study you know that the disciples haven’t been tracking with Jesus. So how is it that they went from oblivious to confessing Jesus as the Messiah? If we look at our passage in context we can see that Mark has been building momentum and drawing a connection for us that would lead us to this transitional point. Last week we saw the theme of blindness; that the disciples were blind and dull in their understanding of Jesus and His mission. But it’s no coincidence that this section emphasizing the disciples blindness is sandwiched right between two healings. Before it, Jesus heals a deaf man and after it Jesus heals a blind man.

These two healings are living illustrations of what happened to the disciples; their eyes were opened by a touch from God. They’re beginning to receive sight. Matthew explains this plainly; turn to Matt. 16:15-17: “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

What Mark wants his readers to see is that all true spiritual understanding and faith is a miracle; a result of the supernatural power of God. This should always keep us humble, knowing that any truth we understand or faith we have did not come from us but from God. We also need to remember that even when we do understand, it’s in part. 1 Cor. 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly…” We see this in the healing of the blind man; let’s read 22-25. The first time the man saw but not clearly.

Soon, it would be clear to the disciples exactly who Jesus was but not yet. Another aspect of the disciples confession is that, though they got it right, they also got it wrong. Yes, Jesus is the Messiah but not the Messiah they were thinking. The Messiah that the disciples had in mind was a King, a superhuman from the line of David that would come in power and deliver the people of God from the gentiles/Rome and restore Israel to its glory. He was a nationalistic leader that would conquer by force.

Jesus knew their idea of Him was wrong so He taught them. Let’s read vs. 31-33. He began to share that He must suffer and die. Well, Peter didn’t like that so he took Jesus aside and tried to correct Him. Here again we see Peter misunderstanding Jesus-thinking of Him as a nationalistic savior. But Jesus rebukes them-“Get behind me Satan!” This echoes Jesus rebuke of Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness. Jesus wasn’t calling Peter Satan; He’s rebuking his thinking that was earthly and opposed to God’s plan.

The Cross
That plan was the death of the Son of God; humiliation, mockery, beatings and ultimately death on a cross. That’s what Jesus taught them. Can you see Jesus care and concern for the disciples? He knows He’s heading for the cross and yet He’s concerned that they are prepared. The text gives us a summary of what Jesus shared-that He must suffer, be rejected, killed and after 3 days rise again. But have you ever wonder what it was actually like to be there? I would guess that at some point He called them all together and told them to open their bibles to Isaiah 53 to show them and teach them from the word of God. Guys, this is what it means to be the Messiah; this is what I must go through to save my people.

The way of the Savior is suffering and sacrifice. That’s is the message of the Gospel of Mark-10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The bondage that the people of God were under from Roman rule was nothing in comparison to the bondage of sin that all men are born into. The sin that separates us from God and demands to be punished by God can only be overcome with a perfect sacrifice; a substitute that would stand in our place and be punished for our sin. That was the only way to free men from the bondage of sin; the Messiah would have to die. And he did. Jesus hung on the cross, enduring the pain and He “became sin” as our substitute. The wrath of God toward sin was poured on Him. And then He died. His mission, from the time he was born, from the foundations of creation, was the cross. He wants the disciples to understand this about Him but He also wants them to know what the cost will be to follow this kind of Messiah.

The Cost
Mark 8:34-“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, (He’s opening this up to everyone) he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Jesus is challenging the idols of self interest in the disciples that are running rampant because of His popularity. Here He is revealing to them that He must suffer and a few days later their arguing about who’s the greatest. Jesus is explaining to them the cost of discipleship and they’re seeing this as a time to look for position in the new kingdom. And Jesus wanted them to know that following Him meant denying self; laying down their self interest about what they thought discipleship means.

What do we think being a disciple means? We know the disciples were culturally informed about the Messiah and what it meant to follow Him. But what’s informing our understanding of being a disciple of Jesus? Is it being someone who can say “Jesus has come into my heart?” Is it involvement in a local church? Is it simply believing the facts about what happened on the cross; that Jesus died for our sins? Our culture, as secular as it is, understands the facts of redemption. There has to be feet to our faith. Jesus is saying that it’s not enough just to identify with the title-Messiah or Christian. In order to truly be a disciple, you must deny yourself, and take up your cross and follow.

When Jesus refers to “our cross” He’s not talking about difficulty and trials-our cross can be found in those situations (and may produce those situations) but it isn’t the situation. Just as Jesus was looking toward Jerusalem with a Spirit empowered determination to bear His cross, our cross is to live our lives with the same Spirit empowered determination to live for Him and His mission and to put our self interest on the cross; to die to ourselves. I’m not going to try to identify what your cross should look like-everybody’s cross is going to look different.

Jesus goes on to explain the irony of the greatest paradox in the universe; the paradox of the cross. Vs. 35-37 says “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 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?” To die is to live and to live is to die. This goes directly against everything this world stands for…it takes faith filled determination to deny ourselves for the sake of Christ. The true sign of a disciple of Christ is a cross-demonstrated by a life lived for Christ.

Now there’s a warning for us in vs. 38: “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.” You see Jesus isn’t only our suffering Savior, He’s also our Judge and for those who deny their cross, they have denied Jesus. (Christian and unbeliever)

Jesus asked the disciples a question. It’s a question that we will all answer. It’s a question that we are answering by the way we live our lives. “Who do you say that I am?” Who is Jesus to you and what does that mean for your life or “Who am I living for?”

Confessing Jesus as the Christ always comes with a cost. But nothing that we nail to our cross will ever compare to the glory and blessings, the life and joy that we will receive now and in the life to come. Let us say with Paul in Phil.3 Read together: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.”