WEBVTT 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.559 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:09.380 podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:12.080 Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.140 Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:16.519 strengthens your faith and draws you closer to 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:20.199 Christ. Let's dive in. With that being said, 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:23.039 we've got a lot to unpack, and I will tell you, 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:25.899 I don't know if I'll get through all of it today, 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:31.420 but If not, we'll leave the rest for next week. 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:35.240 But if you would turn to Mark, chapter eight 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:42.460 and the specific text I'm going to be unpacking 00:00:42.460 --> 00:00:47.719 for the main chunk of it is verses thirty one 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:50.520 through nine one. But we have to kind of hit 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:54.719 some highlights first before we do that. So as 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.549 you're turning there. The title of my sermon 00:00:57.549 --> 00:01:02.149 this morning is Seeing Jesus Clearly, the Revelation 00:01:02.149 --> 00:01:06.250 of the Suffering Messiah. And the big idea is 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:08.969 true sight begins when we recognize Jesus as 00:01:08.969 --> 00:01:11.569 the suffering Messiah and follow him on the road 00:01:11.569 --> 00:01:14.750 to the cross. Noah, would you run to the room 00:01:14.750 --> 00:01:17.849 in there? I think I left my water bottle in the 00:01:17.849 --> 00:01:25.700 room, sorry. So, my wife, reminded me, because 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:28.959 I put in here that a few years ago, we bought 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:32.459 some bookshelves. And she reminded me that that 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:35.319 was not a few years ago. Noah was a baby. So 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:40.359 time goes by really quickly. But we had we had 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:42.340 bought some bookshelves. Thank you, but from 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:46.170 from Ikea. And has anybody ever bought anything 00:01:46.170 --> 00:01:49.569 from Ikea in here? Yeah. OK, so just a couple 00:01:49.569 --> 00:01:53.530 of people. It comes with about a thousand parts 00:01:53.530 --> 00:02:01.730 and the directions make no sense. And so. But 00:02:01.730 --> 00:02:06.530 I'm going I'm a man. I it's a bookshelf, it's 00:02:06.530 --> 00:02:08.650 literally just a square. I can see the picture 00:02:08.650 --> 00:02:10.669 on the box like I'm going to put this thing together 00:02:10.669 --> 00:02:16.210 for my bride. So we bought two of them. So buddy 00:02:16.210 --> 00:02:18.090 Looked at those directions for about a split 00:02:18.090 --> 00:02:20.710 second was like yet. Nope. So I'm like, this 00:02:20.710 --> 00:02:22.949 is simple I'm gonna do this and so I start putting 00:02:22.949 --> 00:02:25.949 it together and I'm really proud of myself Putting 00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:29.629 this thing together. So I yell for Tracy and 00:02:29.629 --> 00:02:31.710 and at the moment you would thought that I would 00:02:31.710 --> 00:02:35.930 have been like Really looking at this bookshelf 00:02:37.170 --> 00:02:40.750 But I wasn't. I was just in my ADHD. I was excited, 00:02:40.949 --> 00:02:43.250 man. I was just zipping everything, screws here 00:02:43.250 --> 00:02:45.289 and going there and putting it all together. 00:02:45.990 --> 00:02:48.169 And I call Tracy and I say, hey, babe, come in 00:02:48.169 --> 00:02:49.909 here. I put this bookshelf together for you. 00:02:49.909 --> 00:02:52.090 And as I step back, she walks into the room and 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:55.530 I'm like, uh -oh, because this bookshelf is leaning 00:02:55.530 --> 00:03:02.050 like this and the shelves are all messed up. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:06.699 And it's just a complete disaster of a bookshelf. 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:13.020 And Tracy's like, what did you do? And I'm like, 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:16.379 well, I thought I put it together together for 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:19.680 you. And so so then she jumps in trying to fix 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.680 it. And it was so messed up that we had to go 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:27.780 to Home Depot and get some get a piece of plywood 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:29.680 to screw into the back just to make the thing 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.539 stand up straight. And so it was really bad. 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:34.819 And I said, we got two bookshelves. So the second 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:37.659 bookshelf, I was not allowed to put together. 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:43.780 Tracy, Tracy took that over. But Tracy says, 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:48.099 yeah, she let me know my services were no longer 00:03:48.099 --> 00:03:53.379 needed from there on out. But so The problem 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:55.860 was that it wasn't that I didn't know anything 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:58.300 about a bookshelf or what a bookshelf supposed 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:00.419 to look like that wasn't the problem or the fact 00:04:00.419 --> 00:04:04.159 that I Didn't know how to operate a screwdriver. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:09.680 I do a drill the problem was that I thought enough 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:14.020 of my own pride and Assumed I understood what 00:04:14.020 --> 00:04:16.699 I was building and so I saw the picture and I 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:21.610 thought easy I got this But I was completely 00:04:21.610 --> 00:04:23.449 wrong and what ended up happening was is how 00:04:23.449 --> 00:04:24.990 do you know how many of you guys know that like 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:27.350 Or have you ever been in a situation where you 00:04:27.350 --> 00:04:30.970 thought? Very confidently you knew what you were 00:04:30.970 --> 00:04:33.129 doing and then you get into it or you get done 00:04:33.129 --> 00:04:35.029 and you're like, yeah No, I should have called 00:04:35.029 --> 00:04:38.550 a professional. I just saw Vicki May look at 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:49.829 Keith May like But but sometimes right like it's 00:04:50.329 --> 00:04:52.829 The worst mistakes aren't always from people 00:04:52.829 --> 00:04:54.750 who don't know what they're doing the worst mistakes 00:04:54.750 --> 00:04:57.089 come from people who know just enough to be dangerous 00:04:57.089 --> 00:05:00.889 You know what I mean? And and and and I will 00:05:00.889 --> 00:05:04.910 say this Tracy gets us into some bad things sometimes 00:05:04.910 --> 00:05:07.149 because there is not a thing that Tracy does 00:05:07.149 --> 00:05:09.589 not feel confident in doing She's like electrical 00:05:09.589 --> 00:05:13.110 work. We can do that. I'm like we can yeah, well 00:05:13.110 --> 00:05:21.000 YouTube it and you instruct me through it. Hey, 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:22.939 touch this hot wire, just make sure it's off. 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:29.040 Okay. So in Mark chapter 8, this is where we 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:35.579 find Peter. But before I dive into our text as 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:37.759 far as in verse 31, I want us to look at a couple 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:41.120 of other spots to kind of set this up. But just 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:45.459 so you know, we know that Peter claims Christ 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:47.100 to be the Messiah. This is where we're going 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:51.720 to unpack, right? The problem is, is Peter thinks 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:55.420 he knows what the Messiah is, and when Jesus 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.839 tells him what he must come and do as the Messiah, 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:03.560 Peter then rebukes him. completely lost, knows 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:06.560 just enough about the Messiah, but not really 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.060 and completely missed what Jesus has been setting 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:14.240 up the entire time. And so in many ways, the 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.560 central question of this passage is, do we really 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:19.779 see Jesus for who He is or have we created a 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:22.800 version of Jesus that fits our own expectations? 00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:25.160 And so in Mark chapter eight, I want you to write 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.800 this down, Michael, if you would put this up 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:32.269 here, if you would. There's two things that Jesus 00:06:32.269 --> 00:06:36.170 says that completely redefine what it means to 00:06:36.170 --> 00:06:39.069 follow him. The first one he says, I am the king, 00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:44.430 but I am a king who is going to a cross. And 00:06:44.430 --> 00:06:47.230 then the second one is, if you want to follow 00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:54.490 me, you must come to the cross too. I'll give 00:06:54.490 --> 00:07:00.410 you guys time to write that down. And so before 00:07:00.410 --> 00:07:03.129 I dive into the text, I want us to take a look 00:07:03.129 --> 00:07:06.149 at and you you all you got to do is look across 00:07:06.149 --> 00:07:11.069 the page. And again, once you're done writing 00:07:11.069 --> 00:07:14.430 everything down, but if you look at Mark, chapter 00:07:14.430 --> 00:07:18.009 eight, it says Jesus feeds the four thousand. 00:07:19.250 --> 00:07:26.230 Now, we already seen saw him feed. The five thousand, 00:07:26.490 --> 00:07:29.100 right? So you can be like, well, Is this the 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:31.060 same account? Nope, it's a different account, 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:35.139 completely different. This time, people are following 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:39.199 him and they're so infatuated with Jesus and 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:42.279 his teachings and his words that they completely 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:49.100 forget about eating. And so Jesus, it says, has 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:50.740 compassion upon them and he looks upon them and 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:54.459 he goes, we're going to feed you guys. So we 00:07:54.459 --> 00:07:56.620 have the same thing happen. Now, let me ask you, 00:07:56.680 --> 00:08:01.569 let me ask you all this. If we had just literally 00:08:01.569 --> 00:08:06.389 six months ago to a year ago had a crazy event 00:08:06.389 --> 00:08:11.250 where we fed thousands from a happy meal, anybody 00:08:11.250 --> 00:08:16.230 in this room going to forget that? No, no. Look 00:08:16.230 --> 00:08:20.889 with me at verse four. Because Jesus asked the 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:23.990 question or verse three says, and if I send them 00:08:23.990 --> 00:08:26.449 away hungry to their homes, they will faint on 00:08:26.449 --> 00:08:29.610 the way. And some of them have come from far 00:08:29.610 --> 00:08:31.990 away." In verse four, and his disciples answered 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:36.029 him, how can one feed these people with bread 00:08:36.029 --> 00:08:47.490 here in a desolate place? Come on, bro. Right? 00:08:48.029 --> 00:08:50.350 And you know that's what Jesus is thinking. Like, 00:08:50.350 --> 00:08:53.750 you guys can't be serious right now. And so... 00:08:54.779 --> 00:08:58.659 You get you get the disciples still missing it 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:02.120 They've literally watched him feed up to 20 ,000 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:06.759 people and they still aren't getting it, right? 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:13.080 so Earlier in chapter 8 Jesus feeds another multitude 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:15.460 and this isn't feeding of the 5 ,000 like we've 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:18.179 already studied like I said, but it says so he 00:09:18.179 --> 00:09:22.779 goes on and he goes Just like you really you 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:26.870 guys really don't see it But then if you look 00:09:26.870 --> 00:09:31.830 at verse 21, what does he ask them in verse 21? 00:09:35.009 --> 00:09:37.330 Don't you guys get it? Don't you understand? 00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:41.649 And they're like, yeah, yeah, we get it. You 00:09:41.649 --> 00:09:44.169 want us to build a bookshelf and not use directions. 00:09:46.250 --> 00:09:49.190 And so they're totally not getting it. And Jesus 00:09:49.190 --> 00:09:54.340 is like, okay. And so that question becomes the 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:56.879 key to everything else that follows. The disciples 00:09:56.879 --> 00:09:59.259 are seeing, but they're not understanding. They're 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:01.700 witnessing miracles, but they're missing what 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:05.679 those miracles reveal about Jesus. And then something 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:09.179 fascinating happens. Immediately after this conversation, 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:15.419 what does it say in your Bible, like the subtitle 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:18.159 before verse 22? Does your Bible have something 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.750 there? What does it say is gonna take place starting 00:10:21.750 --> 00:10:26.950 in verse 22? Yeah, a blind man gets healed right 00:10:26.950 --> 00:10:29.690 and you guys More than likely you guys know the 00:10:29.690 --> 00:10:32.629 story Jesus takes this blind man away He spits 00:10:32.629 --> 00:10:34.850 and he makes mud and he puts on his eyes and 00:10:34.850 --> 00:10:39.049 he and he heals him and so The funny thing about 00:10:39.049 --> 00:10:43.730 this is we go from Jesus heals the blind man 00:10:44.409 --> 00:10:48.809 Two, now let's go into verse 27 and I'm going 00:10:48.809 --> 00:10:53.629 to read to verse 9 -1. And Jesus went on with 00:10:53.629 --> 00:10:56.830 his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, 00:10:57.049 --> 00:10:59.970 and on the way he asked his disciples, who do 00:10:59.970 --> 00:11:03.309 people say that I am? And they told him John 00:11:03.309 --> 00:11:05.870 the Baptist, and others say Elijah, and others 00:11:05.870 --> 00:11:09.070 one of the prophets. And he asked them, but who 00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:11.549 do you say that I am? And Peter answered him, 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:15.600 You are the Christ and he strictly charged them 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:20.460 to tell no one about it then we keep going and 00:11:20.460 --> 00:11:23.259 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must 00:11:23.259 --> 00:11:26.139 suffer many things and be rejected if you're 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:28.299 highlighting or if you have a highlighter a pen 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:31.320 I want you to underline that but I want you to 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:36.399 circle the word must He must be rejected by the 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.399 elders and the chief priests and of the scribes 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.860 and be killed and after three days rise again 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:44.500 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:46.480 aside and began to rebuke him. By the way, that 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:50.340 word rebuke is like he literally begins to yell 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:54.259 at him. Like he's very stern about it. He's angry 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:59.919 with Jesus. Verse 33, but turning and seeing 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:02.100 that his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:04.759 get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.279 your mind on the things of God, but on the things 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.730 of man. and calling the crowd to him with his 00:12:10.730 --> 00:12:13.529 disciples, he said to them, if anyone would come 00:12:13.529 --> 00:12:16.070 after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross 00:12:16.070 --> 00:12:18.129 and follow me. You should highlight that as well. 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:21.029 For whoever would save his life will lose it, 00:12:21.029 --> 00:12:23.549 but whoever loses his life for my sake in the 00:12:23.549 --> 00:12:26.409 gospel will save it. For what does it profit 00:12:26.409 --> 00:12:28.870 a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his 00:12:28.870 --> 00:12:33.149 soul? And for what can a man give in return for 00:12:33.149 --> 00:12:35.830 his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my 00:12:35.830 --> 00:12:39.399 words. And this adulterous and sinful generation 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:42.580 of him will the son of man also be ashamed when 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:45.500 he comes in the glory of his father with the 00:12:45.500 --> 00:12:48.360 holy angels. And he said to them, truly I say 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:50.820 to you, there are some standing here who will 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:53.240 not taste death until they see the kingdom of 00:12:53.240 --> 00:13:06.269 God after it has come with power. So now, It's 00:13:06.269 --> 00:13:11.850 really interesting that Mark chooses to set up 00:13:11.850 --> 00:13:16.009 Peter's confession right after the blind man 00:13:16.009 --> 00:13:19.470 Gets healed. What do you think mark is trying 00:13:19.470 --> 00:13:28.990 to tell us as an audience? Yes, yeah, and so 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:31.450 and it's also really funny so if we read the 00:13:31.450 --> 00:13:35.820 account Let's go to verse. Let's back up. Just 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:39.440 just a minute go to verse 24 Jesus asked the 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:43.659 blind man Bartimaeus is his name. Do you see 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:48.019 anything and what does it say in verse 24 and 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:53.460 He looked up and he saw what? He saw people but 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:56.440 they were like trees so he wasn't he was seeing 00:13:56.440 --> 00:14:00.360 but he wasn't fully seeing yet So then when you 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:04.240 go to Peter's confession You see what Mark is 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:07.279 setting up here? He's seeing but not seeing. 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:12.679 And so that's a really interesting little writer's 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:19.019 thing that he did there. And so Peter's sight 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:22.259 is improving, but it's not clear yet. And then 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:27.080 Peter's confession is not by accident. I'm skipping 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:29.980 ahead in my notes and I need to just stay locked 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:34.289 into them. By placing the blindness, the blind 00:14:34.289 --> 00:14:37.230 healing, just before Jesus's exchange with Peter, 00:14:37.450 --> 00:14:39.549 Mark suggests that Peter and the disciples will 00:14:39.549 --> 00:14:42.909 not enter Jesus's messiahship and death unless 00:14:42.909 --> 00:14:45.129 their blindness is healed. And that's exactly 00:14:45.129 --> 00:14:49.720 what is happening here. Peter can see something. 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:52.220 He knows Jesus is the Messiah, and he gets the 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:55.480 answer right when others get it wrong. But like 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:57.840 the blind man, after his first touch, this vision 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:00.240 is still blurry, and he sees Jesus, but he doesn't 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.740 see him clearly. He understands Jesus' identity, 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:07.279 but he misunderstands Jesus' mission. And that 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:09.279 leads us to one of the most important titles 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.519 that Jesus uses of himself in this passage, the 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:15.159 Son of Man. How many of you guys know that that 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.840 is an important distinction of a title? Do you 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:20.740 guys know that? It sounds like he's just saying, 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:24.899 oh yeah, Son of Man. But it's an important distinction. 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:30.149 Why? Write this first down. And Daniel chapter 00:15:30.149 --> 00:15:34.250 seven, that is the prophecy of a divine or I'm 00:15:34.250 --> 00:15:38.169 sorry, that is the prophecy of the Messiah. But 00:15:38.169 --> 00:15:41.529 I want you to write this down. I don't have it 00:15:41.529 --> 00:15:43.110 up here, so I'm just going to have to read it 00:15:43.110 --> 00:15:46.009 slowly. Here is what the definition of a Messiah 00:15:46.009 --> 00:15:52.669 is. A divine messianic figure who comes in glory, 00:15:53.570 --> 00:15:57.379 receives an everlasting kingdom. and sets everything 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:01.960 right. And so that term, Son of Man, that is 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:05.860 what that means. When they say, when Jesus calls 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:07.860 himself the Son of Man, he is calling himself 00:16:07.860 --> 00:16:10.559 the Messiah, the Christ. So when you hear people 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:14.039 say, Jesus never said he was God, Jesus never 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:15.899 said he was the Messiah, Jesus never said he 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:17.759 was the Savior, oh yeah he did, when he used 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:22.259 the term Son of Man. He's referring back to Daniel. 00:16:24.590 --> 00:16:27.750 And so that's why Jesus said what Jesus says 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:30.070 next is so shocking that the Son of Man must 00:16:30.070 --> 00:16:32.649 suffer many things because everyone is seeing 00:16:32.649 --> 00:16:35.169 it as an everlasting kingdom where he is going 00:16:35.169 --> 00:16:36.970 to set everything right the angels are gonna 00:16:36.970 --> 00:16:41.210 come down and all things are gonna be made To 00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:44.450 lay waste that are evil and Israel will be set 00:16:44.450 --> 00:16:47.970 a new kingdom And notice that he says must not 00:16:47.970 --> 00:16:51.830 might not probably will but he must that Jesus 00:16:51.830 --> 00:16:55.940 must die He says, I have to die. His suffering 00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:58.820 is not an accident and it's not a tragic twist 00:16:58.820 --> 00:17:01.899 in the story. It's a divine necessity. So which 00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:04.420 raises the question that drives the entire passage. 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:09.619 Why must the Messiah suffer? Have you ever thought 00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:13.460 about that? Have you ever thought about the fact 00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:17.119 that Jesus had to suffer like why? That's the 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.019 that's the answer that are the question that 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:24.079 we're going to answer. So. Here we go. If you're 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:30.920 taking notes, the personal necessity is the first 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:35.180 one. There's a personal necessity of why Jesus 00:17:35.180 --> 00:17:50.480 must suffer. So, there is a theologian The book 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.460 is now out of print, but his name is William 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:57.960 Vanderbent. And he talked about, he argued that 00:17:57.960 --> 00:17:59.740 every human instinctively knows the difference 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:03.259 between authentic love and counterfeit love. 00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:07.259 Would you agree with that? That we know the difference 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:10.119 between a counterfeit love and an authentic love? 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:14.619 Yeah, I think so too. Counterfeit love says, 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:19.960 I love you because of what you do for me. As 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:21.960 long as you're meeting my needs and affirming 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:25.799 me, making me happy, I'll stay. But if it costs 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:28.539 something too great, I can always walk away. 00:18:28.819 --> 00:18:34.460 So it's a love that is very transactional. But 00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:36.799 true love is different. True love says your joy, 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:38.960 you can write this down. I'm sorry, you could 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:43.119 have counterfeit love says, I love you because 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.319 of what you do for me. And then true love you 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:49.420 can write down says your joy is my joy. Your 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:56.960 good is my good. True love spins itself for another 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.619 person. It gives without keeping score. It makes 00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:04.140 itself vulnerable. It holds nothing back and 00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:07.180 then Vanstone makes a devastating observation. 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:11.000 What do you think that observation is? Do you 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:13.259 think that you give true love authentic love? 00:19:15.910 --> 00:19:19.450 Hearing those definitions, do you think that 00:19:19.450 --> 00:19:27.089 you offer true authentic love? He says, no. We 00:19:27.089 --> 00:19:29.369 all long for that kind of love, but none of us 00:19:29.369 --> 00:19:33.619 can consistently give it. We love, but our love 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:36.500 is often mixed with self -interest. We serve, 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:40.000 but also we want something in return. We sacrifice, 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:42.880 but usually only to a point. And in the end, 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:46.000 we're all searching for perfect love while being 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.519 incapable of producing it ourself," is what he 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:53.759 said. I think that's true. Even in my own marriage, 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:57.359 Want to believe that I have a true authentic 00:19:57.359 --> 00:19:59.859 love for my wife But then it's very easy that 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:01.900 when the dishes start to stack up and I want 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:04.859 to just lay in bed Where does that does does 00:20:04.859 --> 00:20:10.859 my authentic love kick in? No Like we we immediately 00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:13.380 think about ourselves first even when it comes 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:17.720 to love but we expect others to love us unconditionally 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.640 Because why because we desire it and we need 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:25.049 it Because that's the way God hardwired us, but 00:20:25.049 --> 00:20:29.190 it's because of sin we cannot give true authentic 00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:32.809 love all the time. Can we sometimes? Sure. But 00:20:32.809 --> 00:20:38.150 it doesn't always last. And so what's the solution? 00:20:39.410 --> 00:20:41.930 If we're all searching for perfect love while 00:20:41.930 --> 00:20:43.930 being incapable of producing it ourselves, what 00:20:43.930 --> 00:20:46.329 is the solution? The solution is this. We need 00:20:46.329 --> 00:20:50.809 someone to love us who doesn't need us. Someone 00:20:50.809 --> 00:20:53.490 who loves us not because we add something to 00:20:53.490 --> 00:20:57.130 Him, but simply for our own good. Someone who 00:20:57.130 --> 00:21:00.609 loves us unconditionally, sacrificially, and 00:21:00.609 --> 00:21:04.650 completely, and that brings us to Jesus. Do you 00:21:04.650 --> 00:21:06.250 guys remember when we first started the Book 00:21:06.250 --> 00:21:08.569 of Mark? I talked about the Trinity, and I talked 00:21:08.569 --> 00:21:11.470 about the dance that the Trinity has together, 00:21:11.750 --> 00:21:14.210 and that from the very beginning, they have been 00:21:14.210 --> 00:21:17.470 in perfect love and in perfect unity together. 00:21:19.990 --> 00:21:22.990 Always pointing to the other from all eternity 00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:26.049 God has never been lonely and he has never been 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:28.690 needy and he has never lacked affection fulfillment 00:21:28.690 --> 00:21:34.210 or joy So he creates us in order to share that 00:21:34.210 --> 00:21:40.329 God does not need us to love him He wants to 00:21:40.329 --> 00:21:45.779 just share his love with us He loves us because 00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:48.660 he chose he chooses to and the cross is the ultimate 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:50.920 demonstration of that love write this down for 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:56.799 me Jesus suffers because true love suffers Jesus 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.420 gives himself because true love gives itself 00:21:59.420 --> 00:22:03.059 away Jesus goes to the cross because true love 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:07.220 holds nothing back and Peter wanted a Messiah 00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:10.740 with the crown but not a cross But a messiah 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:13.779 without a cross could never show us that kind 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:17.559 of love a Messiah without suffering could never 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:21.259 display or could display power But he could not 00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:24.339 display sacrificial love and that's why Jesus 00:22:24.339 --> 00:22:28.819 says he must suffer The cross was not merely 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:32.119 necessary to satisfy justice it was necessary 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:35.539 to reveal the very heart of God and What happens 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:40.000 when that love finally sinks in? What happens 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.099 when you finally meet true authentic love that 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:49.180 does not use you? What does it do to you? well 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:52.460 The need to constantly impress people begins 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:54.759 to fade the desperate need for approval starts 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:58.380 to loosen its grip the fear of rejection Loses 00:22:58.380 --> 00:23:02.579 some of its power why? Because when you know 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:04.920 you're perfectly loved by Christ you stop demanding 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.519 that everyone else fill the role that only Jesus 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:11.910 can fill And so your cup becomes full. And when 00:23:11.910 --> 00:23:14.230 your cup is full, you're finally free to stop 00:23:14.230 --> 00:23:17.869 using people and start loving people. And so 00:23:17.869 --> 00:23:20.029 do you see what Jesus is doing? His suffering 00:23:20.029 --> 00:23:23.329 was personally necessary because only through 00:23:23.329 --> 00:23:25.390 the cross could we experience a kind of love 00:23:25.390 --> 00:23:27.589 our hearts have been searching for all along. 00:23:28.710 --> 00:23:31.230 So the cross was necessary. The suffering was 00:23:31.230 --> 00:23:34.390 necessary, one, from a personal necessity. Point 00:23:34.390 --> 00:23:44.700 number two, from a legal necessity. The cross 00:23:44.700 --> 00:23:46.779 is not only personally necessary, it's legally 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:50.680 necessary as I said. And so what do I mean by 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:58.599 that? So I'm gonna pick on somebody. Who could 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:00.640 I pick on? I'm gonna pick on Scott, he's easy. 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:06.359 Scott, I come over to see you and Mary Lynn and 00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:11.230 while I'm over there. You guys have have a nice 00:24:11.230 --> 00:24:14.410 lamp and I'm not paying any attention And I accidentally 00:24:14.410 --> 00:24:17.930 knocked the lamp over and I bust it. Okay, you 00:24:17.930 --> 00:24:21.789 tell me that this lamp Cost a hundred bucks and 00:24:21.789 --> 00:24:26.630 I'm like, oh man, so we have two options, right? 00:24:27.029 --> 00:24:33.109 Option number one would be what? Me replace it 00:24:33.109 --> 00:24:37.150 right me me being the one who pays the hundred 00:24:37.150 --> 00:24:44.470 dollars The second one would be forgiveness, 00:24:44.970 --> 00:24:48.690 right? But there still has to be a cost that's 00:24:48.690 --> 00:24:51.549 absorbed to that, right? What I mean by that 00:24:51.549 --> 00:24:55.670 is, even if you forgive me, that doesn't replace 00:24:55.670 --> 00:25:01.690 the lamp, right? So Mary Lynn's like, this is 00:25:01.690 --> 00:25:04.660 my reading corner. I need a lamp, Scott. and 00:25:04.660 --> 00:25:06.660 you wouldn't let him pay the hundred bucks, so 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:08.380 now we gotta pay the hundred bucks to go get 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:11.180 a new lamp, right? So you've forgiven me, but 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:13.700 it's not replaced the lamp, right? So there's 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:16.799 still a cost that needs to be absorbed. Does 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:19.000 that make sense? Does everybody roll in what 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:21.619 I'm throwing down? It's been a while since I've 00:25:21.619 --> 00:25:24.319 said that one. Aria's gonna let me know that. 00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:29.980 And so the only question becomes who is going 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:34.039 to absorb the debt? Either I pay the debt or 00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:36.579 you absorb the debt as we talked about but there's 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:38.779 not just an economical way that we understand 00:25:38.779 --> 00:25:41.660 this. There's another way that we understand 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:46.599 a debt. When someone damages your reputation 00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:51.140 or steals an opportunity from you or betrays 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:54.559 your trust or wounds you deeply, a debt is created, 00:25:55.140 --> 00:26:00.220 yes? We have terms for this, right? We have debt 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:07.250 language. You owe me, right? They should pay 00:26:07.250 --> 00:26:09.009 for what they did, right? We hear that in movies 00:26:09.009 --> 00:26:13.670 a lot, right? Or we say things like they can't 00:26:13.670 --> 00:26:16.410 just get away with that, right? So we have this 00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:18.049 debt language that's already built in when it 00:26:18.049 --> 00:26:23.190 comes to emotional damages. And so once a debt 00:26:23.190 --> 00:26:26.869 exists, there are only two options. Either they 00:26:26.869 --> 00:26:32.740 pay or you do, right? So if When it comes to 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:36.420 emotional damages, how can you make someone pay? 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:39.319 Most people would choose the first option of, 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:41.759 I want you to pay. What do I mean by that? Well, 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:45.740 we replay the offense in our minds over and over, 00:26:45.940 --> 00:26:50.599 and we fantasize about a thing called revenge, 00:26:51.059 --> 00:26:56.180 right? And so we want to see them suffer. We 00:26:56.180 --> 00:26:58.779 want them to feel the pain of what they have 00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:04.099 caused us. But here's the problem though. If 00:27:04.099 --> 00:27:09.039 you want them to pay and you want them to suffer. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:20.039 What does that do to you? Yeah, it makes you 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:24.420 just like the perpetrator, right? Makes you bitter. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:28.779 and bitter hardens us, resentment consumes us, 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:31.539 and the evil done to us only begins to reproducing 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:34.940 itself in us, and then ultimately evil wins. 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:41.019 So what's the alternative? Forgiveness, right? 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:43.359 Forgiveness would be the alternative of not getting 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:46.900 revenge, right? Now I'm gonna ask you something, 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.859 and I want you to be completely honest. Does 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:54.799 forgiveness cost you something? Absolutely it 00:27:54.799 --> 00:28:00.380 does. Not all forgiveness is equal, right? And 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:05.700 some forgiveness is very painful. Real forgiveness 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:09.599 is costly. When every part of you wants revenge 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:12.740 but you refuse it, when you want to strike back 00:28:12.740 --> 00:28:15.599 but choose mercy instead, when you absorb the 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:18.319 pain rather than returning it, that actually 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:23.200 hurts. Why? Write this down. Because forgiveness 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:28.380 always involves suffering. The debt doesn't disappear, 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:32.660 someone absorbs it. And in forgiveness, that 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:36.519 someone is you. And now take that principle and 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:40.140 apply it to your relationship with God. Every 00:28:40.140 --> 00:28:43.619 sin creates a debt, every act of rebellion creates 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:47.200 guilt, every violation of God's law demands justice, 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:51.420 and the debt is very real. And God cannot simply 00:28:51.420 --> 00:28:55.440 just act like it does not exist. So what are 00:28:55.440 --> 00:29:01.119 the options? Either we pay the debt or he does. 00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:07.880 So God absorbs the debt that cost himself. And 00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:10.579 that's why Jesus says the son of man must suffer. 00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:13.960 The cross is where God absorbs into himself the 00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:18.319 penalty of our sin. The judge steps down from 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.500 the bench and takes the judgment upon himself. 00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:23.299 And the one we sinned against pays the debt that 00:29:23.299 --> 00:29:27.299 we owed. And the only way God can forgive sinners 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:29.839 without ignoring justice is through the suffering 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:33.099 of Christ. And that's why Jesus says again, he 00:29:33.099 --> 00:29:36.519 must suffer. not because he lacks power, not 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:39.019 because things got out of control, not because 00:29:39.019 --> 00:29:41.680 Rome was stronger than he was, but because forgiveness 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:44.640 always costs someone something. And at the cross, 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:48.779 God chose to bear that cost himself. Does that 00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:57.599 make sense? Third point. It was a cosmic necessity. 00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:07.319 It was a cosmic necessity. So Jesus had to die, 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:09.559 but why this kind of death have you ever thought 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:15.259 about that? I Mean these are things I've legitimately 00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:19.259 like asked myself like or why didn't you just? 00:30:19.900 --> 00:30:21.579 Come as a human being and then the Lord shows 00:30:21.579 --> 00:30:24.380 me why or you know come as a grown man not a 00:30:24.380 --> 00:30:27.119 human being came as a human being Why did you 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:29.220 you know, why didn't you just come as an old 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:32.240 guy? Why couldn't you just die of old age if 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:36.660 you had to die? Like why did it have to be this 00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:46.279 brutal? Wicked death Why a cross why blood and 00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:48.079 Hebrew tells us that and in the book of Hebrews 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:51.519 tells us this Without the shedding of blood there 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:57.559 is no forgiveness of sins Okay, that's for Logan 00:30:57.559 --> 00:31:00.920 so you're saying that blood is magical nope not 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:02.599 saying the blood is magical you can write this 00:31:02.599 --> 00:31:07.230 down right here In scripture, blood represents 00:31:07.230 --> 00:31:12.230 life violently poured out. It represents a life 00:31:12.230 --> 00:31:16.910 given before its natural end. And Jesus came 00:31:16.910 --> 00:31:20.250 to give his life. The cross was the ultimate 00:31:20.250 --> 00:31:22.930 payment for sin because it was the ultimate gift. 00:31:23.730 --> 00:31:26.190 But the cross was not only a payment, it was 00:31:26.190 --> 00:31:32.170 victory. And you see, Jesus did not merely come 00:31:32.170 --> 00:31:34.410 to forgive sinners. He came to defeat the enemies 00:31:34.410 --> 00:31:38.130 that held humanity captive. Those enemies are 00:31:38.130 --> 00:31:42.869 sin, death, and Satan. The powers of darkness. 00:31:43.470 --> 00:31:46.049 Throughout history, death has been humanity's 00:31:46.049 --> 00:31:49.250 greatest tyrant. Every kingdom eventually falls 00:31:49.250 --> 00:31:52.769 before it. Every ruler eventually bows to it. 00:31:53.250 --> 00:31:55.690 And everyone knows that unless Christ returns, 00:31:56.069 --> 00:32:00.450 death is coming for us too. Yesterday, it was 00:32:00.450 --> 00:32:07.369 very. I can appreciate funerals for one thing 00:32:07.369 --> 00:32:12.710 and one thing only. They're very uncomfortable, 00:32:13.930 --> 00:32:18.630 but the thing I can appreciate of them. Is this? 00:32:19.509 --> 00:32:23.930 It makes everybody think about death. Everybody 00:32:23.930 --> 00:32:27.990 in that room begins to go. This is real like 00:32:27.990 --> 00:32:31.430 I'm never Bob. I'm never going to see him again 00:32:31.430 --> 00:32:35.789 Not not here anyway And so when Linda said to 00:32:35.789 --> 00:32:39.250 me I want you to do the funeral, but here's the 00:32:39.250 --> 00:32:42.230 thing everyone knows Bob That's why they're there, 00:32:42.390 --> 00:32:45.430 but not everyone in that room knows Jesus, and 00:32:45.430 --> 00:32:50.869 I want you to share the gospel and So that's 00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:55.839 what I tried to do was share the gospel Because 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:57.740 one thing we can all agree on whether you're 00:32:57.740 --> 00:32:59.920 a believer or not a believer There's two things 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:02.740 that make that show us that we have something 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:05.119 in common and I said this yesterday One we're 00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:10.359 all born to we all die The question is is what 00:33:10.359 --> 00:33:16.240 happens after death And so death is a scary thing 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:18.960 and because death is so terrifying it becomes 00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:22.980 a tool for control Governments use it for good 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:27.279 and for bad, right? The powers of darkness use 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:30.579 it. Fear of death causes people to compromise 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:34.579 convictions, abandon truth, and live in bondage. 00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:38.559 But Jesus walked directly into death's domain. 00:33:39.099 --> 00:33:42.000 And by dying and rising again, he shattered its 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:45.660 power. Death swallowed everyone else, and instead, 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:52.539 Jesus swallowed death. Yes? That's why Paul can 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:55.319 later say death has been swallowed up in victory 00:33:55.319 --> 00:33:58.940 The resurrection announces that death is no longer 00:33:58.940 --> 00:34:01.759 the final word for the Christian The worst thing 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:04.259 that can happen to you is no longer the worst 00:34:04.259 --> 00:34:09.280 thing That's why yesterday Being able to sit 00:34:09.280 --> 00:34:13.300 and stand here as as Bob's coffin is before me 00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:17.280 I can look at Linda who's sitting right in front 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:20.099 of me, and with tears in her eyes, we both know 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:26.659 that we will see Bob again. Because death had 00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:30.340 already been defeated. Yes, Bob's physical body 00:34:30.340 --> 00:34:38.099 lay here, but he is very much alive. Death has 00:34:38.099 --> 00:34:41.559 become just a doorway, a defeated enemy. a servant 00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:44.460 that ushers us into the presence of Christ. And 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:47.119 that, brothers and sisters, is freedom. That 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:49.179 is why, you guys have heard me make the joke 00:34:49.179 --> 00:34:52.019 when we went through Philippians, why Paul could 00:34:52.019 --> 00:34:55.320 look at the guards and they'd say, Paul, stop 00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:57.639 preaching the gospel or we're gonna kill you. 00:34:57.659 --> 00:35:00.260 And he's like, fantastic, I get to go be with 00:35:00.260 --> 00:35:02.639 Jesus. And they're like, fine, then we're just 00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:04.980 going to put you in jail. And he's like, great, 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:08.880 I'm just gonna convert your guards. It's freedom, 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:12.639 right? When you're no longer afraid of death 00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:16.019 and it cannot hold you, it frees you up to truly 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:22.380 be born again. And so when death loses its sting, 00:35:22.739 --> 00:35:26.239 when fear loses its grip, when the fear, when 00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:29.139 fear loses its grip, you become free to love, 00:35:29.699 --> 00:35:33.090 free to serve. free to sacrifice, free to obey 00:35:33.090 --> 00:35:35.329 Christ, no matter the cost, because the powers 00:35:35.329 --> 00:35:38.469 of this world can take many things from you. 00:35:38.590 --> 00:35:40.309 They can take your possessions. They can take 00:35:40.309 --> 00:35:42.110 your reputation. They can take your comfort. 00:35:42.389 --> 00:35:45.010 They can take your life. But because of Jesus, 00:35:45.250 --> 00:35:47.769 who conquered the grave, they cannot take your 00:35:47.769 --> 00:35:53.530 future. They cannot take your inheritance, and 00:35:53.530 --> 00:35:56.840 they cannot take you from your Savior. So the 00:35:56.840 --> 00:35:59.539 son of man must suffer because he came not only 00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:02.880 to forgive sinners, but to defeat death So it 00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:06.980 was a cosmic necessity and the tomb is empty 00:36:06.980 --> 00:36:11.119 So in closing and I got through this way faster 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:19.820 I thought So for those reasons Jesus says he 00:36:19.820 --> 00:36:26.809 must suffer But Peter doesn't like it right Says 00:36:26.809 --> 00:36:31.389 he rebukes Jesus. Why? Again, we said because 00:36:31.389 --> 00:36:34.590 he's partially blind. He's like the blind man 00:36:34.590 --> 00:36:38.110 in Bethesda. You can see people walking around 00:36:38.110 --> 00:36:44.610 like trees. Peter sees that Jesus is the Messiah. 00:36:45.230 --> 00:36:47.489 He's starting to put things together. He's like, 00:36:47.650 --> 00:36:49.170 okay, you're doing all these crazy miracles, 00:36:49.190 --> 00:36:53.110 but he's still not getting it. He just doesn't 00:36:53.110 --> 00:36:57.800 understand what the Messiah is about. Peter wants 00:36:57.800 --> 00:37:03.099 a king who conquers. And Jesus says, I'm the 00:37:03.099 --> 00:37:08.059 king who will suffer. Peter wants a throne and 00:37:08.059 --> 00:37:14.139 Jesus says, I'm taking a cross. Peter wants glory 00:37:14.139 --> 00:37:19.739 and Jesus talks about sacrifice. Peter wants 00:37:19.739 --> 00:37:23.360 Jesus to fit his expectation and Jesus refuses 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:28.489 to do that. And if we're honest, How many times 00:37:28.489 --> 00:37:34.869 have you done that too? We don't mind the Jesus 00:37:34.869 --> 00:37:37.449 who blesses us. We don't mind the Jesus who helps 00:37:37.449 --> 00:37:39.909 us. We don't mind the Jesus who solves all our 00:37:39.909 --> 00:37:43.429 problems. But a suffering Messiah who calls us 00:37:43.429 --> 00:37:45.730 to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow 00:37:45.730 --> 00:37:53.250 him, that's not fun. That's much harder. Then 00:37:53.250 --> 00:37:56.150 Jesus asked the question that cuts through all 00:37:56.150 --> 00:38:00.070 the excuses What does it profit a man to gain 00:38:00.070 --> 00:38:03.230 the whole world and forfeit his soul? He's looking 00:38:03.230 --> 00:38:09.789 at Peter and he's going Peter You you think that 00:38:09.789 --> 00:38:13.070 you want this but what will it ultimately do 00:38:13.070 --> 00:38:17.550 for you for eternity? What does me being a king 00:38:17.550 --> 00:38:21.230 on this earth as a man who does not die for your 00:38:21.230 --> 00:38:24.920 sins and you get to stand at my throne, what 00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:29.539 does that do for you in the next life? Nothing. 00:38:33.340 --> 00:38:36.119 You can write this down. In other words, what 00:38:36.119 --> 00:38:38.260 good is it to build your identity on things that 00:38:38.260 --> 00:38:42.239 cannot save you? You hear me say all the time, 00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:44.360 money can't save you, success can't save you, 00:38:44.559 --> 00:38:47.099 politics can't save you, popularity can't save 00:38:47.099 --> 00:38:49.599 you, your career can't save you, your possessions 00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:52.750 can't save you. The things of this world will 00:38:52.750 --> 00:38:55.329 gladly ask you to give your life for them, but 00:38:55.329 --> 00:38:59.809 they will never give their life for you. Only 00:38:59.809 --> 00:39:04.869 Jesus did that. Peter wanted Jesus to serve his 00:39:04.869 --> 00:39:07.650 agenda, but Jesus didn't come to advance Peter's 00:39:07.650 --> 00:39:09.909 kingdom. He came to establish his own, and that 00:39:09.909 --> 00:39:17.429 kingdom runs through what? The cross. The son 00:39:17.429 --> 00:39:20.909 of man must suffer. The son of man must die. 00:39:21.070 --> 00:39:25.389 and the Son of Man must rise again. And everyone 00:39:25.389 --> 00:39:27.849 who follows him must follow him on the same path 00:39:27.849 --> 00:39:30.730 of surrender and trust. The question this passage 00:39:30.730 --> 00:39:34.070 leaves us with is very simple. Do we see Jesus 00:39:34.070 --> 00:39:38.909 clearly? Not the Jesus we've imagined, not the 00:39:38.909 --> 00:39:42.030 Jesus we prefer, not the Jesus we've remade in 00:39:42.030 --> 00:39:44.769 our own image, but the Jesus who actually stands 00:39:44.769 --> 00:39:48.610 before us in Mark 8, the suffering Messiah, the 00:39:48.610 --> 00:39:51.900 crucified King. The Savior who gave everything 00:39:51.900 --> 00:39:55.380 for us and now calls us to follow Him. Because 00:39:55.380 --> 00:39:58.219 true sight begins when we finally see Jesus for 00:39:58.219 --> 00:40:00.260 who He really is. Let's pray.