Jesus Christ has risen from the dead! He is alive today; seated at the right-hand of God the Father in Heaven. One day He will return to reign on earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Ultimately, He will judge the world and bringing about a new heaven and a new earth were His people will spend eternity with Him. There will be no more death, no more disease, no more pain, no more suffering. Until that day comes we are to proclaim the truth of Jesus so that others may trust in Him and receive the free gift of eternal life.
The question is: Do you understand this truth?
It’s a simple question - but one we are often guilty of answering all too quickly. We assume we know the correct answer, or at least make others think we know, because we are prideful people and don't want to risk embarrassment.
In Mark chapter nine Jesus made three shocking predictions; predictions that not only came true, but have become foundational truths of the Christian faith. In fact, it is these truths that separate and divide Christianity from all other religions. These truths define that which is distinctly Christian from that which is not. Sadly, the disciples did not understand and they failed to ask because they were afraid. May we not make the same mistake; for failing to understand this truth will have eternal consequences.
"They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples" (Mark 9:30-31a - ESV)
"Galilee" is a region around the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. This region now includes portions of modern-day northern Israel and parts of southern Lebanon. Mark's frequent use of geographical references reminds us, yet again, that Jesus is a real person in a real place during a very real period of history.
As Jesus and his disciples were passing through this region He “didn’t want people to know.” Why? What’s changed? Jesus has been traveling around, miraculously healing people and driving out demons. However, now He has reached a point in His ministry where He is focused on teaching His 12 disciples. The problem is, every where they go, people mob them! They want to experience the healing; they want to witness the miracles; but Jesus is focused on these 12 men that would soon be entrusted with telling the world about Him. He was focused on teaching His disciples because He knew He would soon be gone and it would be their job to tell others about Him.
So, what was Jesus teaching His disciples as they traveled through the region? Look at the second half of Mark 9:31:
"saying to them, 'The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.'” (Mark 9:31b - ESV)
Jesus uses one of His favorite titles to refer to himself, "The Son of Man." It is a messianic title used a few times in the book of Mark. It was clearly Luke's favorite title for Jesus since he used it 25 times in his gospel.
Using this specific title, Jesus gives 3 shocking predictions concerning what will happen to him. Each one is progressively more shocking than the previous.
(1) Jesus will be delivered into the hands of men
Acts 2:23 says Jesus was “delivered according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”
No one took Jesus life by force. He willingly gave himself. He was delivered into the hands of men, by the power and will of God the Father!
In fact, when Jesus was being arrested one of His disciples (one of the 12 guys) tried to defend Jesus by drawing a sword and cutting off a guy’s ear! Jesus stopped him and said, “do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 56 all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” (Matthew 26:53, 56 - ESV)
The procession of events that were about to take place in Jesus’ life were no accident. No only were they no accident, they were very much premeditated! The book of Hebrews tells us that “God’s works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:3 - ESV)
Jesus was going to be delivered to the hands of men, according to the Will of His Heavenly Father. Now, when his disciples heard this, they had to be thinking, “ok, I can handle that. I’m sure he’ll be acquitted and released. Right????” Not quite. The second prediction is even more shocking than the first.
The middle of Mark 9:31 states, "and they will kill him.”
(2) Jesus will be killed
Again, His disciples had to be thinking, "WOE, WOE, WOE, WOE! Hold on a second! Jesus, come one – we’ve been down this road before! You’re the Messiah! The Christ! Why would you be killed!????!?!”
Jesus had to die. The book of Hebrews again tells us, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22 - ESV)
Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. He alone was qualified to die in our place and shed his blood for us to provide forgiveness from sin.
BUT THERE HAD TO BE ANOTHER WAY – RIGHT???
Luke chapter 22 records the moments leading up to Jesus being delivered into the hands of men on the Mount of Olives. He was by himself, praying. Knowing full well what was about to happen to him this is what Jesus prayed: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42 - ESV)
Yet, He knew, as His heavenly Father knew – there was no other way. If there really was another way, do you think God the Father would send His Son to be mocked, suffer and die? I think not. The Old Testament clearly established the pattern for Jesus to follow. There is one way: Jesus. Jesus, was the Lamb of God, destined to be slain before the creation of the world.
The third truth is found at the end of Mark 9:31: "and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."
(3) After three days Jesus will rise from the dead
Here’s were Jesus really had to lose the disciples. Surely, He blew every circuit in their heads because the last time they checked, dead men don’t rise from the dead.
But Jesus is the God-Man!
In Acts 13 the apostle Paul stood up in the Jewish synagogue in Antioch and basically said, “you religious leaders don’t even understand the very Scriptures to read every Sabbath. This Jesus, whom you killed on the cross, “God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are no his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news.” (Acts 13:30-32a)
This "good news" is the heart of the Gospel!
The apostle Paul would later say he determined to know nothing, but Jesus and Him crucified! The gospel (the "true story") of Jesus must be our central message. Sadly, not many churches today proclaim the Gospel on a regular basis (if at all) for fear it might offend someone. However, the focus of our message is not some new idea; it’s not self-help; it’s not philosophy; it’s not helping people to feel good about themselves; it’s not a theology of prosperity; it’s not about your best life now; it’s not three steps to success or 12 steps to freedom. The centrality of the message is JESUS! The crucified and risen Jesus!
No matter how it’s packaged or how palatable people try to make it, in 1 Corinthians 1 we read that “the word (or message) of the cross is folly (or foolishness) to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved…. It is the power of God.”
So, here comes the question: Do you understand? Do you understand the message of the Gospel?
Don’t blow it off; don’t make an assumption. Failure to understand is a matter of life and death for eternity. Think it through,because even the disciples, at this point in their lives, struggled to understand.
"But they did not understand the saying" (Mark 9:32a - ESV)
Most of the disciples (all but Judas) would finally understand later in life. After more teaching and seeing the risen Jesus in person – they would finally get it. In fact, they got it so clearly that many of the disciples would die as martyrs for taking the Gospel message to others.
But here, in this passage, they made what could have been a fatal mistake:
“they did not understand, and they were afraid to ask.”(Mark 9:32 - ESV)
We only get so much time here on this earth to understand this truth. The Bible makes it very clear that once you breath your final breath your time is up. Don’t wait until it’s too late. (cf. Luke 16:19-31) God has given everything we need to understand. He has given us the truth of His Word.
SO, again, the question before you: Do you understand the truth?
Here’s the truth: (It can't be overstated)
The Bible says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Just as everyone who has a drivers license is guilty of speeding at some point in their life, we are all lawbreakers before God. Sadly, the penalty for breaking God's Law is far worse than a speeding ticket. The penalty of sin is death. We all deserve eternal death because of our sin. No matter how much “good” stuff you try to mix with it, you’re still stained with sin. It’s like that one red towel that get’s mixed in with the whites in your washing machine. Sin stains everything.
God’s answer to this problem of sin is described ever so clearly in Romans 5: (This is the explanation of Mark chapter 9; this is why Jesus had to do those three shocking things)
"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." (Romans 5:8-9 - ESV)
The word “justified” means that you and I stand before God pure, without sin, spotless, and acceptable in His sight. God looks at us and says, “There is no sin in you!” We are now just, right, in His sight. All the lies that we’ve told; all the idols we’ve worshiped by putting stuff before God; all the blasphemy that we’ve lived by saying, “my way his better than God’s;” all the blatant sin of saying, “I’m more important than God;" ALL that garbage is removed and God sees us as Just! NOT because you go to church every Sunday; NOT because you’ve tried to not do those “bad” things from your past anymore and are now trying to live a good life. “We have now been justified by His blood."
Notice, there is nothing in Romans 5 that you have done...nothing! Being justified before God has nothing to do with your might, your Religious bent, your morality, your power, your perceived ability to clean up your own life. Being justified before God has nothing to do with you. You and I have been justified by an act of the almighty God! We are have been made pure by God, who hand-delivered His only Son to be rejected, despised and killed by the very people He came to save.
We can now stand before God pure, free because of Christ's death. In His death He absorbed all of God’s wrath for you and me! That’s why the Bible says, "God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. 5:9) The wrath that was destined for you and for me was absorbed by Christ's death.
I know, some of you are thinking, “That’s not the God I know.” Your image of God is formed by the lies of culture, rather than the truth. You see God as some guy with a gray beard sitting in heaven, looking down, waiting for you to mess up so he can press the “smite” button and get a good laugh out of it. You picture God as somehow enjoying holding people accountable for their sin, just waiting for us to mess up so that He can say, “Gotcha!” You picture God as somehow delighting in your troubles. That is NOT the God of the Bible! That is NOT the One true God.
The Bible tells us God’s desire is that no one perish, but that all come to repentance. (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9) That’s why He sent His Son to die! Think about that for a moment! Think of the person that you love the most and then imagine giving their life to save someone who has wronged you. You give that loved one to save your enemy from a punishment they deserved. What an act of sacrificial love. What an amazing gift!
Yet, there are many today, and maybe you’re one of them, who still face the wrath of God and refuse to accept this free gift of eternal life. The prophet Isaiah said it best, “We all like sheep have gone astray; everyone has turned to his own way.”
If there is one message (lie) that overshadows all other messages in our culture today, it is that “any way you chose is the right way.” We don't dare tell someone that they might be going the wrong way or you’re a “hater” and “narrow-minded.”
Jesus made it very clear, “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. And those who enter by it are many.” God has provided the way; He has paid the price and all we must do is believe in Jesus. Yet, there are still many who don’t. There are even many who say they understand when they don't really have a clue.
Jesus went on to explain, “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Later on in Luke 13 He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
This is not a sales pitch to try and sell a product to grow a church. This is the Truth that will change your life; both now and for eternity!
Bottom line:
If you don’t understand: ASK! If you’re uncomfortable with the truth about who Jesus is, don’t ignore that discomfort, it is the Spirit of the living God impressing upon you your great need for His Son Jesus!
If you do understand: ACT!
We are to proclaim Jesus. He is to be the center of our life. It is about Jesus and him alone!
Jesus makes a brutally honest, and quite sobering statement a little later on in Matthew chapter 7 – He said that “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
I believe this is describing those who thought they understood the message of the Gospel, when in reality they did not. You may know the name Jesus; you may go to church every Sunday; but you may have never realized, Jesus died for you and rose again for you, so that YOU can have eternal life.
If you truly understand, your life will show it. You will ACT!
The Christian life is not an easy life. It’s not all petting puppies and smelling flowers. In fact, Jesus promised His followers trouble and persecution. But there is PEACE and FORGIVENESS and HOPE – in the resurrection – the message of Easter.
[this post is adapted from my 2012 Easter sermon presented at Geist Community Church]
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