00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Hey everyone, good to see you all here.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:03 Good evening, I should say, actually.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 I'm super excited to be here today.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 Yes, because it is my now second sermon, because of this morning.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:15 But more because I get to talk to you about God's word, from God's word.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:16 And that's a very exciting thing.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 So Sam gave me this passage a few weeks ago.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 And it's a great passage.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:23 And so I prepared eagerly.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 So let's pray before we get into it, shall we?
00:00:25 --> 00:00:31 So, Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great things that you've given us,
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 including your son, Jesus, Lord.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:38 I ask that tonight you would open our ears so that we can hear your message, Lord,
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 and give us hearts that are willing to change for you.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:41 Amen.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:43 Amen.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:50 I'm not sure if you've ever had that moment of clarity in your life,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 where you realize that after this point in time or in this situation,
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 things have to change.
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 They can't be the same anymore.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 There are some pretty famous examples of this,
00:01:01 --> 00:01:05 such as getting married or having children.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 But I haven't experienced either of those yet.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 So I'll give you one that I do remember and that I have experienced.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 I can tell you without any shame that I was an adorable child.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 It's a fact.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:24 And at year four, they presented us with an option of joining the music program at my school,
00:01:25 --> 00:01:29 Trafalgar Elementary, or if you're in the French immersion class, Trafalgar Elementary.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 And I desperately wanted to be a part of the music program.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:37 I wasn't great at any or many courses at school.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 And music just seemed like so much fun.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 You could make noise.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 It was joyous.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 And so I wanted to be a part of it so bad.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:44 And so I applied.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:49 I auditioned, rather, and successfully became a part of the music program at my school.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 And I was over the moon about it.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 I was the only trombone player in the whole school.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:56 How much fun is that?
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 But all my joy came to a sudden halt one day.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:01 Let me set the scene for you.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:03 We're in the gym.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 You know, kind of the same wood paneling, actually, as we have in the church.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:12 About 50 kids, all tiny, lots of dark-haired clarinet and flute players,
00:02:12 --> 00:02:16 and one small blonde kid with freckles in the back of the room,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:22 making a sound like a baby elephant being strangled to death, just loud as anything.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 And I had no idea what I was doing was incorrect in any way.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 I was happy to make noise.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 But after class, my teacher came to me and said,
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 if I could play specific notes for her.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:39 I had no idea that there were such things as notes,
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 or any idea how to play them.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 I knew I either had to learn how to play notes, as she said,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:47 or stop playing altogether.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 Fortunately enough, I learned my instrument just well enough
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 to leave it behind when I came here.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 But the reason for that story is that in the passage today,
00:02:56 --> 00:03:02 we have the biggest kind of moment of clarity in all of history on display to us.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 The greatest truth being revealed of all time.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:07 And we need to get to the heart of that,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:12 because it has an infinite amount of implications for us as followers of Jesus.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:18 Now, like always, there are three questions that I have in my head
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 when I read the book of Mark, which I inherited from my older brother,
00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 because he's very wise.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:30 Again, who is Jesus?
00:03:31 --> 00:03:31 What has he done?
00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 And what does that mean for us?
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 So first, who is Jesus?
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 Again, the importance of this question cannot be stated enough.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 It is central to the gospel of Mark.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:49 It's so important that Jesus asks it himself, unprompted, in the passage today,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 which is such a rare occurrence for Jesus to do.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 And I think a little context would help us understand more.
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 Does anyone other than Tashi know the first sentence of the book of Mark?
00:03:59 --> 00:03:59 Or Liz?
00:04:00 --> 00:04:01 Anyone else?
00:04:01 --> 00:04:05 It says,
00:04:05 --> 00:04:09 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:16 The first sentence in the book identifies Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:18 Lays it out plain.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 But there isn't a clear occasion of anyone identifying him as that
00:04:23 --> 00:04:24 until this point in the book.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:26 It's a mystery.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:32 So for a while now, Jesus and his disciples have been traveling around the area of ancient Palestine,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:39 teaching, preaching, healing, exercising, and possibly exercising.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 But this whole time, Jesus has been doing miraculous things,
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 with our expectation being that people would see him for who he really is.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 But it hasn't happened.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:51 People don't see it.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:56 Earlier in this chapter, the disciples are worried about their lack of food,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 specifically bread,
00:04:58 --> 00:05:04 immediately after Jesus has just finished feeding a humongous group of people
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 for the second time in front of them.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 And you can see by his reaction in verse 21 of chapter 8
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 that he expects them to see what's really going on,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 and he's frustrated that they aren't.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:22 So we come back to the question asked by Jesus himself in the chapter.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:24 Who do people say that I am?
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 Meaning, what have the people put together
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 after seeing my miracles, or hearing my teaching,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 or even just hearing about me?
00:05:34 --> 00:05:35 What have they put together?
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 What is the fruit of my labors, Jesus is wondering?
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 And the answers the disciples give him,
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 that the people are saying, aren't bad answers.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 They're in an appropriate direction.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 But they're still wrong.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 We have John the Baptist,
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 who died a few months ago before this story.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 We have Elijah, who died a few hundred years ago before this story.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 And we have generally the great prophets,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 who are in the back half of the Old Testament,
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 none of whom have appeared to Israel for also another 800 years.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:13 But these are all people that are great.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 The heroes of Israel, the paragons of the nation,
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 the people who they think,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 he must be great, he must be like one of these men.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 The best they can think of.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 But like I said, these answers are incorrect.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 Jesus asks the question again,
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 but to his disciples this time,
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 specifically to them,
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 the people who he's taught the most.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 He's handpicked them to follow him.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 They have seen more and done more
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 than we could ever imagine from the Bible that we have.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 So they must have the right answer.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:47 Yeah?
00:06:49 --> 00:06:50 Well, thankfully, Peter,
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 who's known for putting his foot in his mouth
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 at every opportunity,
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 actually gets it right in verse 29.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 It's an amazing moment.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:02 It's as simple as an answer can be to that question
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 while also being as truthful
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 as any possible response that could be given.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 You are the Christ, he says.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 And there we have it.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 That moment of clarity,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 that thing that changes everything.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 It changes everything.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:20 Jesus isn't like John the Baptist
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 or Elijah or the prophets.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 He's on an entirely different playing field.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:29 He is astronomically more powerful and important
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 than any of those men are.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 They aren't good enough to be like him.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 They aren't anywhere near who Jesus is.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 Jesus is the Christ.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 It's not just another title of his.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 It has weight.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 It has meaning.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 And it shouldn't be a mystery to us
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 how important this title is.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 It conveys the entirety of God's plan
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 throughout time and history.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:57 You know, promises to Adam and Eve
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 in Genesis chapter 3
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 or to Abraham in Genesis 12
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 or to Moses and the people of Israel
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 in Exodus 19
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 or to David in 2 Samuel 7.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 The list keeps on going.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 It goes on and on and on.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 And each one builds upon the idea
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 of who this Christ is,
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 how important he is,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 how powerful he is.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 They just add weight to the person of Jesus.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 When Peter says to him,
00:08:20 --> 00:08:20 you are the Christ,
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 all the things go boom.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 This is who he is.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 It means all of these things.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 I love how amazing this part of Mark actually is.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 Something I learned a while ago
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 and was reminded in class this term
00:08:35 --> 00:08:39 is the structure of Mark chapter 8.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 Jesus has just finished healing a blind man
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 of his physical blindness.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 It's kind of a weird story.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 He spits in his face
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 and the guy kind of sees trees
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 and then sees people again.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 It's kind of strange.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 But then he moves down
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 and he heals the disciples and us
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 of our spiritual blindness.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 The answers that the disciples give
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 about the people when he asks them
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 shows that they can't see who he really is.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 They haven't put it together.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 And it wouldn't be possible
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 without his teaching and miracles
00:09:14 --> 00:09:18 and allowing us to see who he really is.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 It's a miracle.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 Jesus' display of himself to us.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 And he's chosen this part
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 in chapter 8 of the book of Mark
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 to change that,
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 to reveal it to us.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:32 And so who he is
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 directly affects what he has come to do.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 in verse 31.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 That is what the Christ has come to do.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 Take a look at it.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 The all-powerful promised one of God
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 who has come to save the world
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 comes to do it through pain,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 through suffering,
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 through rejection,
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 and through death.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 And I think this idea
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 has lost a bit of its impact on us.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 We take the concept
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 that Jesus can actually die
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 on face value.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 But it's a miracle.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 It's a miracle of God.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 It's a tragic one.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 It's a sad one.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 But it is,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:14 nonetheless,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:15 miraculous.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:16 Mark has just spent
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 the first half of the gospel
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 showing how powerful
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 Jesus actually is.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 If you read chapter 5,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 you see that Jesus has the power
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 to exercise demons,
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 to heal the sick in masses,
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 and to raise a little girl
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 back from the dead.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 So how can a man
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 who has the power over death
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 actually die?
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 It doesn't make sense.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:39 It just doesn't.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 And that's what Peter is thinking.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 Jesus talks about himself dying,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 and Peter says,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 that's not how the plan works.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 The Savior is not supposed to die.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:55 He sees it as like a misfortune
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 or tragedy that needs to be avoided.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:57 He's saying,
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 you're talking smack, Jesus.
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 That's not how it works.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 The idea that Christ has to die
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 is so contrary
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 to the human way of thinking.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 You can see it in our culture
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 all over the place,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 you know,
00:11:09 --> 00:11:09 in our movies,
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 in our books,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:11 our TV.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 Our heroes are,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:13 you know,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 majestic and strong people.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 They succeed in their acts
00:11:17 --> 00:11:17 of heroism
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 by not needing to die
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 because dying equals failure.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 Right?
00:11:23 --> 00:11:23 As a teenager,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 I was a massive fan
00:11:25 --> 00:11:25 of comic books.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 I still kind of am,
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 only I don't have the money
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 to spend them anymore.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 But in particular,
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 I love the stories
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 that were engaging.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 You have a hero
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 who has a struggle
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 he has to overcome.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 And he has to use
00:11:38 --> 00:11:42 his powers at his disposal
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 or his tools or whatever.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 And he overcomes them.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:46 But there was
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 an interesting phenomenon
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 in the comic book world
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 that I eventually
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 got kind of jaded with,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 which is the idea
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 that comic book heroes
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 never really die.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 It's a thing called retconning,
00:11:58 --> 00:11:58 which means
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 retroactive continuity,
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 where they come back to life
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 in various ways.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 But I think it's because
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 that human idea of
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 he can't be a hero
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 if he ever dies.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 That negates
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 all the work
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 that they have done
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 because it's a failure
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 as a character of theirs.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 It's that human idea
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 that death is just
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 a defeat of heroism.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 Thankfully, God doesn't think
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 the same way we do.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 Very thankfully.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 The work that Jesus has to do
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 is perfectly in line
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 with God's way of thinking
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 because it's God's plan.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 And it's so different
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 from how we would ever
00:12:39 --> 00:12:39 even imagine
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 being saved by somebody.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 Which is also why
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 the completion of his work
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 is still utterly bewildering to us.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 Not only does the guy
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 who has control over death
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 have to die,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 he also comes back to life.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 It's even more impossible
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 than the guy
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 who has control over death
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 dying in the first place.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 It's amazing.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 So who Jesus is
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 as the Christ
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 affects what he has to do
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 and will do.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 And both of these
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 bear tremendous importance
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 for us.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 Which brings us
00:13:14 --> 00:13:14 to the last section
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 of the passage,
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 verses 34
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 to chapter 9, verse 1.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 It's also worth noticing
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 that these words
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 are not spoken
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 to his 12 disciples anymore,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:24 but to the gathering
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 of people who are
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 following him.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 And so they also
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 apply to us
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 if we seek to follow him.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 We have the third
00:13:32 --> 00:13:32 subtle miracle
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 of this passage.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 In that we can actually
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 be saved.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 There is hope for us.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:39 It's a miracle.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 What Jesus' death
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 and resurrection
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 mean for us
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 is our salvation.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 And with that,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 the expectation
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 that we follow him
00:13:47 --> 00:13:47 as the Lord
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 who has saved us.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 They go hand in hand together.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:51 The invitation
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 for salvation
00:13:53 --> 00:13:53 for us
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 isn't just a simple
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 contract to sign, though.
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 There is fine print,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 only that it's not fine,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 but bold,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 double underlined,
00:14:05 --> 00:14:05 highlighted,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 and in a gigantic font.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 It's big.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:09 It's there.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:10 What is expected
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 of us as followers
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 is an enormous amount,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 and Jesus holds
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 no punches back.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 Take another look
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 at those verses.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:19 There are about
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 three things
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 that are expected
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 of us as followers
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 that are all
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 equally as daunting
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 to attempt.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 Let's see.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 There is deny yourself,
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 take up your cross
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 and follow him,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 and lose your life
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 for the sake of Jesus
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 and the gospel.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:38 All of these are,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 again, reversals,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 contrary to
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 how we humans
00:14:44 --> 00:14:44 think our lives
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 should be.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 It's just
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 a flipped up world.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:51 It's not the way
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 we think like.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:56 It's just the same
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 as before.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:57 Our way of thinking
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 isn't the same
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 as God's way of thinking
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 or the way God
00:15:00 --> 00:15:00 plans things,
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 but it's only through
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 God's plan
00:15:03 --> 00:15:03 and God's way of thinking
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 that we can actually
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 be saved.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 So if we're going to do this,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 what is expected of us?
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 Because the examples
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 given by Jesus
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 are kind of puzzling,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 but they're not very clear
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 exactly.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 So first,
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 the idea of denying yourself,
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 taking up your cross
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 and following him,
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 it's not talking about
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 living a life
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 of austerity,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 of being poor,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 that whole Buddhist notion
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 of self-denial,
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 so the material items
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 in your life
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 don't bring you happiness
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 so you have to deny them
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 and reject them.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 It's not talking about that.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 What it is talking about
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 is a life of humble submission,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 a life example
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 off of what
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 Jesus himself has done.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 There is no greater
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 denial of self
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 in the history of time
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 than the creator
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 and owner of the universe
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 coming down
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 and being born as a human,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 living a life of suffering,
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 and then dying for us.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 There's no greater
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 example of it.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 And that is the image
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 that we are to follow
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 in our taking up our cross
00:16:09 --> 00:16:09 and following him
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 in our life.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 We are to put down
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 those things
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 that reach up
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 and towards us
00:16:16 --> 00:16:16 from following Jesus
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 and doing it
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 them instead.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 It's a path of rejection
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 of the world
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 and the people
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 and this is why
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 Jesus brings up
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 the idea of being
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 ashamed of him.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 It's such a temptation,
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 isn't it?
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 When you're at work
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 and you just want
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 to get things done
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 and somebody comes
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 and asks you
00:16:38 --> 00:16:38 what you did
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 with your Sunday.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 or when you're at uni
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 and there's that kind
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 of air of mutual views
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 and sharing them
00:16:47 --> 00:16:47 and everyone kind
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 of appreciates each other
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 until the topic goes
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 to something like
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 gay marriage,
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 even regular marriage
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 nowadays,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 and you realize that
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 their views
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 don't really extend
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 to you.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 They don't really
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 accept you
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 as being valid anymore.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 or you're in school
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 and your friends
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 ask you why you
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 haven't partied
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 with them on the weekend,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 why you're not
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 getting drunk with them.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 And these questions
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 come up and you just
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 kind of shrink inside.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 You don't want
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 to talk about them,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 you just want to
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 kind of shrink away
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 and avoid the question.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 That human reaction,
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 that natural reaction
00:17:26 --> 00:17:26 that we have,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 I am a massive culprit
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 of those many points
00:17:30 --> 00:17:30 of my life.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 But the point
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 of this passage
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 isn't to despair,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 but to have hope
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 in who Jesus is instead.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 Because who Jesus is
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 and what he has done
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 for us
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 is more than enough
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 for us to endure
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 a temporary amount
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 of discomfort.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 It even says
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 in John chapter 15
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 that if the world
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 hates us,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 it's because it
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 hated him first.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 And the moment
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 of clarity I deal
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 of talking about
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 is here,
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 it's right here
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 in this passage.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 It's the truth
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 that is ultimately
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 more valuable
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 than anything
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 Uriah could ever
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 be worth.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:05 As it says
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 in verse 37,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 what can we offer
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 in exchange for our soul?
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 What are our lives worth?
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 You could have
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 everything in the entire earth
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 and your life
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 would be nothing
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 compared to the work
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 of Jesus and his life
00:18:18 --> 00:18:18 and a life
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 following him.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 This passage in Mark
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 is so humongous.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 It just changes everything.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 It's like that street
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 outside from which
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 we can reach
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 every corner of Sydney.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 We can go
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 north, south, east, and west.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 This passage
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 kind of spreads
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 over every corner
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 of our lives
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 and affects
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 every area.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 It reaches those places
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 and demands
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 that we follow him.
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 you see the truth
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 of Jesus
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 on display
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 as him being
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 the Christ
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 and it demands
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 that you be changed
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 for him.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 It demands
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 that we live
00:19:02 --> 00:19:02 a life
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 of humble submission
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 like he did
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 in order to be saved.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:11 and it gets rid
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 of those
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 dark corners
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 of our mind
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 that kind of
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 distract us
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 in those situations
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 and helps us
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 to keep walking
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 on that path
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 Jesus has already
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 trodden out for us.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 And so the truth
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 of Jesus
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 being the Christ
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 here in Mark
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 chapter 8
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 and the work
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 he has done
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 of coming,
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 suffering,
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 and dying
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 for us
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 means an infinite
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 amount to us
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 and it is awesome
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 enough for us
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 to follow him
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 in every area
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 of our lives
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 and change for him
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 and suffer for him
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 so that we can be
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 saved by him.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 Amen.