Countryside Vineyard Church
Mark - God's Messiah vs. Man's Messiah Pt. 47
  • In the Secret
  • Set a Fire
  • Thank You Jesus
  • Walk By Faith
  • Amazing Grace (Broken Vessel)

      • Mark 8:27-29ESV

      • Mark 8:30ESV

  • God’s Messiah vs. Man’s Messiah

    Introduction:

    Good morning, and welcome to Countryside Vineyard.
    I’m Joe Fager, one of the pastors here.
    This morning, we are coming into the middle of an ongoing conversation between Jesus and his disciples. The whole conversation stretches from Mark 8:27 through Mark 9:1.
    Last week, Bill walked us through the first part of this conversation. Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
    Then he asked what may be the most important question in human history:
    “Who do you say that I am?”
    Do you remember Peter’s answer?
    “You are the Christ.”
    Peter got the answer right:
    But as Bill pointed out—and as Mark’s whole story has been showing us—Peter did not yet understand everything his answer meant.
    Do you remember the blind man Jesus healed right before this conversation?
    Jesus prayed for him and then asked, “Do you see anything?”
    The man said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around.”
    He could see, but he could not yet see clearly. Then Jesus touched him again, and his sight was fully restored.
    We talked about how Mark may be using that healing to show us what is happening with the disciples. They are beginning to see who Jesus is, but they still do not see him clearly.
    Bill said something last week that leads us directly into today’s passage:
    “The confession of men often times, even today, will shortchange who Jesus is.”
    Peter’s confession was correct: Jesus is the Christ.
    But Peter’s understanding of the Christ was still blurry.
    As soon as Peter finishes speaking, Jesus begins explaining what Peter’s confession actually means.
    And Peter does not like the explanation.
    So let’s read Mark 8:31–33:
    “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’”
    Let’s pray.

    I. God’s Messiah

    Verse 31 begins with this phrase:
    “And he began to teach them…”
    Then Mark gives us four things Jesus said must happen:
    The Son of Man must suffer many things.
    He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes.
    He must be killed.
    After three days, He must rise again.
    Matthew’s account says that Jesus “began to show his disciples” that these things must happen. (Matthew 16:21)
    This is sounding more and more like a Bible study Jesus is conducting.
    He is teaching them. He is showing them. He is trying to help them see something in God’s plan that they have never seen before.
    Now, Mark does not tell us exactly how Jesus showed them. He does not say, “Jesus opened the scroll of Isaiah and started teaching from chapter 53.”
    So this is some educated guessing on my part.
    But after His resurrection, Jesus did exactly that. Luke tells us that Jesus took His disciples through Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer before entering His glory.
    So it is at least possible that Jesus is beginning that same kind of Bible study right here.
    But I want you to notice something important.
    Jesus is not making a nervous guess about the future.
    He isn’t saying:
    “Well, boys, things are probably going to get pretty tough around here.”
    This is more than a prediction.
    Jesus says these things must happen.
    That little word “must” carries the weight of the whole sentence.
    Jesus must suffer.
    He must be rejected.
    He must be killed.
    And He must rise again.
    Why must these things happen?
    Because the cross is not an accident. It is not God trying to repair a plan that went wrong. Jesus is not being dragged toward a fate He cannot escape.
    The cross is part of the determined purpose of God.
    Peter later says in Acts 2:23:
    “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed.”
    Wicked people were truly responsible for what they did to Jesus. But their wickedness did not take control of God’s story.
    They did what they wanted to do, but they could not stop God from accomplishing what He had planned to do.
    And you know what I love about that?
    Jesus is in complete control.
    We will see this more and more as we get closer to the crucifixion.
    Jesus knows where He is going. He knows what is waiting for Him. He knows when His hour has come.
    Jesus later says:
    “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
    Paul says that when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son. He also says that “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
    Jesus came at the appointed time.
    Jesus died at the appointed time.
    Jesus rose at the appointed time.
    This was all according to the will and saving plan of God.
    Now, real quick, I want to give you some Old Testament passages to write down.
    I don’t have time to walk through all of them this morning. But I want you to take them home. Read one each day this week and ask yourself:
    How does this passage help me understand what Jesus was teaching His disciples?
    Write these down:
    Psalm 22 — the suffering righteous king Isaiah 52:13–53:12 — the servant who suffers for our sins Psalm 118:22–23 — the stone the builders rejected Daniel 7:13–14 — the Son of Man who receives an everlasting kingdom Psalm 16:8–11 — God’s Holy One will not be abandoned to the grave
    The Jewish people did not all hold one single view of the Messiah. Their hopes were varied.
    But one powerful and the dominant hope was for a son of David who would defeat Israel’s enemies, restore the kingdom, and rule the nations.
    That is what the disciples wanted.
    They wanted the ruling Messiah.
    They wanted the conquering Messiah.
    They wanted the rod-of-iron Messiah.
    They were ready for Jesus to defeat their enemies. They were not prepared for their enemies to nail Jesus to a cross.
    They could see the Son of David.
    They could see the Son of Man receiving His kingdom.
    But they could not see how that King could also be Isaiah’s suffering servant, Psalm 118’s rejected stone, and Psalm 22’s suffering righteous one.
    Jesus brings all of those passages together in Himself.
    He is not one Messiah among several different messiahs.
    He is the one Messiah who suffers first and then enters His glory.
    He will reign.
    He will defeat evil.
    He will receive an everlasting kingdom.
    But the road to that kingdom goes straight through the cross.
    And Peter wants nothing to do with that road.

    II. Man’s Messiah

    Peter has just correctly told Jesus who He is.
    Then Mark says:
    “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.”
    Now, I’ll tell you the one thing Peter did right here: he took Jesus aside. Everything after that—not so great, Peter.
    But let’s not be too quick to blast Peter.
    How many times have we resisted what God wanted to do in us or through us because it didn’t match our picture of how things should go?
    I’ll submit to you that every one of us has done that—and probably far more than we know.
    Sometimes we make our plans for serving God and then ask Him to bless them.
    That sounds spiritual:
    “Lord, I’ve got a good heart. I’m trying to do something for You. Please bless what I’m doing.”
    But maybe we should first ask what He is doing and join Him there.
    We want Jesus to follow our plans when we are supposed to be following His.
    That is what Peter is doing.
    Peter takes Jesus aside as if Jesus needs a little correction.
    Matthew tells us what Peter said:
    “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matthew 16:22).
    We are not told everything going through Peter’s mind. But loyalty was probably part of it.
    Peter loves Jesus. He is fiercely protective of Him.
    Later, Peter will promise that he is ready to go to prison and even die with Jesus. When the soldiers come to arrest Jesus, Peter will pull out a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.
    Peter’s loyalty is real.
    But every attempt to protect Jesus from the cross is fighting against the mission Jesus came to fulfill.
    Peter is loyal to Jesus, but he is not yet surrendered to Jesus.
    Peter may also be protecting himself.
    He has left his livelihood to follow Jesus. He expects Jesus to establish God’s kingdom. The disciples expect to have places in that kingdom.
    If Jesus dies, what happens to the kingdom?
    What happens to everything Peter left behind?
    What happens to Peter?
    Peter cannot imagine how the death of Jesus could possibly fulfill the promises of God.
    But that is exactly Peter’s mistake.
    He assumes that if God’s command seems to threaten God’s promise, the command must be wrong.
    What might Jesus promise you that seems to contradict what He commands you to do?
    Jesus promises life, but He commands us to lose our lives for Him.
    He promises provision, but He tells us to give.
    He promises fruit, but He tells us that the Father will prune us.
    He promises greatness in His kingdom, but He tells us to become servants.
    He promises victory, but He tells us to love our enemies.
    Those things do not truly contradict each other.
    They contradict our ideas about how God should fulfill His promises.
    Peter believes the kingdom cannot come if Jesus dies.
    Jesus knows the kingdom cannot come unless He dies.

    III. Following That Messiah

    verse 33 says:
    “But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.””
    Here is the crux of the passage.
    Picture this moment.
    Jesus looks at Peter. Then He looks over at the rest of the disciples.
    Peter is one of His closest followers.
    He is loyal. He is vocal. By human standards, he may look like one of Jesus’ best disciples.
    And Jesus says:
    “Get behind me, Satan!”
    That is supposed to sound harsh.
    Jesus does not soften it, so we should not soften it.
    But there is something important in the words “behind Me.”
    The word means “behind” or “after.”
    Mark used the same phrase back in chapter 1 when Jesus called Peter and Andrew:
    “Come, follow me.”
    More literally, Jesus said:
    “Come behind me.”
    A disciple belongs behind his rabbi.
    The rabbi leads. The disciple follows.
    But Peter has stepped out from behind Jesus. He has taken Jesus aside and started telling Jesus where He should go.
    So Jesus says:
    “Get back behind Me.”
    In other words:
    “Peter, get back into the place of a disciple. I am the Rabbi. You are the student. I lead. You follow.”
    That does not remove the force from what Jesus says.
    Jesus is not merely saying, “Peter, I think you may have misunderstood Me.”
    This is a severe rebuke.
    Six days later, Jesus will take Peter, James, and John up the mountain with Him. Peter will see Jesus transfigured before his eyes.
    So, Peter is still one of Jesus’ closest disciples.
    Jesus is not finished with Peter.
    He is putting Peter back under His leadership.
    And I don’t think any of us should stand in judgment over Peter, because we do the same thing.
    We want Jesus to follow us when we are supposed to follow Jesus.
    We want the crown without the cross.
    We want blessing without hardship.
    We want resurrection without death.
    We want God’s promises without walking through the path God has chosen.
    But that is not how the kingdom works.
    Now, what about “Satan”?
    Is Jesus saying that Peter actually is Satan?
    Is He saying Peter is possessed?
    I don’t think that is what Jesus means.
    The Greek word is Satanas. It came into Greek from a Hebrew or Aramaic word meaning an adversary or opponent.
    But by the time of the New Testament, Satan was also a recognized name for the personal enemy of God.
    And Mark has already introduced us to Satan.
    In Mark 1, Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness.
    In Mark 3, Jesus spoke about Satan having a kingdom that stands against God’s kingdom.
    So I don’t think Jesus is merely saying:
    “Peter, you are being difficult.”
    Peter has placed himself on the side of the same temptation Satan had already placed before Jesus.
    Satan tempted Jesus to turn away from the Father’s path.
    Peter is now doing the same thing.
    Peter does not know that is what he is doing.
    He thinks he is protecting Jesus.
    But he is offering Jesus a crown without a cross.
    He is offering Jesus glory without suffering.
    He is offering Jesus a kingdom without obedience to the Father.
    Peter is not Satan.
    But what Peter is saying agrees with what Satan wants.
    Then Jesus explains it.
    He says for you are not setting you mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
    Peter is thinking like a human being.
    From the human point of view, suffering means failure.
    Rejection means you have lost.
    Death means it is over.
    If Jesus is the Messiah, then He should defeat His enemies—not allow His enemies to kill Him.
    That makes perfect sense from a human point of view.
    But Peter cannot yet see what God is doing.
    God is going to defeat evil through the suffering of His Son.
    God is going to conquer death through the death of Jesus.
    God is going to bring life to the world through a cross.
    Peter thinks the cross will prevent Jesus from becoming King.
    Jesus knows the cross is how He will become King.
    That brings me to something we need to hear.
    Any Christ we preach who does not include the cross is a satanic distortion of Christ.
    That does not mean every preacher who gets something wrong is possessed.
    It means a crossless Christ repeats the same temptation Jesus rejects here.
    It offers a crown without a cross.
    It offers glory without obedience.
    It offers resurrection power without crucified surrender.
    This was also one of Satan’s temptations of Jesus I’ll make you a king if you just worship me.
    That’s a kingdom without a cross.
    Peter is offering Jesus that same road.
    Listen any Christ without a cross is a Satanic gospel.
    Churches all over America are erasing the cross; from their songs, from their stages, from their sermons.
    They preach a Jesus who loves everyone, and forgives everyone, without any cost to them, but not the Jesus who judges the living and the dead.
    A Jesus who only makes us feel better, helps us become successful, and affirms everything we already want is not the Jesus revealed in Scripture.
    Jesus loves.
    Jesus heals.
    Jesus forgives.
    But Jesus also gave His life as a ransom for many.
    He died for our sins.
    He rose from the dead.
    He reigns as Lord.
    And He will judge the living and the dead.
    You cannot remove the cross and still have the Jesus who is revealed in Scripture.
    Next week, Bill is going to show us that Jesus does not only say the cross is necessary for Him.
    Jesus says the cross will also shape the lives of everyone who follows Him.

    Closing

    Ok now as the worship team comes up and i get some peeps to hand out communion elements.
    I’m going to go back to something I said a little while. ago.
    In verse 31 Jesus said there were 3 things that must happen to him.
    Rejected killed and rise again on the third day.
    We’re going to focus on that last one for a minute.
    Why the third day detail here?
    It struck me so i started doing a little digging. I said well certainly if Jesus is saying on the third day there must be a clear prophecy about this in the Old Testament.
    I mean he’s showing them most likely through the Scriptures that he must rise on the third day.
    Other than Jonah and an obscure passage in Hosea 6:2 I could not find anything that Jesus could be referring to. Jonah is a picture of Christ and Jesus himself says the only sign you’re gonna get is the sign of Jonah. But I’m not satisfied with those options, so I keep digging.
    Well Paul helps us here. In 1 Cor 15 Paul makes the argument that if Christ is not raised then our faith is in vain becasue that means we won’t be raised. It’s a huge promise God has given that we will be raised, so i f jesus didn’t actually die and didn’t actual rise from the dead and isn’t actually seated at the right hand of Power then he says you might as well go back to what you were doing before.
    But no he was raised and if he’s raised then he’s proof that we will be raised too.
    Paul continually refers to him as the first fruits in that passage.
    In Leviticus 23 Moses lays out these two festivals / offerings. The first is where the priest would take the first of the grain and wave it before the Lord on the first day after the Sabbath after passover.
    Now let me ask you when was Jesus crucified? On passover. When did he rise from the dead according standard Christian understanding. On the Sunday after passover, when is Sabbath? Saturday after passover. So Jesus is raised from the dead on the day after the the Sabbath after Passover. On the very day Israel was supposed to offer the dedication of the first fruits of the grain harvest. The next festival was the feast of weeks anyone know when that was? 50 days later. Anybody have lights going on yet?
    That’s Pentecost. Listen our first fruits was given on the day after the Sabbath after passover and we were given the promised down payment or guarantee of our future resurrection 50 days later when the Holy Spirit of God landed on the heads of the followers of Jesus in the upper room.
    And this bread and this cup this is what we do in the time between his death and our resurrection.
    Paul says in 1 Cor 11 that this act declares the Lord’s death until he comes.
    You know I’ve always secretly wondered what that mean or why it is so significant. Until last night when all this came together for me I still didn’t quite know. But now I do.
    He lives our first fruits our guarantee he lives today
    and if you believe that you are free to take this communion with us. If not I implore you please come to him. He is calling you right now.
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