The metamorphosis of the gospel, Mark 9:1-8

I suppose that in many ways, the transfiguration is the greatest miracle given in the Bible. To see Jesus in His human form, and then unveiled to reveal His true nature and glory, glory as of the Only Begotten Son of God, and to have the appearance of both of the greatest prophets from history appear to give credence to His majesty, and then to cap it all off with nothing less than the shekinah glory of God envelop them all and to hear God speak from the cloud, all of that combined must equal the greatest miracle recorded in scripture.

Now as I have said repeatedly, every miracle recorded in the gospels is presented as a parable to teach us spiritual principles.  So the question remains for us then, what should we expect to learn from this miracle?  If it’s truly the greatest miracle, then it would stand to reason that we should learn some great doctrines of our faith in studying it. So the question is why is the transfiguration important, and how is it important to me?

Well, let me start by saying that in some respects, Jesus had already been transfigured before this event.  This transfiguration was just a reversal of what had already taken place at His birth.  John chapter 1 makes that argument very well.  In vs 14 of chapter one, John says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  That’s transfiguration number one.  Jesus, who John says existed from eternity with the Father, who was God, and was with God, became flesh, became a man, born to a virgin. That’s transfiguration number one. And then John continues in vs14, “and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  Most commentators believe that reference to His glory is speaking of the transfiguration, which I am saying is the second transfiguration.

Peter speaks of this second transfiguration in 2Peter 1:16-18 saying, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"--  and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” 

I think it’s important to notice that Peter uses the phrase, “we were eyewitnesses of His majesty…”  The apostles were eyewitnesses of the works of Christ.  They were eyewitnesses of His miracles.  In Deuteronomy the law states that truth must be confirmed on the basis of two or three witnesses.  So that explains why Jesus took three disciples with Him on the mountain, so that they could be eyewitnesses to what happened.  So we might be assured of the truth of what happened.  

And it’s important because we need to know the truth.  Jesus said that God is spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.  There is no spiritual benefit in following cleverly devised tales of men.  But these three men were willing to die or go to prison for the sake of the truth of what they witnessed.  And we can be assured that what they saw and reported is the truth.

Now in vs1, Jesus Himself affirms the truth of what they will see.  “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”  Jesus Himself is affirming the transfiguration as an important truth.  He’s saying that some of the disciples present as He was speaking with them, would not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.  Jesus Himself is the manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth. He came to institute the kingdom of God.

Now what is the context of Jesus’s words?  What caused the Lord to make this statement? Well, it was the previous statement at the end of chapter 8, which was the declaration by Peter that Jesus was the Christ.  Mark puts the emphasis on the fact that  He was the Messiah, and I believe in that sense then Jesus declares this statement.  Because the whole issue with the disciples, and the reason that Jesus did not want them broadcasting the fact that He was the Messiah, was because they had an erroneous understanding of what the ministry of the Messiah was to be.  They believed, as did the majority of the Jews, that the Messiah would resurrect the throne of David and the glories of Israel and it’s dominance in the world.

And that view was faulty.  There are two comings of Christ.  The first coming and the second coming.  The first coming was to be a servant, a substitute and a Savior.  In the first coming He inaugurated His kingdom.   At the second coming He will come in glory, to consummate His kingdom.  The disciples don’t realize all of  that.  They see only one coming of the Messiah.  And so they have expectations of His kingdom which are not in keeping with God’s purposes.

So I believe that what Jesus was trying to teach by this statement and the miracle following six days later, is the reality of the kingdom of God that He was inaugurating in His first coming.  In a sense, He is acting out the miracle we looked at last time of healing the blind man, in which at first the man did not see clearly, and then at a second touch from the Lord he was able to see clearly. That’s what is going on here.  Jesus told Peter at his confession that Jesus was the Messiah that God had given him insight into that truth.  But then a little bit later Jesus has to rebuke Peter and say “Get behind Me Satan, for you are not fixing your mind on God’s interests but on man’s.”  Peter’s theology needed a second divine touch.  And so that is what is happening here.  God is providing a second touch, that the disciples might more clearly see the nature and purpose of the Messiah.

Now there are two ways in which the first verse is fulfilled.  When Jesus says “some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power,” we can interpret that in two ways.  Again, we see perhaps  a first and then second touch.  The first fulfillment is going to be through the transfiguration in six days.  The second is going to be within about 7 months time, on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples will receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon them.  That is when the gospel is going to go forward with power throughout the whole world.  And that is the ultimate fulfillment of the kingdom of God.  Jesus said when He began preaching, that the kingdom of God is near you. The kingdom is in your midst.  But then at Pentecost, the kingdom of God will come with power, not just to the Jews, but to all the nations of the world.  That is when the kingdom of God reaches it’s full potential throughout the world, not only to the Jews, but also to the world.

So Mark says six days later after making this statement, Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a high mountain. Jesus often went up to a mountain to pray and be alone with God. This time, He brings His three closest companions to be with Him.  They probably thought they were just going to pray.  Luke 9:32 tells us that they fell asleep. I wonder if Jesus had to wake them up to see the transfiguration.  That would be a real shame wouldn’t it?  To sleep through the greatest miracle of all.  I sometimes wonder what great things God intends for us to see, that we are too tired or disinterested in to notice.  But nevertheless, great things of God often come through great times of prayer. If you would see Christ more clearly, then spend more time alone with Him in prayer.  James says, draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.  So this event teaches us about the nature of our faith; that intimacy with God produces greater illumination. David says in Psalm 36:9 “In thy light we see light.”

I will also say that this shows the necessity for a place of prayer, and the need to go to a place of prayer.  We can pray anywhere, that is true, at any time.  But Jesus shows us that there is benefit in going to a specific place.  Jesus called the temple a house of prayer.  I would suggest that church is a place of prayer.  There is a special benefit in going to church to offer prayers to God.

Then when they were on the mountain, Mark says that Jesus was transfigured.  Transfigured comes from the Greek word “metamorphoō,” which means to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure.  As I said earlier, this happened at His birth, when the Word became flesh.  Now in this second metamorphosis, the flesh becomes glorified.  To be glorified is to become a spiritual body, a heavenly body.

Paul speaks of that difference between the physical and spiritual body in some detail in 1Cor. 15:40 saying, “There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.”  We are not sure how Jesus’s body changed, but Mark indicates that the light inside of Christ shone through His flesh and His garments in a blindingly white light. Luke says the appearance of His face became different. Mark also tells us that Moses and Elijah appeared with Him, talking to Him.  And I believe in Luke’s account, he says that they both appeared in splendor as well, or appeared in glory.  

Now as I said, we cannot fully comprehend the way the body of the Lord was transfigured or transformed.  But I would say that the spiritual essence of Christ, that which was invisible, became visible, and that which was visible, became less visible.  The body, rather than being a  permanent fixture, was revealed as just a cloak over the spiritual being that was the essence of Christ.  And I cannot help but remember that John tells us at Christ’s second coming that we will be transfigured as well, when we will be made like Christ. 1John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

There are  many interesting things that can be gleaned from this transformation. However, we don’t want to speculate beyond what the text indicates.  But remember Jesus’s own statement regarding the dead in the Lord who have gone on before.  In Matthew 22:32 He says,  “I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”  So here then we see that Moses and Elijah are living.  They are not dead in a tomb, but living and communing with the Lord.  

What a blessing that is for us that know the Lord!  As Jesus said in John 11:26  “everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" We don’t die, we are just translated from the physical domain to the spiritual domain. We go on living, but in a different form, and in a more complete communion with the Lord.

And notice that Peter, James and John recognize Moses and Elijah.  They in turn recognize Jesus. No one needs to be introduced.  It’s nice to know that somehow, someway, our physical character is knowable and recognizable in that spiritual dimension.  We will know our relatives and our loved ones.  1Cor. 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

And one other mention, Matthew tells us that they were talking to Him about the events to come.  They were talking about His ministry, about the cross, and the resurrection. I don’t know all that they were talking about, but I do know that they were talking about things to come and things that had happened.  They were aware of current events.  They were aware of the future. And I find that comforting, as well as challenging.  I think my dad is watching to some extent what I am doing here on earth.  I think he is interested.  The Bible tells us that the angels long to look into what we are doing and what God has planned here on earth.  

In fact, speaking of all the saints who had died and gone on before, the author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  We are surrounded by an invisible cloud of witnesses. Those who have gone on before us are witnessing what we are doing now. The angels are witnessing what we are doing.  And I think that they are greatly interested.  I think they are cheering when we overcome.  I hope that they are not weeping when we fall.  But the Bible says that they are witnesses to what we are doing here, so let us run the race with patience and lay aside every sin and the weights which encumber us.

In that regard, I want to point out that the word metamorphosis shows up only four times in the New Testament.  Twice it is used in the gospels in speaking of this event; here in Mark and in Matthew 17.  But the other two times it is used in not in keeping with Christ’s transfiguration at all, but it’s in reference to our transformation when we are saved.  The first is found in Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The second is in 2Cor. 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  I think it’s noteworthy that in both cases it isn’t talking about our justification, but our sanctification.  It’s talking about the process of transformation, as we are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, from glory to glory.  When we are justified, we receive that first touch, but then we need to be sanctified, transfigured by the Spirit of God within us, our righteousness shining forth like the sun for the world to see.

We should also ask ourselves why particularly Moses and Elijah appeared at the transfiguration.  First of all, Moses and Elijah represent the fulfillment of all scripture.  Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the Law.  Elijah represents the prophets.  When the Jews spoke of the entire scriptures, they referred to them as the Law and the Prophets.  So in appearing with Christ, they attest to His fulfillment of all the Old Testament scriptures, both in the law and the prophets.  Jesus said in Matt. 5:17  "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."

Secondly, the appearance of Moses and Elijah speak to the fact that someone greater than a prophet was here.  The disciples answered Jesus question of who do men say that I am by saying that the Jews thought Jesus was a prophet.  Moses was considered the great prophet of God.  And Elijah was of course a mighty prophet as well in his miracles.  And yet God indicates that Jesus was not just a prophet, but His only beloved Son.

And we see more illustrated by these two men.  Moses also died and was buried.  Elijah was taken up into heaven without dying.  Thus they represent the means by which we will see the future glory of the kingdom revealed.  Either by dying and being transported to the presence of God in our spirit, or by being taken up into heaven when He shall appear with His holy angels when He comes the second time for His church.

Mark says that Peter and the disciples were very afraid at what they were witnessing.  They don’t understand what was going on.  And Peter, wanting to say something, says the wrong thing.  He had good intentions, but he was still focusing on man’s interests and not Gods.  So Peter said, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  

Now there is some debate about what is meant by tabernacles.  Some think that it has something to do with the feast of booths, or tabernacles, which was a feast celebrated by the Jews around that time.  But I happen to think that it has to do with the tabernacle of meeting that was the fore runner of the temple.  The tabernacle that Moses constructed according to God’s plan, where God’s glory would settle over it in the form of a cloud and  great light, and which denoted the presence of the Lord in the midst of His people.  I think there is a sense in which the disciples are so awestruck with Moses and Elijah being present, that they think that they each should have a tabernacle similar to the one in the Exodus.  Kind of like building three churches for the three great preachers.

Sounds like a bad idea in hindsight to us, but it undoubtedly seemed like a good idea to Peter.  Kind of like these multi campus churches that are springing up around the country today.  They seem more like tabernacles erected to honor men rather than to honor Jesus.  We need to be careful that out of  a sincere desire to worship the Lord we do not end up building edifices to glorify men.  Sincerity is no measure of truth.  We are not to worship God simply in sincerity, but in truth.

Well, here’s what God had to say about Peter’s idea. vs 7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”  I believe this was the cloud that stood over the tabernacle during the time of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness.  This was the cloud called the shekinah glory in which the presence of God was, which would come down upon the tabernacle and Moses would go into it and talk with God.  

So God is giving His witness to the Messiah, that Jesus is His beloved Son. Moses and Elijah were prophets who pointed to the One who was to come.  Now He is here, and God has appointed Him to rule over His kingdom.  The Lord Christ has been appointed by God to rule over His Kingdom.  

Heb 1:1-5, 8 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again, "I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"? ... 8 But of the Son He says, "YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.”

And in God’s declaration of the preeminence of Jesus Christ, He reminds us to listen to Him. It teaches us the need for dependence upon the word. Even supernatural events will not guarantee a person’s perseverance of faith. The disciples, in spite of being witnesses to this tremendous miracle, still fell away from the Lord at the first hint of tribulation. Not by resting on the laurels of past experiences, but only through continual hearing of the word of the Lord does our transfiguration produce sanctification .  Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

So in the final summary of things, the transfiguration is not simply something that happened two thousand years ago, which has very little application to our lives, but transfiguration is something that God is doing now in the hearts of those who love Him, as we are being conformed to His image through the application of the word of God.  And one day, that transfiguration in us will be completed as we behold Him, and seeing Him will become like Him.  And we will change this body of corruption for a body incorruptible.

But in the meantime, let us not be conformed to this world, but be transformed, transfigured, by the renewing of your mind, through the word of God, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect, for the building up and establishing of the kingdom of God.

The progression of the gospel, Mark 8:22-38

I don’t normally go out of my way to preach a topical holiday message.  And I don’t plan on doing that today either.  But I did want to tie the Christmas story which Nick read for us a few minutes ago in Luke 2 to our text for today, because I feel it helps us to better  understand the text as well as the true meaning of Christmas.  

And the main thing I want to point out about the account in Luke is that it is simply a proclamation of the gospel. It’s not just a story about baby Jesus in a manger.  And we see an indication of that in Luke 2vs4 where it says Joseph went up to the city of David, which is Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David.  Christ’s birthplace and lineage are very important, because the prophecies of the Old Testament indicated that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and that He would be of the royal lineage of David and He would sit on his throne forever.  Now all of that may or may not have been known to the disciples when the Lord said, “who do you say that I am?” in Mark chapter 8, but it is likely that they knew about Jesus’s lineage, and that would have given rise to their insight that He could be the Messiah.

Secondly, I want you to notice that the angels tell the shepherds, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy.”   The gospel means literally good news.  And the Greek word the angels use is often translated the gospel.  Mark declared in his opening verse that he was writing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  So the angels appeared to proclaim the gospel concerning the Messiah, the Son of God who came into the world.

And that brings us to another important doctrine of the gospel in the angel’s message - “for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”  The good news was not just that a baby had been born, but that the Messiah had come to reconcile men to God.   First note that Jesus is given the title Savior.  Savior was often associated with a military conqueror.  Some of the caesars used the title of savior to indicate the delivering nature of their military conquests.  Jesus came to deliver men from the captivity of the evil ruler of this world, that is Satan. Towards the end of Mark 8 Jesus starts to disclose to the disciples the nature of His ministry, and what it means to be the Savior.

And notice there is one other title of Jesus in the angel’s gospel; Christ the Lord.  Christ means the Anointed One, the Messiah.  Christ is the Greek translation of the title Messiah.  Some people mistakenly assume that Christ is Jesus’s last name.  No, it’s a title.  And His title was Messiah.  We see Peter announce that Jesus is the Messiah in vs 29 of Mark 8.   The Messiah was the Promised One, the One Anointed of God to be the Savior of the world, who would inaugurate  the kingdom of God.  And that statement serves as a summary of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now in our text in Mark 8, Mark has sort of reached a turning point in his gospel.  The disciples have reached a turning point as well.  And I believe that Jesus has reached a point where He is changing His approach to His ministry.  Up to now, Jesus has been shining a certain measure of light which was given to the Jews of Galilee and Judea.  But now He begins to illuminate the disciples in a very particular, intimate way, regarding the full nature of His ministry.  Up to this point, the disciples had received much more spiritual insight than the rest of the people who are attracted to Jesus but they still did not have complete understanding of His ministry.  Remember last week in vs18 we saw that Jesus rebuked them because they had eyes but they could not see.  They had ears but they could not hear, so they don’t understand spiritual truth.  

So in this passage, we see Jesus taking them aside to show them more intimate details concerning His ministry.  And to illustrate this new phase of their discipleship where they begin to see more clearly, Mark gives us record of a miracle that is only recorded here in his gospel.  And furthermore, it is the only miracle that we see Jesus perform which is done in a progressive nature.  I’ve said repeatedly, that every miracle recorded in the gospels is presented as a parable to teach a spiritual principle.  And such is the case with this miracle of healing the blind man.  

In this miracle we see this blind man healed in two stages as an illustration of how the disciples are receiving spiritual insight.  First, Jesus spits on the man’s eyes, and laying His hands on him the man reports that he sees men as trees walking.  Then again Jesus laid His hands upon his eyes and the man looked intently, and was able to see clearly.  

Now lots of reasons have been floated around why Jesus had this supposed difficulty in healing this man.  But I have to say that it was not due to any difficulty on Jesus’s part. He who made the world and all things in it is not unable to heal blindness. It was in fact a deliberate two part healing to illustrate that the disciples needed a two part spiritual touch in order to see the gospel clearly.  As the blind man initially saw men as trees walking, the disciples had seen Jesus walking around up to this point in a natural way, as a natural man, albeit one who had supernatural abilities, who spoke like no one had ever spoken, but they failed to see Him in the fullness and clarity of His ministry.

And they had the same difficulty with spiritual principles that Jesus was teaching.  They were so focused on their physical expectations of the Messiah, they could not see the spiritual kingdom which He was establishing.  Back in vs15, for instance, when Jesus started warning them about the sin of the Pharisees which He called leaven because of it’s corrupting influence, they thought He was talking about the fact that they hadn’t eaten dinner.  And so Jesus rebuked them for having dull hearts, spiritual ears that could not hear, and spiritual eyes that could not see.

So Mark records this account of Jesus healing the blind man in two stages to illustrate that the disciples needed to receive a second touch from the Lord, so to speak, that they might have spiritual insight into the purpose of the gospel.  So often I find that the church is guilty of the same spiritual blindness today.  We are so focused on the physical, on the natural, on our physical needs and wants, that we miss the spiritual blessings that God intends for us as citizens of the Kingdom of God.  We measure God’s blessings in our lives by how well our business is doing, or whether or not we have perfect health, or whether or not we have a good relationship with our spouse.  We are focused on the physical, the natural, so much so that we are blind to the spiritual.

Well, Jesus leaves Bethsaida and He and the disciples travel to Caesarea Philippi, and Jesus wants to help them gain this spiritual insight, so He asks them, “Who do people say that I am?” And the disciples answer Him, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”  We could try to explain all the reasons that people would think of one of those men, but I think the real point of their answers was that everyone had limited Jesus to that of a prophet.  That’s the most that they could see.  

Then Jesus said, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter *answered and *said to Him, “You are the Christ.”  You are the Messiah.  And Jesus warned them to tell no one about Him.  In Matthews gospel account of this incident, Jesus said, “Who do you say that I am?”  And  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  (Matt.16:6)

So we see that God touched Peter, and presumably the other disciples as well with a divine second touch, that they might see that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. And there is in that act a foretaste of a second touch needed in our lives as well, as once we believe, the Holy Spirit is given to us that we might have understanding of the word of God. That is the purpose of the Spirit, to give us power and understanding.  

But why does Jesus tell the disciples not to tell anyone?  Isn’t that counter productive to the ministry of the gospel?  Well, Jesus instructs them not to tell anyone because their knowledge is still incomplete.  Their conception of the mission of the Messiah is incomplete still.  They need still another touch to see the method by which Jesus will fulfill His Messiah-ship.  They are still expecting what most people expected of the Messiah; a earthly reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem, after the Messiah had vanquished all their enemies and established the Israelites once again to their former glory they had once under David.  So Jesus does not want them to broadcast that kind of message.  He has further insight for them first.

So in vs 31 “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 was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.”

What we see there is that Jesus began to teach them the true nature and purpose of the Messiah.  And the purpose of His coming to earth.  It was not to reestablish Israel as a world power, but to die on the cross for the sins of the world, to pay the penalty for sin through His death, and to rise again from the grave victorious over the enemy of mankind.  That was the mission of Christ; to suffer rejection from Israel, and die on the cross as substitute for sin, and rise victorious from the grave, having triumphed over sin and death, so that He might give life to all who believe in Him.

Well, Peter and the rest of the disciples can’t comprehend such a thing. That doesn’t fit their template for what they thought Messiah was to accomplish.  So Peter, perhaps emboldened by the Lord’s comments after he had said Jesus was the Messiah, says to the Lord, “may it never be!”  “We will never let that happen!”  In his mind, nothing could be further from their expectations than Jesus dying.  The Messiah was supposed to sit on the throne of David forever.  And of course the disciples were looking forward to being on the front row of that new regime.  They were looking at things naturally.  They were expecting physical exaltation from following the Lord. Suffering and rejection did not factor into their expectations of their life with Christ. They did not understand still that the kingdom of God which Jesus was inaugurating was a spiritual kingdom where He ruled in the hearts of His people.

That’s why the prosperity doctrine which is widely preached today is such a damning doctrine.  It is a doctrine focused on the well being of the physical.  It claims that the kingdom of God is measured by your bank account, or by your job, or heath, your prosperity.  And in so doing, they miss altogether the spiritual kingdom where the Lord rules and reigns in one’s heart.  And even more to the point, they reject the fact that often suffering in this world is a divinely appointed part of the Christian experience.

So Jesus rebukes Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”  I don’t think Jesus is necessarily calling Peter Satan, but He is saying that Peter is pushing Satan’s agenda.  The world agenda is the devil’s agenda.  Ephesians 2:2 tells us that Satan has engineered the course of this world, the systems and passions and desires in such a way as to entrap men by their passions and desires of the flesh. So those that push the agenda and interests of the world are in fact acting on behalf of Satan, whether unwittingly or not.  

Here at Christmas, supposedly a time when we honor Christ’s birth, we end up finding ourselves entrapped by the course of this world, don’t we? Our passions and desires of the flesh are ratcheted up to another level this time of year.  We think we are honoring Christ and in fact we are serving our flesh, the natural man.  Bottom line, Jesus said, you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.  

I was telling someone yesterday that truth in regards to attending church.  Some where along the line we have forgotten that our main purpose in going to church on Sunday is to simply worship God.  To bow our will to His will.  To bow our knees in the midst of the congregation and to refocus your mind of God’s interests for a couple of hours.  To relinquish your focus on man’s agenda, on man’s interests and focus your heart on the Lord’s interests.  Church is not just about whether or not you like the preacher.  Or whether or not you got your needs served.  But just to come to the assembly of believers and bow your heart to the Lord and meditate on Him, and pray to Him, and worship Him.  To present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. (Romans 12:2)

Well, thankfully Jesus is patient towards the disciples, as He is patient towards us.  We are often slow to see, and slow to hear. We don’t care to be refocused away from our desires. But the Lord provides another chance for the disciples to learn and to see the truth of the gospel and so He tells them clearly what it means to be a disciple.  And I think that this teaching is the clearest presentation of the gospel that Jesus has ever given up to this point.  So I want to read it to you in it’s entirety before making any comments on it.

Vs.34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 "For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

What Jesus is saying is a continuation of what we have just seen in regards to the gospel.  The world, the natural man, the agenda of man, is at odds with the interests of the Lord.  If you want to be a follower of Christ, then you must abandon your agenda and the agenda of the world, for the sake of the Lord’s agenda.  That’s the truth of the gospel of salvation.  It isn’t believe in Me and I will give you all that you want.  That is the way most people think Christianity offers.  God is like sprinkling fairy dust over your life.  It makes everything better.  All your dreams will come true.  

But nothing is further from the truth.  The natural things, the passions and desires of the flesh, must be forsaken in exchange for the Lord. “Come after Me,” He says.  Come away from the lusts of the flesh and follow the desire of the Spirit.  And the way that is done practically is you must be willing to die to the world.  You must be willing to lose your life for the sake of gaining new life from God.  You must put to death the desires of the flesh, and desire to live according to the Lord’s desires.

Now that is nothing short of a radical change. But nothing less is the gospel.  Nothing short of full surrender to the Lord is salvation.  God will not strive with man.  Either you surrender everything, or you have no part in Him.  And furthermore, Jesus said, if you gain the whole world and as consequence you lose your soul, then what benefit is that?  What is worth your soul?  The soul of man lives forever, either with the Lord or in eternal damnation.  What is the benefit of gaining a million dollars and losing your soul?  What is the benefit of gaining worldwide acclaim for something you have accomplished on this temporal earth, but you have accomplished nothing for the Kingdom of Heaven?  What does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your own soul?  

The gospel is about a choice of focusing on the natural things which you can see, taste, feel and touch, things which offer some physical benefit, or things which offer an eternal benefit. Do you have ears that cannot hear?  Do you have eyes that cannot see?  Is your heart too dull to comprehend the spiritual things of God?  Is your appetite too honed on the things of this world to hunger for the things of God?  I urge you, focus your attention on the things of God.  Look intently at the word of God that you might see clearly the spiritual truths of God.  

And finally, Jesus gives a warning to those who are ashamed to proclaim Jesus as Christ the Lord. He says, if you are ashamed of Him and His words, and chose instead the acclaim of this adulterous and sinful world, then He will be ashamed of you when He comes in His glory with the angels in power.  If you lived your life in pursuit of this corrupt and dying world, then when Jesus appears to consummate His kingdom, you will have no part in it.  Jesus is coming again in the full sovereignty and power of His kingdom, as the Israelites had looked for.  The first coming He came in humility, to serve, to be our substitute and our Savior.  The second coming is still in the future.  And that coming will be in power and judgment.  

The true meaning of the Christmas story is that God so loved mankind, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him shall be saved from the wrath to come.  To those who accept that gift of God, and believe on Him who He has sent, that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, then to that person will be given life everlasting.  But to him who rejects that gift, and spurns the love of God for the love of this world, they will face the judgment for having chosen this world rather than choosing the Lord.  I pray no one leaves this place today without making that choice to die to the world and live for God through Christ Jesus.  What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?  And what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The compassion and the satisfaction of the gospel, Mark 8:1-20MW

I think it was the last time I visited my mother before she passed away, she recited to me the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2.  I think Nick did a great job of presenting that the other night at the Luau. I think it’s a great tradition to have with your family, to read the familiar story of the birth of Jesus on Christmas morning.  If nothing else, it gives pause to the mad rush to open presents, and gives us a moment to reflect upon the real reason for all of the traditions that we have during this season.  

But I was thinking later after Nick’s reading that the Christmas back story actually starts with John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  The Christmas story is the story of salvation.  “Unto you is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  And the reason for the Savior coming to earth is because of the love of God for the world.  The world that lay in darkness, lost and condemned to death saw a great light.  God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son to be the light of the world.  The love of God, and the compassion of God towards us is what we really should be celebrating, not only at Christmas, but throughout the year. 

Today in this passage we are looking at, we get a glimpse of the compassion of Christ, the Son of God, for the world.  In vs.2, Jesus says, “I feel compassion for the multitude…”  Compassion is from a Greek word I can’t pronounce, maybe Nick can, but I’ll try to sound it out, splagchnizomai, (splänkh-nē’-zo-mī).  In those days, your bowels, not your heart, was considered to be the source of your emotions.  So love and pity were expressed as felt in your “gut”.  That’s maybe where we get the phrase, “gut-wrenching.”  Something that really moves you so deeply, practically making your stomach turn over.

I think what they are trying to say is that the compassion that Jesus felt for the multitude came out of a deep seated love for them, which moved Him into action.  The other night after the party, Joe Bartell stayed around and talked with Susie and I for a bit, and we were talking about David being a man after God’s own heart, and Joe was talking about how much David loved the Lord, how passionate he was towards God and the things of God.  And I said, that is true, but the Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart.  That indicates not just the love of David for God, but the love of God towards David.  God passionately loved David, so that He restored him and sought him even when David sinned so egregiously against the Lord.

God’s love for us is an amazing love, a passionate, pursuing love, that doesn’t take into account a wrong suffered, but suffers all things for our sakes.  And so we see in this passage today the love of Christ for the world.  The compassion of Christ for the multitude who were hungry, who were faint, and who if left to themselves would faint on the way.  The love of Christ compels Him to help them, to give them what was necessary for life.  It’s interesting too that these people were from the region of Decapolis, 10 Greek cities.  And therefore it is likely that they were a mixed race at best, and probably there were many Gentiles there.  And proper Jews would never eat with a Gentile.  Yet Jesus not only wants to eat with them, but to provide a banquet.  Jesus loves sinners, He has compassion on the lost sheep of the world.  And this miracle is an illustration of God’s love for the world, who as the Bread of Life which came down from heaven is able to give life to those who are in fear of death.

But note also that Jesus wants to share this love and compassion with the disciples.  If you are going to follow Christ, then you must share in His love for the lost, share in His compassion for the lost.  So Jesus turns to the disciples. And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”  In the previous feeding of the multitudes the disciples begged the question how could they afford to feed the multitude.  Now in this situation, they say that the place is so desolate there is no where to buy food, even if they could.  And Jesus temporarily overlooks their ignorance.  The lesson they should have learned from the last feeding was that He is the source of life, therefore, He is able to provide  all that is necessary for life.

That is the real lesson to be learned in this text, by the way. As I said the other night at the luau, Christianity is not a religion, but a way of life, in fact, it’s new life which is given to us by God on the basis of our faith in Christ.  And just as there is a beginning and a maturation process and an end to physical life, there is a beginning, and a maturation process and an end to the spiritual life.  And nothing less than Jesus Christ is the author and the sustainer and the finisher of our faith.  That is the lesson to be learned.  It is a completely new way of living, of thinking, of acting, that is wrought about in our lives by an act of God’s grace.  It is the light of God which shines in our hearts and in that light we live and have a fruitful life.  As Peter said in 2Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

Now notice the phrase in the disciples question in vs4, where can you get enough bread “to satisfy these people?”  The disciples have hit upon the key and they don’t even realize it.  Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “if you drink of this water, you will thirst again.  But if you drink of the living water which I have, then you will never thirst again.”  The same equation must be enacted here as well; Jesus said after the first miraculous feeding in John 6:35 "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." The point being that the way of life through Christ satisfies.  The way of the world never satisfies.  The things of this world promises satisfaction, but they can never produce satisfaction.  The only thing that satisfies is the bread from heaven, which is Jesus Christ.  Nothing in this world can satisfy.

If that is ever seen at any time, it is seen most clearly at Christmas, isn’t it?  People rushing around and buying and buying and getting and getting, in this insane materialistic, commercial endeavor we have substituted for the true Christmas, and yet nothing satisfies.  The busiest times in the department stores are after Christmas, when they go and exchange what they were just given in hopes of finding something else that will satisfy.  But nothing satisfies life the way life in Christ satisfies.  The source of true satisfaction was standing right in front of them, and yet the disciples ask what can satisfy these people? 

Well, Jesus is moved by compassion for the multitudes, and He wants to get the disciples involved in that same compassion for the lost, and so He asks, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said “Seven.”  They have more than they had last time.  Last time they had 5 loaves for 5000 people and they had 12 baskets left over.  This time they should have realized that they had 7 loaves for 4000.  More than enough for Jesus to work with.  More than last time.  But they had not learned that simple lesson yet.  Mark doesn’t say that Jesus rolled His eyes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if He did.

But Jesus is compassionate to the multitudes and the disciples, and so He gets them to be seated on the ground, and then blesses the bread and breaks it and starts handing it to the disciples to hand out to the crowd.  And as He breaks the bread, more bread appears in His hands.  And I suspect that when they saw this miraculous multiplication, someone who had been hoarding a few little fish was moved to share them as well, realizing that He could multiply the fish. Vs 7 “They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.”  

So take note, Jesus does virtually the same miracle, with a few minor variations, twice.  The feeding of the 5000 a few months before, and now the feeding of the 4000.  And by the way, Matthew indicates in both accounts that those numbers were only the men, not including the women and children.  Possibly you could triple those numbers in each case.  But the point is Jesus is giving the same lesson twice to the disciples.  Because the Lord is compassionate, and realizes that sometimes we need to repeat a lesson before we really learn it.  Some of us seem to be learning the same lessons over and over again as we go through life.  But thank God He is merciful and patient towards us and willing to teach us again and again. 

But notice that there are some people who cannot learn, because they don’t want to learn.  They have hardened their hearts.  Such were the Pharisees.  After Jesus sent away the multiudes, He and the disciples got back into the boat and came to the district of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees, who had undoubtedly been hearing of all that Jesus was doing in Galilee, came out to argue with Jesus, and demand a sign from Him.  He’s healed hundreds, if not thousands of people by this time, He has raised the dead, He has feed tens of thousands from just a handful of loaves and fishes, He has done so many miracles and yet the Pharisees seek for a sign.  What they were demanding was that He produce a sign from heaven on demand, such as fire from heaven, or the sun standing still, or some celestial event, but purely so that they might see it as some sort of proof that He was the Son of God.  They want Him to perform for their benefit, not out of compassion for the sick, or in-firmed, or for those that were needing to be fed, but out of a selfish desire for Him to prove Himself to them, according to their standards and timing.  Verse 11 says that it was to test Him.  It’s the same idea that Satan tried on Jesus during His 40 days of testing in the wilderness.  To get Him to act out of pride, out of a sense of self validation.  And that would have been a sin.  It would have been an act of pride on Jesus’s part.  But He did not come to serve Himself, but to serve us. He was humble.

And so Jesus denied their request.  It says He sighed deeply in His Spirit.  Jesus could have sighed out of exasperation, but I tend to think it was a sigh of grief.  I think His Spirit was grieved at the hardness of their heart.  It is the response of love and compassion deep within Him, that His love is  rejected and repulsed.  Jesus knew their hearts, that they hated Him without a cause and wanted to find a way to put Him to death.  

So sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”  I want to comment about this phrase “this generation” for a moment.  I’m reminded of the similarity to the song by the Who, called “My Generation.”  You remember the lyrics; “People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Yeah, I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

This is my generation

This is my generation, baby

My my my generation.

That was a very popular song of my generation.  And probably most of us here today are a part of that generation. I think it goes without saying that our generation was one of the most ego centric, self absorbed generations that ever walked the planet. And a lot of the problems of this present culture can be laid at the feet of my generation. My generation claimed to be seeking enlightenment, and yet they settled for an illusion. And I will tell you something that I was thinking about a lot this week.  The church changed drastically in my generation.  The local church is patterned after the synagogue of the Jews.  There was one on every street corner, less than a Sabbath Day’s journey from it’s congregation.  And in Jewish culture it was the cultural, religious and educational hub of the community.  All religious, educational and social life was centered in the synagogue.  

The same could be said about the local church in the generation of my father. It was the hub of Christian life. We went to church 4 or 5 times a week.  We couldn’t live at the church, as they did right after Pentecost, but we pretty much were there all the time for one reason or another.  Sunday’s we were there by 10 for Sunday School, and didn’t get out of church till 12:30.  Then back that night at 6:30 until 8:30.  Back again on Wednesday night.  The men had visitation on Tuesday nights.  Youth group was on Saturday nights.  And every other month it seemed we had some sort of revival or mission’s conference or something that had us in church every night of the week.  If you were a Christian, then church was at the center of your life.

But when my generation came up, we began to f-f-f-fade away.  Sunday school fell away, Sunday night services fell away, Wednesday nights faded away.  Church now is an hour long presentation on Sunday morning, which you attend occasionally only if it doesn’t conflict with family get togethers or sports or something, and then the rest of the week we live fully engaged in the world and the church is put on the back burner until we get into some sort of crisis.  And even at our best, our attitude concerning the Lord is not far from those demanding, hard hearted Pharisees, who want to see something exciting, we want to see God answer our demands, when we want and how we want Him to respond.  And yet, like the Pharisees, we make such demands without committing to follow Him completely and daily as His disciples.  We show up when we want to show up, and make demands that He performs for our benefit.  

Well, Jesus doesn’t work that way.  He won’t dance to their tune. He says you’re not going to be given a sign, and He left them and got in the boat again and went to the other side of the lake.  God has given you enough light to believe by faith.  But if you reject that light, then He is under no compulsion to give you more.  In fact, in Mark 4:25 Jesus says what you have will be taken away.  But to him who has faith, then he will be given more light, culminating one day in the glory of Christ being revealed face to face.

As they were going away on the boat, the disciples begin to realize that they had forgotten to eat again, and they had only one loaf between all twelve of them.  And Jesus begins to say, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”  So they are trying to figure out what He is talking about, and they come to the conclusion that it must be that He is saying this because He is aware that they don’t have bread, and He doesn’t want them to get bread from the Pharisees or from the Herodians. 

Vs17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?  "HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember,  when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?" They said to Him, "Twelve."  "When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they said to Him, "Seven."  And He was saying to them, "Do you not yet understand?”

The point Jesus makes with them is two fold, but one depends upon the other.  The first point that Jesus makes is that they say they have no bread, but the Bread of Life is their Master who is with them in the boat.  He took 5 loaves and made bread for 5000, leaving 12 baskets left over.  He took 7 loaves and made bread for 4000 and had 7 baskets left over.  How could they not see that He could take one loaf and make enough to feed just 12 of them, and still have plenty left over?  Jesus want’s them to see that He is not only the source of life, but the supply of life.  The Lord has promised to supply our needs according to His riches in glory.  Phil. 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  And yet how often do we worry about whether or not God will supply our needs?  

The Lord supplies all our needs, not just financial needs.  Not just physical needs.  But He will supply our spiritual needs.  He is the author and the finisher of our faith.  He is the One who saves, who sanctifies, and who will glorify us. 

And that leads us to the next point the Lord was making, that though the disciples had physical eyes, they could not see spiritual truths.  Though they had physical ears, they could not hear spiritual truths.  Their hearts were dull.  Their spiritual senses were dulled because they were attuned to the physical, rather than the spiritual.  They were so concerned about the physical, they could not understand the spiritual significance of what He was teaching them.

So what was He trying to teach them when He spoke about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of the Herodians?  Well, yeast in the Bible is always a picture of sin.  In this case it might be the sin of false teaching.  And Jesus was telling them to beware of it, because it is a deceptive doctrine and a damning one as well.  

Yeast was taught in the unleavened bread of the Passover meal, that it represented sin.  And to explain how that works, I was reminded of Donna’s sourdough bread.  She shared her recipe for sourdough bread with Susie, but Susie couldn’t make it unless Donna first gave her some of her yeast left from the last batch of bread she had made.  Then Susie took that starter yeast and added it to her dough and let the yeast activate her dough.  And when Susie made her bread, she saves some of the dough to be the starter for the next time she makes it.  Now yeast makes for some tasty bread, but it is a picture of sin in that it is a holdover from the past.  It’s a picture of holding over or carrying over something from the past that corrupts the next batch.  

And in this instance, Jesus is saying, I’m teaching you the doctrines of everlasting life, the abundant life that God has sent Me to declare to you and to provide for you.  But beware of trying to carry over the traditions of the Pharisees which are not founded upon the word of God.  And beware of trying to carry over the secularism from the Herodians in which they wanted to compartmentalize the sacred from the secular.  They believed that they could have the benefits of being a child of God, and still enjoy the benefits as a citizen of the world, i.e., Herod. 

And finally to the disciples, Jesus is saying, beware of the leaven of materialism. It’s the danger of wanting to hang on to the culture and attitudes of the world, and yet claim the benefits of Christianity. The nature of man to look at things physically and not see the unseen spiritual truth of life which is behind it.  As Paul said in 2Cor. 5:7, “for we walk by faith and not by sight.”  And again in 2Cor. 4:18 “we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  The admonition is to take care not to hold onto the things of this world, the cultural things, the material things, the physical things and try to add Christianity to it.  True Christianity must be a new way, a new life. 2Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Jesus is the source of life, and the supply of life, He is the bread of life which has come down from heaven, that we who eat of it might live.  But to live this life in Christ, we must have eyes to see that which is spiritual, and ears to hear that which is spiritual, that we might have new life more abundantly, even the life which satisfies our hearts.  This is the life that Jesus came to earth to provide for us.  I pray that you accept that gift of God, and that you may know the love of God which satisfies every restless heart.