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ISAIAH, Part 8

Published August 9, 2011 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Atonement, Crucifixion, Isaiah, substitution, Suffering Servant

The Man of Sorrow, Isaiah 53:1—6

A bird’s eye view of Isaiah 53 might look like this:

verses 1—4, the life and earthly ministry of Jesus;
verses 5—8, His death and burial;
verses 10—12, His resurrection and exaltation.

The chapter’s overall theme, which is the innocent Savior dying in place of the guilty, ties the whole chapter together. This chapter deals with what theologians call the “vicarious atonement.” There is much that we find difficult to explain about what happened on the Cross; those are the infinite, divine things that our finite, earthly minds cannot understand. One day, when we reach the other side, all will be made clear. However, this much is clear and this much we do understand: Jesus Christ took the place of guilty sinners and paid the price for their salvation.

Unfortunately, this is something the people of Jesus’ day could not grasp:

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (verse 1)

The “who” in verse 1 probably refers to the Jews and the collective “our” are likely the prophets. The Jews, to whom the Savior came, didn’t recognize Him as such because they didn’t believe the message of the prophets. This reminds us of what Paul wrote to the Romans:

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:16—17)

The phrase “arm of the Lord” is significant and its usage here is often missed. It frequently refers to God’s mighty strength, but God’s mighty strength wasn’t revealed to just anybody; only to the Jews. When God made the material universe, He used His fingers, which was plain for anybody to see:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place… (Psalm 8:3)

When He delivered Israel from Egypt, He did so by His mighty hand, which was plain for onlookers to see:

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.” (Exodus 13:3)

However, in order to save sinners, God had to bare His strong arm, yet it went unrecognized. The people to whom was revealed God’s strong arm refused to see it and refused to believe this awesome manifestation of God’s power in love.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:37, 38)

This Savior who went unrecognized was part of history for He “grew up” among them (verse 2). God didn’t just miraculously deposit a full-grown, mature Savior in the midst of His people. Their Savior was literally one of their own; there was nothing outwardly special about Jesus. He was part of their history for He had a history.

He was just an ordinary Baby

That’s the way He planned it, maybe

Anything but common would have kept Him apart

From the children that He came to rescue,

Limited to some elite few;

When He was the only Child who asked to be born.

And He came to us with eyes wide open,

Knowing how we’re hurt and broken,

Choosing to partake of all our joy and pain.

He was just an ordinary Baby,

That’s the way He planned it, maybe

So that we would come to Him and not be afraid.

Despite this, the people didn’t recognize Jesus as their long-awaited Savior. Instead, Jesus Christ became a “man of sorrows.” Throughout history, there have been many men, full of sorrow, but only one Man was a “Man of Sorrows.” The sorrows of the Son of Man were unique to Him and unparalleled. His sorrows included:

1. Humiliation, verse 2

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

The Servant, was the eternal Son of God, and yet He became human and had to grow up! We may find the prophet’s choice of words a bit odd. Why compare the growth of a child to a “tender shoot?” The Jews of Isaiah’s day would have made a connection we modern Bible readers miss:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1)

I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king. (1 Samuel 16:1b)

The connection is really two-fold. The obvious one is that King David was a kind of foreshadow of Israel’s true Messiah. David was the son, or the shoot from the stump, of Jesse and both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David. Hence, Jesus was also a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.” But the second connection is a little more subtle and is found in 1 Samuel 16:7—

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Samuel, when he was looking for which of Jesse’s sons would be chosen by God as king, took note of their outward appearance, but the Lord mildly rebuked him and set him straight. Israel, as a nation, had a preconceived notion of what their Messiah would look like and how He would act, and because Jesus didn’t fit the bill, they didn’t realize that He was their Messiah. His humiliation was complete. Not only did the glorious, majestic Son of God leave heaven to become a nondescript man, but His people failed to recognize Him!

2. Opposition, verse 3

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Verse 3 carries the idea of Christ’s humiliation a step further. The people not only failed to recognize Him and desire Him, but they actually rejected Christ outright, refusing to even look at Him. The Hebrew words behind “despised and rejected” mean literally “to look upon with disdain” and “to forsake.” As one scholar observed, “Loneliness is often the crown of sorrow,” and surely our Savior was lonely.

The words translated “suffering” and “pain” really mean “pains” and “sickness.” Jesus was well acquainted with “pain” and “sickness,” in other words. Does this imply that our Lord was a sickly, physically weak man? Certainly He experienced all the maladies a human being experiences in their lifetime, but consider Jeremiah 15:18 where these terms are also used:

Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?

Here, the pain is the pain of a broken and breaking heart. So, perhaps the “pain” and “sickness” referred to by Isaiah are both physical and emotion anguish. And no wonder! While Jesus’ teaching attracted great crowds at first, eventually they turned on Him, egged on by the religious leaders of the day. Once those who adored Him came to despise Him and oppose Him. They put a cheap price on His head. They were ashamed of Him because He wasn’t the kind of Savior they were looking for. They thought they had been had.

3. Anticipation, verse 4a

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering…

The dominant theme of “atonement” is what this phrase is all about. The innocent taking the place of the guilty; the Sinless Son of God bearing the punishment for sinners. This phrase views our punishment figuratively in terms of a disease. In this case, the disease is the disease of sin. This is an awful way to view sin: as disease from which there is no escape; an infection that cripples and kills. Who in their right mind would walk into a colony of people infected with such a contagion? A person that would do that would certainly die. And yet this is exactly what the Son of God did! He knowingly descended into a world of people infected with a disease.

Theologians recognize the atonement as “the” theological issue of Scriptures. Without it, what was the point of it all? Even G.F. Handel saw the power of the atonment and based one of his most important compositions upon it in his famous oratorio, “The Messiah.”

It should be noted, though, that the disease is ours, not His. The pronoun “our” is emphatic here, meaning ours were the sicknesses He carried; ours were the pains He bore. Christ foresaw all this, and yet He came to offer His life a ransom for many.

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:32—33)

Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him; there was no way He couldn’t. He was the perfect Son of God.

4. Separation, verse 4b

... yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

Our Lord walked to His crucifixion alone. This is the heart of the whole passage; the heart of the Bible. Interestingly enough, the message of atonement is not only the central message of the Christian Gospel, but was at the heart of the Jewish religious system—the innocent animal offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the guilty sinner.

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

Only Jesus could do this by Himself. Nobody could help Him. He was the perfect choice because He was the only choice.

Imagine this: The Son of God living for an eternity in the glories of Heaven with the Father and the Holy Spirit. One God, three Persons living in perfect unity and perfect fellowship. Imagine willingly leaving that kind of perfect paradise; imagine separating yourself from the Father and the Holy Spirit. Now imagine entering our world, being born and growing up and making friends and having fellowship with your family and with friends. Imagine Jesus spending some 30 years living, working, and ministering to those people He loved so much, those people He identified with and came to save. And finally, imagine being forsaken by them. Jesus Christ, separated from the glories of Heaven and separated from world He loved.

And yet, while all this is true, the word “considered” is important to, well, consider. It means that by the estimation of man, the Savior was being punished by God, stricken and afflicted by Him. However, the next verse shows how wrong that estimation was!

5. Relationship, verse 5

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Man made his estimation, but the facts are:

He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
Our punishment was put on Him;
His wounds resulted in our healing.

This describes another theological act performed by Christ. Not only did He make atonement for our sins, He suffered in our stead. This is known as vicarious expiation. Everything He endured on the Cross sinners themselves should have endured.

He was “pierced” for our transgressions. The word pierced really means “transfixed” or “bored through,” in other words, He was quite literallyfastened to or secured to the Cross. He was joined to the Cross for our “transgressions,” or for our rebellions. The pain was His, a result of sins which were ours.

He was further “crushed” for our iniquities. The Savior was “shattered” because of our “inbred crookedness.” This is different from “transgressions,” which are sins of determination; sins which are deliberate. “Iniquities” refer to the sin principle within all human beings; the tendency to sin.

The “punishment” He bore resulted in peace for us. The KJV uses the word “chastisement,” and that accurately reflects the Hebrew, which literally means “disciplinary sufferings.” On the Cross, Jesus got what we deserved. This we understand, but the stunning part of this phrase is the word “peace,” for it means many things. It means, for example, the absence of strife. Christ secured our peace with God; thanks to what Christ did for us on the Cross, God is no longer angry at us. But “peace” also means soundness, health and well-being, prosperity, and completeness. It’s amazing what Jesus did for us!

Lastly, we were “healed” by His wounds. There are those who take that literally, teaching that physical healing was included in the atonement. In other words, Christians have a right to good health and divine healing simply by virtue of their relationship with Jesus Christ. But is that what Isaiah means here? Probably not exactly, although divine healing is certainly part of the Savior’s continuing ministry. The phrase, when translated literally, means “it has been healed for us.” In other words, the idea is that by His wounds, we could be healed. The question is, healed of what? The overriding theme of this passage is sin and atonement for sin. The healing, therefore, must not refer to physical healing only, but rather the forgiveness of sins, the healing of the soul. Sin is, after all, a sickness and a disease that man cannot rid himself of. That is the healing which Christ secured on the Cross for all those who call upon Him as Savior.

This was the beginning of His relationship with redeemed man. He alone could do all these things for us, as a devoted mother carries the griefs and sorrows of her child. So intense was the love of Christ for sinful man, that He could not refrain from doing what He did.

…the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (verse 6b)

And our Lord took it! It was for us that He poured our His holy, perfect soul!

…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. (verse 12b)

The Suffering Servant did all that on the Cross for people that never even noticed.

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the LORD brought on me in the day of his fierce anger? (Lamentations 1:12)

In answer to the question, “Who has believed our message?” may we always be able to answer, “We do!”

(c) 2011 WitzEnd

Studies in Mark’s Gospel, Part 7

Published April 14, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Betrayal, Crucifixion, Gospel, Judas, Mark

The Last Hours, Part Two

After Judas the betrayer had left to do what he had to do—betray the Son of God—Jesus and His friends finished their Passover meal and sung a hymn and left for the Mount of Olives—

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:26)

1. A disturbing prediction, Mark 14:27—31

As they were walking along, Jesus knew full-well what was going to happen to Him. He knew Judas had gone, betrayed Him, and sealed his deal with both the chief priest and Satan himself. Jesus also knew the words of Zachariah 13:7—

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the LORD Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little ones. (Zechariah 13:7)

Jesus knew that He, the Great Shepherd, was to brutally killed and that His friends, the sheep of His flock, would be scattered. But Jesus also knew human nature—

“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:

” ‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.’ (Mark 14:27)

These words must have caused confusion and distress in the disciples. Only slowly, after all this time with Jesus, did they begin to see the faintest glimmer of what Jesus had been alluding to all evening: He would be the Suffering Servant. But “suffering” was not our Lord’s last word. Notice the very last sentence—

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (Mark 14:28)

Jesus told them clearly that he would rise, and would meet them in Galilee, their home province, some ways away, to the north. As has been noted, Jesus almost never referred to His death without looking beyond it, and though His death would scatter His sheep, His resurrection would unite them.

But Peter, apparently ignoring the resurrection statement, was greatly wounded by the fact that Jesus implied they, the disciples, would “fall away.”

Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same. (Mark 14:27—31)

To borrow a phrase from William Shakespeare, Peter protests “too much, methinks.” But we often overlook the last sentence: “And all the others said the same.” We know, of course, that indeed Peter did disown Jesus exactly as predicted. We may learn a couple of valuable lessons here. First, the experiences of both Judas and Peter remind us of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:12—

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

Both of these men were intimate friends of Jesus, yet both faced the very real possibility of apostasy. Peter is the classic illustration of a believer, though he may backslide, may repent and be restored, and in the process become an even stronger believer for his experience. We also learn something of divine foreknowledge; it is consistent with human freedom and responsibility. Though Jesus knew about the coming events in every detail, He was not the cause of them.

2. The agony of Gethsemane, Mark 14:32—42

Finally, they reached Gethsemane, which means “oil press,” an apt name for the place where Jesus would spend praying about His future. It was probably a walled-in private garden full of olive trees. It was place Jesus and His disciples have visited often. Upon entering the garden, Jesus left eight of His friends near the entrance, but took Peter, James, and John with Him into the garden.

He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” (Mark 14:33—34)

We can’t be sure why Jesus asked those three disciples to be with Him; we may speculate, however, that by now the full import of the Cross and what it meant to bear the sin of the whole world was beginning to weigh heavily on Him and, perhaps, Jesus felt the need for moral support. The two verbs translated “deeply distressed and troubled” taken together “describe an extremely acute emotion, a compound of bewilderment, fear, uncertainty and anxiety (Bratcher and Nida). For some reason, Jesus wanted the privileged three, His inner circle, to know something of the agony He was experiencing.

How severe was this agony? Jesus Himself said that He was “overwhelmed” with sorrow “to the point of death.” This was no mere exaggeration. What Jesus prayed may be interpreted two ways—

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:35—46)

The traditional interpretation is that Jesus was staggering under the weight of the realization that in a short time, the awful wrath of God was going to let lose upon Him, and that He was about to suffer an agonizing, lonely death. This is the “cup,” His death on the Cross. Here, they say, we see Jesus submitting to God’s will.

However, there is another interpretation. Jesus had already submitted to His Father’s will. Jesus was no mere martyr; He was no victim of circumstances. In fact, recall these words Jesus spoke—

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17—18)

Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen and He was in total control of the events. The “cup” to which Jesus referred may not have been His death upon the Cross, but rather what was happening in the garden at that exact moment. Here was Jesus, falling to the ground, unable to stand, literally dying. This was not His time to die. This was not the cup Jesus was meant to drink from. Jesus was praying to His Father for physical strength and endurance to complete His mission and die, not in the garden, but on the Cross. No mere man can ever know what Jesus must have felt as He lie, sprawled out on the ground. It is one thing to know death is near, but Jesus’ mission was not just to die, but to bear the sin of the world and experience the full wrath of God.

Three times Jesus prayed, and three times His friends fell asleep on Him. We can imagine Jesus was just as tired as they were; tired from lack of sleep, stress, and drained because of the emotions they were all feeling that night. Finally, the time had come—

“Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Mark 14:41—42)

Verse 42 is amazing. It wasn’t enough that Judas and the soldiers were coming to get Him, Jesus had to go and meet them! Once again, Jesus is the One in charge.

3. The arrest, Mark 14:43—51

It is significant that Mark states Jesus’ betrayer was “one of the Twelve.” It is a fact that he never wants his readers to forget. Judas had thought of everything to make his mission a success. Soldiers, priests and a mob all came for Jesus, and a pre-arranged sign, a kiss, would ensure that in the confusion of darkness no mistake could be made.

Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. (Mark 14:45)

In fact, the original says that Judas “kissed Jesus repeatedly.” As if to protest the lawless, unruly nature of His arrest, Jesus confronted the crowd with a statement that must have staggered them—

“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” (Mark 14:48—49)

The crowd had weapons—clubs and swords—as they approached Jesus. They were treating Him as some kind of anarchist or insurrectionist, as if He were dangerous. This must have both angered and disappointed Jesus. He never hid His intentions from anybody, yet here came the very people who heard His teachings, brandishing weapons. They knew the truth, they had seen and heard His words of peace, yet the crowd obviously did not understand.

When the disciples realized that Jesus did not intend to resist and that, apparently, there would be no divine intervention forthcoming, they all ran away, to the last man. The awful words of verse 50 drive home the absolute failure of the disciples. Sanner has noted that their failure was not so much one of courage but of faith. Doubt may remove courage, but the disciples fled because their faith wavered, as was evidenced by Peter’s denial of Jesus later on.

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. (Mark 14:51—52)

Only Mark includes this brief incident. Matthew and Luke incorporate almost all of Mark’s Gospel leave these verses out. This is probably a personal reminiscence; it is Mark’s way of saying, “I was there, too.” (Hunter). Sanner surmises that given the fact that the earliest center of the Jerusalem church was the home of Mary, the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12), it is probable that the Last Supper actually took place in the upper room of her home. It is also probable that young John Mark had followed Jesus and His disciples to the garden and was an eye witness to all that happened there.

4. Trials and denials, Mark 14:53—15:20

The arrest was over, and apparently two of the disciples, John and Peter, returned to follow the crowd to the home of the high priest, where Jesus was to have His first hearing, which was illegal according to the law of the land; but the high priests, usually so intent on enforcing the letter of the law, were concerned with one thing only: getting rid of Jesus. Mark does not mention John, who was related to Caiaphas, and who entered his house, Peter hang back, preferring to sit with the servants around a fire as the night was now chilly.

There were a total four “trials” before Jesus was finally executed. The first one was before Annas, a former high priest, John 18:12—13, 19—24). The second one was conducted before the sitting high priest, Caiaphas. Mark begins with this one; it is also found in Matthew 26:57 and John 18:13. The third trial was the one before Pilate, recorded in all the Gospels, and the fourth was before Herod Antipas, noted only in Luke 23:6—12.

The fix was in from the outset, with a myriad of false accusations and false witnesses. All through the mock trials, Jesus held His peace and said nothing in His defense. However, when Caiaphas commented about the claim that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus answered openly—

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62)

With one sentence, Jesus gave His enemies all the evidence needed to convict Him, and Jesus was condemned to death.

Peter’s denial of Jesus, which really began back in verse 54, is fully developed in verses 66—72. Some make much of Peter’s denial, but one wonders if we would have faired any better, given the circumstances. It should be noted that like John, Peter actually showed great courage in following Jesus into the courtyard of the palace where the trial was taking place. Moreover, since Peter was the only one present when the three denials took place, only he could have told the others what he had done. A lesser man might not have told anybody. His honesty preserved his downfall for all time, but is also a testament to his understanding of God’s forgiveness.

Peter ultimately denied his Lord three times, just as Jesus had predicted. There probably isn’t a man alive, besides Jesus Himself, who could grasp the sorrow expressed in verse 72—

Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

The cowardice of Peter’s heart would later be corrected when he was gloriously baptized in the Holy Spirit, becoming a fearless preacher of the Gospel of Christ.

Here we see the glaring difference backsliding and apostasy in the actions of Judas and Peter. Apostasy is the complete rejection of the truth, which is ultimately the rejection of the One who is the Truth. As in the case of Judas, a person may have the outward appearance of being born again, but during a time of severe trial or temptation, this kind of person may apostatize; repudiate everything they once claimed to believe. This is to become an apostate, and there is no hope of restoration or forgiveness for the apostate. Backsliding, on the other hand, is forgivable, as demonstrated by Peter. Peter lowered his spiritual standing before God and man by knowingly lying; he was too weak to take a stand. To such a person, the Lord is bound, and will forgive and eventually restore.

“Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.” (Jeremiah 3:14)

Peter was the backslider. Even though his sin was serious, he realized what he had done and returned with a deep sense of humility and repentance. The Lord, whom he denied, never denied Peter.

(c) 2009 WitzEnd

Studies in Mark’s Gospel, Continued

Published March 23, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Crucifixion, Gospel, Mark, Peter

Two Confessions

Walk into any Christian bookstore and look at the most popular books, and something becomes immediately apparent: modern Christians want easy answers to every situation in their lives. Got a problem in your marriage? There are dozens of Christian books that give you step-by-step solutions. Got a financial problem? There are Christian financial counselors who can give you step-by-step solutions. Got an emotional problem? There are Christian counselors who can give you step-by-step solutions. You wouldn’t know that every single problem in your life can be solved in 40 days or less simply by following a few steps.

Mark would have been a flop as a modern Christian writer. Mark paints a picture of life—Christ’s life—as one that is not smooth and ironed out. He pulls no punches in showing what the real message of Jesus is. It is not what we are used to today: “Come to Jesus and He will solve your problems!” Indeed, the message of Jesus is a message of complete abandonment to God. It is not a message of self-help or self-fulfillment. It is a message of self-denial, not a message of getting all your needs met. In short, Mark demonstrates what Christian life should be by using Jesus as the example. Jesus came to die and He expects the same level of self-sacrifice from those of us who claim to be His followers.

As we have learned previously, Mark is a gospel of action and things happen very fast in it. As early as the third chapter, Mark alludes that the opponents of Jesus wanted Him dead and nothing less. Thanks to this gospel, we know that the death of Jesus was not an accident; it was not something that Jesus fell into because He ruffled some of the wrong feathers. Indeed, the death of Jesus was in God’s mind from eternity past, it was in the minds of religious leaders from the first days of Christ’s ministry, and it was in Jesus’ mind at least as early as His 40 days in the wilderness before actually beginning His work.

1. Peter’s Confession, 8:27—30

Mark’s gospel is a masterpiece of construction. This section is the exact midpoint of his gospel and begins the most important and tumultuous time in Jesus’ life. His crucifixion is a mere six months away, but while Jesus was ready, He knew well that His disciples were not. Much had to be done to prepare them for this traumatic event. The ministry of Jesus up till now in this gospel was almost exclusively among the crowds that followed Him from place to place. But from now on, the work of Christ would be chiefly with His friends.

The resemblance between Mark’s account of this event and those of Matthew and Luke is very close, and except for two verses in Matthew (16:19—19), the sequence of events and even the language used is almost identical. There is, however, enough variation in each account to show that the gospel writers were not just copying each other’s work, but rather, each man wrote the story as the Holy Spirit guided Him, using each man’s temperament and personality.

The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida (8:22—26) is an apt prelude to this section; the opening of the blind eyes symbolize and foreshadow the opening of the understanding of the disciples as to who Jesus really was and what His mission really involved. Even so, their understanding was not complete, but they did have a glimmer of the truth.

Jesus asked a question in verse 27 designed to test their spiritual insight (Sanner). The answers given are telling—

Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets. (verse 28)

The “some” referred to by the disciples were the crowds who had been listening to and following Jesus during His almost three-year ministry. What is so telling is that despite the many miracles, including the resurrection of the dead, the life-changing teachings, not one person even wondered if this Jesus could have been the Messiah. Part of this was by design; Jesus took great pains to prevent the crowds from making the connection. But part of their ignorance was human nature; they had certain preconceived notions about what the Messiah would look like based on their interpretation of their Scriptures and the tradition they had grown up in. How often do we miss moves of God in our lives or in our churches because He moves in an unexpected or surprising way?

Jesus’ next question is far more searching, and even though He addressed it directly to His disciples, it is a question no human being can avoid when they come into contact with Jesus—

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” (8:29)

The Greek is powerful. The emphatic pronoun hymeis (“you”) is used by Jesus to find out what was in the hearts of His friends. He wasn’t at all interested in the people thought about Him, even though that was His first question. His concern was what those closest to Him thought. It is not enough to know what other people think about Jesus, whether they are right or wrong. Jesus’ question was intended to show that the responsibility rests with the individual to know Him themselves.

True to form, Peter was ready with an answer. It was personal answer, but he was also the spokesman for the Twelve, and his confession would form one of the themes of this Gospel (see 1:1).

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” (8:29b)

The Greek word, Christos (“Christ”) comes from the Hebrew masiah (“Messiah”) and really means “the Anointed One of God.” In the Old Testament, oddly enough, masiah was used of anyone who was anointed with the holy oil, like the priests and kings of Israel. The word is meant to convey someone with a special relationship with God; a very close relationship and consecration to serve only Him, and an enduement with God’s power to do that. Near the end of the Old Testament era, the meaning of masiah became much narrower and came to refer to, not a living king, but the ideal King who would be chosen, anointed, and empowered by God to deliver His people and to establish a righteous kingdom. Indeed, the many ideas that swirled around masiah were far more political than spiritual, which probably accounted for the reason that Jesus almost never used that term. That, of course, does not mean that Jesus did not believe that He was the Messiah, but that He was not merely the masiah of Israel, but of the entire world.

Peter’s confession, which is much fuller in Matthew’s account, showed that Peter had a depth of understanding into Christ’s nature and mission that set him apart from the rest of the crowd, but it also showed that he had not yet grasped exactly Jesus’ messiahship entailed. He still had so much to learn about the Messiah’s suffering, rejection, and death.

2. Christ’s confession, 8:31—33

Peter has just confessed that Jesus was the Christ. He was the One Israel had so long waited for. Jesus warned them not to tell anybody else—

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. (8:30)

That statement is hard for some understand, but in light of what follows, it is clear that Peter’s reach had exceeded his grasp. He and the disciples needed to be taught what messiahship really meant before they tried to tell others. Of note is that Jesus does not refer to Himself as Messiah, but as the “Son of Man.” This is an important point theologically.

“Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite description of Himself throughout the Gospels. It occurs 81 times and with just 2 exceptions, no one else—not His friends or His foes—refers to Jesus as the Son of Man.

The phrase occurs many times throughout the Old Testament, sometimes of men, sometimes of a prophet, namely, Ezekiel; it is used over 90 times in his book of prophecy. This in itself is highly suggestive, however, the most significant passage in which “Son of Man” is used is Daniel 7:13—14, in which the Son of Man is shown to be a person from Heaven who, at the end time, will bring the Kingdom of God to earth—

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

This is significant because this is how Jesus is depicted frequently in Mark’s gospel—

If any of you are ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels. (8:38)

At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. (13:26)

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (14:62)

But Mark adds another dimension to the meaning of Son of Man, as seen in these passages, for example—

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. (8:31)

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (9:9)

“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles.” (10:33)

In verses 31 and 32, Jesus taught that He would be rejected by three groups: the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law. The three groups of people were not ordinary Jews, but religious leaders, specifically; they made up the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court.

Although the prophets wrote frequently about a Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13—53:12, for example), the notion of an all powerful and invincible Messiah who would be rejected by religious leaders and be killed was unthinkable to Peter and his friends. Even though Jesus assured them that after three days He would rise again, we read this—

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. (verse 32b)

Mark says Jesus “spoke plainly,” suggesting He held nothing back and spoke in a way Peter and the disciples could not misunderstand. But with a patronizing air, Peter had the audacity to “rebuke” Jesus.” The word epitimao (“rebuked”) is the same word used to describe the silencing of the demons. Basically, Peter was telling Jesus to “Shut up!”

Jesus, for His part, turned right around and rebuked him, Peter and the rest of the disciples, in the strongest language possible, which must have been startling to say the least. The rebuke was addressed to the Twelve because, as Jesus would have known, they shared Peter’s views.

“Get behind me, Satan!” (verse 33)

Why such a severe rebuke? Elwood Sanner offers—

With the popular view of the Messiah in mind, Jesus once more heard the voice of Satan calling Him away from the Cross (Matthew 4:3—10).

Barclay observes—

The tempter can make no more terrible attack than when he attacks in the voice of those who love us, and who think they seek only our good.

In other words, Peter did not see God’s plan, but was thinking with a “carnal mind.” Peter was literally opposing the will of God; all he could see was the Jewish notion of “Messiah.” That was the world’s way, not God’s way.

3. True discipleship, 8:34—38

In this section, a number of Jesus’ sayings are brought together by Mark, likely for the purpose of encouraging the Roman Christians who at the time were facing persecution and trials. Simply, Mark is telling them that such experiences are normal and to be expected in a life of discipleship. Lane comments—

Jesus had called his own disciples to the realization that suffering is not only His destiny, but theirs.

Notice that the requirements for following Jesus are not only for the Twelve, but for all who would want to follow Jesus—

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple…. (verse 34a)

There are only two requirements:

Denial of self. “Denial of self,” strangely enough, does not mean denying yourself something, but to renounce yourself—to stop making yourself the object of everything you do and think about. For most human beings, this involves a complete shift of our habitual way of thinking, for God, not self, must be at the center of all of life’s pursuits.
Taking up one’s cross and following Jesus. Cross-bearing does not refer to some sickness or life-long, enduring problem. It is the picture of a condemned man having to carry his own cross to the place of his execution, as Jesus was to do. To bear your cross means to follow Jesus, no matter what, even if it means suffering, humiliation, and death. Hunter makes the insightful observation—

If you want to be [Christs] disciples, you must begin to live a men on the way to the gallows.

For some, the price to follow Jesus may be too high. To those, Jesus says—

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it. (verse 35a)

The word “life” is interchangeable with “soul” because they are both correct interpretations of psyche. A person facing trials and persecution, or even just ridicule and humiliation, may literally save their lives or their reputations by denying Christ, but what would this person gain? The whole world? Not even the whole world can compare to the value of your soul. Once a person has forfeited their right to eternal life (denying Jesus), they can never get it back. Even if a person possessed the treasures of the whole world, they could not use them to buy back eternal life.

The climax of Jesus’ stern warning is this—

If any of you are ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels. (verse 38)

Following Jesus means the possibility of losing your life. However possible, that is not very likely to happen to us. For modern Christians, the probability is that following Jesus will result in our humiliation or ridicule. Ridicule is truly a weapon of mass destruction! It has slain many believers for no good reason. For those of us who think so highly ourselves and who consider our “reputations” and the opinions of others of greater value than our souls, the End will not be happy. Being spiritually disloyal to Christ, who gave His life for us, carries with it consequences so terrible they cannot be imagined. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, exchanged the glories of heaven to become man for you. If you prefer the present glory of man over the future glory of heaven, then that is all you have. The glory of heaven will elude you.

Mike's Place on the Web

Posts Tagged 'Crucifixion'

ISAIAH, Part 8

(c) 2011 WitzEnd

Studies in Mark’s Gospel, Part 7

(c) 2009 WitzEnd

Studies in Mark’s Gospel, Continued

(c) 2009 WitzEnd

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