1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:04,640 Some people say that everyone has their price. 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,480 It's a deeply cynical saying, means if you offer someone 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:15,360 enough money, they'll give up anything, compromise any value, 4 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:22,080 sell anybody out. Now, there is a grain of truth 5 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:26,280 in the saying. For example, let me tell you 6 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:31,440 about my favorite chair. It is a comfy leather reading 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:33,520 chair that sits in our living room. 8 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,680 Purchasing it was one of the best deals Kristen and I ever 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:39,960 got. It was over 10 years ago when we 10 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:42,640 were living in England. We were in a what they call a 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:44,360 charity shop, what we call a thrift store. 12 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:49,640 And Kristen spotted it and she said sit in that chair, do not 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,200 move. Do not let anyone come take it. 14 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,560 I'm going to go get the little slip we have to fill out so that 15 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:56,320 we claim it and then go to the front of the store. 16 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,200 We need that chair. And she was right. 17 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:02,960 It's a nice leather chair. It's comfy. 18 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,960 It's perfectly dimensioned. It was only there for 45 lbs, 19 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:07,920 which is the equivalent of like $70.00. 20 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,200 So I've had many a happy hour reading in that chair ever 21 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:16,640 since. If you offered me 10 times that 22 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,400 purchase price for the chair, I would not take it. 23 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,480 If you offered me 20 times the purchase price for the chair, I 24 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:30,240 would not take it. But what if that offer kept 25 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:34,560 going up? What if it went way, way up? 26 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,480 Not ten times, not 20 times, but like enough money to send all my 27 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:46,200 kids to college. My love for the chair would hit 28 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,560 its limit. I would cave in. 29 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:51,920 I would say OK, OK, give me the money. 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:57,160 Take the chair. Goodbye old friend, Hello kids 31 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:07,520 going to college. What you value is revealed not 32 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:13,000 only when you're offered some gain to give it up, but also 33 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:20,880 when a cost comes due. What you value is revealed when 34 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:27,640 it hurts to keep a promise. What you value is revealed when 35 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:33,160 it is painful to follow through on a commitment. 36 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:40,840 Is there anything you value so much that you wouldn't part with 37 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:46,480 it at any price? I don't mean a possession, I 38 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,640 mean a belief, a value, a commitment, maybe a 39 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:54,240 relationship. Is there anything you wouldn't 40 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,440 give up even if it cost you everything? 41 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,120 Our passage for this morning is Mark 8, verse 27 through Chapter 42 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,840 9, verse one. It's a turning point of Mark's 43 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,040 gospel. It's what everything in the 44 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,320 gospel so far has been leading up to, and it's going to set the 45 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,520 direction, even literally, for the whole rest of the story. 46 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,640 In our passage, Jesus teaches that if you want to be His 47 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:27,720 follower, you have to value Him so highly that you're willing to 48 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,720 give up everything in order to get him. 49 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,280 He teaches that you have to value Him so highly you wouldn't 50 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,880 part with Him for any price or any offer. 51 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,360 He teaches that the basic condition for becoming a 52 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,320 disciple, step one, square 1, the unavoidable beginning, is 53 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,520 that you would not give Him up even if it cost you everything. 54 00:03:53,840 --> 00:04:01,480 Losing everything is a small price to pay to gain Jesus, and 55 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,400 if you're not willing to make that trade, you're not a 56 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,680 Christian. That's the basic message of 57 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:13,680 Jesus teaching in our passage. Now, how could losing everything 58 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,920 to gain Jesus possibly be worth it? 59 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,360 Our passage is going to answer that question. 60 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:30,320 Please follow along as I read Mark 8/27 to 9/1 And Jesus went 61 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,400 on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. 62 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,040 And on the way he asked his disciples, Who do people say 63 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,520 that I am? And they told him John the 64 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:46,240 Baptist and others say Elijah and others, one of the prophets. 65 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,480 And he asked them, But who do you say that I am? 66 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:55,200 Peter answered him, You are the Christ. 67 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,800 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 68 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,200 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many 69 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,480 things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests, 70 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:15,360 and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 71 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:19,760 And he said this plainly, and Peter took him aside and began 72 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,920 to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his 73 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:30,960 disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan, for 74 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,800 you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the 75 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:39,000 things of man. And calling the crowd to him 76 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:43,000 with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after 77 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:48,320 me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow 78 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,000 me. For whoever would save his life 79 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,520 will lose it. But whoever loses his life for 80 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,040 my sake and the Gospels will save it. 81 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:05,160 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit 82 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:10,160 his soul? For what can a man give in 83 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:15,760 return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and 84 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:19,920 of my words, and his adulterous and sinful generation of him, 85 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,560 will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the 86 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,440 glory of his Father with the holy angels? 87 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:34,520 And he said to them, truly, I say to you, there's some 88 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:39,320 standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom 89 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,280 of God after it has come with power. 90 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:46,200 Here's the point of our passage in a nutshell. 91 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,520 The only way to life is through death. 92 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:58,760 The only way to life is through death. 93 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,800 That's true of how Jesus saves us, and it's true of how we 94 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:08,400 receive that salvation. Only Jesus's death can save you 95 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:13,480 from death, and only by dying to yourself can you receive that 96 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:18,240 salvation. Our passage links together 2 97 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,320 paradoxes, 2 seeming contradictions. 98 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,880 The first is that Jesus death brings us life, and the second 99 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,800 is that the way to eternal life is through dying to yourself. 100 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:38,960 The second is true because of the 1st because Jesus's own way 101 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:45,480 LED to and through the cross, the way of following him leads 102 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:51,000 to and through the cross. The only way to life is through 103 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,760 death. As we walk through the passage, 104 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:59,640 we'll consider four parts of this paradoxical equation .1 the 105 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:04,560 Christ. The Christ in verses 27 through 106 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,720 30. For the first time in Mark's 107 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:14,600 gospel, a human character rightly discerns and declares 108 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,440 that Jesus is the Messiah, ordained by God and foretold in 109 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,320 the Scriptures. Look with me again at first, 110 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:27,600 verses 27 and 28. And Jesus went on with his 111 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,000 disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. 112 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,720 And on the way, he asked his disciples, Who do people say 113 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,120 that I am? And they told him, John the 114 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:41,240 Baptist and others say Elijah and others, one of the prophets. 115 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,280 Note that phrase in verse 27 on the way. 116 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,520 It's an important phrase both literally and symbolically. 117 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:53,960 In in this passage, Jesus is beginning the journey toward 118 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,880 Jerusalem where he will be crucified. 119 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,040 He's literally going on the way there. 120 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:05,440 They're beginning that journey. But it's also the fact that on 121 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,800 this way, Jesus is going to continually instruct his 122 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,880 disciples about the way of following him. 123 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,320 The way he's walking is the way they're going to have to walk 124 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,560 while they're on the way. Jesus instructs them about the 125 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:21,120 way. And it's no coincidence that the 126 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,040 early Christians called themselves the Way. 127 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:28,120 The term Christian was a term of abuse invented by enemies, but 128 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,440 it just stuck. What Christians 1st called 129 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,920 themselves was the Way, because to be a Christian is to walk the 130 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:39,720 way that Jesus walked, namely to the cross. 131 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:45,320 So in our passage, Jesus first asks his disciples to report on 132 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,040 popular opinion about him. Now the answers that they return 133 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:54,520 are all good faith efforts by the broader public to understand 134 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,040 who Jesus is. The people regard him as a 135 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,040 prophet, and they're right, although he's more than a 136 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,760 prophet. In Deuteronomy 18, the Lord 137 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,800 promised to send his people a prophet like Moses who would 138 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:08,040 renew them and return their hearts to him. 139 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,760 In Malachi 4, the Lord promised to send the prophet Elijah 140 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,760 before the day of the Lord. We'll see more on that in the 141 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,440 next bit of Mark's gospel a little while from now. 142 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,200 So the people think that Jesus is one of the prophetic figures 143 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,360 who's going to prepare for the big decisive thing that God is 144 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,200 doing. That's close to the truth, but 145 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,320 it's still missing the mark. He's not a prophet who's going 146 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,160 to prepare for the big thing God is doing. 147 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,360 He is the big thing God is doing. 148 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,120 So that's why Jesus asks the disciples who they say that he 149 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:42,720 is. He's preparing them to give an 150 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,320 account of their own belief in Him. 151 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:49,640 Verses 29 and 30. And he asked them, But who do 152 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,000 you say that I am? Peter answered him. 153 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,000 You are the Christ, and he strictly charged him to tell no 154 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,320 one about him. Now Peter answers, presumably on 155 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,680 behalf of the other disciples, and the narrative implies that 156 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:04,920 he answered rightly. When Peter says you are the 157 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:09,800 Christ, Christ represents the Greek word that's equivalent to 158 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:13,000 the Hebrew mashiach or Messiah. It means anointed. 159 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,600 It refers to the Son that God promised to raise up from 160 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,000 David's line, who'd be king over Israel. 161 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,760 It refers to the king that God promised to install over all the 162 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:26,800 nations in Psalm 2. It names the long hoped for 163 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,960 Redeemer of God's people. So Peter sees the truth about 164 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,400 Jesus, but as we're going to see, he doesn't see the whole 165 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,200 truth. That's one reason why Jesus 166 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,200 orders his disciples to keep quiet. 167 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:43,400 This is a big moment of revelation. 168 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,840 This is a big moment of truth. But they don't have a whole 169 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:47,960 story. So he doesn't want them going 170 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:50,280 around telling everybody just yet. 171 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:57,680 Kids in the congregation, who do you say Jesus is? 172 00:11:58,160 --> 00:11:59,880 This is not just a question for grown-ups. 173 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:01,600 This is a question for everybody. 174 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,120 This is not a question you should defer until you're a 175 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:05,920 grown up. It's a question you should 176 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,880 answer now. I became a Christian when I was 177 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:10,600 11. I know a lot of people who 178 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,520 became a Christian at a lot younger age than that. 179 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,160 Who do you say Jesus is? Is a far more important question 180 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,440 than what's for lunch. It's a far more important 181 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,720 question than the answers to the next 20 questions on your math 182 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:24,760 homework. It is the most important 183 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:26,400 question you can be asked and answer. 184 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:32,840 Who do you say that Jesus is? Is he the Messiah, the Saviour, 185 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:34,760 the Son of God? And if you're not willing to say 186 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,080 that, why not? What do you still have questions 187 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,920 about? What evidence are you still 188 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,840 unsure of? The disciples had more than 189 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:49,840 enough evidence to answer this question rightly, and so do you 190 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:51,480 now. An essential part of being a 191 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:55,920 Christian is believing and confessing the core truths of 192 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,760 who Jesus is. In order to become a Christian, 193 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:03,640 you have to come to a clear and decided conviction that Jesus is 194 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,640 the Messiah. You have to come to a conviction 195 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:08,920 of who Jesus is and then declare it. 196 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,920 That's one of the reasons Jesus ordained the ordinance of 197 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,520 baptism, that it would be a means of publicly declaring that 198 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,240 you're owning the truth about who Jesus is. 199 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,480 You're saying he is the Saviour, He is the Lord, He is my 200 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:26,120 Saviour, He is my Lord. This need to confess the truth 201 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:30,760 is also why in our services we regularly declare a confession 202 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,680 of faith, just like we did with the Nicene Creed, or we often do 203 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,320 with one of the articles of our own statement of faith. 204 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:40,720 Jesus asks each of us, who do you say that I am? 205 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,120 And when you declare the truth out loud in public, that's one 206 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:49,160 way that you answer To be a Christian, you have to know the 207 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:51,960 truth about Jesus and own the truth about Jesus. 208 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,200 But it isn't enough to declare that he's the Christ. 209 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:03,040 You could say he's the Messiah but still miss the meaning of 210 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,480 what he came to do and how he came to save us. 211 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:14,360 What is that .2 The cross. The cross verses 31 to 33. 212 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:21,200 In these verses, Jesus teaches the disciples that God ordained 213 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:25,440 from all eternity and revealed in the Scriptures that the 214 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,440 Messiah would willingly give himself over to death for our 215 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:32,520 sins, and that he'd rise from the dead. 216 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:38,360 Look at verses 31 and 32. And he began to teach them that 217 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,440 the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the 218 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,280 elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and 219 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:50,080 after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. 220 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:56,560 As soon as the disciples confess Him to be the Christ, He begins 221 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:00,000 teaching them about the cross. In verse 31. 222 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,520 When Jesus says that He's going to be rejected by the Jewish 223 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:09,560 leaders, He's deliberately echoing Isaiah 53, verse 3, 224 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:15,760 which Sam read to us earlier. He was despised and rejected by 225 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,600 men. A man of sorrows and acquainted 226 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:24,640 with grief, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 suffered 227 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,480 death for his people's sins. He was rejected not just by 228 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:31,720 humans, but by God for their sake. 229 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,640 He gave himself over to death to pay the penalty for them, and 230 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:41,320 then he was vindicated. That chapter, Isaiah 53, teaches 231 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,120 us that the suffering servant not only goes to the cross, but 232 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,600 his saving mission goes through the cross. 233 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,760 There's life out the other side. I don't know if you've ever 234 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:52,880 noticed this before in Isaiah 53. 235 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,560 Here again, verses 11 and 12 of that chapter. 236 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,520 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. 237 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:06,600 By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my Servant, make 238 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,160 many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their 239 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,040 iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a 240 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,600 portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the 241 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:20,520 strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was 242 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,200 numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and 243 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,480 makes intercession for the transgressors. 244 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,760 There's fruit and reward for the servant on the far side of 245 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:32,960 death. If you've ever wondered when 246 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,600 Paul says in First Corinthians 5 that Christ died for our sins 247 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,000 according to the Scriptures, was raised according to the 248 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,280 Scriptures. You went, OK, died for our sins. 249 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:41,760 Yeah, Isaiah 53. I get that. 250 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,840 I see how that's in the Old Testament, the sacrifices. 251 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:45,640 What about the part about the resurrection? 252 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,400 Where is that in the Old Testament? 253 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,480 Well, it's right here in the same chapter. 254 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:51,760 It's right here at the end of the chapter. 255 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,240 He not only dies but is vindicated. 256 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,680 He not only suffers but is rewarded. 257 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:00,320 What form could that reward take if he's still dead? 258 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:05,119 How could there be reward after the cross if he stays dead? 259 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,560 Now this is one reason why Jesus says that the Son of Man must 260 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,680 not only suffer, but as he says at the end of verse 31, after 261 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:18,640 three days, rise again. Ancient Jews counted days 262 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:24,319 inclusively like Friday day one, Saturday day 2, Sunday day 263 00:17:24,319 --> 00:17:27,200 three. So to say after three days is 264 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:28,920 the same as saying on the third day. 265 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,520 There's no contradiction there. The New Testament says this all 266 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:34,920 sorts of different ways. According to Isaiah's suffering 267 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,720 servant prophecy, the servant would not only be rejected and 268 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,640 die, but he would rise again. Now why does Jesus call himself 269 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,520 the Son of Man here? Why does he say that the Son of 270 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,040 Man must be must suffer these things? 271 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,240 Jesus is referring to the prophecy in Daniel Chapter 7 272 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,760 verses 13 and 14 that says one like a Son of man, that is, a 273 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,520 human being will receive divine authority from God himself. 274 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,120 By calling himself the Son of Man here, Jesus hints at the 275 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:10,840 glory and power that will be his after his resurrection. 276 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,800 That's when this Son of Man prophecy will be fulfilled. 277 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,880 So Jesus is telling his disciples, OK guys, you've heard 278 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,360 of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. 279 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,960 You've heard of the Son of Man in Daniel Chapter 7. 280 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:27,760 I'm telling you, both of those are me. 281 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,480 Those figures are one, and that person is me. 282 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:33,800 First I'm going to suffer and die to pay for sins. 283 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,440 Then I'm going to receive power and glory from God. 284 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:41,840 First suffering, then glory. First the cross, then the crown. 285 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,920 He's beginning to give them the script for what's going to play 286 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,040 out. They don't know it, they can't 287 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,560 see it, but He's showing them that it was for ordained. 288 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,520 Both the suffering and the glory are there in the Old Testament 289 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,080 Scriptures. The only way to life is through 290 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,440 death, and your only way to receive eternal life is through 291 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:09,240 the death of another. We, as self interested, 292 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:16,440 self-righteous sinners, are so often in the business of 293 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:23,320 maximizing our virtues and minimizing our faults, it is 294 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,280 hard for us to reckon with the reality that our sins are 295 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,040 against God. God is infinitely holy. 296 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,880 God is infinitely righteous, and so our sins deserve death. 297 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:35,160 You might be a very moral person. 298 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:36,960 You might be a very upstanding citizen. 299 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,000 You might contribute to the common good in all sorts of 300 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,120 ways. It could be hard for you to see 301 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:45,120 through all of that and to recognize that your sins, 302 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:49,400 because they are fundamentally against God, deserve death. 303 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,120 But recognizing that fact about you is necessary to come into a 304 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,680 true spiritual understanding of where you stand before God. 305 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,720 It's necessary to come to an understanding of what you need 306 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:01,640 in order to be right right with God. 307 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:06,320 It's necessary in order to recognize what Jesus came to do. 308 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:13,080 He came to die because the only way to life is through death. 309 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:18,200 Jesus paid the full price. For sins, Jesus paid the full 310 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,840 debt of sins. He came to die so that everyone 311 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:25,120 who turns from sin and trusts in Him will be reconciled to God 312 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:26,960 instantly, perfectly, completely. 313 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,480 And as we've already seen, he came to rise from the dead to 314 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,280 enter into glory, to enter into a whole new mode of life that is 315 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,280 completely beyond the reach of any hint of death. 316 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,040 That's the promise he holds out to all who believe in Him. 317 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:42,880 If you will turn from sin and trust in Him today, you'll be 318 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,640 right with God and you'll enter into glory one day with Jesus 319 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:50,240 himself. Now that's good news. 320 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,880 That's better news than anyone on earth could invent or tell 321 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,520 you. How did the disciples respond to 322 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,880 this news that Jesus going to suffer and die for them and then 323 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,560 rise from the dead? Well, they didn't respond quite 324 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,040 like you would hope. Peter. 325 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:13,120 Again, look at the rest of verse 32, Mark 832. 326 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,680 He said this plainly, and Peter took him aside and began to 327 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:23,040 rebuke him. Peter expected a Messiah who 328 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,000 would come and bring God's Kingdom in its fullness Now, 329 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,560 like many Jews of his time, Peter apparently expected a 330 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,840 Messiah who would throw off Roman rule, restore peace and 331 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,440 prosperity and flourishing to Israel, and set up God's Kingdom 332 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:38,840 right now. He expected an end to pain, an 333 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,720 end to oppression, an end to suffering and sorrow. 334 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:47,160 Now his vision for the Messiah had no room for suffering and 335 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:53,000 rejection and death. His messianic hope had no place 336 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:59,480 for the cross. So Peter begins to rebuke Jesus. 337 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,840 He's discreet about it. He takes him aside privately. 338 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:06,240 He doesn't do it in front of everybody. 339 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:12,480 He thinks he's being humble. But think of the presumption 340 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:16,680 Jesus just about suffering and dying. 341 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,640 That's not a very Messiah ish kind of thing to do. 342 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:23,600 How about a little more coming of the Kingdom Now? 343 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:25,840 Haven't haven't you read the scriptures? 344 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,360 These promises of restoration? I'm not sure where all this 345 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:31,360 suffering stuff is coming from, but if we could just have a 346 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:35,400 little revision of the agenda here, that would make a lot more 347 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:40,240 sense. Notice how Jesus responds verse 348 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,800 33 turning and seeing his disciples. 349 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:49,200 He rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me Satan, for you are not 350 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:51,560 setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of 351 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,760 man. Peter could not comprehend the 352 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,760 divine paradox of a crucified Messiah. 353 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,280 He was thinking in merely human terms. 354 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,520 But in this case, to think in merely human terms was to take 355 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:11,320 sides with Satan. What's the connection there? 356 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,800 How can Jesus leap to this conclusion that Peter is acting 357 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:20,560 as a mouthpiece for Satan? Because Satan opposes God's plan 358 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,880 of salvation, Satan wants to do whatever he can to keep Jesus 359 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,080 off the cross. Remember in Matthew 4 verses 360 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,720 8:00 and 9:00 when Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the 361 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,160 world if you will only fall down and worship him, What's Satan 362 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,320 offering Jesus? A Kingdom without the cross. 363 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:41,440 What does Peter want for Jesus? What does Peter want from Jesus? 364 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:49,400 A Kingdom without the cross? Satan and Peter want the same 365 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:54,400 thing. So Jesus rebukes Peter for 366 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,280 thinking and speaking like Satan, but no worry tells him to 367 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,680 go. He doesn't say go away. 368 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:07,000 He says, get behind me. Jesus has begun his journey 369 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,680 toward Jerusalem. He's teaching what it means. 370 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,360 Peter stops him, pauses him, stands in his way. 371 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:20,840 Peter is coming between Jesus and the cross. 372 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,520 So Jesus tells Peter to get out of the way. 373 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,440 He's got somewhere to go. And he tells Peter to take up 374 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:34,120 his rightful position behind him, the place of a disciple. 375 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,760 Where's Peter going? He's going to the cross too. 376 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:47,160 His place is behind Jesus, walking in the same direction. 377 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,840 So note both the grace and the rebuke. 378 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,200 This is a little mini restoration of Peter, just like 379 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,240 there's going to be a bigger one later. 380 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:59,600 He corrects Peter and puts him in his place. 381 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:06,520 But when Jesus puts you into your place, it's grace, it's 382 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,600 restoration, it's where you need to be. 383 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:15,440 God's plan of salvation is a mystery. 384 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:21,600 It's a paradox. It is beyond natural reason and 385 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,360 against fallen reason. So in order to accept it, you 386 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:30,800 have to crucify your reason. You cannot bring human 387 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,520 preconceptions to the table and say, yeah, God's plan of 388 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:36,240 salvation better make sense with those. 389 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:44,480 You have to die inwardly, die to human reasoning, in order to 390 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,400 accept this good news, as one commentator put it. 391 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,080 If you're looking for low hanging fruit in terms of how to 392 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,000 apply the passage, here's an easy one. 393 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:03,280 Never rebuke Jesus. What did we learn at church this 394 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,200 morning? It was a very complicated, high 395 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:13,040 level, advanced lesson. Never rebuke Jesus. 396 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:18,480 But the question is, in what ways are you tempted to rebuke 397 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,440 Jesus? In what ways are you tempted to 398 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,200 think you know better than Jesus? 399 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:25,960 In what ways are you tempted to think you know better how to run 400 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,200 your life than Jesus? In what ways are you tempted you 401 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,560 think you know better? What will make you happy than 402 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,880 Jesus? What ways are you tempted to 403 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:41,200 think you know? What are better rules and 404 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:47,520 boundaries than Jesus? The only way to life is through 405 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,240 death. Jesus crucifixion and 406 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:52,680 resurrection were ordained by God from all eternity. 407 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,040 That's why Jesus says must. The Son of man must. 408 00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:00,360 It's God's eternal saving plan. It was ordained from eternity 409 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,920 and revealed in the Scriptures. The only way to get right with 410 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,440 God is to receive the crucified Messiah by faith. 411 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:19,360 But in order to do that, you must give up everything .3 the 412 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:26,200 cost .3 the cost. It's in verses 34 to 38. 413 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,560 Jesus teaches that in order to become his follower, you must 414 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:38,600 renounce yourself completely. Discipleship to Jesus demands 415 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:43,360 total self denial. Discipleship to Jesus requires 416 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:48,880 you to die to yourself. Look first at verse 34. 417 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:54,360 Kind of the thesis statement of the section and calling the 418 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:57,400 crowd to him with his disciples, He said to them, if anyone would 419 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:02,480 come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross 420 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,600 and follow me. This is a message for the 421 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,440 disciples and the crowds, those who are already following him 422 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:11,760 and those who are thinking about it. 423 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,640 If you are not a follower of Jesus, but you're thinking about 424 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:18,120 it, if you're not a disciple of Jesus but you're considering it, 425 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:24,400 this message is for you. If anyone would come after me, 426 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:30,400 let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 427 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,360 Three parts. Deny himself, take up his cross, 428 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,280 follow me. Let's walk through these in 429 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,800 reverse order. Follow me is relatively easy to 430 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,600 understand. Follow Jesus teaching. 431 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,640 Submit to his commands. Let him rule your life. 432 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,120 Easy to understand, easy to say, hard to do. 433 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:53,240 But what does Jesus mean by take up his cross? 434 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,920 This is one of those expressions that's been so smoothed out by 435 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,640 2000 years of regular use and it's hard to recover its 436 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:05,440 original shocking sense. You have a grumpy nosy neighbor, 437 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,600 or you have seasonal allergies and some well meaning comforter 438 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,960 says to you, we all have our cross to bear. 439 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:25,840 No, Jesus had a cross to bear. What was the cross in AD 30? 440 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:32,840 It was a Roman instrument, a violent shame and torturous 441 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,600 execution. Part of the shame in torture was 442 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,200 that the one who is going to be crucified often had to carry the 443 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,520 large, heavy beam of wood that would soon be affixed to the 444 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:48,880 vertical beam of wood so that they could be attached to it and 445 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:54,120 hang from it and die a gruesome, slow, excruciating death. 446 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,480 When Jesus says that in order to be his follower you have to take 447 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:03,600 up your cross, he's saying you must voluntarily die for his 448 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,080 sake. He's saying you have to 449 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:10,520 willingly embrace your own execution. 450 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:18,160 He's saying that the only way to follow Him is to die first. 451 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:23,560 Jesus teaching that every Christian is a martyr. 452 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,720 In principle, every Christian is someone who has died to 453 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,440 themselves and therefore is willing to die for Jesus if 454 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:36,600 they're called upon to do it. Taking up your cross does not 455 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,520 refer to the inconveniences or sufferings that are common to 456 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,800 everybody in this fallen world. Instead, it refers to 457 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:50,560 voluntarily embracing suffering for Christ's sake, willingly 458 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,800 adopting the extra suffering that comes because you are a 459 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:59,080 follower of Jesus. It's saying whatever this world 460 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:02,480 hated Jesus for, it can hate me for. 461 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:09,000 Whatever got Jesus killed, whatever made the world want to 462 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,080 kill him, they can kill me for that same thing. 463 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:15,560 That's what it means to take up your cross. 464 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:21,480 To take up your cross is to willingly suffer and die for the 465 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,640 one who willingly suffered and died for you, and to willingly 466 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,960 suffer and die for him because he willingly suffered and died 467 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,560 for you. This brings us back to the first 468 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:36,040 demand. Let him deny himself. 469 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,880 What is it to deny yourself? If someone claims that the 470 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:47,480 Chicago Bears are the greatest football team in history, you 471 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,840 can deny that statement by contradicting it. 472 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,440 You could easily provide contrary evidence to demonstrate 473 00:31:55,440 --> 00:32:01,040 that it's false. If someone requests that they 474 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:08,320 sell your house and keep all the money, you could refuse that 475 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:11,160 request. That would be to deny that 476 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:12,200 request. No thank you. 477 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:16,040 I will continue living in my house and if we sell it, we'll, 478 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:22,840 you know, get the money. That's to deny a request later 479 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:28,120 in Mark's Gospel in chapter 14, it's going to use the same Greek 480 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:33,320 word for deny to describe what Peter did to Jesus. 481 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,360 When the servant girl asked Peter if he was one of Jesus 482 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:44,000 disciples, he responded, I do not know this man of whom you 483 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:50,560 speak. He denied Jesus in order to 484 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:56,520 become a Christian. What Peter wrongly did to Jesus, 485 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,760 you have to rightly do to yourself. 486 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,800 I do not know this man of whom you speak. 487 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:11,080 I do not know this woman of whom you speak. 488 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,400 You have to deny any interest in yourself. 489 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:21,760 You have to disclaim any attachment to yourself. 490 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:31,240 You have to divorce yourself. You have to deny and die to 491 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:34,000 yourself to become a follower of Jesus. 492 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,960 You have to treat yourself as if yourself did not exist, as if 493 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:43,600 yourself has no claim on you. You have to be willing in 494 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,480 principle to surrender everything, to give up 495 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,400 everything. You have to give up everything 496 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:55,520 and only get back what Jesus wills if and when he wills it. 497 00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:01,160 What specifically do you have to deny in yourself? 498 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,560 You have to deny everything in you that is either opposed to 499 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:11,800 God or could come into competition with God. 500 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:15,960 Jesus is not telling you that you somehow have to hate your 501 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,639 physical existence. Stop eating, stop sleeping, stop 502 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:20,080 taking care of yourself. No, not at all. 503 00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:24,080 The Bible assumes a baseline of self love, self preservation, 504 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:31,239 self-care. It assumes that but #1 we often 505 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:35,560 want things for ourselves that God does not want that has to 506 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:40,440 die #2 we often want things for ourselves that could be 507 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,679 legitimate in themselves. But they get a hold of our 508 00:34:43,679 --> 00:34:44,800 heart. They take over. 509 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,239 They come to stand in the place of God that has to die. 510 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:56,960 And even if on top of that, following Jesus means suffering, 511 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:04,160 following Jesus means embracing pain, hardship, loss, death that 512 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:06,520 you would not normally or naturally embrace. 513 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:11,120 If that choice is forced on you, you're just trying to go about 514 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:14,760 your business, but that choice comes upon you. 515 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:21,520 Then you have to choose suffering, loss, even death when 516 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:29,560 loyalty to Christ is at stake. Jesus died physically to save 517 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,000 you. You must die spiritually to 518 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,800 receive Him. Why? 519 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:39,880 One reason is what he promises in verse 35. 520 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:44,640 Look at verse 35. For whoever would save his life 521 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:48,000 will lose it. But whoever loses his life for 522 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,920 my sake and the gospels will save it. 523 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,080 If you try to keep your life now, you will lose it eternally. 524 00:35:56,040 --> 00:36:00,960 If you willingly lose your life now, you will gain it eternally. 525 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,000 What are you losing your life for? 526 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:12,240 Jesus says. For my sake and the Gospels. 527 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:18,840 Jesus assumes that following Jesus means bearing public 528 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:21,680 witness to Jesus. That's how you can get yourself 529 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,800 into the situation where you're called upon to lose your life 530 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:30,360 for his sake. And the Gospels, if you bear 531 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,520 public witness to Jesus, you'll become the target of others 532 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:38,800 opposition to Jesus. Jesus assumes that following him 533 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:42,240 means testifying to him, and testifying to him means becoming 534 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:44,800 the target of others irrational hatred of him. 535 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:51,200 And so any Christian can in principle be called upon to make 536 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:56,760 the decision, deny Jesus and keep living, bear witness to 537 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:03,480 Jesus and die. To be a Christian is to decide 538 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:11,720 ahead of time that that exchange is worth it, the Dutch 539 00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:15,560 theologian William Abrackel, running around the year 1700, 540 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,160 said. If then the cause of Christ is 541 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:24,720 at stake and we must either forsake our life or forsake and 542 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:30,480 deny Christ, the person who denies self will surrender his 543 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:39,240 life, and we'll be glad that he has something precious which he 544 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:46,440 may yield to Christ. To be a Christian is to say, I 545 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:52,360 will love Jesus and obey Jesus and testify to Jesus if it costs 546 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:58,160 me everything. Notice the promise in verse 35. 547 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:03,680 Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save 548 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,320 it. How can you save your life by 549 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,520 losing it? Here's another paradox. 550 00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,080 It's because the life Jesus promising is eternal life with 551 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:15,240 him. The hope Jesus is holding out is 552 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:19,600 resurrection life in a glorified body in the new creation. 553 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:24,920 The promise Jesus offers more than makes up for the cost of 554 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:28,080 giving your life away for His sake. 555 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:35,240 If you're not a believer in Jesus, you need to acknowledge 556 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,960 that you're betting your life on something. 557 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:45,120 There is no way not to gamble with your life. 558 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,240 If you bet against Christianity, you're betting that Jesus is a 559 00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:56,200 liar, that the God of the Bible doesn't exist, that heaven and 560 00:38:56,200 --> 00:39:02,040 hell aren't real. How confident are you of the 561 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:08,280 odds of that bet? How confident are you in placing 562 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:15,200 your life as that bet? Jesus is deliberately using 563 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:16,880 economic language here to make a point. 564 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,600 He's asking you, what's your price? 565 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:22,800 What do you think is a good deal? 566 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,880 Would you sell me out? Jesus asks, If the price is 567 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:34,680 right, would you give me up? And how about the deal of giving 568 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:38,840 away now? What can't last, and it'll be 569 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:44,640 gone soon anyways in order to gain what can never be taken 570 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:49,440 away. How does that deal sound to you? 571 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:57,280 Jesus is teaching that a Christian is someone who has no 572 00:39:57,280 --> 00:40:02,400 price because Christ is their infinite prize. 573 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:07,240 You will only give up something you love in order to gain 574 00:40:07,240 --> 00:40:12,440 something you love even more. I would only give up my reading 575 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:16,320 chair if it enabled me to do something great for my children, 576 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:19,680 who I love even more than my reading chair. 577 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:26,720 Jesus is saying that the only way to follow Him is to love Him 578 00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:33,160 more than you love life itself. Jesus is worthy of that kind of 579 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,240 love. If you know Him, you know that's 580 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:39,440 true. If you know him, you know that 581 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:44,640 you would rather have Jesus with nothing then have everything 582 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:49,240 without Jesus. Talk to someone who's a 583 00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:53,120 Christian and they'll tell you that's true. 584 00:40:56,240 --> 00:41:01,480 We all know people who can spend like 13 hours researching a 585 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:09,840 purchase to save $28.00. In the end you got a deal, but 586 00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:14,040 was it worth all the effort? If you start to calculate the 587 00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:16,760 hourly rate of what you spend researching the deal to what you 588 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:20,960 guys like $2.20 an hour is your time worth? 589 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:29,560 110th of minimum wage. Jesus is saying that keeping 590 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,760 your life to yourself is a bad deal. 591 00:41:32,720 --> 00:41:37,440 Keeping your life for yourself is not worth the effort. 592 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:40,040 You might think Jesus demands are too high. 593 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:42,920 You might think the cost of discipleship is too much. 594 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:46,280 You might think you can manage the investment of your life 595 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:51,120 better than Jesus can. But Jesus is saying that if you 596 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:55,200 do that, the end will not be gain, it will be loss. 597 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:00,720 Total loss, absolute loss, eternal loss. 598 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:06,520 Verse 36. What does it profit a man to 599 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:09,760 gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 600 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:13,600 What does it mean to forfeit your soul? 601 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:18,000 It means that you will eternally suffer God's punishment in hell. 602 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:23,560 It means an eternity of unending conscious torment. 603 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:28,080 That's what Jesus means by using the phrase forfeit your soul. 604 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:33,000 It means you would lose out on infinite joy for the sake of 605 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:37,960 finite pleasures that will last at most a few measly decades. 606 00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:43,320 Jesus warns about striving to gain the whole world. 607 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:50,520 What in this world do you most strive to gain? 608 00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:54,400 In what ways are you most tempted to try to gain the 609 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:59,400 world? How could that striving be 610 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:03,400 setting a trap for your soul right now? 611 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:09,640 In verse 37, Jesus again asks you to put your soul into a 612 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:13,440 balance sheet. For what can a man give in 613 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:16,480 return for his soul? You can also translate that word 614 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:20,760 return as exchange or even ransom. 615 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:25,920 Here's what Jesus means. Somehow your soul is forfeit. 616 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:29,800 Your soul is subject to an unpayable debt. 617 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,640 You can't buy it back. You can't pay it off. 618 00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:36,240 You have nothing you could give to buy your soul. 619 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:40,440 There's no way you can't buy it back. 620 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:45,400 But it's a good thing Jesus can. It's a good thing Jesus did. 621 00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:48,960 All you have to do is believe in Him. 622 00:43:50,640 --> 00:43:54,880 Jesus concludes this pleading for our souls in verse 38 with a 623 00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:58,440 sober warning. Verse 38. 624 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:01,840 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words and his adulterous 625 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:06,240 and sinful generation of him, will the Son of Man also be 626 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:10,080 ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the 627 00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:13,960 holy angels? Here Jesus shifts from the 628 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:18,480 language of prophet and loss to the language of honor and shame. 629 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:22,960 And again, he makes a test of whether you're following him, 630 00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:30,120 whether you're willing to stand up for him before others at cost 631 00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:33,880 to yourself. Genuinely following Jesus has 632 00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:37,880 never been popular. Changing political currents, 633 00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:40,480 shifting winds of popular opinion. 634 00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:44,440 These things might make being a Christian more or less popular 635 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:50,840 in changing seasons, but real discipleship always attracts 636 00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:55,280 opposition. In this life, we'll face 637 00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:58,400 constant temptations to be ashamed of Christ's teaching, to 638 00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:01,880 be ashamed of his commandments, and to be ashamed of his people. 639 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,160 There will always be people in your life who subtly exert 640 00:45:06,160 --> 00:45:10,680 pressure on you to be ashamed of Christianity's beliefs, to be 641 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:14,520 ashamed of its rules, and to be ashamed of Christians 642 00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:20,760 themselves. In what ways are you tempted to 643 00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:29,080 distance yourself or separate yourself from Jesus teachings or 644 00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:33,200 commands or his people? Where would you like to put a 645 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:39,240 little bit of daylight between yourself and something about 646 00:45:39,240 --> 00:45:43,120 Jesus? Wherever that pressure point is, 647 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:47,080 make it an object of prayer. Make it an object of repentance. 648 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:48,920 Talk to somebody about it. Get help. 649 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:50,600 Bring that struggle out into the light. 650 00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:55,000 Get help from another believer to help you be bold and 651 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:59,920 accountable and open about the awkward and uncomfortable and 652 00:45:59,920 --> 00:46:04,840 culturally unpopular bits of being a Christian today. 653 00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:09,640 People put flags on their lawn or hang them from the front of 654 00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:14,040 their homes, all sorts of flags that send all sorts of messages. 655 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:17,560 Some of those flags begin with the phrase In this house we 656 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:21,760 believe, and then they confess a secular creed. 657 00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:27,160 Now, I'm not telling you to literally hang a flag out your 658 00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:29,400 front door or put one on your lawn. 659 00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:32,440 That is a matter of Christian liberty and prudence. 660 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:39,680 But I am saying this. To be a Christian is to fly a 661 00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:46,680 flag for Jesus in how you live, what you say, and what you do. 662 00:46:47,200 --> 00:46:50,720 No matter what it costs you, no matter who it alienates or 663 00:46:50,720 --> 00:46:54,240 offends. No matter how it clashes with 664 00:46:54,240 --> 00:46:57,280 the secular creed that someone next to you in the workplace or 665 00:46:57,280 --> 00:47:00,040 next to you on your block is proclaiming. 666 00:47:01,240 --> 00:47:04,840 Why should we refuse to be ashamed of Jesus now? 667 00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:07,560 It's because the only alternative is to be put to 668 00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:14,040 shame by Jesus. Then that's what Jesus warns. 669 00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:17,360 He will come again in glory. He will come again as judge. 670 00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:20,760 He will come in put to shame all those who have been ashamed of 671 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:23,880 Him. Throughout this passage, Jesus 672 00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:26,880 is teaching us that the stakes of following Him or rejecting 673 00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:29,640 Him could not be higher. The stakes are infinite. 674 00:47:29,880 --> 00:47:33,280 The stakes are eternal, eternal life and eternal death. 675 00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,920 The only way to enter eternal life is to die now. 676 00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:41,400 The only way to gain eternity is by giving up everything. 677 00:47:41,720 --> 00:47:44,160 Now, the here's the thing, though. 678 00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:48,760 The motive for everything you're giving up is gain. 679 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:52,440 There's no way to kind of like make a deal, like, well, maybe 680 00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:54,840 if I give up this much, I'll get that much. 681 00:47:55,280 --> 00:47:58,680 You have to give up everything. There's no bargaining. 682 00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:02,080 There's no bringing your own terms to the negotiating table 683 00:48:02,080 --> 00:48:05,000 to see if the owner will be willing to give up this or that. 684 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:10,280 You have to give up everything. But when you give up everything, 685 00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:13,760 what you gain is infinitely more. 686 00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:17,800 Jesus will more than repay every sacrifice. 687 00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:22,080 Jesus will more than reward every loss. 688 00:48:22,720 --> 00:48:27,400 Jesus himself is a prize greater than anything in this world. 689 00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:30,400 If you prize him above everything, you will have no 690 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:31,880 price. You will be free. 691 00:48:32,240 --> 00:48:35,200 You can't kill someone who's already dead. 692 00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:38,520 You can't buy someone who's already been bought. 693 00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:41,440 There's a freedom in self denial. 694 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:43,240 You don't care what they threaten. 695 00:48:43,560 --> 00:48:47,280 You don't care what they offer. You are completely indifferent 696 00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:51,200 to this worldly fortune if it conflicts with what Jesus wants 697 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:53,560 for you and what Jesus wants from you. 698 00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:57,960 There's freedom in having Jesus as your greatest gain because 699 00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:02,040 you are untouchable. Your heart is anchored so far 700 00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:05,720 beyond what anybody can do to you here. 701 00:49:07,120 --> 00:49:11,880 No gain or loss could come that'll make you willing to sell 702 00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:14,280 out Jesus. One day. 703 00:49:14,720 --> 00:49:17,480 Every sacrifice will be rewarded. 704 00:49:18,200 --> 00:49:19,880 I almost thought it was the end of the sermon, but we got one 705 00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:28,600 more point .4 the crown, the crown, one more verse, one more 706 00:49:28,600 --> 00:49:30,280 point. This is Chapter 9, verse one. 707 00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:37,800 The crown is what Jesus promises implicitly in Chapter 9 verse 708 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:41,040 one. Our death to self will lead to 709 00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:44,600 eternal life. Our suffering now will become 710 00:49:44,600 --> 00:49:47,640 glory. Then Jesus's resurrection 711 00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:54,440 guarantees that and his transfiguration previews it. 712 00:49:55,480 --> 00:50:04,710 Look at Chapter 9 verse one. And he said to them, truly, I 713 00:50:04,710 --> 00:50:08,880 say to you, there's some standing here who will not taste 714 00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:11,720 death until they see the Kingdom of God after it has come with 715 00:50:11,720 --> 00:50:15,120 power. Now, many people take this to be 716 00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:17,280 a promise of Jesus's bodily return. 717 00:50:18,120 --> 00:50:20,840 And then they notice that Jesus did not bodily return in the 718 00:50:20,840 --> 00:50:22,760 lifetime of any of his disciples. 719 00:50:23,240 --> 00:50:26,800 And so they take this to be a failed prophecy, and they take 720 00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:30,480 Jesus to be a false prophet. Some very famous atheist like 721 00:50:30,480 --> 00:50:33,840 Bertrand Russell have listed this down as a reason why I do 722 00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:39,000 not believe in Jesus. Now, in response, we have to 723 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:42,640 first note, just start by observation, right? 724 00:50:42,640 --> 00:50:44,480 If you come to Wednesday night Bible study, what we're always 725 00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:47,640 trying to do is observe, interpret, apply. 726 00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:51,440 We notice what's in the text. We try to wrestle with it, what 727 00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:53,240 it means in its context, and then apply. 728 00:50:53,240 --> 00:50:58,440 OK, observe. Strictly speaking, this is not a 729 00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:03,920 promise of Jesus's return. He does not say, truly, I say to 730 00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:07,560 you, there's some standing here who will not taste death until I 731 00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:10,000 return. He doesn't say those words. 732 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,240 What does He say? He says they will see the 733 00:51:12,240 --> 00:51:15,200 Kingdom of God after it has come in power. 734 00:51:15,960 --> 00:51:20,680 What else could the Kingdom of God coming in power refer to? 735 00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:25,520 The next clue is what comes immediately after this saying, 736 00:51:26,200 --> 00:51:28,600 the very next verse. This is the case not only in 737 00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:33,000 Mark, but also in Matthew and Luke right after this saying, 738 00:51:33,240 --> 00:51:36,800 come to Jesus Transfiguration. He takes 3 disciples with him, 739 00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:40,600 goes up on a mountain, and he's revealed in blazing glory, and 740 00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:43,400 God the Father speaks from heaven and Moses and Elijah are 741 00:51:43,400 --> 00:51:44,840 there. It's a kind of pulling back the 742 00:51:44,840 --> 00:51:48,280 curtain and divine glory starts showing out. 743 00:51:48,880 --> 00:51:50,880 That's what the transfiguration is. 744 00:51:51,600 --> 00:51:56,000 Now the very next words in Mark are after six days. 745 00:51:56,680 --> 00:51:59,280 It's very unusual in Mark's Gospel to get such a specific 746 00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:02,760 time stamp. It's as if Mark is saying right 747 00:52:02,760 --> 00:52:07,840 after Jesus said this very short time later, the next big thing 748 00:52:07,840 --> 00:52:13,120 he did was so he says they'll see the Kingdom of God after his 749 00:52:13,120 --> 00:52:17,880 coming power. And then he shows Kingdom of God 750 00:52:17,880 --> 00:52:22,040 type glory and power up on the mountaintop. 751 00:52:23,240 --> 00:52:26,320 Also note that in the transfiguration Jesus takes some 752 00:52:26,320 --> 00:52:28,720 of his disciples, Peter, James, John. 753 00:52:29,040 --> 00:52:33,160 There are some standing here who will not taste death till they 754 00:52:33,160 --> 00:52:36,360 see the Kingdom of God. Now what do they see in the 755 00:52:36,360 --> 00:52:39,640 transfiguration? They get a glimpse of Jesus's 756 00:52:39,640 --> 00:52:42,640 divine glory and power. They get a vision of His 757 00:52:42,640 --> 00:52:45,200 Majesty. It's openly manifested before 758 00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:49,160 their sight, like it will be when Jesus comes back. 759 00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:55,240 So Jesus transfiguration is a preview of both his resurrection 760 00:52:55,720 --> 00:52:58,960 and his return. It previews the glory that he 761 00:52:58,960 --> 00:53:03,640 will obtain at his resurrection and that he will reveal to all 762 00:53:03,640 --> 00:53:08,920 the world at his return. When Jesus rose from the dead, 763 00:53:09,760 --> 00:53:12,200 he appeared to his disciples during a period of 40 days, and 764 00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:15,240 then he ascended into heaven. What was he doing? 765 00:53:15,800 --> 00:53:18,720 He was taking his throne and beginning to reign. 766 00:53:19,520 --> 00:53:21,800 Jesus is a king, so where is his throne? 767 00:53:21,800 --> 00:53:24,800 It's in heaven. Jesus is a Kingdom. 768 00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:28,040 So what's he doing? He's reigning over all things 769 00:53:28,040 --> 00:53:33,000 even now, and his resurrection and ascension is when that reign 770 00:53:33,200 --> 00:53:36,160 began. Jesus resurrection and ascension 771 00:53:36,160 --> 00:53:38,960 were not the final and full coming of the Kingdom, but they 772 00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:43,480 were a real breaking in of God's Kingdom power into this present 773 00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:48,240 world order. So Jesus is transfiguration, 774 00:53:49,320 --> 00:53:53,560 previews his resurrection and serves as a kind of down 775 00:53:53,560 --> 00:53:58,040 payment, a kind of little mini guarantee of the glory that will 776 00:53:58,040 --> 00:54:04,080 be here at his final return. Jesus went through the cross to 777 00:54:04,080 --> 00:54:08,480 the crown, and one day he will come to claim his whole 778 00:54:08,880 --> 00:54:12,120 dominion. Jesus passed through death into 779 00:54:12,120 --> 00:54:14,520 life. Jesus endured suffering, then 780 00:54:14,520 --> 00:54:17,080 received glory. And so will we. 781 00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:23,880 So look to the promises that Jesus has already fulfilled in 782 00:54:23,880 --> 00:54:26,080 order to strengthen your confidence that He will fulfill 783 00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:30,400 all the rest. If you're struggling to do that, 784 00:54:31,520 --> 00:54:35,960 fix your eyes on the promise of Christ's return. 785 00:54:36,240 --> 00:54:39,080 How? One way you can do that is to 786 00:54:39,080 --> 00:54:41,800 take whatever this worldly goals you're most tempted to live for 787 00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:43,520 and lay them before the Lord in prayer. 788 00:54:43,800 --> 00:54:46,680 Whatever is most drawing your heart toward it in this life, 789 00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:50,640 into the kind of near term future, ask God, Father, grant 790 00:54:50,640 --> 00:54:56,040 me not to live for graduation or promotion, but for Jesus return. 791 00:54:56,400 --> 00:54:59,560 Grant me not to live for my career, but for your heavenly 792 00:54:59,560 --> 00:55:01,840 Kingdom. Grant me to look forward, not 793 00:55:01,840 --> 00:55:06,400 ultimate ultimately to this vacation or that reunion, but to 794 00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:12,400 Jesus's return. And when you suffer, pray that 795 00:55:12,400 --> 00:55:14,480 God will sanctify you through it. 796 00:55:15,480 --> 00:55:18,840 Pray that the Lord will use that suffering to loosen your grip on 797 00:55:18,840 --> 00:55:21,880 this life and fasten it on the next life. 798 00:55:23,680 --> 00:55:30,360 Jesus Transfiguration proclaims that every cost you suffer now 799 00:55:31,680 --> 00:55:36,680 will be more than compensated by the crown you will receive. 800 00:55:37,080 --> 00:55:41,320 Then CS Lewis powerfully summed up the point of our passage like 801 00:55:41,320 --> 00:55:44,240 this. Die before you die. 802 00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:48,640 There is no chance. After and at the very end of his 803 00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:52,120 classic apologetic work Mere Christianity, he beautifully 804 00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:56,080 captures Jesus teaching here both the demand and the promise. 805 00:55:56,600 --> 00:56:02,400 I'll close with Lewis. Give up yourself and you'll find 806 00:56:02,400 --> 00:56:05,760 your real self. Lose your life and you will save 807 00:56:05,760 --> 00:56:08,280 it. Submit to death, death of your 808 00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:11,440 ambitions and favoured wishes every day and death of your 809 00:56:11,440 --> 00:56:14,520 whole body in the end. Submit with every fibre of your 810 00:56:14,520 --> 00:56:17,000 being and you will find eternal life. 811 00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:20,520 Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given 812 00:56:20,520 --> 00:56:24,440 away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died 813 00:56:24,440 --> 00:56:25,840 will ever be raised from the dead. 814 00:56:26,560 --> 00:56:29,800 Look for yourself, and you'll find in the long run only 815 00:56:29,800 --> 00:56:36,120 hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. 816 00:56:37,240 --> 00:56:42,280 But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with him 817 00:56:43,960 --> 00:56:49,600 everything else thrown in. Let's pray Father, we pray that 818 00:56:49,600 --> 00:56:56,720 we would deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. 819 00:56:57,120 --> 00:57:02,520 We pray that we would do that in the confidence that you will 820 00:57:02,520 --> 00:57:05,920 make good on what you have promised, and that'll be 821 00:57:05,920 --> 00:57:09,560 infinitely better than anything we could give up for your sake. 822 00:57:10,440 --> 00:57:12,920 We pray in Jesus name, Amen.