The Messiah

We're in Mark chapter 8. We're continuing to walk through the Gospel of Mark. And we're coming to actually a switch, a change in the story. A new section is being introduced. I'll explain that a little bit later. And the first thing we see is that there is a man who is healed from blindness. We've seen Jesus ministering to the Jewish people. He's fed the Jewish people and had the leftovers. He's gone and ministered to the Gentiles. He's fed the Gentiles. There were leftovers. And now the people brought to him a blind man. He's back into an Israelite territory. Verse 22. They bring him a blind man and they beg him to touch him. Now, it would be understood that the blind man would be unclean. And here we see Jesus needs to touch the unclean. He doesn't become unclean by touching them. No, he cleanses them. He heals them. Notice how Jesus cares for this blind man, right? He can't see Jesus. So verse 23, he takes him by the hand. He makes sure that he knows, you know, oftentimes we see Jesus just looks at the person here to make sure Jesus knows, or the person knows Jesus is caring for him. He touches him, grabs his hand to know, I'm here with you. And by touching him, he then asked the man, do you see anything? The man who had been previously blind, without any sight, looked up and he said, I see people, but they look like trees walking. So he has a category that people are supposed to look like people. Maybe he was previously not blind, and he lost his sight. But he also understands there's something about a tree. But he realizes, I don't see things exactly right. There's been a partial healing. And this is the only instance. It's recorded in other Gospels. But it's the only instance where there's a partial healing. So then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again and opened his eyes. His sight was restored. He saw everything clearly. Notice the repetition. He opened his eyes. His sight was restored. He saw everything clearly. Jesus gives him a clear healing. Then he warns him not to say anything, as he often does with the secret Messiah. Jesus wants to be in control as to how he's being revealed. I want us to see here that this story is not just a story about how Jesus heals, but it's a significant story in the Gospel of Mark in this section. It's also a clearly different story because Jesus had to do it twice? Did the first time not work because he wasn't able? Why did there need to be two touchings here? Why was there a partial healing and then a full healing? And I think if we look at this section, it makes more sense. We're now entering into what is called the Great Discipleship Discourse. The Great Discipleship Discourse. The Gospels have these central parts that are very important. So in the Gospel of John, we have the final discourse. The final things Jesus said to his disciples while in Jerusalem before he dies. In Matthew, you have the Sermon on the Mount. Very clear, focused teachings. In Mark, we have this section where he's seeking to teach the disciples the final things to make sure that when they see him on the cross, they really see what's happening. When they see him in bodily form resurrected, they understand, they perceive, they move past that hard heart we just saw them have. This section, if you look at it, beginning in 8.22, We begin with a healing of a blind man. And look how, if you just flip over to chapter 10, verse 52, how does it end? He heals a blind man. Those are bookend miracles to contain this unit together. All right? And in this unit, it's going to be organized around three foretellings. Chapter 8, verse 31. Chapter 9, verse 30. Chapter 10, verse 32. 8, 31. 930, 1032, three times Jesus says, I'm going to die, I'm going to rise again, and three times the disciples either rebuke him or are confused, they're not quite getting it. There's the transfiguration, there's teaching on the first shall be last, and the importance of Jesus calling them to himself. So let me explain what I think is happening with this Need for two healings. The first healing let the man see something, but he didn't see clearly and truly. I believe what we're gonna see the disciples do is they're going to see Jesus, but they're not gonna see Him truly. They don't have a full vision of who Jesus is yet. They're with Jesus, they're hearing Jesus. They know they wanna stay with Him and follow Him, but they don't quite yet fully see Him. And as we've seen the diagnosis previously, it's because their hearts are still hard. It's because they're eating the leaven. They're, they're, they're including the leaven of unbelief of the Pharisees. I believe this passage, this, this healing is pressing in and teaching you must see clearly and fully who Jesus is. A partial Jesus does you no good. So I asked this morning, are we ready to see Jesus? That's the section heading. Are we ready to see Jesus? Verses 22 to 26. Are we ready to admit we... Let me just say this. I know we're all wrong at some level in who we think Jesus is. All of our theologies will finally be corrected when we get to heaven and truly see Him as He is. We see through a mirror dimly, but then we'll see Him face to face. The goal now is to, to, to humble ourselves and ask Jesus, help me see You as You are, not as I want You to be. Our sin is constantly trying to make Jesus in our own image, to, to limit Him to our comfort. But Jesus wants to make himself known so that he can truly help us. There's a call to humility. There's a call to repentance. Because the one thing that keeps us from seeing Jesus is our own sin. So are we ready to see Jesus? Are we ready to see him fully, receive him, repent of sin, and rejoice? The next question that leads into our next point Who is Jesus? Verses 27 to 30. Who is Jesus? He went on with his disciples to the village of Caesarea Philippi, verse 27. And on the way, he starts asking them questions. He begins with the question of those out there. Who do people say that I am? What are the rumors? Rumors are always so interesting. What do you hear people saying? Well, some people are saying you're John the Baptist. That was actually Herod's theory back in earlier Mark, that he thought Herod, Herod thought that John the Baptist, who he beheaded, was coming back to haunt him in the name of Jesus or as Jesus. Some thought Elijah, Because in Malachi, Elijah is promised to be a forerunner who's going to come back. We know John the Baptist is the Elijah figure. So there is good reason to think of this one who's coming with great power as Elijah, but we know that's actually John the Baptist. Others are saying he's just one of the prophets. He's somebody else coming and declaring God's truth. Remember, they're constantly astonished. How he teaches with authority. He's at least a prophet. We look and we can actually appreciate that recognition. In Deuteronomy 18, chapter 18, verse 18, God told Moses, I will send another prophet like you. He will let the people know who I am, and people were longing, just like God promises in the King, and a priest, and a son. You're a prophet? Who will this prophet be? We know Jesus is that prophet. In the prologue of John, in chapter 17, the law was given through Moses, but grace through Jesus Christ, so that we might know God. He is the Word who became flesh. He's not just any other messenger. He's not like other prophets. He is the final prophet, the exact imprint and image of God Himself. A lot of folks will say Jesus is a prophet. A lot of other religions will actually recognize Jesus as a prophet. That is insufficient. He is not just the prophet. He is God Himself who has made Himself known. Now Jesus turns to His disciples. It's not just who other people say He is. He asked them, you, who do you say I am? The way it actually is presented in the original language here, there's an emphatic point of you. You. Who do you say that I am? Again, this is the question of the day. Who Jesus. Peter answered him, as Peter is prone to do, the one who speaks first, speaking on behalf of the other disciples. You are the Christ. Now that's not disagreeing that he's a prophet. It's not disagreeing there's some relationship with Elijah. There's not disagreeing there's some relationship with John the Baptist. Making it clear he's not John the Baptist or that prophet of Elijah. But the Christ, that is a loaded statement. We read about it in Psalm 2. The anointed one. That's what it means to be the Messiah or the Christ. Same concept there. The one who is anointed by God to do the work of God. The one who is empowered by God to do the work of God. And there are three types of people in the Old Testament who were anointed by God to do His work. The prophets. those who spoke for God, the priests, those who made sacrifices for the people so that we could worship God, and the kings, those who exercise and help us recognize God's righteous rule. The anointed in the Old Testament were three different kinds of people. The prophets, the priests, and the king. I want to make it very clear. Jesus, we know He is as the anointed because He is the perfect prophet, the final and absolute priest, and the one true righteous king. He has come to fulfill all of those offices as the one anointed and the only one who really fulfills them perfectly. He's the prophet as we said because He's the actual God Himself who's come to make Himself known. He's a perfect and final priest and you can just walk through Hebrews. He gave the once for all sacrifice. He doesn't have to keep giving sacrifices. He gave himself as that sacrifice that takes sin away. He's the perfect and final king because he brings about God's righteous rule in the kingdom. Besides one of those declarations, it also captures so much more. The Messiah is the one who's going to bring peace. He's going to subdue God's enemies. He's going to protect the borders. He's going to provide food. He's going to, He's going to establish the right laws and help the people implement them. There's a big picture of how God, He's going to bring this, what we would call a utopia. A society where God's righteous rule is exercised and God's people actually submit to it. He's going to bring about a final redemption. So we can look at what Peter says, and we can say, good job, Peter. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus actually affirms this. He says, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, the Father has. There's an affirmation that what Peter is saying is true, but I want you to see it's only partially true. If you heard the passage right before the sermon, When Jesus says, I'm going to die and suffer, Peter rebukes Jesus. He says, no, you can't be that kind of Messiah. You see, Peter is like that blind man who's healed with that first vision. He's only seeing as if people like trees. He doesn't see clearly yet. He sees that there's something unique about Jesus, there's something special about Jesus, but he hasn't yet fully seen Jesus as He is, in His mission, for what He's come to do. There's only a partial confession. This morning, as we reflect upon this, this statement, You are the Christ, it is true, it is good, but it's not full. Jesus wants to carry Peter along, and help him see more of who he's supposed to be. He's not yet ready to accept Jesus as He is. You found a Christian this morning. I hope you come with questions. And we are not able to answer every question anyone's ever asked. The Bible doesn't say everything we could possibly ever wonder about. But the Bible is very clear when it comes to what's wrong with us. We've chosen to stand on our own, in our own thoughts, in our own decisions, in our sin, is what God calls it. And that brings about judgment. And the only hope we have is that Jesus comes to die in our place. The Bible is very clear regarding what's wrong with us and what the solution is. It's a very clear diagnosis and prescription. It's believe in Jesus Christ. And what's amazing about Jesus and how He walks with every single human being is His patience. how He wants to reveal Himself, and He's patient with us, and how we are very slow to learn. If you're not a Christian, I hope you'll come and ask questions. I hope you'll linger around and ask those around you, or get to know someone who you can ask honest questions with about who this Jesus is, and walk through a Gospel like Mark. If that interests you, please talk to me afterwards. I would love to do that with you, or find someone else who could. Christian. Here's just a challenge for you to think about. If you had to answer that question, who do you say I am to Jesus? How full would your answer be? How many words could you write down? How expressive would your hallelujah be for who Jesus is? No, we just did a study in the men's forum on Wednesday night about how we never get past the cross and the resurrection, how that's always central and how it always has to be the center of what we're thinking about and feeling and understanding to make sure we're gospel people. But we do have to keep growing, getting a fuller picture of Christ as the prophet, priest, and king. The Messiah, the Redeemer, the Deliverer, the true Son of God who brings about redemption. I challenge you, reflect. Are you growing with a fuller, a fuller understanding of Jesus Christ? Because if you've gotten to the point where you're like, eh, I'll figure out Jesus, I'm gonna move on to something else, that's dangerous. We should be seeking to grow in more knowledge of our Lord and Savior Daily. Are we ready to see? We've seen who Jesus has at least been confessed to be by Peter. And now Jesus tells us what kind of Christ he's going to be. The question for this heading, what did Jesus come to do? What did Jesus come to do? Notice he focuses in here. He begins to teach them that the Son of Man, and this is how he regularly references, Mark regularly references Jesus, the Son of Man, must suffer many things, and that's kind of the big heading, the suffering, being rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days, rise again. Notice here, he, he must suffer, be rejected, die and rise again. This is how Jesus is taking what Peter said. Okay, you sent him to Christ, but are you sure you know what kind of Christ I am? Do you, are you, are you sure you understand what that word means? Well, so he teaches. And let me just make it clear. He's a suffering servant. That is a key theme of Mark. That's what we're teaching the Children of Foundations, that Mark presents Jesus as the suffering servant. It's a general heading that captures so much. And here's some sufferings that Jesus went through on our behalf that isn't mentioned. Jesus doesn't mention that you're all gonna abandon me. Jesus is abandoned to be alone, abandoned by all his disciples. He's mocked by the crowds and the soldiers. He's spat upon, whipped, and punched in the face. He's falsely accused and slandered. And instead of even mention how he'll die, the excruciating pain of being nailed to a cross to suffocate as he tries to pull himself up over and over again so that he can breathe. He suffers many things. Specifically, he's rejected by the elders and the chief priest. These are the religious leaders. These are the people who are put in charge of leading God's people Israel to know who He is and to recognize the Messiah when He comes. And those who are supposed to be teaching the people how to recognize Him, they're going to reject Him. He's despised and hated because He's a threat to their system. But the hardest thing here, because Peter's seen the scribes and the Pharisees. He's seen the rejection. That wouldn't be surprising. The next point would be the one that would really cause some confusion and conflict. Jesus says, the Son of Man must be killed. This is the whole point that really turns the idea of Messiah around its head, because most likely these disciples were thinking of a Messiah who's going to come with a mighty right arm and establish peace through victory, the way we normally think of it, by conquering our enemies. By them dying? What we see here is something that's very clear from the Old Testament, as they should have known, from the suffering servant Psalms, or the suffering servant songs in Isaiah. Let me just read a little piece of Isaiah 53 that would have made it clear that the Messiah had to die. Beginning in verse three of chapter 53. He was despised and rejected by men. a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. We, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. That's God's hero. Notice our role. We've gone astray. That's our contribution to the story. We've rejected God. We've gone astray. How does this hero come and bring victory? He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Yes, Jesus is going to come. and provide safe borders for his people. Yes, Jesus is going to come and provide food for his people. Yes, Jesus is going to come and bring healing and restoration and peace. But first and foremost, Jesus is going to come and die. Because that is what we need most. That is how Jesus actually conquers our greatest enemies. First, by dying as a man for men, Jesus defeats death. The Great Declaration. Death is defeated in the death of Christ. This is how death has lost its sting. We were saying earlier how we know we will rise and be with Christ in heaven because He has died in the death that we all are afraid of, that we're all facing. It's lost its sting. So first, Jesus has died for us to take away the fear of death because we're going to receive eternal life. Second, by dying for sinners as a righteous man, he defeats sin. Sin is why we die. Sin is what's so scary about death, because if we die in our sin, we're going to stand before a holy and righteous God, and we're going to hear what we deserve. Guilty. He died to defeat sin. He reverses the curse. And related to that, the third thing he wins, or the third way he has victory in his death, is by dying in our place under the wrath of God, he's reconciled us. God's wrath has been poured out upon him who did not deserve it, so that his righteousness has been fulfilled. He is a righteous God. He does not let sin go unpunished. It has been punished on Christ. He had the iniquity of us all laid upon him. And now we're reconciled to God. We can come before God without fear of judgment. We come before God knowing He's going to embrace us with love. We've been declared righteous. We've been declared not guilty in Jesus. I believe we can talk about the suffering. We mentioned earlier the suffocating on the cross, the nailing of His hands, the crown of thorns, the mocking. The greatest suffering Jesus experienced on the cross was when He said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? At that moment, the perfect, eternal, loving relationship between the father and son ended for that moment as he was being treated like us, like we deserve. So that then we can be brought up into that loving relationship and enjoy it forever. He suffered wrath, separation from God that we deserve so that we might be reconciled. I want you to see here, verse 31, there's a very important word. The Son of Man must. It is necessary. It's necessary because God said, I'm not going to leave my people, I'm going to make promises. And the only way God can keep His promises is for His Son to die for our sin. is necessary. And praise God, it is finished. That's also not the last thing. He is risen. We need to practice for Easter here, don't we? He is risen. After three days He's going to rise again. Death cannot defeat Him. He defeats death. He is not defeated here. He overcomes death. He overcomes sin. He overcomes our wrath, and He rises again so that He gives us new life. One other clear thing here, verse 32. Notice, Jesus said these things plainly. Jesus oftentimes is talking in parables. as if he's trying to keep the truth in some way from those who don't believe. You have to strain to think about what Jesus is saying, and throughout the parables, you have to pray and consider, what is he getting at? What is he teaching? He literally says that the parables are there to be hard. Not this. Not the gospel. I'm going to suffer. I'm going to die. I'm going to rise again. It's also interesting if you think about what's going on here. If, as the early church has always taught us, that Mark is there writing with Peter, Peter rejects Jesus. Peter didn't get it. And now Peter's looking back and he's saying, it was said very plainly. It was just like I was looking at trees, walking around like men. It was right there in front of me, but I could not see it. It's terrifying. Jesus might be right here presented before you to see him in this text. And he might just be looking at it and not really seeing it. This is why we have to ask, are we ready to see Jesus? Are we ready to come to him as he is? Notice Peter's response. He said these things plainly and still yet Peter, he does this. Peter took Jesus aside. Let's just picture what's taking on here. A creature takes his creator aside to rebuke him. There's something wrong there. Right? The pot is going to take the potter aside and say, are you sure you know what you're doing? Here, Peter not really seeing fully what he's doing and who he's really talking to. takes him aside, and he rebukes him. And Jesus doesn't keep this a private meeting. He wants to make sure all his disciples hear and understand. In return, he rebukes Peter. And he says, get behind me, Satan. Satan here being adversary. You're opposed to the way of God. You're opposed to the will of God. You're opposed to the very truth of God. You're presenting here a lie, because you're telling me I don't have to do what God has sent me to do. You've set your mind to the things of man, not of God. You're, you're, you're, you're seeing things as if you, you want the power structures of man. You're not seeing things the way God does them. I want us to see two things about this passage and why it's still offensive today that Jesus would have to die. One, we still like power structures as we're used to. This lowly victory, this humbling victory, that's how Jesus does win us to his love. It's by submitting himself to the Father. It's by putting himself in a place to die on a cross at the hands of his enemies. We don't like this. We like a dominant victory. We don't like a lowly victory. So it's somewhat offensive. Because if you're going to follow Christ, as we're gonna see in a moment, we're called to the same kind of humility and submission. The second reason this is offensive today is it actually shows us how bad we are. We're so corrupt. We're so out there. We're so far away from God. We're so sinful. There wasn't like a little booklet to say, here's a few ways to help yourself. No, God's own Son had to become like us in every way, yet without sin, and die to suffer the things that we could not take so that we could then be children of God. It's hard to get to that point, but this is offensive and hard because we are that bad. We deserve the wrath that Jesus suffered so that we might know God. This cuts against our self-confidence. Fourth, our final question, what does He expect from us? Are we seeing, do we want to see? Do we see Jesus who He is, the Christ who's come to save us? Do we see Him for what He's done? And then are we willing to truly be His disciples? Verse 34, he broadens out even more. It's not just Peter, it's not just the disciples. He is speaking to the crowd. And he, again, is speaking very clearly. If anyone would come after me. Notice it is an invitation. Jesus invites anyone. If anyone, if you would come, you are welcome. If you would come. Let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Here we see, I believe, what faith looks like. Faith is looking at Jesus and believing what he says about himself, who he is, what he's done. And it's also realizing, he's my master, he's my God, he's my Lord, he's my Savior. Jesus is saying that the life of the disciple has three ingredients. Deny yourself. Take up your cross, follow Jesus. Let's walk through those very, very closely. A disciple denies himself. A disciple of Jesus Christ denies himself. I believe there's three different ways we can think about this. There's probably many more, but here are the three I want to think about here with you. We have to deny the lies I tell myself. I like to tell myself I'm good enough. I lie to tell myself if I just worked harder. I lie to tell myself I'm also unworthy of God's love at the same time. These are lies I tell myself. I sometimes wonder, is God's grace sufficient? I lie to myself, maybe this sin is worth enjoying more than delighting in Jesus. That's a lie. That I have to deny. By looking at Jesus and seeing who He truly is. I need, I lie to myself that the grass is probably greener on the other side. It's a lie. The second kind of lie we have, or the second way we deny ourselves, is our sinful inclinations. We have a natural born sinful inclination. We can go back to Mark 7. What defiles a man? What bubbles out from his heart, from within? We have to deny the sin that Jesus came to die for. He didn't die so that we could keep enjoying it and be forgiven. He died for that sin so that we could enjoy Him. We do not continue in sin. No, we seek Jesus. Thirdly, we deny our own ambitions. We deny our ambitions. This is why I think Peter really had a hard time with the Messiah Jesus was going to be, is that Peter had his own ambitions for Jesus. He was going to cast off Rome and restore Israel. We have these ideas of what we think our best life should be, but Jesus is usually in disagreement with us, wanting a better life for us. We don't set our agendas, no, we seek him. It's pretty amazing if you think about how persuasive we can be when it comes to our own sin. Right? In those moments of temptation, just a little pornography, that wouldn't be too bad. Just a little gossip. I'll make it sound like a prayer request. A little slander. A little dishonoring. These are the kinds of sins that we deny. Denying yourself is so tied to the other commandments of Christ. Love one another as I loved you. You can't do that unless you deny yourself. Fulfill the law of Christ. Bear each other's burdens. You can't do that unless you've learned and trained yourself to deny yourself. The kind of commitment to live the Christian life, to be present, to know each other, to deny ourselves for the other. That's what Christ has done, that's what he's modeled, and that's what we're called to do. So the first thing we're to look to is deny ourselves. The second is take up your cross. Now, many of us are going to have crosses on our person, a necklace, a ring, a tattoo. You're gonna have a cross that is something we fashion ourselves with. In the day of Jesus, that would have been really weird. Because the cross was the greatest symbol of shame and suffering. The cross was a symbol of dishonor. It was a death reserved for the worst kind of people, so you would not want to wear it. And it's pretty amazing if you think about what Christ did on the cross. There's a complete transvaluation of the cross itself. It went from the greatest symbol of shame to the greatest symbol of salvation, and that's why you wear that cross. But to carry your cross, to take up your cross, there's a willing embrace to suffer, and to carry your cross, I believe in the Christian context of what Jesus is saying here, is to be willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. As we see in 1 Peter, it's not just suffering for being rude. It's not suffering losing your job because you didn't do it well. No, it's specific suffering for representing Christ. It's the kind of shame and dishonor that the world's gonna bring upon you, in the same way Jesus rejected, because you're following Christ. And notice it's your cross. As I look around the different people here, I know many of the different crosses that are being born, and they're all different. Jesus calls us all to different kinds of suffering. And His grace is always sufficient for every different kind of suffering. And we need to be careful not to judge each other in their kind of suffering, but to see how we can sympathize, and learn from, and care for, and bear that burden. There is a different kind of call to carry a cross for every different kind of believer. The main thing I want us to see here is we cannot believe in the gospel of America and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news of America is you can live in great comfort, ease, and casualness. You can have it all. That is the good news of America, and we sell it, and we're pretty good consumers of it. We live for comfort, we live for power, we live for pleasure, and that is completely in opposition. to the call of Jesus Christ that says, don't be self-indulgent, be self-denying. Don't avoid suffering and live for comfort. No, no. Realize that if Christ calls you to suffer, it's a joy to participate in His suffering. Finally, we see follow Jesus. To follow Jesus means we prioritize what He says over what we think. We want to think His thoughts after Him. We want to love what He loves. We want to prioritize what He prioritizes. We realize every little decision is making us a disciple of something or someone. How much of what we are committed to is making us more like Christ? To follow Him means we're becoming more like Him, and I want to make this clear, we're helping others become more like Him. It's not an individual thing. It's an individual commitment, but it's a community project. To follow Jesus means we are becoming more like Christ and helping others become more like Him. I want to clarify two things. There's a doctrine of justification, which means that at the moment of faith, you are declared not guilty. You're declared a child of God. You're declared forgiven. And that's a position and a status you don't lose. And then there's sanctification. That is the growing and gradual process that you learn how to walk by faith, denying yourself, carrying your cross, and following Him. We can't get those two things confused. Your position is secure in Christ by faith, and you will enjoy it as you learn to live according to these commandments of Christ. There's a high calling of costly discipleship here. I've tried to present it in every way to make it as high as possible, because that's what Christ means by it, I believe, and much more. But I also want you to hear how I read these passages. When I read them, I'm immediately overwhelmed by how self-indulgent I am. I'm immediately overwhelmed by how grumbling I am in any kind of suffering. I'm immediately overwhelmed by how many decisions I make without even asking God what He thinks. I'm immediately overwhelmed by His grace, that He lets me see those sins. He lets me see how I'm not living up to His expectations, and then His grace abounds where my sin abounds, and I get to repent, and I get to seek to follow Him more closely. When we look in the law of God, it isn't that we check the boxes, oh yeah, followed Him, great, I denied myself that one time. No, when you look in the law of Christ, and we look at His words and what He expects of us, We see our failures, and then we ask for more grace. Notice there's a for. And he's here presenting, I'll make it very clear, the life where we're in control that feels safe is not the life of the disciple. If you want to feel like you're in control and safe, according to your strength, the life of the discipleship of Jesus Christ is not for you. It's dangerous. In the worldly standards. It's dangerous in the sense of what we think and what we control. The life of the disciple is meant only for those who truly trust that Christ is with them, for them, died for them, rose again, ascended, and is coming back. He says if you're going to try to save your life, you're going to lose it. Those who are trying to hold on with their control to make sure it stays safe, you're not going to be able to be that disciple. If you're wanting to control how much you gain and manipulate this world for your wealth and your position, your status, you're not going to be able to follow me as my disciple. If you're going to be ashamed of me, I will not speak on your behalf to the Father. If you want to stay in control, if you want safety here in this world, the life of the disciple of Jesus Christ is not for you. But I can promise you the life of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is better for you. He will keep us and hold us. A few applications as we conclude. First, Jesus is Messiah who came to die for our sins so that we might have new life. That's hard. Jesus had to die for me. It's good. He died for me. He rose again. We can have new life. Secondly, Jesus is the Lord who makes Himself known. He's not a God out there. He's a God who's come to walk among us. He's a God, Jesus Christ, who's at the right hand of the Father, who sent the Spirit so that we can know Him. He wants to be known, not partially, but fully. And He's a really good communicator. All we've got to do is listen. Be willing to receive Him, no matter what. And third, Jesus calls us to a new life. How do we respond? Does Jesus measure up to your expectations? Does Jesus measure up to what you think, who you think you should be and what you think you should do? If Jesus doesn't measure up, you need to either realize that you're putting your position of God to judge him, or you need to change your expectations. As we look to Jesus, we need to realize He wants to be known, but He's known on His terms. And yes, He comes and He condescends to speak to us where we are, and He meets us where we are, but we need to be careful. Because I hope you realize how silly it is that a couple people gather around to drop marbles to decide who Jesus really is. We're like that. We might have marbles, but every decision of every day, We're actually saying, is Jesus worthy of my submission, denying myself, taking up my cross and following Him? Every decision is like a little marble. Every decision is saying, is Jesus who He says He is? Is He the Lord who I can trust? Is He the Lord who I should obey? Every little decision is us acting like we're the judge who's gonna decide, is Jesus really worthy today to be my God and my Savior? Every little decision. We're making that kind of judgment. And all day long and every day, from now to the end of the earth, Jesus is worthy. Let us submit to Him, trust Him, and obey Him.