You’ve Changed, GodMan (Mark 9:1-13)

It’s the most famous reveal in movie history. Dorothy and her three friends enter the chamber of Oz, The Great And Powerful’s – fire and smoke exploding around his throne. Their hopes are dashed when the curtain is pulled back, revealing Oz is no wizard. He’s just a man, pulling levers in a desperate attempt to keep up the charade. With tears in her eyes, Dorothy tells him, “you’re a very bad man.” To which Oz replies, “No…I’m a very good man. I’m just a very bad wizard.”

In Mark 9, Jesus brings three of His friends to a mountaintop. For a moment, the curtain is pulled back to show Jesus in His Divine glory. He’s not just some hot air balloonist stranded in a strange country. He is resplendent in power. He’s much more than the disciples thought of Him. He’s more than any prophet. He’s the great and powerful Son of Man.

Oz was revealed to be a sham. Christ is revealed as a Savior. But He was a Savior Who would suffer and die. And, at the time, that made for a “very bad messiah” in the minds of the disciples.

Mark 9:1 – ¹ Then he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power.”

Was Jesus referring to the transfiguration here? On the one hand, Mark gives us textual clues that he’s tying chapter 8 verse 38 to chapter 9 verse 1 and then to what follows. On the other hand, the transfiguration happens only six days later. None of the disciples died in the interval.

As things play out, we see yet again their understanding has to be adjusted. The Jews expected only one arrival of the Messiah.^[1] God’s work was much bigger than deposing Caesar and defeating his legions. The Kingdom of God was a global work, spanning millennia. The consummation of God’s work wasn’t going to happen suddenly like they expected. It would happen in phases.

They expected the Messiah to bring one-step liberation. But God’s plan had first, transfiguration. Then crucifixion. Then resurrection. Then ascension. Then the interruption of the Church age and the inclusion of Gentiles. Then tribulation. Finally restoration, not just of Israel, but all the world.

Three of the disciples would see the transfiguration phase. Eleven would see the resurrection. John, alone, would see visions of Christ’s future second coming.

Now we didn’t get to eyewitness that scene, but we’ve been briefed much more fully about what is coming than Peter, James, and John at the time. The power and the character and the activity has been laid out for us. We can invest our lives in that Kingdom. We can stand firm in the power and the love and the truth of God as citizens now of His future Kingdom.

Mark 9:2-3 – ² After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves to be alone. He was transfigured in front of them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling—extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them.

James and John were brothers. Peter’s brother was left behind. Sorry, Andrew. I always wonder how Andrew felt about these moments. I know I would’ve struggled with it.

The traditional site is Mount Tabor in lower Galilee.^[2] But Tabor is not a high mountain. It’s a little puny. And at the time, its summit was inhabited and walled.^[3] Not exactly a good place to be alone. Plus, the last geographical marker Mark gave was in the region of Caesarea Philippi.

Most contemporary scholars believe this happened on Mount Hermon – the tallest in Israel.^[4] It has an elevation of over 9,000 feet. This would fit with the themes and parallels in this passage.

As Mark has shown before, this scene again reveals that Jesus is the greater Moses – the final Prophet-Deliverer that Moses told us to watch for, Who would bring a final exodus for God’s people. Hermon was known as a sacred and holy mountain and it is higher than Sinai.

Now, in Exodus 24, Moses brought Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu up Mount Sinai along with 70 elders of Israel. After waiting 6 days, the Lord God appeared to Moses in glory, and then delivered truth and revelation to him. Here, Jesus waited 6 days, and now brings three of His followers up – the 70 member Sanhedrin wants nothing to do with Jesus – and on the mountain, God’s glory is revealed.

Mark says Jesus was transfigured. The word used is the Greek term from which we get the word metamorphosis. Jesus’ true, heavenly glory was shown to them. He put on flesh to dwell among us, but He was always fully God, even while He was fully man.

When Moses saw God’s glory, his face shined for a time. A byproduct of being in God’s presence. But Jesus is the glory. All the power, all the greatness, all the magnificence is found in Him.

Now, there’s something wonderful here about the character of our King. When earthly kings want to show power, they parade weapons or trophies. Their power is measured in strength or wealth or the reach of their influence. When the power of Christ was revealed – when we get a tiny preview of His Kingdom – what do we see? Light. Truth. His presence. We’ll see also His patience. His kindness. That’s what God wanted to reveal to the disciples and to us on that mountain. Behold your King!

Mark 9:4 – ⁴ Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Why them? Why only them? Why not also David, Abraham, Isaiah and a host of other characters?  One possible idea God may have been trying to get across is the supremacy of Jesus. Moses represents the Law, Elijah the prophets. And here is Jesus – Who fulfills the Law and is the focal point of Bible prophecy. And they come to Him on the highest mountain. But we’ll see it was also an opportunity for Jesus to mend the disciples’ understanding of prophecy. These two guys specifically come up in a prophecy they’ll talk about on the way down the mountain.

Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus about His death on the cross – His departure from Jerusalem.^[5] Apparently, the disciples could hear at least some of the discussion.

Mark 9:5-6 –  ⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶ because he did not know what to say, since they were terrified.

Luke says that the Lord brought these guys up there to pray, but they fell asleep. They wake up to this amazing scene, and then, as Moses and Elijah are leaving, Peter blurts this plan out.^[6]

Now remember: Peter was Mark’s source for this Gospel.^[7] I appreciate this moment of candid honesty here. “I didn’t know what to say because I was scared stiff.”

Peter is in a pattern of Christological misunderstanding. Even after being rebuked, he’s still off base. Just a few days ago, he identified Jesus as the Messiah. But what does he say here? “Rabbi.” He’s demoted Jesus. He is struggling again to recognize Jesus for Who He is.

Now why would he suggest this shelter idea (your version may say tabernacles)? Well remember: The disciples consistently wondered, “Is the Kingdom going to start now? Is the liberation from Rome now? Do we get to start ruling now?”

The Feast of Tabernacles (which was celebrated by the construction of temporary shelters) has a clear association with the final deliverance of God’s people.^[8] During the feast of Tabernacles, the Shekinah glory of God had filled Solomon’s temple. And Tabernacles had this important element called the Temple Lighting, where lights would shine for people all around to see.^[9] Tabernacles was celebrated six days after the Day of Atonement. So, perhaps Peter was thinking, “Ok Jesus talked about the Kingdom, now it’s been six days, there’s glory and light…are we doing this?!?”

But, once again, Peter wants to bypass the suffering and death of the cross. Jesus had been speaking plainly to them about these things, but remember – Peter rebuked Jesus for that teaching. They just overheard Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus about His death, but the disciples just couldn’t accept the idea of a suffering Savior.

He makes another mistake when he puts Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah.^[10] The point of what they were seeing is that Christ is greater than Moses and Elijah. They were both men who met with God on a mountain. They went up, God revealed truth to them. But here’s Jesus on the holy mountain, and He IS the One revealed! He is the glory! He doesn’t need to receive a word from God. In a moment we’ll see God says, “Listen to Him!” He is the Word.

But listen – despite Peter’s mistakes, despite them sleeping when they could’ve been praying, despite their insistence on bypassing the cross, do you know what Jesus did? Mark skips it, but Matthew says that Jesus came over, touched them, and told them not to be afraid.^[11] Christ’s patience and grace and tenderness did not abate, even as they missed the point. The transfiguration was for them, not for Jesus. So they could see. They were still struggling. But Jesus is so long-suffering, so compassionate, so loving and faithful even when we’re failing.

Mark 9:7-8 – ⁷ A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

Back in Exodus 19, God told Moses, “I’m going to come to you in a glory cloud and I’m going to speak with you so that when the people hear Me, they’ll believe what you tell them.” Later, at the end of his life, Moses told the Israelites, “[One day] the LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.”^[12] And now that Figure has been decisively revealed by God Himself in a glory cloud on a mountain. The final Deliverer was not just a prophet, He is the very Son of God. And we must listen to Him.

This Deliverer does not only lead a single nation out of Egypt. The exodus Jesus leads is out of the grave. Out of slavery to sin. Out fromthe rule of the Devil, who holds people captive to do his will.^[13]

Now remember one more thing: The Shekinah glory of God was no longer in the Temple. It hadn’t been since Ezekiel 10. The holy of holies was empty. But here it has returned, enveloping Jesus and His disciples, verifying once again that humanity must listen to Jesus.

Again we remind ourselves that listening in the Bible is not just an auditory experience. Christian listening means to give attention, respond with submission, and move forward in obedience.

Mark 9:9-10 – ⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ They kept this word to themselves, questioning what “rising from the dead” meant.

We scratch our heads at this because these three guys specifically had seen the dead rise. But their dyed-in-the-wool perspective was that the Messiah can’t die. He only comes once. He only comes to conquer. A suffering, dying Messiah did not compute.

To their credit, they did obey Jesus’ command to not tell anyone. And we commend them for that.

Mark 9:11 – ¹¹ Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

“Jesus, we still think You don’t have it quite right. The Messiah can’t die. After all, the scribes say so.”

They ask because Malachi 4:4-6 would’ve been pounding in their minds:

Malachi 4:4-6 – ⁴ “Remember the instruction of Moses my servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. ⁵ Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. ⁶ And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

The scribes seemed to teach that Elijah had to show up and that he would anoint the Messiah and that the Messiah himself might not even realize he was the messiah until that happened.^[14]

The problem was, for all their time with Jesus, some of their understanding was still rooted to the traditional, scribal perspective.

Mark 9:12 – ¹² “Elijah does come first and restores all things,” he replied. “Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

They appealed to the scribes. Jesus appeals to the Scriptures. “Hey guys – you keep thinking I’m wrong about dying. What about Psalm 22? Isaiah 49, 52, 53? What about Zechariah 9?”

Revelation always trumps tradition. All the Bible is necessary and revelatory and instructive for our Christian faith. The scribes’ mistake was that they locked into certain Scriptures but neglected others. And here Jesus says, “These other passages matter. You can’t just bypass them.”

Mark 9:13 – ¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written about him.”

Matthew tells us explicitly that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist. There were some clear parallels between their lives and ministries. Not least of which was that wicked queens wanted both of them dead. It’s just that Jezebel couldn’t get Elijah’s head, but Herodias got John’s.

But did you notice Jesus said both that Elijah has come and that Elijah does still come in the future? What’s going on here? Who’s Elijah?!?

Well look back to Malachi 4. The prophecy is that Elijah will come, not to anoint the Messiah, but before the day of the Lord and Elijah will turn the hearts of fathers and children, restoring all things. But then Malachi says, “if that doesn’t happen – otherwise – the land will be struck with a curse.”

In Exodus, God led the children of Israel to the edge of the promised land. They rejected Him so there was a postponement of 40 years. Jesus came, made a genuine offer of the Kingdom to Israel. They rejected Him. They rejected His forerunner. And now there has been a postponement of 2,000 years. And the land was struck with a curse. God’s people scattered through the nations.

So, Elijah still has a part to play before the Day of the Lord. What is it exactly? We don’t know.

What’s ironic is that it seems the scribes said that Elijah had to come to anoint the Messiah, who might not know he was the Messiah. Meanwhile, Jesus said John was Elijah. But John didn’t realize it! When he was asked “Are you Elijah?” He said no!”^[15]

So again and again the disciples are being told that they need to focus in on the teachings of Jesus and how the whole of Scripture points to Him. In the volume of the Book it is written about Him.^[16]

In the Wizard Of Oz, Dorothy hopes that Oz will keep his promises to them. When it’s revealed he’s just a man, that also means he has no power to help them. But then he explains they already had the power in themselves all along.

The transfiguration of Christ shows the power is not in us, it’s only in Him. But – He is not the only One transfigured. The Bible says that Christians, too are transfigured. The word is used only 4 times in the New Testament. Twice referring to this scene and then twice by Paul, speaking of the work God does in us! That we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.^[17] And that as we walk with Christ, we are being transformed into His image from glory to glory.^[18]

The disciples were still struggling with Who Jesus is. We know Who He is. The question is are we being transfigured by His truth, His Spirit, His sanctifying work? Are we changing and conforming to His glorious, gracious, Godly image? He is the Great and Powerful One Who keeps His promises. He’s no phony behind a curtain. He has installed His powerful Spirit in us. He has begun the metamorphosis. Now we are a preview of the coming King and His glorious Kingdom as the Light of the Gospel shines through us.

Road Under Instruction (Mark 8:27-38)

We’ve seen it in movies a thousand times. The great coach shows up to evaluate his new team, only to discover that they’re a bunch of misfits and losers. They don’t know their fundamentals. They squabble with each other. There’s no chance they’ll win a series, let alone a championship. The Mighty Ducks, The Bad News Bears, McFarland USA, Cool Runnings, The Big Green, Little Giants.

Usually these are comedic movies. We love to laugh at the antics of the team and shake our head at their inability. But I doubt any of us would actually want to coach a team like that.

Tonight we’ve come to the pivotal moment of the Gospel of Mark both thematically and narratively. Thematically, this is the moment Mark has been building to in the whole first half of the book. So far almost everyone has failed to recognize Who Jesus truly is. And here, He requires the 12 to make a determination themselves. Who is Jesus and what does that mean for their futures?

But this text is also a pivotal moment in the narrative of the book. Up to this point, Jesus has been moving around in ministry here and there. Capernaum, the Decapolis, this side of Galilee, then the other, up in Tyre and Sidon, over in Nazareth. Starting in verse 27, He is longer simply moving around. From this point, Jesus is moving toward His death and resurrection. This is about 6 months before the crucifixion.^[1] And Jesus is navigating purposefully, inevitably toward Jericho, then to Jerusalem, to Gethsemane, and then to Golgotha.

In this section, Mark really wants us to sense the movement forward, not only of Jesus toward the cross, but also the movement forward for the disciples in their discipleship. Between Mark 8:27 and Mark 10:52, our author points out the road, the journey, the way seven times!^[2] The disciples were being brought along as they walked with Jesus and we are brought along as we walk with Him.

As Jesus enters into the finals, as He gets ready for the big event, He stops and takes a look at His rag-tag team and here’s what happens: “Looking at His disciples…He said, “Get behind me, Satan!”

In this critical moment, we find they’re actually playing for the other team! Of course, they didn’t realize that was happening. Peter, especially, thought he was scoring some great points. Sometimes disciples see things with blurred spiritual vision. Sometimes we have an inadequate understanding of what God has revealed about Himself and about our calling. But if we want to develop the way God wants us to develop, into a thriving, victorious team of spiritual champions, then we must allow our Lord to teach us, adjust our thinking, and direct our steps.

Mark 8:27 – ²⁷ Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

The setting of this scene is climactic. Caesarea Philippi was on the border between Gentile and Jewish territory.^[3] It was also home to a special grotto dedicated to worship of the Greek god Pan.^[4] Among other things, Pan was said to be the god of shepherds and flocks.^[5]) Springs of water gushing from Caesarea Philippi serve as one of the primary sources of the Jordan River.^[6]

On top of all that, this city is found in the foothills of Mount Hermon.^[7] A sacred and monumental place in Biblical geography. There are many spiritual illustrations swirling around this sequence.

At this site, Jesus asks: Who do people say that I am? He’s not asking because He doesn’t know – He’s not just checking the poll numbers. He’s asking because, at this pivotal moment, He wants His disciples to start growing in their understanding. It’s time for them to advance in their discipleship.

It was not customary for Jewish rabbis to ask their disciples questions. They were supposed to ask Him.^[8] But Jesus is not like other rabbis. He is intent on bringing His disciples along. He knows they’re slow to understand and small of faith. But He is unwilling to leave them in that state. He plans to complete His work in them and to patiently draw them out of blurriness into clarity.

Mark 8:28 – ²⁸ They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”

There was a lot of talk, a lot of ideas. And, sure, these answers were better than what the Scribes and Pharisees thought – that Jesus was an agent of Beelzebub – but they were still wrong.

None of these answers have the right perspective on Jesus. The first problem is that the people giving these answers didn’t listen to what had been revealed right in their midst. At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father said, “This is My beloved Son!” Many demons had also rightly pointed out that Jesus was the Holy One of God and the Son of God. But here people said, “Well, He’s a prophet.” Or, “He’s just John the Baptist 2.0.” Someone we can maybe admire, but someone who will come and go just like the rest. Not God Himself, the Creator, the King of kings, the Potter, the Lord.

But on top of being wrong, the second problem is that they didn’t really believe what they said. In this Gospel, we do not see people coming to Jesus to say, “What must I do to be saved?” When John was around, people came to him saying, “What should we do?” Tax collectors and soldiers. When the Old Testament prophets were doing their thing, kings would go to them for wisdom and for help. But when we see these crowds coming to Jesus, it’s not in submission to Him, it’s almost always to solicit a miracle. “Jesus, give us what we want.” But that’s not discipleship.

Mark 8:29 – ²⁹ “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”

Notice the emphatic intensity in Jesus’ question. “But you, who do you say that I am?” He didn’t bother talking about what other people thought. This was about what they believed.

H.A. Ironside wrote, “It is not enough to be familiar with other men’s views of Christ, be they right or wrong.”^[9]

Discipleship is about personal faith. Other people can’t believe for you. Those of us who were lucky enough to be raised in Christian households, that is a great privilege. But having parents who are disciples doesn’t make us disciples. That’s a choice a person has to make on their own. Will you believe that Christ is the Messiah? Will you answer His call to follow Him and walk with Him?

When it comes to spirituality, the most important question is not, “What is going to happen?” or, “What will make me feel the best?” Or even, “Where are we going?” The essential question is not about the what, but the Who. Who Jesus is will determine where the road leads. If Jesus is God, if Jesus is good, if Jesus is loving, if Jesus is all-powerful, if Jesus is holy, if Jesus is trustworthy, if Jesus is gracious, if Jesus is Who He says He is, then we can follow Him anywhere – and He knows the way to go! As humans, we get distracted by the path. God wants us to focus on the Person.

Peter said, “You’re the Messiah.” The basic meaning of that term is “the One anointed by God.”^[10] In the Old Testament, priests and kings and other individuals would be anointed with oil, signifying that they were specially called out for God’s holy purposes.

The problem – we’ll see – is that the disciples did not agree with Jesus about what those purposes were. What was the Messiah set apart to do? What work would He accomplish?

Mark 8:30 – ³⁰ And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him.

Mark leaves out something else Jesus did here. We read in Matthew how he commended Peter and gave the apostles authority – how they would have the keys to the Kingdom.^[11]

Why then would He immediately muzzle them? Isn’t the whole point of Christ coming to reveal Himself as the Messiah?

Yes, but not yet. There are at least two reasons why He needed them to keep this secret for the time being. First, as Messiah, He would reveal Himself to the leaders of Israel. On the night before His crucifixion, the whole Sanhedrin would gather and put Jesus on trial. And after years of Christ proving Who He was, they would finally ask Him outright, “Are You the Messiah?” And Jesus answered, “I Am.”^[12] And then they condemned Him to death. The stone the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone.^[13]

But a second reason to silence the disciples for now was the fact that they had such an inadequate understanding of what it actually meant that Jesus was Messiah. They had their own notions, their own assumptions, their own preferences about what the Messiah would do. And, presently, we’ll see their perspective was in contradiction to the truth. They had a human design of Messiahship.

You see, they thought of the Messiah as only a David Messiah. A giant-slaying warrior who would tear the land of Israel from her captors and bring political power to the Jews.

Jesus is a Davidic Messiah. But the His work is much more than that. He would also be a Second Adam. Another Isaac on the altar. A Messianic Joseph, delivering the brothers who despised Him. But the disciples could not and would not see it. They were like the blind man healed in two phases. Spiritually speaking, they saw the Messiah like a tree walking. And in recent scenes, Jesus had been repeatedly rebuking them for their lack of faith and their lack of understanding.^[14]

Since they had a defective view, it was important they didn’t go out spreading their misinformation – a partial truth that would not properly illuminate those in darkness.

Mark 8:31-32a – ³¹ Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. ³² He spoke openly about this.

So listen, the disciples had a blurry view, but there was some progress. In Matthew, Jesus told Peter, “Peter, My Father in heaven revealed this to you.”^[15] And it’s not just Peter – from this point he really becomes a spokesman for the whole group. After Peter’s answer, Jesus starts the next step of their learning. He starts teaching them truths about the Messiah’s work they did not know. And He did so plainly – not with parables. Direct teaching about His coming rejection, death, and resurrection.

We should note that Jesus had total clarity and understanding about the plan. None of it was unknown to Him. And He was totally willing to endure all of it for you and for me.

Now, the disciples just said, “You are not only our Rabbi, You are the Messiah.” And, as their Rabbi, Jesus says, “Great. Now here’s what I have to teach you about what the Son of Man has to do.”

The Son of Man is a title found back in Daniel 7. The disciples would’ve known it well. The Son of Man comes with the clouds of heaven and the Ancient of Days gives him an everlasting dominion over every people, nation, and language.^[16] Jewish believers liked the sound of that.

But now Jesus starts to reveal and explain to them that before the Son of Man conquers the nations with the sword of His mouth, He would conquer sin and death not with a chariot, but with the cross.

He’s the rabbi. He’s the Messiah. This is the teaching. But like the old adage says, the (human) heart wants what it wants. And the human heart does not naturally want God’s way.

Mark 8:32b – Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Rebuke is the same word used when Jesus commanded the demons.^[17] It’s the same word seen in verse 30 as “strictly warned.” So, Jesus had just commanded His disciples to be silent about Him being Messiah and now Peter is commanding Jesus to be silent about this crucifixion stuff. He immediately misuses the revelation and authority given to him to try to put himself over his Rabbi.

This is what the human heart does. It wants to supplant God’s authority, God’s commands, God’s way in favor of our own wants and designs. It happens when God asks us to do or give something that we want to keep ourselves. It happens when we face sorrow or suffering and get angry at God about it. It happens when God gives us a standard or command and we just don’t want to comply. It’s the same as Peter here. A rebuke to God. And here’s what Jesus thinks about that:

Mark 8:33 – ³³ But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

Mark highlights three moments of severe temptation in Jesus’ ministry.^[18] At the very beginning, when He is confronted by the Devil directly. At this point, when the ministry turns toward Calvary, Satan influences Jesus’ friends to discourage Him. And in Gethsemane where Jesus is tempted by His own desire to avoid the suffering of the cross.

Peter is the one rebuked, but we see Jesus was speaking to all the disciples. Peter was simply the spokesman. What a tough moment in what should’ve been such a wonderful scene.

And yet, even in rebuke we see the matchless grace of God. Jesus says, “Satan is speaking through you!” But He doesn’t boot Peter from the team. He is still full of love and patience and understanding toward him. Jesus will still invite Peter to witness the transfiguration in a few verses.

But He would not allow Peter and the others to stay in their weakness. He would not feed the rebel hearts that, by nature, want to defy the will of God and the truth of God. So, in the moment He says, “I have concerns. I have truth. I have a journey we’re going on and I demand that you submit to it if you want to be My disciple.”

Mark 8:34-38 – ³⁴ Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. ³⁶ For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? ³⁷ What can anyone give in exchange for his life? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Pretty straight forward. Also pretty serious. But let’s pause and recognize that this is where we are brought into the story. This isn’t just about something Jesus said to the apostles. Here He calls the crowd, everyone who wanted to follow Him, everyone in attendance. You and me. This is what our Messiah and Rabbi has to say to us as disciples. It’s worth reading again.

And man, think about how hard it was for the disciples to hear that the Messiah would have to face the cross. Now He says, “And you have to take up a cross, too.”

But this is the disciple’s road to life to victory. We win by losing. We navigate life not by our own designs or our own desires or the culture around us, but by the revelation of God. His words, His directions, His truth leads to real life and real gain and glory. By answering the question: Who is Jesus?

If we understand Who Jesus is, then we can understand what His work is, and then He leads us to be a part of His work. And following in His work means following the way of the cross. It can be a very difficult path. But the championship at the end of that road is worth more than all the treasures in all the world.

But to lay claim to what Christ offers, we must be disciples. And true discipleship means renouncing ourselves and recognizing our Messiah. It means embracing God’s revelation, not spinning our own ideas into some sort of self-made spirituality. God has said Who He is, what He wants, what He’s doing, who we are, what He expects. Discipleship is a walk of faith that isn’t just one step. It’s a lifetime of steps as we progress with God on this path He’s leading us.

We can do it. Did you notice what the Lord said there? “If anyone wants to follow after Me…follow Me!” As we go, He will continue to reveal, He will continue to adjust, He will continue to clarify our spiritual vision, and He will continue in His patience, His grace, and His compassion toward us. Because He wants us to walk with Him. He wants us to grow in our understanding, to grow in our faith, to go from Peter in Mark 8 to Peter in Acts 2.

Do we want to follow on those terms? If so, we must submit to revelation, admit the inadequacy of our presuppositions, surrender our lives, take up a cross, and allow God to lead us forward step by step.

Sight For Poor Eyes (Mark 8:22-26)

Who here has had or needs to have cataract surgery? It’s a common experience as we age. One of every five Americans over 65 will develop cataracts. And 50% of those 80 and older will.^[1]

A cataract is a clouding of the lens on your eye. The lens is the clear layer inside the eye that focuses light. When that lens becomes cloudy, the light entering the eye is blocked or scattered, making what you see blurry or dark.

I was surprised to find out that babies can be born with cataracts. They can be caused by infection or a chemical imbalance. Often the specific cause is never determined.^[2] But whether you’re young or old, when you develop cataracts, treatment is absolutely necessary. And there’s nothing you can do to fix it yourself. You must have a surgeon help you if you want to be able to see.

Thankfully, in the modern world, this process is pretty simple. These days your vision can be restored to bright clarity with a 15 minute, multi-step procedure.

In this short text we see Jesus perform a healing miracle. A man is brought from blindness to blurriness to perfect vision. But there’s something about this story that has always bothered me.

Why did this healing not seem to work at first? This is the only miracle of Jesus that happens in two stages. He lays His hands on the man and he’s kinda healed, but not fully healed. There’s nothing to indicate the man had partial faith. Was Jesus overly fatigued? Was He distracted? Did He need to get a better grip on it? Some commentators suggest it was because this blindness was just so bad. But it shows Jesus could handle even the toughest problems. But is anything too difficult for God?^[3]

In 1 Samuel chapter 2, Samuel’s mother Hannah is pouring out praise to God for His goodness and His power. In her prayer she says something important: “The LORD is a God of knowledge, and actions are weighed by Him.”^[4] God knows what we are doing and He knows what He is doing.

What Jesus did in this story, He did on purpose. This situation was not only about healing a blind man, but helping His disciples understand their own spiritual blindness. Rather, not that they were totally blind, but they had proverbial cataracts clouding their spiritual vision.

We know this because in the very last passage Jesus confronted the 12 about their understanding and said, “Do you have eyes and not see?” And now we are barreling toward the pivotal moment of the whole book, where Jesus will say, “Who do you say that I am?” And we’ll see Peter step forward to boldly proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah. But then, immediately after, we see Peter’s spiritual vision is clouded. He doesn’t see clearly. He rebukes Jesus for talking bout His death and resurrection and, in response, Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan.”

So when we see Jesus performing this two-stage healing of vision, many scholars understand that He is performing a live action parable that His disciples could remember and apply later.^[5]

And this contains a spiritual lesson not only for the apostles moving forward, but for us as well. We also have issues in our spiritual vision. Paul said that we see things dimly, or as one version puts it, we see only a blurred reflection.^[6] Peter would later write that a Christian can become “blind and shortsighted, [forgetting] the cleansing from his past sins.”^[7] A loss of clarity. A clouding of vision.

So let’s put ourselves into this parable, understanding that we tend to develop dim or blurred spots in our spiritual vision, and present ourselves to the Physician Who gives sight to the blind.

Mark 8:22 – ²² They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.

The setting of the story itself lends to the drama of this live action parable. Bethsaida means “the house of fish.”^[8] And it was home to some specific fish: Peter, Andrew, and Philip.^[9]

In this familiar town, a blind man is brought to Jesus. We all come to Jesus blind. We have ideas and experiences and assumptions, but in reality, as Jesus told the Laodiceans, we are blind, wretched, pitiful, poor, and naked.^[10] But Christ came as the Light of the world so that we could be called out of our darkness into His marvelous light.^[11] So that we never have to walk in darkness again.^[12] But Christ’s revelation and vision-adjustment isn’t a one-and-done thing in our lives.

As we walk with Jesus, we need His continual illumination. We receive it through the Word of God, which is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path.

The friends of this blind man came to Jesus and seemed pretty convinced about what He needed to do: Put Your hands on our friend!

Their confidence is an interesting contrast to the last situation where the disciples – who should’ve known what Jesus was going to do – say, “We have no idea how anyone could feed 4,000 people in this desolate place.” Even though they had seen Jesus feed more than 5,000 people in a desolate place shortly before!

Now, the friends of the blind man were in no position to tell Jesus how to perform a miracle. They’re operating on some level of assumption. But at least they knew Jesus had power and had compassion and was the source of all that this man needed.

Mark 8:23 – ²³ He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

The word Mark uses for “took” means “caught.”^[13] So, in the house of fish, Jesus catches a person who has a measure of faith, and Jesus catches Him so that He can save them, transform their life, give them a new future, and sight instead of blindness.

Once again, Jesus uses saliva in a healing. He’s on record using spit three times in His healings. We saw one a few passages ago where He spit on His fingers then touched the deaf/mute man’s tongue. Later He will spit to make mud and rub that on another blind man’s face. This use is the spittiest of all – He spits right on the guy’s eyes. At least he didn’t see it coming…

We don’t know why the Lord used this method. Lot’s of speculation but no explanation. Let’s see what else He did in this verse.

He took the man by the hand and personally led him out of the village. Maybe this was a fifty yard walk, maybe it was half a mile. No matter how far, it would’ve been a significant and intimate journey together. These two, hand in hand, as Jesus told the man where to step, what obstacles to avoid, where to turn, how to proceed. What a gentle and tender scene. That God would take this kind of time and share this kind of interaction with a random stranger.

This is how the Lord wants to lead you. Psalm 107:14 says, “He brought them out of darkness and gloom and broke their chains apart.” The Psalmist Asaph once wrote about a time when he was stupid and unthinking toward the Lord – spiritually blurry – but realized “Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me up in glory.”^[14] And in Isaiah 42 God Himself says to His people, “I am the LORD. I have called you

for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will watch over you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, in order to open blind eyes.”

After Jesus spit and touched the man, He asked Him a question: “Do you see anything?” It wasn’t because Jesus didn’t know. It was for the later benefit of the disciples. In the next scene, Jesus is going to ask them what they see – who they see Jesus as? But again and again in this section of Mark He’s trying to help them understand that they do not see everything as they should. They need spiritual restoration as much as this man needs physical restoration.

Mark 8:24 – ²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”

There is a prominent historical theologian who said the reason Jesus did this two-stage healing was to prove to the man – and to us – that as God He has the liberty to pour out grace on some people but to only give grace in drops to others.^[15]

Does that fit at all with what has been revealed about Jesus Christ in this Gospel? How often have we seen His patience, His generosity, His kindness, His willingness? Even here, He stops all He’s doing to interact tenderly, carefully, personally with this one man. Does it seem like He did so to jerk him around and say, “You know, I don’t really have to heal you?”

This scene is not about God penny-pinching His grace. It is about the spiritual impairments that we have in our hearts and minds on this side of eternity.

Now on the one hand, the man’s blindness was healed – before he could see nothing, now he saw something. But obviously he wouldn’t say, “You know what, blurry is good enough.”Obviously he need further help – further correction. He needed greater clarity to be able to move through life. He saw people dimly.^[16] And so, as Jesus began the work, He would continue and finish the work.

Mark 8:25 – ²⁵ Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly.

At the start of the story the man is blind – he’s in darkness. Then he’s able to see some things close up, but they’re blurry and he can’t quite discern. Finally, he’s able to see clearly from afar.^[17] That’s the word used there. He’s no longer blind or shortsighted.

In the very next scene we will see how Peter had partial vision. He had a blurred view of the Messiah that needed to be corrected. He had a shortsighted perspective on the Messiah’s work.

In the same way, you and I have areas of spiritual understanding that are dim or blurred. Sometimes we’re not even aware of it as Peter was not aware of his cataracts. But walking with God means His continual shaping of us, His continual, hands-on work of healing our hearts, renewing our minds, adjusting our vision, and clearing away the impediments of our sin nature. Removing the veil from our hearts so that we can see the true glory of the Lord and be transformed by it.^[18]

Mark 8:26 – ²⁶ Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

We’ve seen frequently in Mark how Jesus wanted to avoid the hysteria that healing miracles would produce among crowds. His main goal was not to perform miracles, but to preach the Kingdom and to lay down His life. He healed out of compassion, not out of a desire to show His greatness.

But here’s what I find interesting about this particular command: The blind man probably did not know the way to his house! Whether his friends were still there to help him is unclear. But now he’s been sent with orders by his Lord and he will have to figure out how to obey them.

You have been sent out with commands and orders from your Lord, too. You may not know exactly how to carry out certain aspects of the Christian life today or what direction God has for your life in some particular situation. Maybe He hasn’t illuminated very far down the path for you. But you can obey. You can choose to do what He’s asked you to do right now.

If you’re not sure what to do in the Christian life or how to serve the Lord, follow the example of this man: Start at home. Go home and be transformed. Have spiritual vision and passion in your home. That’s the first place God sends us. And from there more callings will come. More opportunities. More tasks. People were going to find out this man had been healed of his blindness. And he’d be able to share his testimony of Jesus’ power and grace.  But here was the job for today: Go home.

So here we are tonight. I don’t think it’s inappropriate to say that – generally speaking – our cataracts aren’t as developed as the disciples’ were at this point in their walk with the Lord. I doubt we spend a lot of time rebuking Jesus for things He teaches. But just like physical cataracts are a normal part of the human condition, so are spiritual cataracts. We see dimly. We have areas of shortsightedness, maybe even blindness. We shouldn’t deny it, we should understand it and seek out Christ for the illumination and clarity that we need.

A lot of people suffer from night blindness. Things are fine during the day, but their vision doesn’t work the same when it’s dark. It doesn’t help if those people deny their issue. In fact, it causes problems when they act like they can see when they can’t.

So where might we have a cataract developing in our spiritual vision? I can’t answer that for you. You might not even be able to answer that for you. But the Great Physician can. The Holy Spirit living within you can. And His desire is to illuminate and clarify and focus our spiritual vision so that we can walk worthy and walk effectively where the Lord sends us.

Psalm 119 is all about a passionate disciple of God praying for help and correction and vision and the continual work of God in their lives. It’s a beautiful song where a dedicated believer speaks of his love for God, the ways of God, and his dedication to pursue the things of God. He says something important in verse 18:

Psalm 119:18 – ¹⁸ Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction.

Many of you have an annual checkup with your eye-doctor to fix your prescription, right? Oh how we need that regular interaction with our Lord, the Great Physician. May we go to Him, allow Him to take us in His hand, lead us on, heal and shape and correct and adjust us, and then send us out according to His will and His good pleasure.