Mark 8:22-33 (Nothing, Something, Everything)
Last Sunday, I presented the message at church. The topic was 'Why did Jesus die?' and the verses were Mark 8:22-33. I struggled a lot in writing the message, but in the end was able to marry the topic and the verses together. The title of the message is: Nothing, Something, Everything.
I present the original version below and also provide a link to the audio of the actual delivered message as well because, as we probably all know, what we write and what we say are often a little different.
Audio version hosted on West Baptist website.
At the end of Monty Python's The Life of Brian, Eric Idle proclaims:
"You know, you come from nothing; You're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!"
Today I want to look at why that statement just isn't true!
Mark 8:22-25
When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”
The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”
Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.
This man's friends brought him to Jesus. They'd probably heard about the guy who'd been lowered through the roof and were expecting more of the same for heir mate. But this isn't what they got. Instead they see Jesus take their friend by the hand and lead him out of the village. I can just see them standing confused as to whether they should follow or stay put.
So let's look at it from the blind man's point of view... Probably not the best analogy. Here he is being led who knows where by a man he doesn't know. He's expecting to be healed but instead he gets spat on! And the healing isn't instant; Jesus still needs to lay hands on him.
Before he went to Jesus he could see nothing. After Jesus spat on his eyes, he could see something (the people like trees). And finally, after Jesus laid hands on him, he could see everything.
Before we heard the Gospel, the Good News, we didn't know what we didn't know; We saw nothing.
When told of Jesus and His sacrifice we became aware of what we didn't know; We saw something.
The journey we are all on is like the vision of the blind man seeing the trees walking around. We see something, but we don't see everything... Yet!
Jesus disciples show this well because God, through Jesus, gives them a sneak peek; A glimpse behind the curtain. They, and particularly Peter, get a brief view of a part of the story not usually seen.
Mark 8:27-30
Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”
But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
The view of the world is that Jesus is a prophet, a powerful messenger from God; Possibly even the embodiment of a previous Prophet. They call Him John the Baptist, which seems unlikely as He'd have had to baptise Himself! Even Elijah is a possibility on top of other prophets. They are hopeful because, until John the Baptist came, the people of Israel had been waiting 400 years to hear from God. They were desperate to hear some good news.
As we now know, Jesus didn't carry the good news; He WAS the Good News!
When Jesus asks Peter for his opinion, Peter calls Him the Messiah.Peter was calling Jesus the promised deliverer prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Messiah is a title that has only ever been used for one person and only one person has been qualified to carry it.
Jesus knows this information is straight from God through Peter. But why tell the disciples not to tell anyone? I think the last section of today's readings can explain why...
Mark 8:31-33
Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Jesus again gives the disciples a glimpse behind the curtain. He foretells His rejection by the Elders, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. He tells them of His death and resurrection 3 days after.
Just imagine if you just had God tell you that the man before you was the Messiah; The promised saviour your people had been waiting at least 400 years for. You'd expect a king who could reign over Israel and fight it's wars. A king who'd be fair, just and the best possible person to lead your nation.
What you wouldn't expect is to hear Him tell you he'll be rejected and killed. Even with the part about resurrection, you'd be disappointed.
Peter's reaction is disbelief. 'How can you, the Messiah, be killed!?!' And Jesus tells him off!
Not only does He tell Peter off; He calls him Satan! It's probably the single worst insult Jesus uses in all of the Bible and He uses it on one of his closest friends. He calls him this because Peter has taken his eyes off the 'everything' he's been shown and is now back to just seeing 'something'.
To be honest, I can't say I'd blame him for arguing. His friend, leader and Messiah has told him He will be rejected and killed.
I think the question echoing in his head would be: 'Why?'
Our next verse gives us an answer:
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.
A ransom for many.
Sin demands payment. God tells us this.
Romans 6:23ff
For the wages of sin is death
To sin means to die.
In the early Bible, God tells the priests of Israel to confess all the sins of the people over the head of a goat and send it into the wilderness to die. This is where we get the term 'Scapegoat' from.
Jesus became the scapegoat for all people, not just Israel. Jesus paid the price of death for us all.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus died to pay the price for my sins and to give me the gift of eternal life; The gift of freedom from sin and a small glimpse of 'everything'.
Before we knew of God, we were like the blind man, without vision. Then we were brought before Jesus by someone; Maybe a friend.
As we learn more about Jesus, God the father and the Holy Spirit, we see more and more. We see 'something'.
And because Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate servant and leader, one day we will see 'everything'.
I present the original version below and also provide a link to the audio of the actual delivered message as well because, as we probably all know, what we write and what we say are often a little different.
Audio version hosted on West Baptist website.
At the end of Monty Python's The Life of Brian, Eric Idle proclaims:
"You know, you come from nothing; You're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!"
Today I want to look at why that statement just isn't true!
Mark 8:22-25
When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”
The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”
Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.
This man's friends brought him to Jesus. They'd probably heard about the guy who'd been lowered through the roof and were expecting more of the same for heir mate. But this isn't what they got. Instead they see Jesus take their friend by the hand and lead him out of the village. I can just see them standing confused as to whether they should follow or stay put.
So let's look at it from the blind man's point of view... Probably not the best analogy. Here he is being led who knows where by a man he doesn't know. He's expecting to be healed but instead he gets spat on! And the healing isn't instant; Jesus still needs to lay hands on him.
Before he went to Jesus he could see nothing. After Jesus spat on his eyes, he could see something (the people like trees). And finally, after Jesus laid hands on him, he could see everything.
Before we heard the Gospel, the Good News, we didn't know what we didn't know; We saw nothing.When told of Jesus and His sacrifice we became aware of what we didn't know; We saw something.
The journey we are all on is like the vision of the blind man seeing the trees walking around. We see something, but we don't see everything... Yet!
Jesus disciples show this well because God, through Jesus, gives them a sneak peek; A glimpse behind the curtain. They, and particularly Peter, get a brief view of a part of the story not usually seen.
Mark 8:27-30
Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”
But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
The view of the world is that Jesus is a prophet, a powerful messenger from God; Possibly even the embodiment of a previous Prophet. They call Him John the Baptist, which seems unlikely as He'd have had to baptise Himself! Even Elijah is a possibility on top of other prophets. They are hopeful because, until John the Baptist came, the people of Israel had been waiting 400 years to hear from God. They were desperate to hear some good news.
As we now know, Jesus didn't carry the good news; He WAS the Good News!
When Jesus asks Peter for his opinion, Peter calls Him the Messiah.Peter was calling Jesus the promised deliverer prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Messiah is a title that has only ever been used for one person and only one person has been qualified to carry it.
Jesus knows this information is straight from God through Peter. But why tell the disciples not to tell anyone? I think the last section of today's readings can explain why...
Mark 8:31-33Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Jesus again gives the disciples a glimpse behind the curtain. He foretells His rejection by the Elders, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. He tells them of His death and resurrection 3 days after.
Just imagine if you just had God tell you that the man before you was the Messiah; The promised saviour your people had been waiting at least 400 years for. You'd expect a king who could reign over Israel and fight it's wars. A king who'd be fair, just and the best possible person to lead your nation.
What you wouldn't expect is to hear Him tell you he'll be rejected and killed. Even with the part about resurrection, you'd be disappointed.
Peter's reaction is disbelief. 'How can you, the Messiah, be killed!?!' And Jesus tells him off!
Not only does He tell Peter off; He calls him Satan! It's probably the single worst insult Jesus uses in all of the Bible and He uses it on one of his closest friends. He calls him this because Peter has taken his eyes off the 'everything' he's been shown and is now back to just seeing 'something'.
To be honest, I can't say I'd blame him for arguing. His friend, leader and Messiah has told him He will be rejected and killed.
I think the question echoing in his head would be: 'Why?'
Our next verse gives us an answer:
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.
A ransom for many.
Sin demands payment. God tells us this.
Romans 6:23ff
For the wages of sin is death
To sin means to die.
In the early Bible, God tells the priests of Israel to confess all the sins of the people over the head of a goat and send it into the wilderness to die. This is where we get the term 'Scapegoat' from.
Jesus became the scapegoat for all people, not just Israel. Jesus paid the price of death for us all.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus died to pay the price for my sins and to give me the gift of eternal life; The gift of freedom from sin and a small glimpse of 'everything'.
Before we knew of God, we were like the blind man, without vision. Then we were brought before Jesus by someone; Maybe a friend.
As we learn more about Jesus, God the father and the Holy Spirit, we see more and more. We see 'something'.
And because Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate servant and leader, one day we will see 'everything'.
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