Jesus Prepared For His Own Death

Jesus Prepared for His Death

Book of John 13:31-14:6

Maybe the most important theme of this lesson is that the Lord Jesus Christ will show us His relationship to God the Father.

We will see that after Judas had left to betray the Lord Jesus and He then gets deeper in His message with those 11 who remained, who still had not realized that Judas would betray the Lord Jesus.

We see the Lord as He begins to enter into His "passion" which means the sufferings of the Lord as He begins His last few days on this earth before His resurrection and next His return.

In reality as the Son of Man, Jesus is preparing Himself to be the only sacrifice that can save all humanity!

It is through His death that He is glorified, and God the Father is glorified in Him!

By His own death the Lord has replaced our own death with His life.

Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

*****Joh 13:31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

Joh 13:32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.

The other disciples may not have known who the Lord had been talking about, but Judas knew, and He left but we must understand that the Lord had sent Judas away, all he needed was to repent and these sitting with Jesus would have been the 12 Apostles and we would have never met the Apostle Paul.

As Judas set in motion the things he did, Christ set in motion His Passion, the sufferings and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This day would be Thursday late in the evening.

Doctor Luke wrote of this: Luk 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Again we will see that there is a true unity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!

Jesus would now begin His final steps as the Son of Man!

Even in His dying, Jesus was perfect in His obedience to His Father.

In His death Jesus would transfer His own righteousness to every believer because we had no righteousness at all to use to gain peace with God the Father.

Isa_64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

With the righteousness of the Lord we are at peace with God:

Rom_5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Some would say that Jesus was having second thoughts, but He would not be God if He was happy to see the death of anyone.

The thing that was most important was that by His death, He would triumph over Satan and break Satan's power over death he held over the souls of mankind!

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

This is why the Lord had come down from Heaven and had to die on the cross!

*****Joh 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

After this meal with His disciples and Judas already gone to do His evil deed, Jesus said He only had a short time to finish the work God had given Him to do.

It would require His death. At this time these men could not grasp the resurrection of the Lord after His death.

They would not understand these things until they were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost which now was only about 53 days away.

The thing that they had to understand was that Jesus demanded a new commandment and that was for them to love one another but not as they had been doing but they were to show the love Jesus had for them to each other.

All of us can say we love one another but do we have that unconditional love that our Savior had.

These disciples had just been arguing over who should receive the highest positions of authority when Jesus returned to set up His Kingdom.

To love like Jesus, is to not to be a judge but to be a witness of the love of Jesus.

Once we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit moves in to live within us but as human beings we also need each other which is the purpose of the Church for like-minded humans to gather together in the name of Christ and comfort and edify each other.

Mat_18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

These two or three would be the beginnings of a church!

Jesus had already given us one new commandment that extended from the Old Testament.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The new commandment that Jesus was talking about this day extends these two commandments.

We are not only to love one another, we are to love like Jesus loved and like God loves.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

If we cannot do this one thing, then we are not disciples of God.

This means we have stopped the learning process if we cannot love as Jesus loved and still loves each of us today.

A true disciple follows his Master!

We do not just go where He goes, we do as He does! "God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knows God".

1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Simon Peter always ask the questions the others were afraid to ask and most every time he would stick his foot in his own mouth.

*****Joh 13:36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

Joh 13:37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.

Joh 13:38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

We all want to be where Jesus is, but not many want to carry their own cross!

The Cross is a sign of death!

It is sure that Simon Peter was not ready for Jesus to leave them, because he had not yet accepted everything that Jesus had said.

This is where we all get in trouble. We all get over confident in our Christian strength.

It would have been great for the disciples if they went with Jesus back to Heaven just as it would be for us if Jesus took us back to Heaven when He first saves us.

If this had happened, then there would be no church today.

The Lord assures us we are going to Heaven and that we are a Temple of God, but we have work to do after we are saved.

Note after we are saved and not before we are saved!

The Lord Jesus would cause Peter to humble himself before he was ready for Pentecost!

Peter had not yet taken a good look at himself in the mirror of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is to be our mirror to see if we are getting more like Him!

Peter would not show the proper strength of a Christian, until that cock crew and he realized he was denying the Lord whom He dearly loved!

The one sin that we as believers must not commit is to deny Jesus Christ!

Gal 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Gal 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

Gal 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

We should know that there are some questions we might have, we have no business asking.

For instance are there just a few who will be saved? This question does not help our ability to share the Gospel with those in need of knowing the Lord as their Savior.

Go back and check the covenants to Abraham and King David.

Jesus would pray that all who loved Him would one day be with Him in Heaven and God the Father always answers the prayers of His Son.

This would be a much better thought when we share the Gospel with anyone.

Then the Lord tells His disciples, all of us what we love to hear.

*****Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

This is one of the most overlooked Scriptures in the Gospel.

Jesus says why do we worry over such trivial matters!

Even when we are in the midst of a very bad day, Jesus says don't let it worry you.

Even when we are traveling in the valley of death, don't worry about trivial things.

Even when politicians have gone slap crazy, don't worry about trivial things.

Even when the world is falling apart, don't worry about trivial things.

Why? This place we call the planet earth is not our home!

One day soon we are going to God's House!

*****Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

The Lord Jesus Christ had to die upon this earth and then resurrect from that grave before He went back home, and He would do all these things by Himself so all we would have to do is believe on these things and our Carpenter would go back to Heaven and start building mansions in His Father's House for us to live in!

In reality this body that we call flesh, will also die and be resurrected to fulfill God's plans for us!

There is nothing on this earth that can stop these things from taking place!

Now to those who say God does not exist, I say, I will pray for you that maybe you will change your mind and accept the truth, before it is too late.

The Lord said, if these things were not true, He would tell us because it is impossible for the Lord to Lie!

You see Jesus is never far from us because when God leaves Heaven, God is still in Heaven and Jesus is God!

No matter how many are saved before the Lord returns, there will be enough mansions that we all can have one for ourselves.

That word "many" is a very large quantity!

**The Lord's first step was to be lifted up upon the cross and it is all downhill from that point.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

**The Lords next step was to arise from the death of the cross. This showed the world that He had the power of God.

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

**The Lords next step was to ascend into Heaven and be exalted by His Father.

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

"Jesus said if you believe in God then believe in Me"

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Jesus had to return to Heaven to put these things in place and now He is waiting until that last soul is saved and he will return to take us home.

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

In other words Jesus will return when His patience runs out and this could be any day now!

The one most important thing that the Lord did before He left, He told us how to make it to Heaven.

At the end when the Lord has brought all His children home there will not be a single empty mansion. The Lord knows exactly how many mansions to prepare.

What did the Lord tell these disciples?

1) You know where I am going.

2) You know how to get there.

These are the same things we all should know!

The Lord Jesus Christ went back to where His Father resides.

Joh 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

The way to get to Heaven is well known there are just many who reject what the Lord has said.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Now we can believe all these things said by the Lord and get to Heaven or we can reject these things and go to Hell.

For those who choose this when they get to Hell, they will find that everyone in Hell are now believers, but it was too late for them to decide.

Another thing we should never do is call the Lord a liar!

*****Joh 14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

All these disciples had been thinking that Jesus was about to lead them to the Kingdom of God on this earth.

They had been discussing who would have the greatest honor in that place.

It was now sinking in that Jesus was talking about His death.

Jesus was also talking about His resurrection but neither of these things were understood.

Jesus was also talking about going some-place that they could not go.

These things were hard for them to grasp at this time.

It is hard to forget physical things and react to Spiritual things until "faith" and the Holy Spirit can do their work.

And the Holy Spirit could not do His work until Jesus went back to Heaven.

Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

Those who think in worldly terms and live for the things of this earth will never understand where Jesus Christ has gone, and they will never be interested in the fact that He will return.

The world of religion refuses to accept that the only way to Heaven is by Jesus Christ but that does not make them right.

I would always want to believe the truth and my "faith" lies in the truth of God!

**The Lord Jesus Christ not only points out how to walk in this life and how to reach our Heavenly Father, but He will take us by the hand and lead us there.

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;

**Our Heavenly Father has shown us what He is like in the "Person" of Jesus Christ

Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

**Jesus Christ reveals the truth of our beginning. Jesus Christ also reveals the truth of our ending and because He loves us, He gives us the choice to choose the truth or to choose a lie.

Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

**True freedom comes only by Jesus Christ.

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of life:

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

The only way to this life is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jesus did not only go to His Father's house, He went to the Father again giving us an example of what we are to do.

Yes, we have a mansion in Heaven but the greatest thing in Heaven is our Heavenly Father who we will finally see face to face!

Then our love ones who are already there.

And then last of all, our Mansion which will not seem more important than the family of God!

Amen

Let's Pray!

He Is The Christ

The Person Of God's Servant

"He Is The Christ"

Book of Mark Chapter 8:22-38

Last week when we left Jesus, He had presented this question to the disciples:

Mar 8:21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

Today we are going to find out what they thought.

The word "Christ" comes from the Greek word "Christos" which means "anointed" as the "Anointed One of God".

In context Peter said that Jesus was the "Anointed One" of God or the "Messiah"!

Although Abraham lived 2000 years before Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, Jesus had these words for the Jews:

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

The Lord had told Moses these words:

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

The Lord went on to say this:

Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

The "One" that was known to the Jews as "Jehovah" is the same "One" we know of as Jesus the "Christ"!

Jehovah means the "self existing One" or the "Eternal One".

This name was so sacred to the Jews that it was never pronounced except by the High Priest and then only one the day of "Atonement"!

Now let's remember the verse we ended on last week:

Mar 8:21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

Let's begin:

*****Mar 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

We can believe that Mark just happened to have this passage next by accident but we know that all scripture is inspired by the Holy Ghost:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

In other words "How is it you do not understand" is about to become "Why are you so blind that you cannot see this"!

We absolutely must have a clear understanding of just who the Lord Jesus truly was!

That’s why it is called "Faith"!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Now it seems that everyone that came to Jesus this day had already made up their own mind how they should be healed, they wanted Jesus to "touch" them.

But Jesus, as God, will do things His Way because it is His Way that works and there is always a lesson in what Our Savior does!

*****Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

The Lord Jesus Christ will always honor "Faith" but when we mix that "faith" with weakness it can cause some problems.

But the Lord must also always honor "faith" because this is His "Promise"!

Those that have "faith" will always be able to see spiritually and sometimes even physically.

BUT, those that require a sign or a certain way, or a certain touch will not see clearly what Jesus is about!

We harm our own selves when we make demands of Our Savior!

The Lord will always do things His own way, God does not need our advice in order to heal us or to save us!

It's God's plan and we must become a part of His plan!

*****Mar 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

Now instead of just seeing a blind man, lost in his own ways, let's just imagine a disciple of God who just does not have a clear understanding of the "Gospel" as "why do you not yet understand".

1.) We must first come to Jesus.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

2.) This must be a personal relationship. (Jesus led this man alone out of town)

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

3.) To spit on someone brought reproach and shame, but we must come to Jesus, unashamed of Him.

Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

After all we are no better than Our Lord:

Isa 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: "I hid not my face from shame and spitting".

This is part of taking up our own cross which we will see shortly.

4.) Then comes the first stage of salvation.

Do we see clearly?

This once blind man did not yet see clearly.

In fact not one of the 12 chosen disciples were able to see clearly!

They did not yet understand just who Christ Jesus truly was!

The very moment we are saved, we are only one step from where we were.

We must then grow in Christ Jesus!

1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, [through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience] and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

This sanctification takes some time, to some, more than others!

Thank goodness, God is still working on me!

*****Mar 8:25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

This was a Gentile, who had been led to the Lord by others that cared enough for him to do this.

This man was so blind to the things of God that he would have never found Jesus alone!

It was those that had brought him that had petitioned the Lord for this healing!

The Bible teaches us:

Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

How does he now see clearly?

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

There will never be a day until we join the Lord in the rapture, that we will not need Him:

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus "the author and finisher" of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

These are some things we must also learn and these are some of the things that these 12 chosen of Jesus did not yet understand.

*****Mar 8:26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

Jesus had said all that He had to say to those of Bethsaida, there had not been much faith there and there was no need for this once blind to go tell them how he was healed.

They refused to believe and repent!

Mat 11:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

We will see shortly that Jesus was taking aim at the cross.

This once blind man had been brought to Jesus, probably from some other location and did not live in Bethsaida.

And So, Jesus moved on to Caesarea Philippi. It is from this location that Jesus will soon set His sights on Jerusalem.

*****Mar 8:27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

This area is the location of the source of the River Jordan and near the base of Mount Hermon.

Jordan means "watering place" and this is the place the Lord Jesus Christ chose to ask this certain question of His chosen disciples.

Whom do men say that I am?

Jesus has these words for the woman at the well and for us all:

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Just as the River Jordan has its beginning from the melted snow of Mount Hermon and the fountains near its base, Jesus Christ is the true source of "living water"!

Humans, animals and plants are alive because they have been infused with life.

But the Lord Jesus Christ "is life"!

Jesus Christ has life in Himself, he is not derived from life as is all His creation!

Jesus Christ is the source of all life as we know it!

Just to the north of this city, at the foot of a steep crag, the fountain of Jordan rises to it's beginning and brings life to this region.

But, Jesus Christ is the fountain of all life!

Psa 36:9 For with thee is "the fountain of life": in thy light shall we see light.

What is wrong with this world today?

Jer 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; "they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters", and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

And how did these 12 answer?

*****Mar 8:28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

It is not be very important what people say about or think about us BUT "it is very important that they think right about the Lord Jesus Christ"!

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only means of salvation in this lost world!

Jesus Christ must be the Lord of our lives!

That cannot happen until we have accepted The Lord as Our Savior and filled with His Holy Sprit!

1Co 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, "but by the Holy Ghost".

Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest man born of a woman:

Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John was now dead but there were many that felt this same way about the Lord Jesus Christ!

Many of them knew the prophecy of Elijah:

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

But Jesus responded to this thought like this:

Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

Others said that Jesus was just one of the prophets that had already died such as Moses, Daniel, Jeremiah or Ezekiel.

These all would have only one thing in common if it were any of them.

They were all dead and "would have had to been resurrected" from the dead.

So, it teaches us all these people agreed that the things that Jesus did required "resurrection power"!

They just did not realize how true this was.

But we know that God spoke through the prophets to mankind and God established this standard for Himself:

Deu 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deu 18:16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deu 18:17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Deu 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

No sinner can stand before the Father!

Only those that have been washed in the blood of Jesus, "that prophet raised from among their brethren" can stand before the Father.

Jesus was Jew of the tribe of Judah and household of David.

We know that the early church was in agreement that these things were fulfilled in Jesus Christ:

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Act 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
Act 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

No prophet throughout the Bible fulfilled the will of the Father except Jesus Christ!

Joh 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, "but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ".
Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

It is Jesus Christ that is Head of the House of God!

Heb 3:6 But Christ "as a son over his own house"; [whose house are we], if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

But the importance lies in this response of those that know the Lord as Savior.

*****Mar 8:29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

We began our lesson explaining that "Christ" means the " Anointed One" sent from God.

Makes me think of these words the Lord told to Abraham.

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, "God will provide himself" a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Explained well in the Book of Philippians:

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Mark skips over another thing that should be mentioned from Peter's response.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, "but my Father which is in heaven".
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

We can only know the truth, if it is revealed to us by the Holy Ghost!

The foundation of the Church must be based on the fact the Jesus Christ was the Jewish Messiah and also Savior to the Church!

The Church has only one foundation that is essential and it is the fact that Jesus Christ was and is God in the flesh!

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. "This is the true God, and eternal life".

It is only after the disciples understand this that Jesus began to explain that He would have to die to fulfill the will of His Father in Heaven.

*****Mar 8:30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
Mar 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

You see God has this plan and we must be part of His plan!

We cannot ever change God's plan!

We should be able see that it was only after these chosen disciples of God had made an open confession that Jesus was truly the Messiah, that Jesus could speak of His sufferings and the cross.

AND, It is only after we have that same understanding that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, that we are open to the rewards of Heaven.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

There is no other plan of salvation that can lead us into the throne room of God!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Satan has done his job of deception very well and most of our world are caught up in his snare!

So what was this part of God's plan?

1.) Jesus would suffer many things of this world.

2.) Jesus would be rejected by the government.

3.) Jesus would be rejected by the established religions.

4.) Jesus would be rejected by those that wrote their own versions of the Bible.

5.) Jesus would be killed.

6.) But praise God after 3 days Jesus would rise from that death!

God says that this, His own plan, is the only plan that can bring victory after His death.

Jesus did not die as a Martyr!

Jesus Christ died as the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God!

You see Jesus did all the work and the only work we have to do to get to Heaven is "to believe" and then repent and go toward God and not against Him!

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

But there are always those that just do not like God's plan and seek to make changes in God's plan!

*****Mar 8:32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

How did Jesus respond to Peter?

Jesus spoke to Peter boldly and with confidence.

Jesus did not use a parable.

Jesus made this very clear to Peter and then to all the others.

*****Mar 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

1) Peter did not realize what he was saying.

Peter had suggested that he would try to stop this plan of Christ Jesus.

Peter did not like God's plan!

This is the very act that Satan was and is trying to accomplish!

Satan will use everything within his own power to keep Jesus from fulfilling the plan of God!

So what does Our Lord do?

1Ti 5:20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

Jesus just turned away from Peter and rebuked him before the other disciples.

Was Jesus being spiteful or hateful in doing this?

Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

The Apostle Peter learned an awful lot of things through hard experience!

I must say, I have also learned many things from hard experience!

Jesus was saying to His disciples, "Don't Stand In My Way"?

When we look at things through human eyes we will sometimes miss what God is trying to accomplish!

Anything and anyone that tries to deter or change the plan of God then become the adversary of God!

Peter learned this lesson very well and it influenced him.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

We are to deliver God's message, if we want to be a part of God's plan!

Anyone that tries to alter the plan of God then becomes the enemy of God!

So what are the conditions for following Jesus Christ?

Jesus lays those conditions out in our next verse!

*****Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Every Christian should expect these things:

1.) There will be hardships.
2) There must be self denial. (Die to self)
3) We must bear our own cross.
4) There will be scorn from this world.
5) We must have patience sown in love!
6) We must follow! (Jesus will lead)

In order to be a follower there must be a leader!

The key to repentance is the acknowledgement that we all have a sinful nature!

Not one human being is a good person that sometimes does bad things!

Every human being is a sinful creature who sometimes does some good things!

It is only based on this truth that we can be led to salvation!

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

When we are unwilling to bear this cross we will never know real life here on Earth, and then eternal life.

That eternal life in Heaven can only be found when we die to our own self and live for Jesus Christ!

*****Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

The Atheist teach that this life we have now is all there is.

So their motto is live this life by your own standards while you are alive and then you die and that's it.

Even if all we see were an accident, as the Evolutionists believe, this would still be a sad thing!

God says it this way:

Eph 2:12 That at that time "ye were without Christ",[ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, "having no hope, and without God in the world"]:

But to "having hope" for life after this physical life rest in the hands of God and cannot happen by accident.

So it's a matter of perspective.!

If this life is all that there is, then certainly to live the life of a suffering saint of God does not seem worthwhile.

BUT, if there is a greater and grandeur life ahead then that changes everything!

AND THERE IS!

The Apostle Paul said it this way:

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time "are not worthy to be compared" with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

No one can deny that every human being will have pains, troubles, and anxieties in their life time.

Many of these things we bring on ourselves, but to the Christian we can add to this, the ridicule of this world because we have a relationship with Jesus!

When I was a soldier, I sold my life for base pay,(really a very small amount of money) and to serve my country which I love but even this was not much value for my life had I lost my life in a battle.

Now as a soldier in God's army, I love my Captain of salvation and I honor His profession.

I can endure the fears and perils of this life because there is a greater payday coming and then there will be life eternal!

You can deny God if you want to, but I choose to believe the truth!

I can love myself more, by not loving the things of this world!

For what is my profit in this life?

*****Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mar 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

It is a poor exchange to trade a soul for money or pleasure, or any other "temporary" thing.

If I know my life is but a whisper of time, then the things I can possess in this world, I truly will not be able to
hold to for very long!

1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, "and pierced themselves through with many sorrows".

In most every case, the riches of this world will bring with those riches even more sorrows!

True riches comes only when I trust my God.

1Ti 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

So the real truth is still the facts of God, and He has written those facts down for us!

*****Mar 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

We can only deny our selves when we surrender ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ!

When we live for Christ Jesus we will become more like Him!

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is our only true investment in this world and the world to come!

We can either invest in our lives or lose our lives!

You see once we have spent our lives, we cannot buy it back.

Rom 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death"; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We can be like the world or we can strive to be like Jesus, these are the only two choices we have.

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

We cannot purify our selves after death, we must do this while we live!

Next week we will see the glory of God.

Questions?

Let's Pray!