The Passion Predicted
Truth Taught- Jesus begins to teach what it means to be the Messiah.
As we begin the second half of Mark’s amazing Gospel, we enter a new thrust or a new focus. Now that Mark has completely and entirely shown us who Jesus is, Namely, the Messiah the Son of God, Mark shifts the focus because Jesus does as well to follow our Lord to the cross.
In our text today, we will see Jesus’ first of three predictions that He will suffer, be killed, and rise after three days. He predicts His passion…
In Mark’s Gospel from here on out there is a sustained focus on Jesus and the disciples traveling to Jerusalem where these events will take place. Our Lord will enter the gates of Jerusalem and fulfill His Messianic mission to deliver His people from their sin.
Mark 8:31–34 (ESV)
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
1. The Messiah’s True Mission (8:31)
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Here is the first major prophecy in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus declares without any doubt that He is going to the cross to suffer, die and on the third day rise again. Here is what the Messiah is called by God to do.
The fullness of Jesus’ prophetic Words will come about after the events are over with. In other words, we will know more details as we read the events surrounding the cross and the resurrection. For now, our Lord is telling His followers that He will suffer, die and on the third day rise from the grave. This is the eternal plan of God for the Messiah, the Son of God.
What is the significance of Jesus sharing these events with the disciples before they take place? This proves God is behind the Passion of Jesus. It proves it is His eternal plan. It also proves that nothing not the strongest demon or Satan, himself can thwart what Jesus is going to accomplish.
A. Jesus begins to teach what the Messiah will do…
Verse 31 begins, 31 And he began to teach them… Here is a concept they had never before heard. This truth was not what they were at all expecting. How can Jesus be their military general and lead the armies of Israel to victory if He suffers and dies when they get to Jerusalem?
The disciples are not dense they have just been shown new truth they did not expect. They understand and believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God but what that means is where the confusion now lies and so Jesus begins to teach them what these things mean. They understand the titles Son of God and Messiah but they are in the fog about what Jesus is going to do.
I can remember taking New Testament Greek in Bible College and how this process works. Each week we were shown new concepts that to me seemed way more than I could grasp. There was what the professor called about a two-week fog. Then those concepts were learned and the fog lifted until he gave us new information and that seemed overwhelming. Then after a couple weeks that was easy and more came.
Here the disciples are in the fog of Messianic truth. What they had been taught about the Messiah was wrong. They had to learn truth from Jesus the Messiah as to what the Messiah would do. They had to unlearn as well as learn. This is the difficult part for the disciples.
It’s also a lot like when you were first shown the truth of God’s sovereignty, election and predestination. You had to unlearn what you had believed and learn truth. You had to let go of some or possibly most of what you had been taught and grasp the truth of Scripture.
These concepts and truths don’t come easy. Unless God works people will not let go of things they had been taught to receive the truth, it’s just too hard to do.
B. What Jesus Will Do Centers Around the Title, Son of Man…
Mark has gone to great lengths to show us that Jesus is the Son of God. Now, Jesus uses the title Son of Man. There are some heretical pseudo-Christian groups that will quickly grab this and seek to wrongly teach that Jesus is not God but just a man. They have no idea what the title Son of Man means.
Last week we reviewed the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. He knew who He was, God the Father declared it to be so at Jesus’ baptism, many He healed knew it and even demons knew it. So why does Mark now report Jesus calling Himself the Son of Man? What does that mean?
This is the shift Mark captures in his Gospel. So far, he has been very diligent to show us Jesus is God. He is divine, He is the Son of God and Messiah King. He has accomplished his task. Now, he focuses on Jesus’ humanity. He shows us that Jesus is also 100% man. It will be the God-man who dies on the cross. Because our Lord is walking toward Jerusalem and the cross, now Mark focuses on Jesus’ humanity.
Son of Man is a title of humanity. Other titles for Christ, such as Son of God, are explicit in their focus on His deity. Son of Man, in contrast, focuses on the humanity of Christ. God called the prophet Ezekiel “son of man” 93 times. In this way, God was simply calling Ezekiel a human being. Son of man is simply a periphrastic term for “human.” Jesus Christ was truly a human being. He came “in the flesh” (1 John 4:2).
Son of Man is a title of deity. Ezekiel may have been a son of man, but Jesus is the Son of Man. As such, Jesus is the supreme example of all that God intended mankind to be, the embodiment of truth and grace (John 1:14). In Him “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). For this reason, the Son of Man was able to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6). The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). The Son of Man came to save lives (Luke 9:56; 19:10), rise from the dead (Mark 9:9), and execute judgment (John 5:27). At His trial before the high priest, Jesus said, “I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). This statement immediately ended the trial, as the court accused the Lord of blasphemy and condemned Him to death (verses 65–66).
Son of Man is a fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus’ claim before the high priest to be the Son of Man was a reference to the prophecy of Daniel 7:13–14, “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” (NKJV). Daniel saw glory, worship, and an everlasting kingdom given to the Messiah—here called the “Son of Man”—and Jesus applied this prophecy to Himself. Jesus also spoke of His coming kingdom on other occasions (Matthew 13:41; 16:28). The author of Hebrews used a reference to the “son of man” in the Psalms to teach that Jesus, the true Son of Man, will be the ruler of all things (Hebrews 2:5–9; cf. Psalm 8:4–6). The Son of Man, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, will be the King.
Jesus was fully God (John 1:1), but He was also fully human (John 1:14). As the Son of God and the Son of Man, He is deserving of both titles.
C. Jesus teaches He must suffer many things…
The text immediately begins with a very striking word. It tells us that Jesus begins to teach them that He must suffer, He must be killed and He must rise again.
Our Lord is not simply predicting the future by saying He will suffer many things but that He must suffer many things. He will and He must!! He’s telling the disciples that these events must take place because they are the way God has chosen to save His people.
Jesus knew that these things must happen if He was to save His people from their sin. If Jesus is your Savior today, He had to accomplish these things…He must!!
He must go to Jerusalem, He must be tried by sinful men, He must be beaten an inch from His life, He must be placed on the cross, He must shed His blood, He must die, He must be buried and He must rise again…
Here’s why He must…
Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
We must come to the truth that though we have sinned and are in fact sinners, Christ died for sinners. Though because of sin we deserve none of God’s kindness and blessing, Christ suffered on the cross for us and by His death He purchased heaven for all who believe in Him.
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things…
2. Sinful Man’s Worldly Focus (8:32-33)
32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Our Lord spoke these truths to His disciples in a clear and forceful way. The Greek word translated plainly means clearly and with bold confidence. Jesus was not being veiled to His followers here. He wasn’t holding back; He spoke boldly and confidently to them the facts. He will suffer many things, He will be killed, He will rise on the third day.
These blessed followers were the first to ever hear that Jesus would suffer, die, and be raised from the dead. This is considered a mystery being revealed… this mystery revealed is called the Word of the Cross…
1 Corinthians 1:18–25 (ESV)
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Peter recoils at the thought of a suffering and dying Messiah. He had in mind the stereotypical triumphant military leader who would restore Israel to her former glory.
Sinful man’s view of the Messiah was that he would create a heaven on earth for Israel. He would secure peace and prosperity now. How could He do that if He is dead?
A dead Messiah does not sit well with Peter at all. So, Peter rebukes Jesus.
The word rebuke is a very strong word in Greek. Jesus used the rebuke to cast out demons. Epitiman- strong command or correction.
Jesus begins to teach and Peter begins to rebuke. This is the comparison we are to make here.
Jesus, stop with that talk, there is no way You are doing that or is that going to happen to You…no way!!
Here we see that human ideas and beliefs are in opposition to God’s plan. Peter is greatly and adamantly opposing God’s will.
What is Jesus’ response?
33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Jesus begins to strongly rebuke Peter with some of the same language He had used before with demons. Peter’s mode of thinking is more in line with Satan than with God.
Jesus will be triumphant but not over the Roman Empire but He will take down the strongholds of Satan and that can only be accomplished through suffering.
Any attempt or even thought of the Messiah acting in any other way than attacking Satan by suffering is in Jesus’ view, satanic.
The devil, himself tried to get Jesus to go the easy route and not suffer. All Jesus had to do was to worship Satan and He could have everything.
For Peter, this calling of the Messiah was unthinkable. He could not imagine this in his wildest dreams. This is not the Messiah that Peter has signed up for. His thinking had to be brought into conformity to God’s plan.
Ralph Martin wrote, For Peter, the indication that the Son of man will die is unthinkable. For Jesus, it is inevitable.
We must also see the focus of Christ not only that He would suffer to save us but that His suffering, death and resurrection lead to His eternal glory as the Son seated at the right hand of the Father. God the Father will give His Son the throne because Jesus has obeyed Him perfectly. Our Lord will receive honor and dominion and glory and a people as His reward for suffering
Philippians 2:8–11 (ESV)
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
For Peter to rebuke Jesus shows a great lack of understanding in Jesus the Messiah and His mission. Our Lord will receive honor and glory because He suffered for His people.
This paradox in the minds of the disciples, that the Messiah would not triumph through might and strength but triumph through humility and suffering has been called the Messianic Secret. This secret has only been revealed to a select few. It’s been revealed first to the disciples and they initially rejected it. It’s been revealed to God’s people down through the ages. It has just been revealed to you. Do you have ears to hear and eyes to see?
Do you believe in a suffering, dying and resurrected Messiah? Do you see that it took Jesus’ suffering God’s wrath to pay for our sin? Do you see that His death was the only death suitable as payment for the sins of God’s elect? Do you see in His death final humiliation and in His resurrection final vindication? God accepted Jesus’ death as paid in full and now we receive full pardon and Jesus a Kingdom and all this and much more through the suffering Messiah. This now is the concept the disciples are struggling with. It makes no sense to them.
I’d like to end this message with these verses from Isaiah…
Isaiah 55:8–9 (ESV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Believe and trust our suffering Messiah…
Resources Used:
Gospel of Mark by James Edwards
Gospel of Mark by JC Ryle
Gospel of Mark by William Lane
Words of grace
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