Following the Man of Sorrows – part 1
060 Following the Man of Sorrows – part 1
Mark 10:32-45 (32-34)
August 9, 2026
Well this morning, you can see we’ve got a lot going on.
· It’s our annual “Back to School Commissioning Service”
· We’ve also got the table set up to partake in the Lord’s Supper.
But we’re covering it all because it all fits so perfectly
With where we are in the gospel of Mark.
You know that we are now in the second half of Mark’s gospel
Where the focus is on what Jesus came to do.
He has been announcing it.
Mark 8:31 “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.”
Mark 9:12 “And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?”
Mark 9:31 “For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.”
And yet we have also clearly seen that the disciples aren’t getting it.
Oh, they know what He means by death and resurrection,
They just don’t want to accept that this is really what He came to do.
· They are far more interested in a glorious earthly kingdom.
· They are far more interested in their own ambitions.
That’s why we had Peter rebuking Jesus for mentioning His death.
That’s why we had all of the arguing over who was the greatest.
That’s why here you’ve got James and John trying to obtain the highest seats.
They are not yet willing to consent to the fact that Jesus is going to death
They are following Him,
But they are not totally given themselves to His mission.
AND THAT REALITY RESONATES WITH ME.
And that is where I want to begin this morning
· As we commission our students and teachers back to school,
· And as we are all reminded of our commission into the world.
I think that too often I walk right where the disciples were.
That I want to follow Jesus,
I’m just not interested in following where He wants to go.
But that is what shows up immediately here in our text.
(32) “They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.”
There is a great deal to unpack here,
But it is really quite revealing of the disciple’s mindset.
First we read that:
“They were on the road going up to Jerusalem…”
You’ll remember that
· Jesus has recently left Galilee and He’s never going to return there.
· He has come into the region of Perea in the southern portion of Israel.
· The Pharisees challenged on the subject of divorce.
· And recently He encountered the Rich Young Ruler who rejected Jesus.
And I don’t know what the disciples expected.
I don’t know where they thought He would go next.
· Maybe they thought they’d stay in Perea for a while?
· Maybe they thought they might head back north to Galilee?
But based on the text we do know
That there is one place that they were afraid to go
And that was to Jerusalem.
BUT, WOULDN’T YOU KNOW, Jesus just took the exit for Jerusalem.
“They were on the road going up to Jerusalem…”
It would not have been that long ago
That Jesus was in Jerusalem and faced death threats.
You may even remember when it came time to go and raise Lazarus from the dead that the disciples were not all that confident they could go that close and survive.
John 11:16 “Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
So you understand the apprehension.
This is NOT where they wanted to go.
But not only where they going, but:
“Jesus was walking on ahead of them”
The verb there is (pra-AH-go)
It means “to lead the way”
Not only has Jesus indicated that He will be killed in Jerusalem,
But He seems rather determined about it.
He is out front with a quickened pace.
He seems flat out determined to get there.
· No one is having to encourage Him.
· No one is having to prod Him on.
· No one is carrying Him or dragging Him.
· He’s out front marching straight to the city where He says He’ll be killed.
That certainly explains the next statement:
“and they were amazed”
Mark likes this word, in fact he’s the only one who uses it.
(thom-BAY-o)
“to stupefy or astonish”
When Jesus cast out the demon in the Capernaum synagogue:
Mark 1:27 “They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
When Jesus told them it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.
Mark 10:24 “The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!”
Well here they just can’t believe what they are seeing.
Jesus has repeatedly told them that
He was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die,
And here He is marching to His death
With utter confidence and resolve.
· There is no fear.
· There is no delay.
· There is no caution.
Jesus is just marching straight to Jerusalem.
AND THEN WE READ:
“and those who followed were fearful.”
“fearful” is (fo-BAY-o)
It’s our word “phobia”
You’ve seen that word a lot, the two most famous are
1. When Jesus calmed the storm on the sea
2. And later when He came to them walking on water.
Both times they were (fo-BAY-o)
· They were “fearful”
· They were absolutely terrified
· They thought they were going to die.
THAT EXPLAINS THEIR MENTALITY HERE.
They are absolutely shocked that Jesus is going to Jerusalem
And they are terrified to follow Him there.
FOLLOWING JESUS IS GETTING SERIOUS.
IT’S ONE THING
· To follow Him through the roads of Galilee where He is basically a rock star
healing the masses.
· To follow Him even to Tyre or the Gadarenes where even there the afflicted
want His help.
· To follow Him to Perea to preach to a new crowd.
But following to Jerusalem?
THIS IS SERIOUS.
It’s like Jesus asked you to go with Him to Iran or Iraq or Sudan
· And then He bought you all airplane tickets
· And there He is marching straight for the gate to board the plane.
IT’S GETTING REAL.
This Jesus really is going to the city
Where He has said He will suffer and be killed
And He is taking His followers with Him.
THIS JUST BRINGS BACK WHAT WE SAID AT THE BEGINNING.
They are following Him,
But they are clearly not excited about where they are headed.
It really causes us to again ponder what they were thinking.
· Had He not told them repeatedly and clearly that this was the mission?
· Has He ever once insinuated that He might go somewhere else?
The call to follow has been clear and the destination has also be clear.
And yet, where we find His followers,
Not only are they shocked that He is going where He said,
But they are terrified to go with Him.
It’s not hard for me to find some immediate application there.
It’s not hard for me to find some identification with the disciples there.
YOU HAVE LIKELY NOTICED THAT
Our theme for this year’s commissioning service is: “Man of Sorrows”
It is a title that finds its origin in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah.
Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
And as the old hymn insinuates the title is absolutely shocking.
“Man of Sorrows, what a name! For the son of God who came.”
It is quite astounding that the Son of God would come to this earth in human form and then adopt the title “Man of Sorrows”
NOT “Man of comfort” or “Man of joy” or “Man of ease”, not even “Man of righteousness” but “Man of Sorrows”
He was not a man who came to pursue comfort or ease.
He came on a mission and it was a sorrowful one.
EVEN IN MARK’S GOSPEL WE HAVE SEEN IT.
We have seen His grief over sin.
Mark 3:5 “After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”
We have seen His frustration with sin.
Mark 9:19 “And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”
We are aware of His grief for sinners as in just a few days He will actually weep over Jerusalem.
He was “A Man of Sorrows”.
AND I CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER
If that contradicts our expectations of following Him.
I know I’ve said it times without number:
But we send our kids off to school and say, “Have a good day!” or “Have fun!” or “Enjoy your trip!”
And as I pondered the Father sending Christ to the earth,
I couldn’t help but wonder
What that final encouragement must have sounded like.
It’s awfully difficult to imagine the Father sending Christ to earth and saying, “Have fun!” or “Have a good day!” or “Enjoy your trip!”
NO,
· Christ was coming to suffer.
· He was coming to die.
· He was coming to experience grief and sorrow.
Now, I’m not trying to be a “downer” here,
But it is very relevant to us as we think of our mission on this earth.
WE ARE CALLED TO FOLLOW CHRIST.
SO WERE THE DISCIPLES
And on this day following Christ was getting very real to the disciples.
They are realizing that:
· They were following a Man who was committed to suffering and death.
· They were following a “Man of Sorrows”
AND SO ARE WE.
Any idea that we are following Jesus to glory and fame and comfort and happiness and popularity must be removed.
We can’t go into that school or into work or anywhere on this globe
And expect that following Jesus is going to produce earthly fame or glory.
We are following a CONDEMNED man.
We are following a REJECTED man.
We are following a CRUCIFIED man.
And this year I SIMPLY WANT TO REMIND each of us of that
As we set our minds toward being witnesses for Him.
The disciples struggled with following Jesus to Jerusalem
Because of what might happen there.
I THINK WE MIGHT DO THE SAME.
And yet the call is to follow anyway.
So as we go into the world, let me just remind you that
The mission was never about earthly fame and glory and comfort.
We follow the “Man of Sorrows”, the One who came to save sinners.
That’s the mission.
I want to give you part of a quote from Charles Spurgeon and his sermon called “The Man of Sorrows”. I’ll give you the end of the quote in a minute.
Jesus was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;” but many of his disciples who profess to be altogether his are living for themselves. There are rich men who call themselves saints, and are thought to be so, whose treasures are hoarded for themselves and families. There are men of ability who believe that they are bought with Christ’s blood, yet their ability is all spent on other things and none upon their Lord. And let us come nearer home; here are we, what are we doing? Teaching in the school are you, — are you doing it with all your heart for Jesus? Preaching in the street? — yes, but do you throw your soul into it for him? Mayhap, you have to confess you are doing nothing; do not let this day conclude till you have begun to do something for your Lord. We are always talking about the church doing this and that, — what is the church? I believe there is a great deal too much said, both of bad and good, about that abstraction; the fact is, we are individuals. The church is only the aggregation of individuals, and if any good is to be done it must be performed by individuals, and if all individuals are idle there is no churchwork done; there may be the semblance of it, but there is no real work done. Brother, sister, what art thou doing for Jesus?”
https://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/the-man-of-sorrows
WHAT A GREAT REMINDER!
JESUS IS ON MISSION, AND WE MUST JOIN HIM.
And THAT MISSION is what Jesus is about to reveal.
This will be the 4th time in Mark’s gospel
That Jesus will address His coming suffering and death.
But here He is about to start giving them some new information.
· Things like His betrayal
· Things like His condemnation
· Things like His executioners
· Things like the manner of His execution
But also, by the end of the conversation
We also see for the first time WHY Jesus will submit to all of this.
(45) “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as ransom for many.”
THERE IT IS.
For the first time Jesus reveals to the disciples
WHY He is going to suffer and die.
His life will be a “ransom for many”
Jesus will have another straight conversation to fearful disciples
Regarding why He came and what He’s about to do.
(32b) “And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,”
SO HERE WE GO.
· It’s the 4th time for Peter, James, and John,
· But for the entire group of 12, this is now the 3rd time Jesus is about to speak about where He is headed.
(33-34) “saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. “They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”
Often times when you read a text,
There will be a phrase or two that really just jumps out at you.
For me this time in verse 33 it was the statement, “we are going”.
In one statement Jesus confirms everything the disciples are afraid of.
AND WHAT A STATEMENT!
“We” not “I”
· He doesn’t say, “I am going”, He says, “We are going”.
· He called for followers not observers.
· He called for those who would accompany Him, not just read about it.
This is the mission.
Every single invitation to “Follow Me” is coming to a head here.
· This is the plan.
· This is the mission.
· This is the destination.
“WE are going”
AND I CAN’T HELP BUT THINK BACK TO
So many other clarifying statements from Jesus.
Like when He said:
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”
How much more real a statement like that becomes
When Jesus looks you in the eye and says, “We are going”.
Or even the statement in Mark’s gospel earlier:
Mark 8:34-35 “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
That statement must be even more real.
Followers must follow.
He is going where they are afraid to go
And He sets the record straight, “And you’re coming with Me.”
“We are going.”
Or even the SECOND WORD of the statement.
“We ARE going”
Not “might”, not “possibly”, but “are”.
THIS IS HAPPENING.
If you were holding out hope that the plan might change, forget it.
The plan is set.
Jerusalem is the destination.
Or even the THIRD WORD.
“We are GOING”
· We are NOT simply considering it.
· We are NOT sending word to them.
· We are NOT going to talk about it or pray about it or feel it out.
· We are going.
We think of the text Daniel preached last Sunday morning.
1 Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,”
Following is not hypothetical.
This is not a virtual experience.
Following Christ is a real and tangible “hands on” active thing.
All the talk is over.
All the pompous boasting aside.
This is real.
“We are going”
AND AGAIN, AS WE CONTEMPLATE OUR MISSION.
As we think about going into the school,
Or into any other venue this week.
The calling is clear.
Jesus told us to “Go ye therefore into all the world…”
The call is to be absolutely committed to the mission.
· To that He is sending you.
· To understand where He is sending you.
· To understand what they think of Him.
· To go anyway and to be faithful when you’re there.
“We are going.”
SO CHURCH LET’S EMBRACE THE MISSION!
It’s easy to see as we see teachers and students going back to school.
· Schools are such a big part of our communities.
· Missions there is front-lines missions.
Those of you going into school are going into A SECULAR SYSTEM.
Not all of it is bad, but it is all secular.
There is nothing spiritual on the agenda.
The only light that will enter that place is the light you bring with you.
If the gospel is proclaimed it will be because you proclaimed it.
If Jesus is preached it will be because you preached Him.
And I don’t have to tell you that this is a difficult and intimidating mission.
· You already know that by in large Jesus is not accepted.
· You already know that most are not interested in the righteous life.
· You already know that faithfulness in the school will be costly.
In short, you know that you are following the “Man of Sorrows”
BUT, YOU ARE GOING.
AND THAT IS NOT JUST FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR ALL THE WORLD.
BUT WE ARE GOING INTO IT.
And here I want to give you the rest of that Spurgeon quote:
“I charge thee by the nail-prints of his hands, unless thou be a liar unto him, labour for him! I charge thee by his wounded feet— run to his help! I charge thee by the scar in his side— give him thy heart! I charge thee by that sacred head, once pierced with thorns, — yield him thy thoughts! I charge thee by the shoulders which bore the scourges, — bend thy whole strength to his service! I charge thee by himself, give him thyself. I charge thee by that left hand which has been under thy head, and that right hand which has embraced thee, by the roes and by the hinds of the field, by the beds of spices, and the banquets of love, render thyself, thy heart, thy soul, and strength to him! Live in his service, and die in service! Lay not down thy harness, but work on as long as thou shalt live. Whilst thou livest let this be thy motto— “All for Jesus, all for Jesus; all for the man of sorrows, all for the man of sorrows!” O ye that love him, and fight for him, you are summoned to the front. Hasten to the conflict, I pray you, and charge home for the “man of sorrows!” Make this the battle-cry to-day! Slink not back like cowards! Hie not to your homes as lovers of ease! but press to the front for the “man of sorrows,” like good men and true. By the cross which bore him, and by the heavy cross he bore, by his deadly agony, and by the agony of his life, I cry, “forward, for the man of sorrows!” Write this word, “for the man of sorrows,” on your own bodies, wherein ye bear the marks of the Lord Jesus; brand, if not in your flesh, yet in your souls, for henceforth ye are servants to the man of sorrows! Write this on your wealth, bind this inscription on all your possessions— “This belongs to the man of sorrows.” Give your children to the “man of sorrows,” as men of old consecrated their sons to patriotism, and to battle with their country’s foes. Give up each hour to the “man of sorrows!” Learn even to eat and drink and sleep for the “man of sorrows,” doing all in his name. Live for him and be ready to die for him, and the Lord accept you for the “man of sorrows’” sake. Amen.”
(ibid)
GO AND BE FAITHFUL, EVEN IF IT IS SCARY.
“We are going”
THAT IS OUR MISSION TOO
Well, back to the disciples for a moment.
They are going, and when they get there,
Jesus again lets them know what will happen.
(33b-34) “and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. “They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”
This is by far the most detailed announcement Jesus has given yet.
We’ll talk about it in more detail tonight,
But some of the things Jesus is now revealing for the first time.
“the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes;”
That would “be delivered” is (par-ah-DID-a-me)
It means “to give into the hands of another”
It can mean “to deliver up treacherously by betrayal”
Mark 3:19 “and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”
Same word there.
It is also translated “betrayed” in
· Matthew 10:4, 21
· Matthew 24:10
· Matthew 26:10
· Matthew 26:23-24
· Matthew 26:46
· Matthew 26:48
Jesus is here revealing that He will be treacherously betrayed
Into the hands of the Jewish authorities.
HE IS ALSO FOR THE FIRST TIME
Revealing that they “will condemn Him to death”
· We already knew He was going to be killed,
· Now we find out that He will first be wrongfully condemned.
· All of those bogus trials are immediately brought to our minds.
WE ALSO LEARN FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT
they “will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him.”
And this indicates not only who will kill Christ,
But even the manner in which He will die.
Everything Jesus speaks of here points to a Roman execution
Which was crucifixion.
This “Man of Sorrows” is going to Jerusalem
Where He will be betrayed, condemned,
And brutally killed on a Roman cross.
And yet He was undeterred.
He is going “to give His life a ransom for many.”
· Fear is not stopping Him.
· Sorrow is not stopping Him.
· Suffering is not stopping Him.
HE IS GOING TO DIE IN OUR STEAD.
“Man of Sorrows! What a name! For the Son of God who came.
Ruined sinners to reclaim
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
THE CALL WE FOCUS ON THIS MORNING IS THE CALL TO GO WITH HIM.
We haven’t made it that far in the text yet,
But I’ll give you a little sneak peak.
Look down to verses 38-39
This where James and John come asking to sit on His right and on His left.
(38-39) “But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.”
There is obviously a lot to discuss there,
· But do you see that Jesus does acknowledge that as His followers James and John will in fact drink His cup and be baptized with His baptism?
Now think of what Paul said to the Corinthians
As he taught them about the Lord’s supper.
1 Corinthians 10:16 “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?”
1 Corinthians 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
I simply want you to recognize that when we take this ordinance of the Lord’s supper it is more than just receiving His forgiveness.
There is a sharing here, a devotion here, a proclamation here.
There is a commitment here.
We partake as those who love Christ, who need Christ,
Who wish to be devoted to Christ, who want to follow Christ.
We drink His cup, we share His sacrifice, we embrace His suffering.
WE CLING TO THE MAN OF SORROWS.
SO AS PART OF OUR COMMISSION
WE ALSO COME TO THE TABLE OF THE LORD.
He is the “Man of Sorrows” and we embrace Him!
We see the bread which represents His body
· And the perfect obedience that He obtained in it, so that He might impute that righteousness to us.
We see the juice which represents His blood
· And the death that He died to appease God’s wrath.
We eat it and drink it as a declaration that what He did, He did for me.
· I needed it. I need His righteousness, I need His atonement.
As we eat we make a public proclamation that the death of Jesus is absolutely essential and sufficient.
And as we eat we commit our lives to following this Man of Sorrows.
So this morning we will have a time of preparation
And then we will come to the table of the Lord.
THE LORD’S SUPPER
· Time of Preparation
· Deacons Come Forward
Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
· Give Bread to Deacons
· Deacon Prayer
· Deacons Pass out Bread
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
· Take Bread
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
· Give juice to deacons
· Deacon prayer
· Deacons pass out juice
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
· Take Juice
· Deacon Prayer
· Parting Chorus