The Confession - part 1

May 24, 2026 • Rory Mosley

041 The Confession – part 1

Mark 8:27-38 (27-28)

May 24, 2026

Tonight we come to the climax passage for Mark’s gospel.

Mark has spent the first half of his gospel account leading to this point.

This is Mt. Everest.

We are at the top.

Mark will soon start his descent

Into the suffering, rejection, crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord.

But here we are at the summit.

The goal has been simple:

WHO IS JESUS?

We know that Mark wasted no time giving us that answer.

We read:

Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

It is NOT like Mark has tried to keep us in suspense

Or has been cryptic regarding the identity of Jesus.

NOT AT ALL.

But the thrust of these first 8 chapters

Is the process of revealing that truth to those who follow Him.

Mark has been driving to the moment

When the disciples finally accurately confessed who Christ is.

NOW, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME

They have ever made a verbal declaration regarding Christ.

We heard some making these types of assumptions

Right at the very beginning.

We heard Andrew very early:

John 1:40-41 “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).”

Later that same day, we heard Nathanael:

John 1:48-49 “Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

After Jesus walked on water, and Peter walked out to Him, and then they both got in the boat:

Matthew 14:32-33 “When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

In John’s account, after the feeding of the 5,000

John 6:69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

So it’s NOT like the disciples never said these things before.

It’s NOT like they haven’t danced all around the issue.

But this one is different.

This one will come as they have recognized that

Jesus has not been accepted by the culture.

· The culture will clearly miss who He is.

· The chief priests have already rejected Him and will continue to do so.

So this confession here is one made against the current.

This confession is one made with conviction to defy the narrative.

They are confessing Christ because of what they believe.

· It is not under peer pressure.

· It is not the follow the crowd.

· It is not even some sort of emotional response to having seen something

remarkable.

This is a calculated, deep-seeded, well thought out conviction

Leading to a confession.

THIS IS WHAT MARK HAS BEEN DRIVING FOR.

So we want to begin to look at “THE CONFESSION”.

Now, just by way of introduction,

Let me remind you how absolutely essential this is.

I want to start this evening just by giving you

Some basic practical realities about the Christian confession.

This is going to be topical in nature, but it is one of those topics you need to be clear on.

IT MUST BE A VERBAL / PUBLIC CONFESSION

You likely all have it memorized:

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Paul taught us that which we should all take to heart.

There are 2 really important theological facts there.

1) Confession is a result of belief.

A man confesses what he believes.

Certainly we know there is such a thing as false confession,

But there is no such thing as absent confession.

A man may confess without believing,

But a man cannot believe without confessing.

THAT IS A FACT.

The other thing Paul taught us there is:

2) Salvation is the result of confession.

You know that God credits righteousness to those who believe.

· We see that as justification.

· Paul certainly affirms that here.

But he is also clear that God SAVES those who confess.

Now, in reality, those are two distinct things,

But it is also true that they cannot be separated.

Since those who believe confess,

There is no such thing as a person who is justified but not saved.

Ultimately those who believe and are justified

Also confess and are saved.

But the point must be made that salvation is the result of confession.

If you have not confessed Jesus as Lord,

Then you are not saved;

You are not being saved;

You will not ultimately be saved.

There is no salvation apart from confession.

That alone should teach us the importance of this segment.

Jesus Himself said:

Matthew 10:31-33 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

If you want to be saved, if you want Christ to claim you at the judgment.

You must confess Him.

It is a public and verbal declaration

Of who Christ is and of your submission to Him.

Consider what Paul told Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:12-13 “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,”

Paul recounts there Timothy’s salvation

When he made “the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

That’s what we mean by public confession.

· Everyone here can testify that you have confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord.

· That there are no shortage of witnesses to your confession.

This notion of some private moment in the closet or out in the pasture where you secretly make some promise to God is NOT what is required.

Certainly the belief of your heart is personal or even internal thing,

But the confession of your mouth is not.

To be saved you must “confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord”

That really is a clear command.

But let me say a little more about this.

IT MUST BE AN ACCEPTED CONFESSION

That passage we just read in 1 Timothy 6 (put it back up)

You’ll notice that Paul called it “the good confession”.

It was right and acceptable to God and to the church.

I think of Jesus talking to the crowd after feeding the 5,000:

Immediately following the miracle we read:

John 6:14-15 “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

· That is people who seem intent on crowning Him as the messianic King.

But later Jesus said:

John 6:26 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

· They had an confession, but not an acceptable one.

Consider the prophet Hosea:

Here is their confession:

Hosea 6:1-3 “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.”

· Sounds great doesn’t it?

But listen to God’s response to it:

Hosea 6:4-7 “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.”

· God didn’t accept their verbal confession because He knew them to be liars and transgressor of their word.

Psalms 78:34-37 “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”

So it must be an acceptable confession.

Just saying it doesn’t make it acceptable,

Unless it is united with a believing heart.

For God hears the words, but He looks at the heart.

Not only must there be a public and verbal confession

Not only must there be an acceptable confession

IT MUST BE AN ACCURATE CONFESSION

That is to say,

You must confess the Biblical Jesus as the Biblical Christ.

You don’t get to recreate some alternative version of Jesus

That you desire to confess to follow.

You know, you hear it today, “The Jesus I believe in is a…” or “The Jesus I believe in would never…”

That’s not how this works.

The confession of Christ must be of the Biblical Christ

In His Biblical authority.

1 John 2:23 “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

· Clearly John agrees with Paul regarding the importance of confession.

But John is also adamant

That the confession must be an accurate one.

1 John 4:2-3 “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”

John battled Gnosticism there

· Which erroneously claimed that Jesus was not fully human.

· They thought Him to be just this sort of spirit that was untouched by human flesh and thus remained undefiled.

If you confess the gnostic Jesus, THAT DOESN’T COUNT.

· The gnostic Jesus is not the Biblical Jesus.

· The Biblical Jesus is fully and truly human.

That’s not all:

1 John 4:15 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”

· You must also confess that Jesus is divine.

· That He is the Son of God.

Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet,

But certainly not as the divine God of creation.

THAT WON’T WORK.

You must accurately confess the accurate Jesus of Scripture.

That’s why Mark as spent 8 chapters

Making sure you rightly see who Jesus is.

You have to know who He is to accurately confess Him.

Let me give you another reality here.

IT MUST BE AN AUTHENTIC CONFESSION

By that I mean, it is a confession that you honor.

We heard Jesus sort of lament:

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

We are certainly aware of that terrifying passage regarding the coming judgment:

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Those would examples of that false confession we spoke of earlier.

· It is people who make a verbal confession.

· It is people who confess the Biblical Jesus.

But their confession is only tongue-deep, it doesn’t change the heart.

It is NOT motivated by genuine faith.

It is NOT the result of a redeemed heart.

The confession is for some other self-serving reason

And it is not authentic.

Listen to what Paul told the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 9:13 “Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,”

Paul is referring to the offering that he is collecting from the Gentile churches

That he might take to aid the suffering saints of Jerusalem.

As Paul talks about that offering he uses some really strong language.

· He calls the offering “the proof”.

· What a strong statement.

The giving of an offering there

Seen as proof of a genuine ministry.

· And then Paul refers to their giving as “your confession of the gospel of

Christ”

In other words, their confession consisted of their giving.

There confession wasn’t just verbal

It was deep, abiding, genuine, and measurable.

John said the same thing:

1 John 3:13-19 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him”

· John recognized that an authentic confession of Christ would be measurable by behavior.

Consider James:

James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

· There is James’ famous, “if someone SAYS…” statement.

· James reveals that he doesn’t care what a person “says”, it’s what they do that legitimizes their faith.

If your confession isn’t vindicated by deeds then it is false confession.

So the Christian Confession is:

· A verbal / public confession.

· An acceptable confession.

· An accurate confession.

· An authentic confession.

Another one:

IT MUST BE AN ENDURING CONFESSION

Another thing that we see in Scripture,

(and we will certainly see in this passage in Mark’s gospel)

Is that confessing Christ is costly.

Mark will reveal that

· We are confessing Christ in the midst of (38) “this adulterous and sinful generation”.

· We are confessing Christ in the midst of people who do not know who He is, claiming that He is (28) “John the Baptist…Elijah..one of the prophets”

· This evil and misguided generation will actually cause Jesus to (31) “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and the scribes, and be killed…”

You don’t confess a man like that in a culture like that

Without there being some collateral cost involved.

John 9:22 “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.”

John 12:42 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;”

There is a cost involved in confessing Christ.

There is danger involved in confessing Christ.

So our confession must be an enduring confession.

Listen to the writer of Hebrews.

Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;”

Hebrews 4:14 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;”

It is that same writer who will say:

Hebrews 10:35-39 “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”

That writer is only recalling what the Lord clearly taught.

Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

Matthew 24:9-13 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Your confession of Christ

Must be that which endures through persecution.

Let me give you one more fact about the confession.

IT IS AN INEVITABLE CONFESSION

That is to say, it is a confession that you will make,

Even though you may make it after salvation is no longer possible.

Paul taught us with clarity.

Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

· The confession of Christ is not a matter of “if” but “when”.

· He is God’s Christ and all men will bow to Him.

Think of that famous 2nd Psalm.

Psalms 2:1-12 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

· Nations may resist and fight, but it is all vanity.

· God has already declared that Christ is King.

· There is no changing that.

Peter told the city of Jerusalem at Pentecost:

Acts 2:33-36 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

So your confession of Him is coming.

The encouragement we give to men is that they give it before it is too late.

· Today is the day of salvation, tomorrow the day of judgment.

· Confess Christ now, while you can still be saved.

So there’s just a little insight into this reality of confession.

This is a very important topic.

This is a very important moment in Mark’s gospel.

What I want to do now is begin looking at this text

And look at it from the aspect of its uniqueness.

I want us to look at this text and see

What is unique about the confession that we are called to make.

There are 5 aspects seen here that we want to walk through.

The Christian confession:

#1 RESISTS CULTURE

Mark 8:27-30

So the moving around of Jesus continues…

(27) “Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi…”

He’s on the move again.

· From Galilee to Tyre

· Then up to Sidon and all the way around to Decapolis

· Across to Dalmanutha

· Back across to Bethsaida

· And now headed north to Caesarea Philippi

This is up near the Old Testament city of Dan.

It is a pagan city, but Jesus is getting away from Galilee

That He might pour into His disciples.

“and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”

This of course does NOT mean

That Jesus is in the least bit confused on the topic.

John 2:25 “… He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

This is more about making sure the disciples understand

What is and what is not the culturally acceptable position regarding His identity.

The disciples are about to be forced to go totally against the culture

To confess Him accurately and He is making sure they know that.

This will NOT be the popular choice.

This will NOT be the applauded choice.

If you walk this road it is as a member of the minority.

You’re going to be scorned, rejected, mocked, and hated

For disagreeing with the narrative.

THAT’S WHY HE ASKS.

And, as we saw back in chapter 6,

The narrative on Jesus hasn’t changed.

(28) “They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”

The culture is convinced that Jesus might be the forerunner to the Messiah.

· That’s certainly what John the Baptist was.

· But that’s also who Elijah was.

Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

The culture is willing to recognize

· Something supernatural about Him.

· That He might be the forerunner to the coming King.

But that is as far as they are willing to go.

That you’ve seen.

That you know.

But what I want to make sure you understand tonight

About the consensus of the people in Jesus’ day

Is that their confession IS BLASPHEMOUS.

I want you to understand this.

The world is always wrong in their assessment of Jesus

And their assessment is always blasphemous.

If you read what the world thinks of Jesus

And feel like they are being generous

Then you are failing to see how remarkable Christ is.

It is true that any of us would be honored to be compared to

· John the Baptist,

· Or even Elijah,

· Or Jeremiah as is mentioned in Matthew’s gospel

But for Jesus this is a slap in the face.

Do you remember the book of Isaiah?

Isaiah 40:18-25 “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.”

There is the question:

“To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?”

In reality there is no comparison between Jesus and John

Or Jesus and Elijah or Jesus and any of the other prophets.

Think ahead to the transfiguration that is coming in the next chapter.

Mark 9:4-8 “Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.”

Though by this point the disciples have accurately confessed Christ,

It is clear that they are still a bit confused

As to what a slap in the face that comparison is to Christ.

But when they want to build 3 tabernacles, God Himself interjects.

Would you really compare Jesus to Moses and Elijah?

They are great men, but they are not in the same category as Jesus.

If that is the case, how much more blasphemous

Are the common views on Jesus today.

Are we really to buy the Muslim view of Jesus

· That sees Him as a prophet of Allah and a mortal man?

Are we to buy the Mormon view of Jesus

· That sees Him as the first spirit child born of God the Father and the heavenly mother;

· The older brother of Satan?

Are we to buy the Jehovah’s Witness view of Jesus

· As the first creation of Jehovah and not eternal God?

Are we to buy the Roman Catholic view of Jesus

· That sees Him as the insufficient sacrifice,

· Having to come down and suffer perpetually for sinners?

Are we to buy the “He Gets Us” Jesus

· That see Jesus as primarily concerned with politics and social justice as opposed to the salvation of sinners?

Are we to buy the LGBTQ Jesus

· Who supposedly said nothing about marriage or homosexuality and who would affirm that sin in His followers?

Every single one of those explanations of Jesus is utter blasphemy.

There are many views in this world regarding who Jesus is

And we are not allowed to accept, affirm, or tolerate any of them.

They are blasphemous.

They require to be rejected.

WE STAND AGAINST THEM

That automatically puts us at odds with the world.

We do not negotiate on Jesus.

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

That is a rebuke.

You need to know that your confession of Jesus

Is that which will automatically put you at odds with the culture.

· Be prepared to swim upstream.

· Be prepared to go against the flow.

· Be prepared to be ridiculed on social media.

· Be prepared to be mocked at the work place.

· Be prepared to be scorned at school.

· Be prepared to be outcast even in your family.

A true confession of Christ runs contrary to the culture.

IT RESISTS THE CULTURE.

You need to know that.