The Confession – part 4
044 The Confession – part 4
Mark 8:27-38 (31)
June 7, 2026
We are in this most important segment in Mark’s gospel
Where we are studying the disciple’s confession of Christ.
This is certainly the climax point of Mark’s gospel,
But it is also of extreme importance
To our understanding of Christianity.
We certainly understand that the Christian confession
IS ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION.
After all Jesus Himself said:
Matthew 10:32-33 “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.”
The apostle Paul certainly agreed:
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.”
If you are to be saved you must believe in Christ
And that belief must be evidenced by
An outward and public confession of Jesus Christ as Lord.
It is an Essential Confession.
We have also pointed out that it is a UNIQUE CONFESSION
That is to say, we do not copy the confession of the world.
We do not run to the world to get a consensus on Jesus,
We learn who Christ is from God alone through His word.
As we have pointed out,
The world’s confession is wrong and even blasphemous.
(27-28) “Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”
Those may be flattering analogies to you and I, but they are blasphemous to Christ.
The world almost always gets Jesus wrong.
We do not take our direction from them.
But rather, as Jesus told Peter in Matthew’s gospel:
Matthew 16:16-17 “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Peter learned of Jesus from the Father, and so do we.
It is God who opens our eyes to the truth
About the person of Jesus in His Holy Word.
And we also point out that our confession must be a TRUE CONFESSION, or an authentic confession.
Jesus said:
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Or again that great warning in the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:21 “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.”
While a confession must be outward and public,
It must first originate in the heart.
It must begin in a heart that believes and submits to Christ,
Otherwise it is an unrecognized empty boast.
BUT YOU SEE HOW IMPORTANT THE CHRISTIAN CONFESSION IS.
It is not only something we must do, but something we must get right.
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE STUDYING HERE.
The disciples will here correctly confess Jesus as the Christ
And we are learning from it.
We have said there are 5 facts about the Christian confession that we learn from this passage.
#1 RESISTS CULTURE
Mark 8:27-28
· The world gets Jesus wrong and we reject that.
· We confess the Biblical Christ, the one the world hates.
· And we do not yield there.
#2 RECOGNIZES CHRIST
Mark 8:29
Peter publicly recognized Jesus as God’s promised and anointed King.
· He is the descendant of David.
· He is the One who opens blind eyes.
· He is the One who unstops deaf ears.
· He is the One who raises the dead.
· He is the One who reverses the curse.
· He is the One who saves.
There is no one else like Him.
And because He is the Christ
We submit to Him, we obey Him, we worship Him.
SUNDAY NIGHT we started looking at the third aspect of the Christian confession.
#3 REFORMS CONVICTIONS
Mark 8:30-33
That is to say that we confess who Christ is,
Not who we want Him to be or thought He was.
We started out Sunday night asking this question:
And I want to ask it again here this morning:
If you found that what you believed or expected about salvation and Christ was wrong, would you be willing to have your convictions altered?
I asked that, because that is what is happening here with the 12.
They got who Jesus was correct.
· They accurately confessed Him as the Christ.
What they were all messed up about was His earthly mission.
No doubt they had read Isaiah and were looking for
· That King who would sit on David’s throne
· That King whose Kingdom would be everlasting.
· The righteous King who would come in glory and destroy His enemies.
Exactly who Jesus will be when He comes again.
WHAT THEY HAD FAILED TO SEE WAS
The saving mission that Jesus had come to fulfill in His first coming.
When Jesus began to announce His purpose in coming
It shook them to the core.
It upset all of their expectations.
And they were forced to decide if they would continue to follow Jesus
Even though He would not lead where they had expected to go.
THAT’S A BIG DEAL ISN’T IT?
If you confess Christ as Lord and submit your life to follow Him,
What are you going to do if following Him
Leads you to a place you had not expected?
DO YOU STILL FOLLOW?
That is what the disciples are up against here, and it is quite likely that at some point in your life you may face the same thing as well.
Let’s look at the statement that rattled the disciples to the core.
(31-32a) “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. And He was stating the matter plainly.”
· That was not what the disciples expected.
· Their convictions were about to be reformed.
Jesus’ announcement there can be broken into 3 major events.
1) SUFFERING
“the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priest and the scribes…”
We discussed it Sunday night so we won’t hash all back through it,
But basically it comes down to IDENTIFICATION.
1. As a high priest Christ had to identify with your suffering.
2. As a substitutionary sacrifice Christ had to identify with your sin and shame.
3. As a Savior of God’s flock Jesus had to identify the elders and scribes as the enemy, not buddy up with them.
His mission did NOT include comfort and fame.
His mission was one of suffering.
No doubt this rattled the disciples because they were following Him.
I think of that story when Jesus is about to go back to Bethany because Lazarus has died.
John 11:11-16 “This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
THOMAS KNEW WHAT IT MEANT.
If you follow a man who has been rejected by the establishment
You can expect to feel the same scorn that He feels.
AND AS WE SAID SUNDAY NIGHT,
Perhaps this is an area where our convictions need to be adjusted.
Do we really think that becoming a Christian and confessing Christ
Was about getting a more comfortable life?
The disciples learned otherwise, and even instructed us there.
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,”
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
1 Peter 4:12-16 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”
Peter was shocked in our current passage, but he certainly figured it out.
· His Christian confession reformed his convictions.
· He understood that following Christ meant also following Him through His sufferings.
IF WE THINK that following Christ is only a means of prosperity and comfort and popularity in this world then we need the same wake-up call.
This world hates Christ.
Those who follow Him must embrace that idea.
WELL, THAT WAS SUNDAY NIGHT.
THIS MORNING I want to move to the next major announcement
Jesus made that sent the disciple’s heads spinning.
Suffering
2) DEATH
“and be killed…”
3 words, but what a shocking message!
The disciples had no doubt expected
· A King with an enduring kingdom.
· A King to reign forever.
To now hear that He was planning to be assassinated
Must have been the shock of the century.
Think back to this past Presidential election.
When a would-be assassin took at shot at Donald Trump and barely missed.
Regardless of what you think of his politics,
In a moment the entire MAGA movement sort of held its breath.
What happens to MAGA if Donald Trump is killed?
And that is a very small thing
Compared to what the disciples are here contemplating.
What in the world happens to David’s kingdom if Jesus is killed?
BUT THAT IS WHAT HE JUST ANNOUNCED.
And NOT as a possibility, but as something that “must” happen.
That is to say, if Jesus isn’t killed then the whole plan falls apart.
If His life is somehow spared and He lives forever
Then the entire plan of God is destroyed.
This ISN’T one of the paths that He can walk, this IS the only path.
Do you hear Him in the garden praying?
Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Do you hear Him when Peter tries to save Him from being arrested?
Matthew 26:52-54 “Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
Do you see Him standing before Pilate?
· Refusing to answer…
· Refusing to defend Himself…
· Refusing to secure His release…
Like His suffering, this MUST happen.
And THIS MORNING, that is what we want to contemplate.
Why must Jesus be killed?
There are many reasons, but this morning allow me just to give you a few.
PROPHECY MUST BE FULFILLED
It is never a small thing when we point out that
An event had to occur simply because God said it would.
When Peter would later preach at Pentecost he would say:
Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
During his second sermon in Jerusalem he would say again:
Acts 3:18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”
It is just as Jesus had corrected Peter in the garden when he cut off the man’s ear, “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
Jesus had to be killed because God said He had to be killed.
Even if you don’t understand the reasoning behind it,
It is enough that God has said it must be so.
And we might also point out that THE PROPHECIES
Concerning the death of the Christ are FAR FROM GENERIC.
God announced incredible details concerning the death of Christ.
In Psalms 22 David announced some incredible foresight.
Psalms 22:1 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.”
Psalms 22:7-8 “All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
Psalms 22:13-18 “They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”
That’s just remarkable foresight by David.
Daniel actually named the date!
Daniel 9:25-26 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”
Daniel called it: 173,880 days
· Artaxerxes issued the decree to rebuild the temple on March 5, 444BC
· Jesus entered Jerusalem on March 30, 33AD (173,880 days later)
There is stunning accuracy there.
· We think about them giving Him gall to drink.
· We think about them beating Him, mocking Him, etc.
· We think of Him buried in a rich man’s tomb.
IT ALL HAD TO HAPPEN.
If Jesus isn’t killed just as the Old Testament predicted
Then He is not the Messiah.
But obviously that’s not the only reason He “must…be killed”
Yes, prophecy had to be fulfilled, but also:
WRATH HAD TO BE APPEASED
WHOSE WRATH?
GOD’S
It started in the garden when God told Adam:
Genesis 2:15-17 “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Of course you know the story, Adam ate.
Now God, in His great mercy, did not kill Adam immediately.
God spared Adam’s life temporarily,
But God’s wrath was made clear in the fact that
Adam and all of His offspring did eventually die.
FIRST Adam’s son Cain murdered his brother Abel.
THEN Genesis 5 gives the depressing line of Adam with one phrase that reoccurs over and over and over in the chapter. “and he died…”
THE CLIMAX of that death showing up in the 6th chapter of Genesis when God kills every living thing with the breath of life in its lungs except for Noah and his family.
Paul stated it clearly:
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”
The writer of Hebrews taught us:
Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
And:
Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”
Death is the penalty.
Death is the payment.
Jesus had to suffer, but suffering alone was not enough.
HE DIDN’T JUST NEED TO DONATE BLOOD, HE HAD TO DIE.
Because creation rebelled against Creator punishment must be rendered.
God is holy and therefore justice is required.
This is what Jesus knew that His disciples did not.
Perhaps they had assumed
· That all of the sheep and goats and bulls were doing the job.
· That God had just chosen to forego justice and offer mercy.
· Whatever they assumed, it was wrong.
NOW ONE COULD ASK:
But wasn’t God showing mercy instead of justice?
After all, what about men like Moses or Joshua or David.
These are men that God clearly saved,
But all they ever gave was bulls and goats and sheep.
BUT THAT’S NOT TRUE.
It wasn’t the bulls and goats and sheep they gave God
That He accepted.
David was very clear about that.
After he sinned with Bathsheba he sought forgiveness and he wrote:
Psalms 51:16-17 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
David knew what the writer of Hebrews would later make clear,
That it is impossible
For the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
None of those animal sacrifices had ever dealt fully with David’s sin.
The only reason God had shown David mercy
Is NOT because David gave God a goat,
But because David gave God faith.
That is what Abraham and Moses
And every other Old Testament saint knew as well.
God saved them based on their faith.
AND ONE MIGHT ASK:
So, you don’t have to have a sacrifice if you give God faith?
That’s actually a debate that’s going on in our world today.
There’s a growing number of people
Who resist the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement.
They say, if you give God faith, that’s all that is required.
Where they miss the point is the OBJECT OF THE FAITH God requires.
Paul made this clear:
Romans 3:21-26 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
IT IS TRUE THAT
· God had temporarily passed over the sins of men like Abraham and Moses and David.
· He had not punished them or anyone for their sin.
· BUT God had not forgotten.
All of those men trusted that one day
God would supply a Savior who would pay their sin debt.
That is why Jesus said:
John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
The writer of Hebrews wrote of Moses:
Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”
They all knew that they had not yet paid for their sins as was required,
But that one day someone would come who would.
THAT SOMEONE WAS JESUS.
· He is the One who would pay the debt left behind by every Old Testament saint.
· He is the One who would prepay the debt yet to come by every New Testament saint on the way.
He came to give God the only payment for sin He accepts
…DEATH.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”
This is what Isaiah so clearly saw and depicted.
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.”
God took the sin of all the elect of all time and imputed it to His Son.
Then God inflicted wrath upon His Son to pay for the sin we committed.
AND THE PENALTY WAS DEATH.
Isaiah 53:7-9 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”
He was literally “cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression [His] people to whom the stroke was due”.
He was killed in stead of us.
1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
· He is the only satisfying offering for sin that this world will every receive.
If Jesus doesn’t die then sin is never atoned for.
If Jesus doesn’t die then He is not the offering Abraham thought He was.
He “must…be killed” if His kingdom will survive.
Prophecy must be fulfilled
Wrath must be appeased
DEATH MUST BE CONFRONTED
Death is not only the penalty required by God for sin,
But death remains the chief enemy of all humanity.
Death is the great equalizer.
Death is the great threat.
We hear it all the time:
· “Buckler your seatbelt…”
· “Don’t run with scissors…”
“Don’t play with matches…”
· “Eat right, exercise daily…”
And the list is endless, but they all come with the same basic threat:
“OR YOU MIGHT DIE!”
Ever since the garden death has been pointing its bony finger in our face
Reminding us that if we slip up he’ll get us,
And eventually he’ll get us anyway.
The Bible calls it “the fear of death” and it is a real fear.
And Satan has used it for years
To paralyze people and push them to disobedience.
He uses it to cause people to doubt God to reject God
And to even hate Him.
DEATH IS THE PROBLEM.
If a King is going to come and dismantle the enemies of His kingdom
Then sooner or later He is going to have to face the biggest one,
And that is death.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Jesus came to take on the greatest enemy we face.
He walked up to the biggest bully on the playground and picked a fight.
He fights our foe.
AND AGAIN the writer of Hebrews links it to atonement and appeasement.
Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
He came to die satisfying God’s wrath and facing our foe.
The only way Christ’s kingdom would be established
Would be through death.
· There were prophecies to fulfill.
· There was wrath to be appeased.
· There was a bully to be confronted.
If Jesus isn’t killed then the real problems aren’t addressed.
And certainly by now you understand that He had to die.
That is likely not a shock to you, but it was to the disciples.
They did not see that coming and on this day to confess Christ
They had to have their convictions reformed.
Jesus was doing what they did not expect.
But allow me this morning to remind you
How this statement of Jesus likely reforms your convictions too.
We said Sunday night, that there is that all-important word “must”.
· Jesus said He “must suffer” and He “must…be killed”
· If not, salvation cannot occur.
But you need to embrace that
Because Jesus is going to apply that same “must”
To you and I in a couple of verses.
Down in verse 34
Jesus will say, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
And this is one of the reasons
Peter is going to oppose this new information that he has just received.
· If Jesus suffers what does that mean for His followers?
· If Jesus is killed what does that mean for His followers?
AND THE ANSWER SHOULD BE OBVIOUS.
The call to follow Christ is indeed a call to eternal life,
But it is also a call to death in this life.
Certainly a death to self, and potentially a literal death.
Think of Peter’s conversation with Christ after the resurrection.
John 21:18-19 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
And the point we are making this morning is that
If our confession is anything other than an “all-in” confession
Then perhaps our convictions need to be reformed.
The true Christian confession lets go of plans and.
It submits everything to Christ and allows Him to lead.
We’ve often sung that song “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
We sing, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
We’ve even sung the contemporary version which adds the chorus,
“O the wonderful cross, bids me come and die and find that I may truly live.”
It is clear to us that the disciples had not expected that
And on this day Jesus reformed their convictions.
This is no half-hearted confession.
The Christian confession is as serious as it gets.
And this morning we are forced up against that.
· Will you confess Christ even though the culture rejects Him?
· Will you confess Christ even though the cost could be severe?
As Paul reminded Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:8-14 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
THAT IS OUR CALL.
To confess the Christ who suffered and was killed.
If that is not what we expected,
Then it is time for our convictions to be reformed.
This life must go if we are to follow Christ.
This morning, that’s the call.
· Will you give your life to Christ?
· Will you surrender your hopes and dreams and expectation?
· Will you put down your agenda and take up His cross?
· Will you give up your ambitions and follow Him?
That is the true Christian Confession.