3 Questions from Mark 8:27-38

We moved the sermon up a little bit today so that we could have some time with our moms and recognize mothers. They are an important part of our lives. Mothers in the household can have a deep effect on how we think, how we live, and how we grow. Our moms and our parents have a major influence on how their children think and live. There is no doubt about that.

As I was reading and studying this week, one of the readings was from Mark, chapter 8, and the Lord spoke to my heart. In that passage, Mark 8:27–38, there are three questions that I believe are set before us, or at least three questions we should consider as we read. I want all of us to consider them today, and I especially want moms to consider them, because what we do with these three questions will have a lot to do with how our children grow and what their lives become.

Question 1: Who Do You Say That I Am?

Mark 8, starting at verse 27:

“And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’

And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’
And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’”

That question still resonates and goes out into the world, and even into his church: “Who do you say that I am?” He asked it of Peter, one who was already following him. “Who do you say that I am?” The answer to that question is an eternal question that each individual has to answer during their time on this earth.

The answers vary for a lot of people. Some, like Peter, proclaim, “You are the Son of God.” Some proclaim him as Messiah. Some say, “He was a good man. He taught really good and important things. He was one of many that God sent.” Some say he is just a historical figure. Some say, “I don’t believe he existed at all.” But the question remains: “Who do you say that I am?”

The other two questions we will draw out of this text can only really be answered after we answer that first question: Who do you say that I am? Who do you say that Jesus is?

Peter’s answer is found in verse 29:

“Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’
And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.”

Then Jesus immediately begins to teach them what that means:

“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 said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.”

Imagine that. Peter, who had been following Jesus, who had heard his teaching, who had seen the things he did, who had been close to him, and who had just proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of God,” now rebukes him: “No, Lord. You say those things are going to happen, but I say they can’t. We’re not going to let that happen to you.”

Jesus’ answer to Peter is in verse 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.’”

Question 2: What Governs Our Thinking?

This brings us to the second question: What governs our thinking? Are we thinking about the things of man, or are we thinking about the things of God? Are we running after that which has been created, or are we running after God in our lives?

Our gospel lesson today, from John 14, helps us with that question. The answer to the first question—“Who do you say that I am?”—will govern our thinking.

John 14:15–17:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

What governs our thinking? Who do we say that Jesus is? The answer to that question will shape how we think. If we love him, we will keep his commandments. If he is “top shelf” for us—first place in our lives—then we will love him and strive to keep his commands.

Think about your mother. How much do you love your mother? How often did you do the things she asked you to do—not because you always wanted to, but because you loved and respected her? In our relationships, if we truly love someone, we do everything we can to please them and to honor them. Jesus is saying, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

If we truly find Jesus and love him, it is because we have placed him in his proper place. We confess who he is, we believe who he is, and we seek to follow him. What governs our thinking? Do we live to worship the created? Is our life only about the here and now?

Back in Mark 8, Jesus has now asked Peter the question and revealed Peter’s way of thinking. “How are you thinking, Peter? Are you thinking in terms of man or in terms of God?” If Peter were thinking in terms of God, he might say, “Praise God that this is going to happen—that you will be killed and rise again—because God is making a way for us through you.” But thinking in terms of man sounds more like, “No, we’ve got to hold on to you as long as we can. We need you here with us. Don’t go to the cross.”

Jesus is telling Peter, “Think in terms of God.”

Then Jesus broadens the teaching by calling the crowd and the disciples together:

“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
For what can a man give in return for his soul?’”

Question 3: Am I Living for the Short Term or the Long Term?

This brings us to the third question: Am I living for the short term or the long term? Is my life only about this moment and what I can do to make myself or those around me happy? Is my life just about getting what I can get—“whoever dies with the most toys wins”?

Depending on how we answer, “Who is Jesus?” and “What governs my thoughts?”, we will see what we are truly living for: the short term, or the long term—the eternal end to which God is calling us.

Back to John 14, beginning at verse 21:

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.”

Are we living for the future—the eternal future of living with God—or are we just trying to live the “good life” now? Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

So, what do we do with his words when he says, “If anyone would follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”? What do we do with his words when he says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”? What do we do with those statements?

This becomes especially important for those of us who have a position of influence with young people in our lives—for mothers, fathers, teachers, mentors, and anyone who has a close relationship and impact on a young person. What we emulate in our lives is very often what they will emulate in theirs.

If we do not give Jesus “top shelf” in our lives, if we do not let him govern our thoughts, if we do not let him lead our actions, and if we do not live for something more than ourselves, then his words become true for us: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What we live for—what governs our thinking, our actions, and our lives—ultimately reveals how we have answered that first question: “Who do you say that I am?”

It is a question that we all have to answer. Peter answered that question after walking with Jesus, but even then, his thinking did not always line up with his confession. So, I would say to us in the church that if we profess Jesus as Lord, we have to let that confession shape our thinking and our living. That is our ultimate witness to those around us, especially to the next generation.

Father, we thank you for this time in your Word and for this opportunity to hear your call to all of us—to me and to this congregation—through that ultimate question: “Who do you really say that I am? And does your way of life back it up?”

Father, I pray that as this day goes on, and as the future you have for us unfolds, you would continue to draw us closer and closer to yourself. Draw us closer to know exactly who you are, and to place all that we have into our relationship with you. May we be found obedient to your Word and obedient to your commands.

Let our obedience be a witness to those around us, that they too may come to know you and have the promise of eternal life with you. For, Father, if we do not have that promise, what do we truly have?

Thank you, Father. Bless your Word to our hearts and to our understanding. In Jesus’ name, and everyone said, Amen.