Calvary Baltimore Weekly Sermons

They traveled 6 days before the transfiguration... may be a nod to Exodus 24:15... Moses spent 6 days in the glory cloud. Also, Adam was made on the 6th day, and now the new Adam will defeat the serpent the first Adam failed to defeat. Luke says 8 days, not 6. He delineates the time differently.

The mountain... which one? Maybe Mt. Tabor. Maybe Mt. Hermon at Caesarea Phillippi... if so, it may be the site where the "watchers" described in the non-canonical book of 1 Enoch and mentioned in Genesis 6 spread their false teaching. That said, Scripture doesn't mention the name of the mountain, so we can consider it non-essential, doctrinally.

Moses and Elijah were both forerunners, so their appearance here seems to be preparing the way for Jesus as Messiah.

Peter is terrified, doesn't know what to say and starts filling the space with crazy talk, recommending they build tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah to stay there on the mountain. He misses that Jesus is not just on par with Moses and Elijah, but is actually God himself. 

The cloud in verse 7 is the glory cloud, the Spirit of God from the temple in the Old Testament. So we now have the full trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all present on the mountain. They are all involved in the ministry of Jesus!

The glory, the splendor of God that we see here is apparently the the glory of God the Father, as God the Son is depicted bathed in the light (and God the Spirit is a cloud overshadowing them). When we pass from this world to the next, we too will be bathed in the light and glory of the Father!

Our God is very quick to give honor. By contrast, when we're walking in the flesh, we're very slow to give honor to anything but ourselves. This can cause trouble in all sorts of contexts, including marriage. God gives us honor, a good reputation, calls us to serve in the church, lets us work for his Kingdom. He's lavish with the glory he bestows on us! And we should be just as generous with others as he's been with us. We should be quick to build up other people, to serve other people; we lose nothing when we do!

Despite his supreme worthiness of glory and honor, and despite what we deserve in our sin nature, God is generous in giving glory and honor to us. We will one day be glorified as he is glorified! He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down ours for others as well. He gives to us so that we give to others! In this way, we become glorified, more like him.

The big picture of the transfiguration:

Peter announces Jesus is the Christ... the people don't really know what that means. Then Jesus describes what it means in Mark's gospel. Upon hearing he'll die to accomplish his mission, Peter rebukes him, assuming Jesus is simply doubting his mission, and Jesus rebukes him right back. Messiah will suffer, and we will suffer to follow him. Only the path of the cross ends in the glorification shown in the transfiguration, and eternal life in Heaven with God the Father!

The Transfiguration:

As Jesus and three of the apostles are praying, he begins to glow, as bright as the sun. Mark calls attention to his clothes glowing white-- see Daniel 7:9: the clothing of the Ancient of Days (God the Father) is white as snow; Jesus is one with the Father, and shares his glory.

Also, clothing in Scripture can indicate an office or authority; Jesus has been given the authority of the Father.

Jesus is our great High Priest. The transfiguration happened on the 6th day of the week... the 6th day of creation was when God made Adam; Jesus is the greater Adam. The cloud in verse 7 harkens back to the cloud of glory in Genesis; Jesus is the greater Moses. Elijah met with the Father atop a mountain; Jesus is the greater Elijah.

Jesus is being described as the great high priest. One day a year, the high priest would forgo the splendor of his ceremonial vestments, and just wear plain white linen: the day of atonement. The Father has clothed Jesus in plain white garments and equipped him to be the atonement, the sacrifice for all sins!

v4... two thoughts: 

1. Elijah was with Moses; Moses appears to be the dominant person of the pair. Moses represents the Law, and Elijah represents the prophets. The Law and the prophets were building to the Messiah. 

2. In Revelation 11, we read of two witnesses sent to prophesy in the last days. Because of the Transfiguration account, some believe the witnesses are Moses and Elijah. This also may be supported in the book of Jude, where Satan and Michael the Archangel argue over the body of Moses; why would Moses' body matter to Satan, unless God has a plan for the body of Moses?

v5-6:

- Peter calls Jesus Rabbi... but he's more than a mere teacher; he's the Christ, God's son. 

- In Luke, it seems Peter just wants this transfiguration experience to never end, and that's why he wants to build tents for everyone. He wants to stay on the mountaintop and avoid the cross. But that's not the path!

v7: God says this is my son, listen to him! We will one day look God in the face, but not until we too are transfigured, and have crossed into glory. So while we're on earth, we follow the Son! He is the only way.

v8: Moses and Elijah leave. On this mountaintop, the Father, the Spirit, Moses and Elijah had one purpose: to point us to the Son. Our central mission!

v9-10: Tell no one until he's risen; he again talks about his death. They kept it to themselves, but questioned what it may mean. 

v11: why must Elijah come? They think Elijah will come and set things right, then the Messiah will be a mighty ruler; this is the leaven of the Pharisees, from Mark 8:15. Because of this background, the apostles simply don't understand Jesus. 

v12-13: Elijah does come first to restore all things. He already has (John the Baptist), and they did to him whatever they wanted (they killed him). If they killed the Messiah's forerunner, it makes sense they'd also kill the Messiah.

Two thoughts...

1. In the Apostles' Creed, the only reference to Jesus' earthly work is that he suffered.

- The creeds of church history are important because their purpose is to state the core truths that every Christian must believe, and to distinguish good doctrine.

- Here in Mark, Jesus does lays out one of the core principles: that the Son of God must die, and that to demand otherwise is Satanic. In fact, in early creeds, the chief description of his ministry on earth is to die! To take the wrath of the Father and die-- for our sin. We were in trouble until he came!

- In following him, we suffer as he suffered. We turn the other cheek, we show grace to those who have not earned it, and who will never appreciate it. We don't do it so they'll see; we do it because our Father sees.

2. The transfiguration...

- This isn't just God showing us who Jesus is, but who we are... Jesus is indeed the light of the world. But we're also shown the destiny of humanity when brought into his glory! The transfiguration is our hope: when we die and meet the Lord, we will no longer be limited by our broken bodies and minds. 

- As we follow Jesus, we will one day be led into the presence of the Father, and be glorified as Jesus is glorified in the transfiguration. 

- Because of this hope, we can approach the throne of God with boldness!

- As we follow Christ, we are bring transformed like Christ, and eventually we will die as Jesus died... but if we died following him, carrying his cross, living for him, we too will stand glorified, in the presence of the Father. Glowing with the light of Christ, in communion with the Lord God for all eternity!

It's been Jesus the Messiah from the beginning, interacting with man... Abraham is responding to both the Father and the Son. He's called out as a gentile, and never becomes a Jew. Israel was originally a gentile country.

He sees us and calls us out for his holy purposes from the beginning of time! 

Joshua 24:1... Abraham wasn't merely a gentile, but an idolator. Yet God was able to use him!

There's a separation between believers and unbelievers. Abraham was called out of his old lifestyle. 

Repentance... a U-turn, away from sin and toward God. The greatest definition is from Abram's calling. Job had 3 friends who gave him bad advice. Our best source for good advice is our heavenly Father! 

- We first repent of (turn away from) our nation... Our real home is not our country, but Heaven.

- We repent of (turn away from) our family, our relatives... Our real family is the family of God. We need to keep trudging forward knowing God has our back.

- And we turn away from our father's house... We need the advice not of our earthly father, but of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Luke 9:57... Jesus has nowhere to lay his head. God doesn't guarantee you'll have shelter in this life. He calls us to just go! Without understanding the path he has for us yet. We may think we know, but we don't know the mind of God. 

Luke 9:59... He calls us to go, not to hesitate or wrap things up before going. It's a tough calling. 

"You can't pull a string in the Old Testament without moving a page in the New Testament."

Hebrews 11:8-10: Abraham lived as an alien, looking for a city whose architect is God!

Jesus paid the debt we owe!

The first audience for Mark would have been gentile Christians, likely under Nero. Nero was at fault for the great fire of Rome, and to deflect from his guilt, he blamed, even demonized Christians. He had them killed in the most brutal ways. So as Jesus is talking about the crucified believer inheriting the Kingdom of God, it's an encouragement to these persecuted Christians! It's not shameful to be a believer, as Nero would have people believe; it's the path of Christ that leads to eternal life. If Christians are like "walking trees" (Mark 8:24), then as Jesus's tree was about to take the form of a cross, so will ours.

v35... Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but if you're willing to lose your life, you'll be saved. Sin can be fun; this is why temptation is effective. As Christians, we deny ourselves the fun of sin. 1 Corinthians 6:19: the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit; it's been given to another, to the Lord. Our entire identity belongs in the service of our God. 

v36... what does it profit a man to gain the world if he loses his soul? When Satan tempted Jesus, his offer was nothing compared to his kingdom!

v37... no amount of money can buy your way into Heaven. You can't give God anything to save your soul... you can only be received by the Father if you believe in (accept and follow) the Son. 

v38... Ashamed of Jesus? He'll be ashamed of you. Mark 7:6... people honor him with their lips, but not their hearts.

- He could be referring to just his current generation...

- He is most likely talking about his final return and ascension, standing at the right hand of the Father as Lord and Judge. So if you distance yourself from the Lord, on Judgment Day, God will distance himself from you.

9v1... Some standing here will not die until they see the Kingdom of God after it's come with power... What could this mean?

- Maybe this is talking about the return of the Lord, though that would contradict Jesus applying it to "some standing here".

- Maybe he's talking about his transfiguration... that's mentioned nearby.

- It's more likely talking about Pentecost. He's asking people to do something they're incapable of doing on their own... but when the Holy Spirit comes, they'll be given the power to do it, and to advance the Kingdom of God!

One closing thought...

J. C. Ryle - Does our Christianity require any sacrifice? If not, be afraid. A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing. We must carry a cross, and if we're not, if the devil is not attacking us, we should worry whether we're truly following Christ! (J. C. Ryle's commentary on Mark 8 can be found here: https://www.gracegems.org/Ryle/mark08.htm)

If you're a believer, you're the most blessed of all creation! You've gained more than the whole world can offer. So we're conformed to the image of the Son, and we're to live according to his way. We must love our enemies, follow the way of the cross, and lay down our lives for him!

In Mark 1, Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, offering him all the kingdoms of the world without the suffering of the cross. Here in chapter 8, Peter is wanting the same thing. So Jesus calls him Satan, as he's setting his mind on the things of man. 

When it comes to Jesus's love and compassion, we should follow his example. But should we also follow him in calling it as he sees it? Calling the Pharisees whitewashed tombs, calling Peter Satan... Yes, we should. We follow Jesus in his uncompromising commitment to righteousness, holiness! "Be ye holy as I am holy!" (1 Peter 1:16)

We need to be kind and loving, but also be bold in our hunger for righteousness, because our enemy is bold in his pursuit!

When we oppose the kingdom of darkness, the darkness hates us. Satan despises the exclusivity Jesus demands. Following Christ means rejecting the world; this is basic Christianity. 

v34... To follow him, we must deny ourselves and take up his cross. It's not a requirement for salvation, but a sign that salvation has occurred. 

God is very forgiving, but also perfectly holy. If someone has walked away from God, we shouldn't give them false comfort that they'll be fine. 1 John 2:19... They left us because they weren't of us. We need to plead with people who have walked away from following Christ, from gathering with the church!

v35... Want to save yourself? Lose yourself. Be all in! 

v36-37... Our soul has more worth than the whole world! Taking up his cross is hard, but your soul is worth much more than what you'll be giving up. 

v38... Ashamed of Jesus? Rejecting his teachings, his word, is rejecting Jesus himself. If we do this, he'll then be ashamed of us.

9v1... He may be talking about the coming of Pentecost. 

A few thoughts...

1. Christ over all! 

The world hates Jesus and those who act like him. The darkness hates the light. We have to choose, live for our own popularity, or for the glory of God? Proverbs 29:25... Trust in the Lord. Do we blend into the darkness, or for to this world, be born again, and stand in the light? 

2. Paradox...

For Jesus to win, he has to die. Same for us! To be the greatest, you must be the least... To be first, you must be last... The path to happiness is to focus on... Happiness? Nope! Give your life to others, and you'll start receiving. 

Christianity is unique; it's so different from everything else. We don't win the war by fighting it, but by surrendering our will to God's. Bless those who persecute you. Pray for your enemies! It's opposite everything in the world. It's a wisdom that's come from outside of us.

Can we do this? It's impossible, except with God. We'll never adhere to his teachings perfectly. But 9:1 says the Holy Spirit can help us do it! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

We cannot live as faithful Christians in the energy of our own flesh. We need the power of God! To draw us to him, and to keep us in him!

Luke 11:13... The heavenly Father will give the holy Spirit to those who ask! Fall on your face and ask him to equip you, a sinner!

Here, Jesus explains what is meant when Mark calls him the Christ in Mark 1:1: he's going to suffer, die, and rise again.

Regarding the deutero-canonical books included in Catholic Bibles, 1 and 2 Maccabees for example were in the septuagint, used as a source for Bible translation. The works are mostly historical. Jesus contradicts the assertion made in those books that the Messiah will be a great military leader; for this reason, it's appropriate to exclude them from canon.

v31... who will reject Jesus? The Sanhedrin (elders, chief priests and scribes), made up of Pharisees and Sadducees. The most experienced men in Israel. Jesus was rejected by the best of his own people!

v32... Peter began to rebuke Jesus! He thinks Jesus is in error. Liberal theology falls into this trap, even rebuking actual scripture. Like Peter, these rebukers will one day be rebuked by Jesus himself.

v33... "Get behind me, Satan..." Peter is concerned with worldly kingdoms, not the Kingdom of God. Jesus is on his way to the cross regardless of Peter's misconceptions, and Peter can either come with him or get out of the way.

If you're going to follow Jesus, you have to do it with this level of resolve, and press on! For example, some make a habit of not coming to church regularly, and this is bad, as the author of Hebrews says. Do I follow my spouse who wants to stay home from church, or do I follow God? A believer must be resolved, and hold the line! Anything that gets in the way of following Jesus has to go.

Satan's opposition to the ministry of Jesus...

No one in the Gospel received a harsher rebuke than Peter, when Jesus called him Satan.

Matthew 4 tells us of Jesus's temptation by Satan in the wilderness... he was promising to give Jesus dominion of all the kingdoms of the world, without the cross. A path without suffering! Satan offers all of us a similar deal, an easy way out, which we too must reject.

Psalm 123... if we follow the Good Shepherd, he will protect us! It can be hard, but he promises to be with us.

We must be resolved to follow the Lord at all costs!

In the book of Mark so far, Everyone has misunderstood who Jesus is. In chapters 1-8, faith is scarce. The main source for people's beliefs were intertestamental writings, nonbiblical sources such as the Psalms Of Solomon... which speak of the Messiah as a great military leader.

They missed that he'd be the suffering servant spoken of in Isaiah! 

Verse 31... 

Jesus speaks here of his impending suffering, a foreign idea to the twelve. The Messiah is the Son of Man from Daniel, with eternal dominion over his kingdom. In his suffering he'll be glorified! In Revelation, the only one worthy to take the scroll is Jesus; he's the son of God who earned his title suffering and dying on the cross!

To be saved, our sins must be atoned for, and Jesus was the perfect atonement.

We'll stand before him one day. Well give an account for everything we've ever said and done. In front of everyone. Satan will be there accusing. All will be laid bare. We're in trouble! If not for him, we'd be crushed! We need the spirit of God, we need Jesus's atonement!

Even the most righteous of society rejected him, and actually demanded his death. Jesus isn't the Messiah they expected or wanted, so he must go.

Even today, there are Christians who would reject Jesus if they met him in person making statements he's made in the Word. We need to be careful not to tell God how he should be... we must accept him as he is!

God's word is perfect, and we must accept all of it.

The good news is that Jesus died, and on the third day, he rose again! He overcame death. What he came to do was more glorious than defeating the Romans.

Do we trust God, trust his plan? 

Verse 32...

Peter rebukes him, LOL! He didn't understand Jesus's true purpose...

Verse 33...

Jesus rebuked him back, saying he's got his mind on the things of man, not the things of God!

"Satan" is an old testament term for someone who is an adversary. In the New Testament, it refers to the devil. 

Two thoughts...

1. Satanic teaching:

The central truth of the Bible: Jesus came to die, and to rise and defeat death. Anything counter to this is satanic. 

Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he viewed down and worshipped him, without Jesus having to suffer. But he knew he'd come to die and rise again to atone for our sins.

Jesus will ask the same of us. If we're going to belong to him, we also have to reject Satan's path, and accept what may come.

2. The heart of Christ:

Jesus has been opposed at every turn. 

Hebrews 12:1... We are to lay aside any sin weighing us down, drop it and keep running! Look to Jesus the founder-- and perfecter-- of our faith.

Jesus dealt with so much resistance and difficulty, and accepted it, because he knew the joy that awaited on the other side. 

There are so many people in heaven they can't be counted... singing and praising God, overflowing with joy! Jesus completed his mission for this. If we just walk his path (obey his commands), and finish our race well, this is what awaits us! Jesus will be there at our death, and will defend us as our atoning advocate, allowing us entry into heaven with him for eternity!

So we accept whatever path he lays before us on earth!

The Pharisees were looking for a sign... so Jesus didn't want to heal the blind man publicly.

He at first says the people look like trees...

1. He wasn't always blind

2. It was as if he was briefly seeing people as "trees" in another dimension. If anyone would follow Jesus, he must carry a tree (cross).

3. 1 Enoch was popular, quoted in Scripture. chapter 3 verse 1... talks about people as trees. In chapter 5 as well. 

He didn't even want the man to walk back into the town! No sign for the Pharisees.

Geography...

The first man to see Jesus as the Christ is from Caeserea Phillippi... an evil, pagan Gentile city. Gentiles were as the Ninevites in the story of Jonah. 

Getting as far away from Jerusalem as possible, from the leaven of the Pharisees... that's where Peter's eyes are opened!

Parts of 1 Enoch can be trusted (as they are quoted in Scripture), but not all.

Caeserea Phillippi was built into the foot of Mount Hermon.

Two interpretations of the "Sons of God" from the Old Testament:

1. Sons of God were the godly line, daughters of God were ungodly (Cain), and that's why God flooded the earth.

2. Sons of God are actually angelic beings, creating giants, all sorts of evil, and that's why the flood.

1 Enoch 6:1... Angelic beings that fell were watchers of the earth, and they came down to Mt. Hermon to sleep with human women. They procreated with them, creating giants, then nephilim. Created much godlessness. Taught people secret knowledge.

According to 1 Enoch, Mt. Hermon was the beginning of the world's evil. Yet in Mark 8, Mt Hermon is where God reveals himself to humanity, reversing the curse through Jesus Christ!

v27... some say Jesus was "one of the prophets"... not a small thing, a term of honor. They see he's special, but don't see yet that he's the Christ. Peter says he is the Christ, and Jesus confirms.

The Pharisees studied the God of the Old testament, but completely missed him when he was standing right in front of them! We need the Holy Spirit to see Jesus is the Christ. Hard-heartedness can only be overcome by God himself. Only if the Spirit of God is present can hearts be changed!

1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Samuel are written to be read together. It's interesting that the story of kings in Israel begins with a barren woman. Israel needs the promised seed from Genesis 3 to come and crush the head of the serpent!

Eli represents a "blind priesthood"; lacking spiritual discernment, he does the opposite of what the people need.

1Sam 2... Hannah after her sacrifice pours out her heart before God in a prayer-like song. 

In Hannah's prayer, her heart exults the Lord (Mary will later pray the same thing); the focus then shifts from her heart and her mouth in the first two verses, to a focus on God and his attributes. This is what corporate worship is meant to be. 

This prayer begins and ends with horns... at the beginning, she says her horn is exalted in the Lord; she's been made strong and victorious in him. At the end, she says God will exalt the horn of his anointed; she's speaking prophetically of David's future anointing. Her son Samuel will eventually bring forth a King over Israel. Her "sister-wife" Peninnah mocked her so badly that Hannah's rejoicing condemned her!

Hannah moves directly into praising God for these attributes:

- Holiness, which is his most distinguishing attribute. There is none like him! All other gods are akin to demons.

- His steadfastness and protection; there is no rock like him!

Jeremiah 9:23... let no man boast in his blessings, but boast in the Lord! Hannah is boasting in the Lord alone.

It changes us when we understand God is holy and that he sees everything!

Verses 4 and 5 are great reversals...

The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.

The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.

...this is a picture of Hannah herself. She understands that her child coming into the world is the mark of a new beginning, of a series of reversals. Philistines will be defeated, Eli and his sons will be replaced by better men, the giants will be driven out by David. A reversal of the curse on the land!

We too should be praying for a great reversal in our world! We should want to see institutions of evil defeated, and ideologies of evil crumble to the ground.

In verse 5, speaking of "the full" hiring themselves out for bread and the hungry ceasing to hunger... this is often used to prop up a communist or socialist perspective, redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor. Even a brief reading of this verse in context shows it's actually talking about reversing corruption (of the sons of Eli), not stealing from the rich to give to the poor. She's asking for the corrupt to be brought low, and the low to be elevated to abundance.

The barren has borne seven children (and we know she bore at least six)... God really opened her womb!

Verse 6... God is not only our judge, but determines our every breath. He alone brings to life, and he alone determines the hour of our death!

Peter's confession begins the passion narrative, the road to the cross.

v22-24... The people asked him to heal their friend, he touched his hand and spit on him and he was partially healed. Then he laid his hands on the man's eyes and he was healed completely. 

Why the delay? A miracle in two stages. He didn't have to do it this way. He chose to... He's acting something out for our benefit. He's showing us how the apostles themselves were still blind even after hearing the Gospel. 

He's giving us a picture of opening the eyes of the spiritually blind.

1. Lead the blind to Jesus - be a friend of the blind and bring them to him! He says he's in our midst when we gather... So bring them to church!

2. Jesus leads him by the hand.

3. Jesus opens his eyes. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom. Salvation belongs to the Lord only; we cannot save, so we bring them to him who can!

4. Jesus asks the man what he sees. It's true that new believers can't see clearly yet... We don't see the depravity of our sins right away; that awareness is a process.

5. Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. The number one thing a believer can do is get in front of Jesus... and then stay there! He'll continue to bring clarity to our eyes. We must only abide in him, and continue to abide!

6. His sight is fully restored.

7. He sees everything clearly!

8. Jesus tells the man not to even enter the village. To follow Jesus is to walk a new way!

We were blind, God touched our eyes, now we see. Let's admit our need for his work in our lives. We'd all be monsters without him! 

Why does the man see trees? Maybe this is what Jesus wanted him to see, in a spiritual dimension...

2 Kings 6:15ff... Elisha's city is under siege. He sees a vision of an army of fire surrounding it.

... There are spiritual things happening around us that we can't see. 

We look not to the seen, but the unseen, invisible. 

Ps1:3, etc... Righteous man is like a tree... Healthy tree bears good fruit... 

The blind man may have gained access to a spiritual dimension, and people resembled trees, as if he was seeing a spiritual place. 

Rev 2:1-3: church is a lamp stand, shaped like a tree. 

v27... Peter confesses. There's revelation in two stages: 1. He's one of the prophets. 2. He's the Christ!

Matthew 16... Peter said he's the Christ, the Son of the living God! This was revealed to Peter only by God, not by Peter himself.

Peter's spiritual eyes are not yet perfectly clear... as if he still sees people as walking trees. 

A few thoughts...

1. Jesus is the Christ! Greek word for the Hebrew "Messiah", anointed one.

2. The revelation of Jesus as Messiah happened through Peter, a person from Caesarea Phillippi. A very pagan, perverse place. God can illuminate anybody, anywhere!

3. Revelation... God has opened my eyes! Our faith is a gift from God; our righteousness is not our own! We did nothing to earn it. We should be the most thankful people! 

Revelation is a process. We have it easy nowadays, everything's instantly available to us. Christians are content to stay stagnant. We must reject this kind of shallow life, and long for more! We must have a desire to grow. 

John 16:12... Jesus has many things to say, but the people can't bear them yet. Don't let that be you! Be available to the deeper things of God.

Psalm19:18... Open my eyes so I may behold the wondrous things! 

Teach me your word that I may understand it!

John 15:1-5... Abide, remain, in him! Stay attached to Jesus and continue to receive life!