mark 9: the Glorious King

Sermon first preached at Twynholm 7th sept 2008.
Audio available here

We live in an instant culture.
I guess this is felt and driven by a computer society
Instant messaging.
Instant Downloads
Instant updates, so long as we have Instant broadband.
With our digital cameras we can print out photos instantly – we don’t even need to go to a one hour developer any more.
But it affects other areas of our lives too.
Food: Fast food, Instant noodles, microwave meals and some people still like Instant coffee!
Fincances.
We can now have instant savers, where we can transfer our money from a savings account to a current account in seconds on the web.
Nationwide Building Society offers you the one minute mortgage promise. They can make up their mind in just one minute. I guess that if you were wanting to borrow, say 200,000 it would seem strange that it would be a decision that you’d be keen to be able to make in just 1 minute.
Health
We no longer need to diet – we can take a diet pill, or get liposuction.
What should be the approach of Christians try to share the good news of Jesus in an instant world?
Is Christianity a religion of instant gratification? When sharing the good news, should we focus on sharing stories of how our lives have instantly changed.
This kind of immediate, high pressure evangelism has gone on for quite some time. I remember as an early teenager going to a hear a well known evangelist who was speaking in a local theatre. The evangelist told an incredibly moving story of how he had been saved from a life of gang crime and drugs, and his whole life had been completely turned around when he put his faith in Jesus Christ. On the basis of this testimony he encouraged the audience to walk down the aisle as a sign that they had put their faith in Christ.
That short walk, we were told was all that stood in our way of our lives being radically transformed in the same way that his had been.
To his visible shock, nobody came forward. And so the music played on, and he began to make more and more extravagant promises about what would happen to those who came forward.
“Perhaps you really want to come forward, but you are concerned that your girlfriend will abandon you if you do. Well, God will give you a better looking girlfriend. Several young men got up out of their seats.” As more and more extravagant promises were made, more and more people began to come forward, and were assured that they had walked from death to life, and would most certainly be welcomed into eternal rewards.
Does Christianity promise that if we follow him our lives will immediately get better in every way we might like to measure improvement?
Is following Jesus the route to fulfilling all of our dreams?
Does Jesus offer us, as one popular author suggests today, “Your best life Now!”or as others have suggested, health, wealth and prosperity today?
Is following Jesus quicker than the internet in providing financial, medical, professional and personal affluence?
It is true that Jesus does promise the most extravagant and abundant blessings. He describes belonging to his kingdom as finding hidden treasure; even in the passage that we are looking at this morning we will read about rewards… “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward,” he will say.
Yet, as well as talking about rewards, Jesus will also talk about suffering.
And the suffering comes first. Then glory.
We will see this first in Jesus own life: there is to be suffering then glory. But this is also to be the model of discipleship: the blessings are not all now: we are to live by faith in what is yet to come before the time when we will live by sight, enjoying abundant blessings. And we are to live in humility, before the time when those who trust in Christ will receive their reward.
So, those are our three points.
1) Suffering then glory (2-13)
2) Faith then sight (14-29)
3) Humility then greatness. (30-50)
Turn with me to Mark 9:2-50
Page 1018

1) Suffering then glory
2(A) And after six days Jesus took with him(B) Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was(C) transfigured before them, 3and(D) his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5And Peter said to Jesus,(E) "Rabbi,[b] it is good that we are here. Let us make three(F) tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." 6For(G) he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7And(H) a cloud overshadowed them, and(I) a voice came out of the cloud,(J) "This is my beloved Son;[c] listen to him." 8And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9(K) And as they were coming down the mountain,(L) he charged them to tell no one what they had seen,(M) until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10(N) So they kept the matter to themselves,(O) questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11And they asked him, "Why do the scribes say(P) that first Elijah must come?" 12And he said to them, "Elijah does come first(Q) to restore all things. And(R) how is it written of the Son of Man that he should(S) suffer many things and(T) be treated with contempt? 13But I tell you that Elijah has come, and(U) they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."
Last week (ch 8) i) Peter’s confession of Christ (29)
ii) Jesus immediately talks about the fact that he will be a suffering Christ.And he began to teach them that(AL) the Son of Man must(AM) suffer many things and(AN) be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and(AO) after three days rise again. 32And he said this(AP) plainly.
iii) Peter didn’t like this idea And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, (AQ) "Get behind me, Satan! For you(AR) are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
Peter wanted a Messiah who was all glory and no suffering.
Chapter 9 is an encouragement to Peter: yes, says Jesus, there will be a time of glory. And he gives Peter James and John a glimpse of the glory that he will have after the resurrection. (v9)
As one commentator puts it “Not Jesus’ nature that is being transformed, ‘but his appearance is transformed to reveal his nature”
For a moment the veil comes down...
There is glory: and what glory it is: the glory reminds us of the exodus story. There too God had descended in a cloud to fills the temple: but they are left only with Jesus. He is God living with the people.
It is a moment of glory, and Peter misunderstands in several ways.
1) He doesn’t realise that it is all pointing to the uniqueness of Jesus.
a. 3 tents
b. “It is good for us to be here”
But it is all about Jesus. Moses and Elijah are there to testify to Jesus, and encourage the 3 disciples to know that he is the one they were preparing the way for as prophets.
God himself speaks, telling them that Jesus is indeed his Son.
And when the cloud of the presence of the Lord has gone, we are not left with a tent where God dwells... or are we. Jesus himself is the tent. John 1:14.
Jesus is God himself living with people.
You couldn’t get much more glorious than that.
2) He doesn’t realise that Jesus didn’t come to grasp that glory now, but to suffer first.
In v9, Jesus hints at the time that the glory would come: after the resurrection.
But the resurrection is the resurrection from the dead.
V11. the question: another subtle hint that the idea of death shouldn’t accompany the Messiah. Surely Elijah’s role was to restore all things. Surely he would sort things out so that there be no need of a suffering Messiah.
Jesus: yes, he restored a right call to repentance – but he too suffered. –
-elijah 1 : Ahab & Jezebel
- John the Baptist: Herod and Herodias.
That is the pattern of the one who preached Christ: suffering and then glory, because that is the pattern of Jesus himself.
So what were they to make of all this?
It is very clear: God had told them with his own voice from heaven. They were to listen to Jesus.
- Non Christian: does Jesus seems unimpressive: listen to him!
- Christian: don’t expect a Christ who is recognised by all today. His glory remains hidden and is for now only revealed in the preaching of the gospel. We have treasure in jars of clay.
- Children: realise that the Jesus you learn about is god himself: he is not like the other people in your picture books. He is unique: listen to him.
- Marriage: Looks both ways: suffering – who is first to lay down your life (speaking to a friend yesterday about who’s jumping ot get out of bed)
Glory: the intimacy of marriage is to point to the fact that there is time to come when we will see our great husband face to face and be one with him.
Work at intimacy, expect difficulty and get help!
- Church: living for glory we must share in suffering. We need to be a place where people can be miserable and yet joyful.
- Relected in our songs.
Carl Trueman:
In the psalms, God has given the church a language which allows it to express even the deepest agonies of the human soul in the context of worship. Does our contemporary language of worship reflect the horizon of the expectation regarding the believer’s experience which the psalter proposes as normative? If not, why not? Is it because the comfortable values of Western middle-class consumerism have silently infiltrated the church and made us consider such cries irrelevant, embarrassing, and signs of abject failure?”
Only Christians can cry and ye not despair. For though we know that the suffering is very real, we know that the glory to come is absolutely certain, for God has already raised his Son from the dead, and seated him at his right hand in glory; he has already won the victory, and we will share in it one day.

Faith then Sight.
14(Y) And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him,(Z) were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16And he asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" 17And someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has(AA) a spirit that makes him mute. 18And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and(AB) they were not able." 19And he answered them, "O(AC) faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." 20And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it(AD) convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But(AE) if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." 23And Jesus said to him, (AF) "'If you can'!(AG) All things are possible for one who believes." 24Immediately the father of the child cried out[d] and said, "I believe;(AH) help my unbelief!" 25And when Jesus saw that(AI) a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, (AJ) "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26And after crying out and(AK) convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27But Jesus(AL) took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28And when he had(AM) entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."[e]
Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection
30(AN) They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed,(AO) after three days he will rise." 32(AP) But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

There are several unusual things about this story...
1) V 17 The man says that he has brought the boy to Jesus. But he hasn’t – he’s only brought him to Jesus’ disciples (19 Jesus still must say ‘bring him to me)
a. Don’t judge Jesus by his disciples.
b. Christians are not good people, but those who trust in a great saviour.
2) There is a strange thing: Jesus says that this kind can only be driven out by prayer, but there is no report of Jesus himself praying...
3) Lots of talk about faith / belief...
a. V19 – faithless generation
b. 21-24If you can... anything is possible for those who believe.
c. I do believe help me in my unbelief.
d. 28-29 Only by prayer
Not great faith, but faith in a great saviour.
This is about Jesus still...
Prayer is bringing things to Jesus; he is the Son of God, he has power to save.
Why didn’t the disciples bring the boy to Jesus? Because they were faithless.
But notice how little faith is required...
- Jesus doesn’t crush a little faith.
Faith as a rope... what matters is who is at the other end of the rope: Jesus is the only one strong enough.
And when there is faith exercised.... he looks worse before he looks better.
(AJ) "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26And after crying out and(AK) convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27But Jesus(AL) took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose
- Even in Jesus work in our lives there is death first then glory...
In many ways that you might want to measure it, if you follow Jesus life will get worse. But in ways that last, it has radically changed: there is new life! That will last forever.
Church: Bring people to Christ: conversation must focus on the gospel
- Come to “speaking of Jesus”
- Prayer prioritised in congregation
- Non-Christian: Do you ask this question “if you can?”
- Christian: beware over-realised eschatology. It is not your best life now. 1 Cor 15. Not all suffering will be removed if we have enough faith. For the Christian suffering is the norm. Jesus didn’t lack faith.
- Children: when you pray, what do you ask for. Listen to him.

Humility comes before greatness. 30-50
30(AN) They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed,(AO) after three days he will rise." 32(AP) But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?
33And(AQ) they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house(AR) he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" 34But they kept silent, for on the way(AS) they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, (AT) "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." 36And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and(AU) taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37(AV) "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."
Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us
38(AW) John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone(AX) casting out demons in your name,[f] and(AY) we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." 39But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40(AZ) For the one who is not against us is for us. 41For truly, I say to you,(BA) whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
Temptations to Sin
42(BB) "Whoever causes one of(BC) these little ones who believe in me to sin,[g](BD) it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43(BE) And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to(BF) hell,[h] to(BG) the unquenchable fire.[i] 45(BH) And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into(BI) hell. 47(BJ) And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into(BK) hell, 48'where(BL) their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' 49For everyone will be salted with fire.[j] 50(BM) Salt is good,(BN) but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again?(BO) Have salt in yourselves, and(BP) be at peace with one another."

Irony: Jesus talks about his death
Dan 7, Is 53. Gospel.
Isaiah 53 comes first!
They are afraid to ask; (Even though God has told 3 of them at least to listen to him... they should be asking at every point!)
- Don’t be afraid to ask... go to bible: but get counsel too...
I fear that Peter, James and john were part of that conversation about greatness.
It seems that they were afraid to ask though, not because they were shy of Jesus, ut because they thought they might not like the answer.
- Beware of decisions that you make where you either don’t get counsel, or you ignore it.
- They wanted greatness now...
- They should know who the greatest is, and he is talking about suffering.
- Upside down...
What does greatness look like according to Jesus?
The one who serves A child.
Not a child: the servant of a child.
Servant of all.
This is the only kind of leadership that any Christian may aspire to.
- We are all servants of Christ; he served us (10:45)
- Pride wants to belittle others, rather than encourage (38-41)
- Pride protects sin

The suffering that we face as Christians comes in many guises.
- Persecution
- Distraction
- Senses
o Cut them off.
o Living by faith not by sight means preching to ourselves that our senses must not be blindly obeyed, but subordinated to the gospel principle.
- 2 judgements
o Hell
 It is real
 It is terrible
 It is eternal
o Mortification of sin
 It must be a reality
 It must be radical
 It must be lifelong
- Church: this is the only way in which we will have a community that encourages us to persevere through suffering until the day of glory.
- How do you measure your discipleship?
o Quiet times?
o Are you growing in your relationships with the Lord’s people. If you are not, then I’m not sure that however else you are measuring growth is really very credible.
o Romans 12:10 “love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour.” The only kind of one-upmanship we are to have is trying to care for others better than they care for us. Trying to be more interested in others than they are in us. Trying to help others more than they help us... (not false – don’t refuse help – but be generous!)
o For that is who we serve.
The only greatness that we can have is the recognition of the greatness of the Lord Jesus. The highest honour that we could possible be given, is the right to honour the Lord Jesus. The place of greatest dignity will be when we eternally fall on our knees to bow before His throne.
Our glorious king, who being in very nature God...
o Philippians 2.

- Where is true greatness seen?
In the transfiguration, for sure.
In the cross:
The suffering:
Temptation in Gethsemane.
Persecution to the point of death.
Every sense would have been crying out to get out of the pain... but he endured.

He plucked out the eye that might lead him to look to his own interests, and submitted that eye to see the mocking and the beating and the spitting of Roman soldiers.
He cut off the feet that might walk away from the cross, and surrendered them to stagger along the road to Calvary.
He cut off the hands that might summon legions of angels to tear him down from the cross, and surrendered them to iron nails.
There is greatness. That the Son of Man should suffer, and become the servant of all.
In heaven, when we bow before the Lord Jesus and praise him for his greatness: he will be radiant: Rev 1 “one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his waist. And yet who is the one who is dressed in such splendour?
He is the lamb, looking as though he has been slain.
Forever, when we sing of the glory of the Son of Man, his glory will be infinitely magnified, because he was the Son of Man who suffered to redeem his people.
And we shall sing “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing.”