The Transfiguration of Jesus - Mark 9:1-13 - July 26, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for July 26, 2020. We are now meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

Mark 9:1-13 The Transfiguration of Jesus

Have you ever read a portion of Scripture, a story in the Bible and find yourself asking, “What was that all about?!” If you are like me and have found yourself in a scenario like that, when faced with this predicament you have two options. When you read an account that doesn’t make sense to you, you can simply shrug your shoulders and settle for, “I dunno,” and move on, or, you can dig in and try your best to figure it out and try and make sense of it.

This morning’s passage in Mark 9:1-13 is one of those passages, at least for me. It describes a fantastic event that, in the past, when I’ve read it I found myself wondering, “What was that all about?!” but my response, sadly, has been, “I dunno,” and I’ve moved on.

This is the beauty of verse by verse exposition of entire books of the Bible: I can’t skip over things I don’t understand. I am forced to deal with them no matter how difficult it is or how challenging the teaching is, or how contrary it is to my own biases and opinions.

So let’s look at Mark 9:1-13, page 844 in the pew Bibles, the account of Jesus’ transfiguration.

We are picking up right where we left off two weeks ago after Jesus had just taught the crowd about self-denial and sacrifice in following Him.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” 

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. 

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

Let’s pray

So the last thing that Jesus says to the crowd that had gathered along with His disciples before leaving them was that there were some standing there that would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God coming with power… Ok… What do we do with that idea?

Some scholars say, incorrectly, that Jesus meant His Second Coming, but He that He was wrong. We know that is not correct because Jesus Himself said that He didn’t know the day or the hour, no one knew but the Father. So that could not be what He meant.

Some scholars say that Jesus was talking about the birth of the Church on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to believers. This is certainly possible if you understand the church to be the kingdom of God and its power to be the power of the Holy Spirit.

Other scholars say that Jesus was alluding to what was about to happen six days later on the Mount of Transfiguration. 

While the first idea of Jesus’ Second Coming is clearly wrong, and the Day of Pentecost would certainly make sense, I believe that Jesus was talking about His transfiguration, which is why Jesus’ statement was included right before that account on the high mountain.

The high mountain that Jesus, Peter, James, and John went up is Mount Hermon, just north of Caesarea Philippi, at the northern most part of Israel on the border with Syria.

In Luke’s account of this event he says that Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain to pray. This was Jesus’ pattern, to get away from the crowd and commune with His Father, a practice we should all certainly adopt.

While they were there up on that mountain Jesus was transfigured before them. What does that mean, what is, “transfigured?” The Greek word, “metamorphoo,” means to be changed, to take on a new physical appearance, transformed. This is the same word that describes the changing of a caterpillar to a butterfly, metamorphosis.

 2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

The Romans had a thing for intensely white linens, they called them “candorem.” They were linens so clean and white that they almost glistened. The Jews took on this idea as well and used linens like that to adorn priests and kings. But when Jesus was transfigured before the three disciples He made those candorems look dirty. “His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.”

He was giving His disciples a glimpse into the kingdom, just a taste of His glory. What a scene it must have been!

And to add to this glory, there appeared with Jesus Moses and Elijah!

4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Luke again offers us more insight into the conversation that was had between Jesus and Elijah and Moses. Luke 9:31 says that they spoke of His departure, or His exodus, that was about to be accomplished in Jerusalem. In this moment of extreme brightness Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah of His coming time of great darkness. What a scene!

But the question remains, why did Moses and Elijah appear? Were they there to teach Jesus? Were they there to encourage Him or cheer Him on? Why was it Moses in particular, why was it Elijah? Was it for Jesus’ benefit or something else? Was this just a random but really cool moment?

My response has historically: “I dunno. But I bet it was cool to see!” Childlike faith or lazy scholarship, you decide!

I’m going with lazy scholarship because there is great meaning in the particulars of this event.

What do Moses and Elijah represent? When you think of Moses what do you think of? The Law. How about Elijah? The Prophets.

Peter’s response to this scene is pretty telling of what the disciples thought about Jesus and His teaching at this time.

5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

My thought about this response, though they were terrified and Peter was just not the type to shut his mouth in moments like this, I think what they really wanted was to simply add Jesus on to the Law and the Prophets. Setting up camp meant setting up a new type of religion where you start with the Law, then you add on the Prophets, and to top it all off you add the Gospel.

This, sadly, is the experience of many, many, people who call themselves Christians. Their faith is based on rules, on do’s and don’t’s, and on obscure misinterpretations of passages of prophecy in the Old Testament.

But we cannot overlook the fourth person who appears in this scene: God the Father Himself.

7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. 

The Father Himself emphasized the distinction between Jesus, His beloved Son, and Moses, the representative of the Law, and Elijah, the representative of the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets are merged in the glory of the gospel, their glory was temporary, but the gospel’s is eternal. Jesus didn’t abolish them but fulfilled them, and now when we read them they only make sense because of Him.

John Calvin wrote, “If we would properly avail ourselves of the aid of Moses, [and I would add the Prophets] we must not stop with [them] but endeavor to be conducted by [their] hand to Christ of whom both [they] and all the others are ministers.”

From the cloud of glory the Father calls Jesus, “His Beloved Son,” because He was the only mediator by whom the Father would reconcile the world to Himself, the Fulfiller of the Law and the Prophets.

The Father said, “Listen to Him,” because he is the supreme Teacher. The Father corrected the disciples by pointing to Jesus as the One they should listen to over Moses and Elijah, that He was the One who could properly interpret the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus is the Supreme Teacher of the Church and all others, especially me, are subordinate to Him.

John Calvin also wrote, “No man can be regarded as a faithful teacher of the church unless he himself be a disciple of Christ and bring others to be taught by Him.”

There is so much going on in this scene!

First, by appearing in glory, Jesus proved to His disciples, and to us, that He was not dragged unwillingly to His death. It would have been just as easy to protect His body as it was to clothe it with heavenly glory. Peter still didn’t get this concept, right up until Jesus’ betrayal in the Garden, but this was the plan all along.

Second, The Father endorses Jesus, His beloved Son, as the Head and Teacher of the Church, that the Law and the Prophets are not added to the Gospel but are fulfilled by it. The whole Old Testament, every page, points to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

But even still the disciples still don’t get it.

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

Jesus told them to keep silent about what they had seen until he had risen from the dead. Why? Because they would have gotten it all wrong! They didn’t understand the meaning of what had just taken place and so their recollection of the event could result in all sorts of wrong ideas and bad teaching.

They also didn’t understand the role of John the Baptist, who while he was not Elijah himself, came in the spirit and power of Elijah just as it was told of him before he was born.

Peter did eventually catch on but only after he received the Holy Spirit, and he wrote about this event and its meaning in 2 Peter 1:16-21.

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

So in thinking of the words of the Father from that cloud of majestic glory, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him,” I have to ask you two questions.

First and foremost, have you been reconciled to the Father through faith in His Son? 

No amount of rule following or good deeds will earn you a place in God’s eternal kingdom, only faith in His Beloved Son Jesus.

The second question is: do you listen to Him? Is Jesus’ voice, as recorded in the Bible, chief of all others? 

The way we can tell is if we measure the words of any teacher by God’s Word before we believe it. 

Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Take Up Your Cross - Mark 8:34-38 - July 12, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for July 12, 2020. We are now meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

Mark 8:34-38 Take up Your Cross

Good morning! We are going to be studying Mark 8:34-38 this morning, page 844 in the pew Bibles.

This passage that we are going to look at today is one of the greatest proofs that Christianity is NOT a man-made religion, it’s not a product of some guy’s imagination. If it were, it would not include statements like we are going to look at this morning.

You’ll remember from last week that we looked at the disciples’ confession of Jesus as the Christ, God’s Anointed One, as well as Jesus’ rebuke of Peter for attempting to thwart God’s program and directives for Jesus. They were happy with Jesus’ work as Prophet and held Him up as King but they didn’t understand His work was also the work of the Priest, serving as the sacrifice for the sin of mankind, to sprinkle His own blood in the Holy of Holies in the heavenly Temple.

But there was more to the program for those who would follow Jesus, a way of suffering, of self-denial, and submission. So let’s look at our text together, Mark 8:34-38.

34 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. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Let’s pray.

Can you see just from a quick reading of the text why I would say that Christianity couldn’t possibly have been invented in the minds of men? What person would hold self-denial up as a central principle of their made up religion? Every false religion ever invented puts man in the center of it, turning pleasure into an act of worship of one’s self. 

Jesus demands exactly the opposite.

In verse 34 Jesus lays down this central principle in what it means to follow Him and then gives us four “for’s” to flesh it out.

34 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.

This is a great example of the importance of considering the original audience in Bible study. Listen to Jesus’ statement: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

When Jesus mentions, taking up one’s cross, what do you think of? Jesus’ cross, right? Jesus’ death on the cross is THE central event in all of human history. But we are not the first ones to hear those words, the disciples and the crowd that was there that day near Caesarea Philippi. What do you think they thought of when Jesus mentions taking up one’s cross and following Him? He had yet to take up a cross, in Mark’s Gospel at least He hadn’t even mentioned a cross, He spoke about His death but nothing about a cross. So what did the statement mean to those who first heard Him say it?

Don’t misunderstand me, the people living there in Israel under Roman rule knew all too well what a cross was. It was an instrument of humiliation, torture, and death, invented by the Romans. Those who were crucified were crucified publically, for all to see as a warning for those who would dare to rebel against the iron fist of the Roman Empire.

So why would Jesus tell His followers to take up their own cross and follow Him? He wasn’t foreshadowing His own death as we might see it from our historical side of the cross. So what did He really mean?

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Jesus is talking about shifting allegiances. From the beginning Mankind has been acting in our own self-interest, treating ourselves as if we are the kings and queens of our own little kingdoms. But here Jesus suggests a different way, a better way, the ONLY way, the way of denying oneself, taking up our cross, and following Him.

There’s so much going on in this short statement!

First of all, I’m sure you have heard the expression, “We all have our crosses to bear.” The meaning of that expression is that “our cross” is some difficulty or challenge that we each face, or some inconvenience. This expression is based on this statement of Jesus but it’s so far from what Jesus intended and so cheapens the thought He was expressing.

As far as the Romans were concerned, Jesus’ crucifixion was pretty typical for the most part until it came to His actual death. It was common practice for the Romans to force the condemned to carry their own cross to the site of their crucifixion just like Jesus did. It was an act of forced submission to the authority that the condemned had once rebelled against. This was obviously not the case with Jesus as He had committed no crime, but it was for everybody else.

So when Jesus says to take up your cross, it goes hand in hand with the command to deny oneself. Instead of a forced submission it is a voluntary one, voluntarily demonstrating submission to Jesus as the ultimate authority in one’s life instead of oneself.

If anyone would shift their allegiance from themselves to Jesus, let them continually deny themselves, that’s the tense in the Greek, a continuous action, let them continually take up their cross, and follow Him.

Of course those of us on this side of the cross historically know that Jesus would eventually carry His own cross too, but not in submission to the Romans but in submission to Father God. Jesus’ self-denial would grant forgiveness of sin for all who would believe in Him and call on Him as Lord.

And calling on Jesus as Lord, following Him is what this passage is all about, and Jesus breaks it down further in His four “for’s.”

35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 

Paul wrote about this in Philippians 3:7-11,

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Paul had it all as far as the world was concerned, money, power, position, respect, but he gave it all up to follow Jesus, he denied himself, took up his cross, and followed Jesus, even though it cost him all of those things of worldly value. Though he lost his “life” he gained so much more!

36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

Jesus met a man like this in Luke 18:18-25,

18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

There’s no crime in being rich by the world’s standards but when wealth and power and privilege come before devotion to Christ we are in danger of forfeiting our very souls. 

37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?

JP Lange wrote, “The earthly-minded person gives his soul as a ransom price for the world, after laying down such a price, what does he have for a ransom price to buy his soul back? He who lays down his soul for the world will lose his soul AND the world; he who gains his soul gains the world as well.”

These two questions from Jesus are rhetorical, everyone who heard Him knew the answers.

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? NOTHING

What can a man give in return for his soul? NOTHING

JP Lange also wrote, “You must not watch Christ, but follow Him; you must not boast about Him but act like Him.”

38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

What a horrible fate. And how many of us are guilty of this? When we compromise to fit in, when we keep silent to be accepted or to avoid conflict, when we hide our faith because someone might be looking or think we’re strange or dumb, this is exactly what we are doing.

So what is Jesus after, what was He calling the disciples and the crowd and us to do?

To submit to the Father like he did, to obey God’s will as revealed in His Word, like He did, to accept the consequences without reservation for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel. To humbly and continuously, throughout the course of our lives, say no to ourselves and say yes to the Father.

World gained, nothing gained. Soul lost, all lost.

Amen

Prophet to Priest, Jesus Turns the Corner - Mark 8:27-33 - July 5, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for July 5, 2020. We are now meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

Mark 8:27-33 Prophet to Priest, Jesus Turns the Corner

Good morning! We are continuing our study in the Gospel of mark chapter 8, verses 27-33, page 844 in the pew Bibles.

You’ll remember from last week’s study that we talked about Jesus holding the threefold offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, he’s the only One who is qualified for all three and how each phase of Jesus’ ministry He was, or will be, fulfilling each of those offices.

Up to this point Jesus had been serving as a prophet, THE Prophet, speaking on behalf of God and calling people to repentance and faith, but now Jesus is turning a corner in His ministry, having served as the Prophet, He is beginning down the path of Priest.

I want to break our text down into two pieces, verses 27-30, and then verses 31-33. The publishers did us a favor in sticking a heading right in the middle so we’ll know when to quit!

But first, let’s pray.

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?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus and His disciples were just outside Caesarea Philippi on the shoulders of Mount Hermon in the northern part of Israel. I have been to Caesarea Philippi, it one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth. It is a place full of natural springs and cliffs and caves. When I visited there there was even water gently bubbling right up through the paved pathways to a giant cave that was called, “the Grotto of Pan,” also known as, “the Gates of Hades.”

Knowing that that was where Jesus and the disciples were becomes really important if you read Matthew’s account of Peter’s confession where Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Geography isn’t just novel, it’s really important!

Ok, back to the text. Jesus asked his disciples who people were saying that He was, after all this time of preaching and teaching and performing miracles, have people caught on yet?

Well, had they? No. They were getting there, but no.

The disciples told Him that people were saying that He was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or one of the prophets. Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

The people that the disciples quoted weren’t meaning to be disrespectful, they were well meaning, they were aiming at the truth but they were missing the mark. The people recognized that Jesus had been sent by God, that God’s power was at work in Him as proven by His miracles, but their understanding was limited, cloudy, like the blind man from last week.

So Jesus moved His question to the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”

This is, perhaps, the most important questions ever asked of anybody! And the response is equally important!

Was Jesus John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah reincarnated, or raised from the dead? That’s the only way the people could explain the power that was at work in Him. Clearly, He wasn’t, He isn’t.

“But who do you say that I am?” The “you” is plural here. Do you guys think that I’m just a ghost?

Peter speaks up on behalf of the disciples and confesses, short and sweet, “You are the Christ.”

It’s important to remember that the Gospel of Mark is Mark’s record of Peter’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry. In Matthew’s account of this event, in Matthew 16:13-20, he goes into more detail on Jesus’ response to Peter, but Peter, in his humility, elected to leave it out of his own account. 

And to spare you a sermon within a sermon I won’t quote it to you now either. But I would encourage you to read it for yourselves. There is a lot in there and a lot of false teaching has been based on those verses. I would be happy to talk about it and your thoughts on it some other time.

Matthew does call Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ the bedrock that he will build His church on, not Peter himself, but faith in Jesus as the Christ.

Peter declared, on behalf of the Twelve, their conviction that Jesus is the Christ.

Christ is not Jesus’ last name, it is His title. The Greek word, “Christ,” and the Hebrew word, “Messiah,” both mean the same thing, Anointed One, God’s Anointed.

Peter simply states on behalf of the Twelve, “You are the Christ.” He doesn’t say, “We think you’re the Christ,” or, “We believe you are the Christ.” This was not a statement of opinion or belief, it was a declaration of adoration in the language of worship, “You are the Christ! God’s Anointed One! Messiah!”

God’s Anointed One! Who else got anointed in the Old Testament? Kings, that’s who.

The prophet Samuel anointed Saul as king of Israel, and later king David. The Jews were looking for a Messiah like that, a new King sent from God to free them from their oppressors the Romans, to reestablish the kingdom of Israel.

But Jesus isn’t that kind of King, His ministry as Messiah has a much broader scope.

Were the disciples wrong in confessing that Jesus is the Christ? No. But did they understand what that really meant? Still no.

This confession marks a turning point in the ministry of Jesus, adding to the office of Prophet the office of Priest. But that’s not what the disciples thought was happening.

He strictly charged them to tell no one about Him. If they did, at this point, they wouldn’t tell the story right, they’d tell about a Jesus who was a prophet, and they’d tell about a Jesus who was a king, but they’d leave out the part that He must also be a priest.

Let’s look at the second half of our text, verses 31-33.

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

What is going on here?! We go from Peter confessing on behalf of the disciples that Jesus is the Christ, this great moment of faith to, ”Get behind me Satan?!”

This is the proof that the disciples, Peter included, still did not understand. Peter was good with Jesus’ role of Prophet, and He was clearly behind His role as King, but the idea of Jesus serving as Priest made no sense to him.

The High Priest, in Israel, would bring the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle it on the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies, the innermost part of the Temple in Jerusalem. And he would do this once a year on the Day of Atonement. Today we call it Yom Kippur, this year it falls on September 27-28.

When Jesus began to plainly show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised, He was describing His role as High Priest.

The difference was, was that Jesus would provide the blood for the sacrifice Himself, his own blood would be shed to atone for the sin of the world.

Hebrews 7:23-28 says,

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Peter wasn’t ready for this, the disciples didn’t understand this yet, so Peter pulled Jesus aside and rebuked Him. Can you imagine how that conversation went? 

Well, we don’t have to imagine, “Lord, don’t talk that way! You’re Messiah, you’re the King, we won’t let them touch you!” “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

And the Lord Jesus responded, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Simon, who Jesus had now officially renamed, Peter, a word that sounds like the word for, “rock,” Jesus now called Satan, a word borrowed from Aramaic and given as a title to the devil that means, “adversary.”

Peter wanted to skip from Prophet to King and skip over Priest all together. He didn’t want the Lord to suffer, He didn’t want the Lord to be killed, his mind was set on the things of man. 

The things of man, the mindset of man, is to protect oneself, to put ourselves first, our comfort, our best interests, that’s all Peter was doing. “You’re the King, Jesus, you don’t have to suffer and die, we won’t let that happen!”

But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, and His service as Priest was necessary for all of mankind to be freed from our real oppressor, our own sin and sinfulness.

And though Peter failed here, his confession still rings true, “You are the Christ.”

John Calvin wrote, “The confession is short but it embraces all that is contained in our salvation; for the designation, ‘Christ,’ or, ‘Anointed,’ includes both an everlasting kingdom and an everlasting priesthood, to reconcile us to God, and, by atoning for our sins through His sacrifice, to obtain for us a perfect righteousness and having received us under His protection, to uphold and supply and enrich us with every description of blessing.”

That’s what we receive when we confess that Jesus is the Christ, atonement for our sins, reconciliation with Father God, perfect righteousness, and protection, and supply, and every description of blessing.

All because Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King.

May we all hear His Word, receive His sacrifice, and submit to and serve Him.

Amen