2025年9月14日 / グレース・トロント日本語教会
マルコの福音書 8章 27~38節
27 27 さて、イエスは弟子たちとピリポ・カイサリアの村々に出かけられた。その途中、イエスは弟子たちにお尋ねになった。「人々はわたしをだれだと言っていますか。」
28 彼らは答えた。「バプテスマのヨハネだと言っています。エリヤだと言う人たちや、預言者の一人だと言う人たちもいます。」
29 するとイエスは、彼らにお尋ねになった。「あなたがたは、わたしをだれだと言いますか。」ペテロがイエスに答えた。「あなたはキリストです。」
30 するとイエスは、自分のことをだれにも言わないように、彼らを戒められた。
31 それからイエスは、人の子は多くの苦しみを受け、長老たち、祭司長たち、律法学者たちに捨てられ、殺され、三日後によみがえらなければならないと、弟子たちに教え始められた。
32 イエスはこのことをはっきりと話された。するとペテロは、イエスをわきにお連れして、いさめ始めた。
33 しかし、イエスは振り向いて弟子たちを見ながら、ペテロを叱って言われた。「下がれ、サタン。あなたは神のことを思わないで、人のことを思っている。」
34 それから、群衆を弟子たちと一緒に呼び寄せて、彼らに言われた。「だれでもわたしに従って来たければ、自分を捨て、自分の十字架を負って、わたしに従って来なさい。
35 自分のいのちを救おうと思う者はそれを失い、わたしと福音のためにいのちを失う者は、それを救うのです。
36 人は、たとえ全世界を手に入れても、自分のいのちを失ったら、何の益があるでしょうか。
37 自分のいのちを買い戻すのに、人はいったい何を差し出せばよいのでしょうか。
38 だれでも、このような姦淫と罪の時代にあって、わたしとわたしのことばを恥じるなら、人の子も、父の栄光を帯びて聖なる御使いたちとともに来るとき、その人を恥じます。」
September 14, 2025 / Grace Toronto Japanese Church
Mark 8:27-38
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. 31 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. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 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.” 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.”
OPENING
Why do you come to church?
You work Monday to Friday, and you may want to take a break on weekends. But why are you willing to come and spend a few hours at church on Sundays?
CONTEXT
Many people followed Jesus. They were following Jesus for different reasons. But many seemed to following Jesus because it benefited them. For example: Jeus healed the sick; Jesus drove out demons; Jesus fed thousands of people; Jesus worked out miracles.
But Jesus had a different idea and plan. He was slowly but steadily walking toward the goal—to the cross.
Up to Mark 8, Jesus’ ministry was in Galilee. But in Mark 8–10, Jesus moves toward Jerusalem (From Mark 10 and on, Jesus’ ministry is in Jerusalem). But before starting moving to Jerusalem, Jesus took his disciples and went north to a city named Caesarea Philippi.
Caesarea Philippi was about 40 km north from the Sea of Galilee. Herod Philip (4 BC–34 AD) was governing Iturea and Traconitis, and the then emperor of Rome was Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3). Herod Philip expanded and developed a city and named it after himself (Philip) and the emperor (Tiberius Caesar): hence, Caesarea Philippi. Because the city was named after the emperor, it had to have a shrine dedicated to serve and worship the emperor. So, Caesarea Philippi had a shrine for the emperor Tiberius Caesar.
And in that city where there was a shrine dedicated to the Roman emperor, Jesus asked his disciples an important question.
TEXT
THE TRUE MESSIAH
(i) Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?”
The disciples answered immediately and with confidence.
- John the Baptist? John the Baptist’s teaching affected so many people. He was widely respected and popular. Many came to him to be baptized. So, people thought Jesus was like John the Baptist.
- Elijah? Elijah was an amazing prophet. He stood against 850 prophets of Baal and Ashera. People thought Jesus was at the level of Elijah.
- One of the prophets? If not Elijah, people were thinking that Jesus was at least one of those prophets. A human spokesman sent by God.
But none of the answers were correct. Jesus was none of it.
(ii) And Jesus asked this decisive question: But who do you say that I am? (v. 29)—OK, people call me that. How about you? Who do you think I am?
Peter came forward and said the correct answer: You are the Christ. Peter said Jesus was the Messiah. Peter knew and believed that Jesus was much more than John the Baptist, Elijah, or other prophets. To Peter—and to the rest of the disciples—Jesus was the Christ.
It was the correct answer. However, although Peter’s answer was 100% correct, there was a big problem: Peter and the disciples had no idea what the true Messiah does.
Their understanding of the Messiah was still Israel-centered, Judaism-centered, Jews-centered. That is, they expected that
- The Jewish Messiah will come as a king from the line of David.
- The Messiah will crush the Roman Empire and all Israel’s enemies.
- The Jewish Messiah will make Israel great again (cf. MAGA? MIGA: Make Israel Great Again)
- And they were confident about Jesus because they had seen his divine power (e.g. feeding thousands; calming the sea; driving out demons, etc.)
- So, they wanted “freedom from Rome,” and they were confident that Jesus was the one who would do it.
So, when Peter said, “You are the Christ,” although it was the correct answer, Peter’s notion of Messiah was quite different from that of Jesus Christ—the true Messiah.
Now, after Peter’s confession, Jesus talked about what the Christ, the true Messiah does: 31 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.
Jesus shocked the disciples by giving them a completely different picture of the true Messiah: The true Messiah doesn’t come for glory but to suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again.
Shocked, disturbed, and disappointed, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him (v. 32). Peter to Jesus:
- Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you (Matt 16)
- Peter was not ready to accept this non-glorious path before his teacher.
And Jesus rebuked Peter. He used very strong language: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (v. 33)
- Satan’s first and foremost task was to replace the cross with glory.
- We all remember how Satan tempted Jesus.
- “The things of God”: suffering Messiah: sent to be killed to save his people from their sins
- “The things of man”: glorious political leader: destroy Rome and recover the glory of Israel
Satan was using Peter to stop Jesus from going to the cross. And Jesus rebuked Satan.
THE TRUE DISCIPLE
Now Jesus teaches what a true disciple should do:
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (v. 34)
Deny yourself: What does it mean?
- First of all, it means admitting and confessing that I am NOT the master of my life.
- Denying oneself doesn’t mean living a life of “self-denial” (e.g. abstinence). Rather it means renouncing your claim to yourself (e.g. your desires, goals, and dreams) and completely submitting to Christ as his slave—and “this slavery is in fact true freedom” (Strauss commentary).
How about Take up your cross? What does it mean?
- Most of all, we should understand that, to the first-century audience, “cross” was a brutal and humiliating execution instrument. Whenever they saw or heard the word “cross,” they thought of humiliation and death. So, the modern version of “take up your cross” will be “take up your electric chair” (or something like that).
- It means you need to submit completely to God, even unto death.
Follow Christ:
- It means to become a disciple. It was not a casual title. Rather, it was a matter of life and death to them.
APPLICATIONS
The True Messiah: Who do YOU say that Jesus is?
What do people say about Jesus? This is the question of the ages—asked throughout the centuries for the past 2,000 years.
- a great teacher of wisdom?
- a great teacher of ethics
- a social justice activist (who cared for the poor)
- a prophet
- a political activist
- a social revolutionary
- To Muslims: a great prophet of Allah (second only to Muhammad)
But Jesus’ question is the most important question: Who do you say I am? This question is about the personal relationship with Jesus.
e.g.
a. Do I know Tom Cruise? Yes, I do. I know many things about him. I watched several of his movies. I like him.
b. Now, does he know me? Absolutely not.
c. Is this “relationship” meaningful? I don’t think so.
So many people’s “relationship” with Jesus is like this Me and Tom Cruise “relationship.”
To be precise, this is not a relationship.
What matters most to you is being able to answer this penetrating question: Who is Jesus to you? Without answering this question, our life can never be at peace with God.
Jesus is Christ, my Lord and Savior, who died for my sins and was risen again from the grave, conquering the power of sin and death, so that whoever believes in him will be freely given forgiveness of sins and a right standing with God for them to have eternal life and everlasting joy.
The True Disciple: Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
What is the most prominent mark of a true disciple of Jesus? In other words, if someone says, “I follow Christ,” how do we know if it’s true?
The most obvious mark of a true follower of Christ is that, more than anything else, the true Jesus-follower denies himself.
Denying yourself:
- Pushing yourself away from the throne of your own life
- Giving up your old life and living wholly for God
- Giving up your own conviction (e.g. God will love me more if I become better) and putting your trust in Christ: TRUSTING THIS: Therefore, we are justified (made right with God) by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone.
Take up your cross”
- It is a daily and continuous thing.
- Paul said, “I die everyday” (1 Cor 15:31). Yes, it’s about dying to yourself daily.
- Going to mission fields is a hard thing. However, perhaps even a harder thing is to take up your cross every day (e.g. forgiving your spouse, brothers and sisters at church)
CLOSING
Brothers and sisters, let me close my sermon by repeating these two most important questions in life:
- Who is Jesus to you?
- Are you following him—denying yourself and taking up your cross?