Mark: The Glory of the Cross

Preached on 6.15.08 by Matt Peavyhouse
Sermon Notes

MARK: The Glory of the Cross 6.15.08

Mark 8:31-32- 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.

Mark 9:30-32- They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for 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, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Mark 10:32-45- And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

In order to make sense of the truth of the gospel, the meaning of the atonement, and the call to service, we must look into three aspects of the text.

1. Staring into the Cup
v. 38-“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink…”
The Cup of the Lord appears numerous times in the Old Testament, and represents the wrath of God being poured out on sin.
Isaiah 51- “the cup of wrath…devastation and destruction, famine and sword…the cup of staggering…bowl of my wrath…”
Ezekiel 23-“the cup of horror and desolation.”
Psalm 11:6, Jeremiah 25:16
And in Gethsemane Christ will plead with God to remove the cup to the point of sweating blood.

Application Question: How do we balance this with the loving God we see in scripture?

Not only are God’s divine love and His righteous wrath not incompatible, but they are inseparable.

2. Staring into the Crowd
Application Question: How will we respond to Christ’s atoning for our sins?

The Cynic’s Response: Nonsense and Hogwash

All life-changing love is Substitutionary Sacrifice

Religion’s Response: Part of all the rest.
v.45- “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
1 Corinthians 15:1,3- “Now I would remind you brothers, of the gospel I preached to you…For I delivered to you of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins…”

3. Staring into the Cross
Application: The Cross calls us to inward humility.
v.35- “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
Implications: The disciples didn’t “get it;” where are we missing it?

Application: The Cross calls us to outward humility.
v.42- “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.”
Jeremiah 29:4-7- God tells Israel to seek the “shalom” of the city.
Implications: How do we live this out in our individual lives?

Application: The Cross calls us to joyful servitude.
v.45-“… the Son of Man came…to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Because we have been bought, we gladly live as slaves to Christ, Our Redeemer.
Implications: Are you living as a joyful slave of Christ?

Works Consulted : Living the Cross-Centered Life, by C.J. Mahaney; In My Place Condemned He Stood, by J.I. Packer; New American Bible Commentary; Messages by Tim Keller, C.J. Mahaney, and Steve Hart.