Chapter # 8 Paragraph # 5 Study # 2
October 4, 2022
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: The "leaven" keeps men in the darkness even when the "Light" is at its brightest.
Introduction: In our study last week, we focused upon the large issue in Mark regarding Jesus' identity as The Christ. This evening I want us to consider what the meaning of "The Christ" boils down to.
- I. Jesus' Question To The Disciples Regarding What Conclusions "The Men" Are Drawing As To His Identity.
- A. It seems beyond obvious that He is turning their attention to what is a most critical issue.
- 1. According to John's record of Jesus' words, this "most critical issue" is "believing that Jesus is The Christ" (John 8:24).
- a. This is a deliberate exaltation of what the identity of Jesus is supposed to address: man's need to escape being subject to "the wrath of God upon the unforgiven".
- b. This signifies, therefore, that the interest of God in regard to men is man's everlasting experience.
- 2. Some people complain that the Gospel has become extremely man-centered rather than God-centered, but this is probably inescapable.
- a. The "glory of God" thesis for God's purposes in dealing with men actually reveals just how "man-centered" God is: He only wishes to "glorify Himself" for the benefit of men.
- b. The death of The Christ was, after all, a completely man-centered action: Christ did not die so God could be glorified; He died to provide Eternal Life for men who had sinned.
- 3. The "problem" in the "man-centered thesis" is, primarily, that when it gets off track, the "glory of God" is distorted and deflected from its purpose.
- B. But, at issue in Jesus' identity in respect to the conclusions men are drawing is one ISSUE: What does Jesus' identity actually mean for men?
- II. This Raises This Question: Why Were Men Misidentifying Jesus?
- A. Why would anyone "conclude" that Jesus was John the Baptizer raised from the dead?
- 1. How could that "identification" even be put forward?
- a. Jesus' miracles and teachings were already being "an event" before John the Baptizer was murdered by Herod (Note Luke 7:18 and John 1:26 and 4:1).
- b. Whatever the "beliefs" were regarding "being raised from the dead", Jesus did not change in any visible way after John was beheaded so that any identification of Him, with no empirical foundations, would be completely "guess work" and contrary to John's argument in 1 John 1 that Jesus was seriously "in" the present empirical world.
- c. According to 6:49, there was, in that culture, a strong undercurrent of "belief" in the reality of "phantasms" (i.e., powerful spiritual forces behind unexplained demonstrations of power).
- 1) This was also strongly indicated in 3:22 when the "official explanation" for Jesus' remarkable powers was "He is possessed by Beelzebul".
- 2) By the number of exorcisms by both Jesus and His disciples, we are made aware that the culture also had a strong link to the "supernatural" as manifested by demon possessions.
- 2. Since both Jesus and John were held in high esteem by the large crowds, it was not a very large "leap" to see Jesus as John because John had been so unjustly treated by Herod, and "Justice" needed to be satisfied.
- B. Why would anyone say that Jesus was Elijah?
- 1. Elijah had the reputation for significant acts of power.
- 2. Elijah was prophesied to come before the Christ and Jesus affirmed that (9:11-12).
- 3. Jesus, in fact, said of John that he was, in a sense, the "Elijah" of the First Coming as He answered their question (9:13).
- 4. Thus, "He is Elijah" was not as difficult to give credence to as "He is a risen John" would be, but it did not answer to the facts either.
- C. Why would anyone say that Jesus was "one of the prophets"?
- 1. These would be the least ambitious of the answerers: "one of the prophets" lets Jesus be "ok", but nothing more than that.
- 2. There are always the "fence riders" who are reluctant to be "pushed" by the observable facts into "taking a side".
- III. What, However, Was The Real Bottom Line?
- A. On one level, it was the "leaven" of which Jesus warned so adamantly.
- B. But on another level, it was the reality that men are focused upon "Life" and where it comes from, but they never seem to get around to the True Answer.
- 1. A fixation upon "loaves" is a fixation upon "life" as if it is "Life".
- 2. A complete rejection of the biblical thesis that "The Living God is the Author of Life" at its deepest roots.
