The Apostles

Jesus Called Disciples and More Healings

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Called Disciples and More Healings

Book of Luke Chapter 5

In the time of Jesus, every teacher had his own company of disciples.

Jewish Rabbis had theirs, Pharisees had theirs, John the Baptist had his, but the difference in the disciples of Jesus Christ was that He chose twelve men Himself.

This inner circle of men had to forsake their lives and follow the Lord Jesus wherever He went.

They also continued the ministry of Jesus after He returned to Heaven.

The most important thing was that they were trained to carry the ministry of Jesus forward after He was gone.

They changed from disciples to Apostles.

That word apostle has a similar meaning to ambassador.

We should realize that the Lord Jesus also appointed another seventy men and commissioned them.

Luk 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
Luk 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Luk 10:3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

A disciple of Jesus Christ will submit to baptism, submit to the teachings of God’s Word, and obey all the Lord Jesus has commanded.

The Lord has told all His disciples that He will make us fishers of men: Mrk_1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Jesus would have all mankind caught in the Gospel net!

*Luk 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

Lake Gennesaret is the same body of water known as the Sea of Galilee.

The call of men is needed more today because the world has more than eight billion people in it who need to hear the truth of the Gospel and make a decision for themselves.

We can see that these people wanted to hear what the Lord Jesus had to say.

They wanted to hear the Word of God!

They had a hunger and thirst for things that the Lord Jesus was saying.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We need that same hunger and thirst today for the truth.

*Luk 5:2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets.
Luk 5:3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Have you ever noticed how sound travels so well when you are on the lake?

I believe the Lord Jesus had a booming voice that could be heard from a great distance, but no man can talk over a large, disorderly crowd hanging all over him.

Simon Peter makes his fishing boat available to the Lord Jesus, so Simon participates in the work of the Lord.

Like a pastor preached recently, “What do we have in our hands to give unto the Word of the Lord”?

Do we make available our resources to the work of the Lord?

*Luk 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Luk 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

The work of the Lord is not all drudgery; the work of the Lord can be rewarding.

Now, this is not saying that Jesus teaches a prosperity Gospel, but God will reward those who are on the battlefield of the Lord, but it is rarely financial, other than meeting our needs.

Peter and those with him had fished all night and had taken nothing.

This is the outcome I have most of the time, but catching fish is not the main reason I go fishing.

Here again, the Lord Jesus had a reason for the miracle that He was about to perform.

The title Master comes from the Greek word meaning teacher.

Sometimes the same Greek word for teacher is used as the title doctor.

Peter was an experienced fisherman, and he knew if the fish did not bite in the night, they were not going to bite in the daytime, but the Lord Jesus wanted to start working on Peter’s faith.

The Lord also wanted Peter to accept Him as the Messiah who has control of all nature.

The lesson from the Lord Jesus was out with the old and in with the new.

A New Covenant was beginning, and it would have better results than the Old Covenant.

The lesson for us all is that we can place our faith in the infallible Word of God.

As we build on our Christian lives, doubt must be replaced with obedience.

There are no hopeless situations for the child of God.

The results of obedience will always be a blessing.

When we are drawn to God, we need to obey our hearts.

I can remember a few weeks before I came to this church, I was walking in my yard, and the Holy Spirit asked me why I was throwing my life away because of the way I was living.

I only knew the truth of that day when I came through the doors of this church.

Peter was having a similar feeling on this day with the Lord Jesus.

*Luk 5:6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
Luk 5:7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

The miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ showed that He could do things that only God could do.

There are many charlatans out in this world today, but none of them can do what only God can do. And we must not be fooled by them.
The Holy Spirit will not allow their lies to be true.

Those who claim the power to heal should go to the closest hospital and stop the suffering of those on the inside.

If Peter had only caught a few fish or even a net full of fish, he would have thought little about it.

The Lord Jesus wanted Peter to feel the willingness to serve the Lord.

If Peter thought he was exhausted, he was about to find out what true exhaustion was all about.

Peter’s net could not hold all the fish, and he called for another boat to come to help. Both boats had so many fish in them that they were in jeopardy of sinking, which the Lord would not have allowed because it would have defeated His purpose.

The Lord Jesus knew exactly how many fish it would take to sink those boats!

When we make decisions in this life, we must make those decisions according to the Word of God and our faith.

Peter’s faith began to rise.
Peter’s faith rested on the Words of Christ, “At Thy Word”. No one else could have talked Peter into letting down his nets he had just cleaned.
Peter’s faith led to obedience without questioning.

Many of us are disappointed at what this life offers, but we find that as we walk in step with Jesus Christ, we learn what blessings are all about.

Peter became overwhelmed because of his own sin of doubt.

*Luk 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Luk 5:9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

Peter understood exactly what had happened!

Peter was overwhelmed by his own unworthiness!

Peter understood that he had just witnessed a miracle.

The people on the shore are not mentioned, but they were there, many of them, because they had witnessed or heard of the many miracles of healing that the Lord Jesus had performed.

To Peter, the Lord Jesus was no longer Master but now Lord. We know Him as Lord of lords.

Peter came to the Lord Jesus upon his knees in confession of his sins.

1) Peter confessed to his sin of unbelief. He had questioned the Lord’s will. He had to acknowledge that the Lord’s power was not of this earth.

2) Peter confessed that Jesus was indeed Lord. In this verse, the Greek word “kurios” means supreme in authority.

1Co 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Peter acknowledged that the Lord Jesus was the authority that must be obeyed, and we had better understand this also.

3) Peter confessed his fear and his reverence as Peter was in awe of the miracle that the Lord Jesus had just shown him.

This reminds us of the Prophet Isaiah: Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Peter was close to salvation as we know it:

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

And others had witnessed this miracle.

*Luk 5:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Luk 5:11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

This passage tells us when these men realized that Jesus is Lord of all, and they were determined to follow Him.

This passage tells us something else.

We know that in typology, this fishing boat is in type the Church, and the Church cannot do anything without the Lord Jesus Christ being onboard.

Jesus Christ challenged these men to follow Him and become fishers of men.

It is the job of the Church to produce and train fishers of men with those who answer the call of Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

To Peter, it was now obvious that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah come from God, and he had what we all need.

A reverent fear of God and an actual fear of the Almighty God and the Lord Jesus, sensing this fear, said, “Fear not”.

The Lord Jesus had not come at this time for “judgment”. He will judge this world when He returns the second time.

So, we too can “Fear not”.

In actuality, the world has already been judged, and we are judged as sinners.

This is the reason the Lord Jesus came to earth the first time.

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

What do we know of our own calling?

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

There were two of the disciples of Christ who were named James.

Here we have James, the brother John was the son of Zebedee.

It is this James with his brother John and Peter who become the Lord’s inner circle.

This James is never mentioned apart from John.

This is the James that King Herod had killed with a sword.

There is another James, the son of Alphaeus, called James the Less, because he was shorter than James, the brother of John.

There are also two other men named James.

James, the half-brother of the Lord, who later became the pastor of the Church in Jerusalem.

It is this James who wrote the epistle of James.

Then there was James, the father of Judas Iscariot.

Those who are called of God will forsake all and follow the Lord.

Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

*Luk 5:12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

There are some things we should see here.

Leprosy is a type of sin in the New Testament.

In the salvation plan of God, we must first acknowledge that we are sinners.

Then we must acknowledge the cleansing.

In reality, we are not healed from our sin; we are cleansed from our sin.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ can cleanse us of our sin.

We must be washed to become clean.

Rev_1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Is the Lord Jesus also the Great Healer? He certainly is, and He can heal us from any ailment.

Mat_14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

He will do neither without a show of faith.

Luk_9:11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

This leper, who came to Jesus, was sustained by his hope. He saw hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our only hope in this world!

He called Jesus Lord because he knew that Jesus is Lord of lords.

1Co_12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

We must realize just how dirty and defiled we are on the inside and on the outside before we can be cleansed of that defilement.

We must humble ourselves before the Lord, who only can cleanse us!

Leprosy was the most terrible of diseases in the day of Jesus and was greatly feared by the people, and we should see sin in the same way today.

It would cause disfigurement, and many times it was fatal; again, sin causes these same things.

It is no wonder that leprosy is a type of sin in Scripture.

The leper was considered unclean.
The leper was judged to be the walking dead.
The leper was an outcast and banished from society.
The leper was considered polluted and incurable.

Sin will cause these same things, but because of the mercy and grace of God, He looks deep into our hearts, and He knows there can be something special in each of us if we will only trust Him.

The leper had asked the Lord Jesus if He could be willing to help him, and the Lord said; ‘I will”.

*Luk 5:13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

We see that the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to help anyone if they show faith in His powers.

The Lord Jesus is always moved with compassion for those who are hurting in any manner.

This leper acknowledges that he is hopelessly lost and the only thing that can help him is God’s “Grace”.

Only “Grace” can heal a leper because only “Grace” can cleanse us of our sin!

So many have become desperate in our world today because this world cannot help them, and if it could, it refuses to help them.

The Lord Jesus reached out and touched this man when no one else would ever touch a leper for fear of getting the disease.

Every leper was considered untouchable!

The Highest of all God’s could go low enough to touch the unclean leper when no one else would.

The Lord Jesus Christ will reach out and touch all who are considered untouchable in our world if they trust Him.

The Lord Jesus is always willing to help those who have faith that He will help them.

How did Jesus heal this leper? It was that sword in His mouth. He just spoke the words “be thou clean,” and this man was cleansed.

We can all be cleansed by the Word of Jesus Christ.

What did the Lord Jesus do throughout the time He was upon this earth the first time?

Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

For this, He was crucified!

*Luk 5:14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

What did this man need to do next?

This man needed to worship and offer thanks to God and learn to obey the Word of God before doing anything else.

Remember, this man did not have a place on his body that was not covered with leprosy.

In typology, he was deep in sin. He wanted to run and tell the world that he was now.

We must understand that the Lord Jesus had come to this earth as a lowly servant, and He did not want people to think more of Him than this.

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Jesus Christ did not do the things He did for self-exaltation.

Jesus wrote all prophecy, and He knew some would try to make Him king, but it was not the time for this to take place.

It was highly unlikely that any lepers were healed in those days. A priest had to go through a detailed list of laws to ever confirm that any leper was cured.

This leper still needed a certificate from a priest saying he had been cleansed.

Book of Leviticus, Chapters 13, verses 38-59, and Chapter 14, verses 1 through 32 will give us some idea about the cure of leprosy.

*Luk 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
Luk 5:16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

The fame of our Lord actually interfered with His ministry so much that Jesus had to withdraw to the wilderness and talk to His Heavenly Father.

This is another great example for us.

When the world interferes with our relationship with our Savior, we need to get alone with God and tell Him what we are going through.

Jesus had the message of salvation and the power to heal, but the message of salvation is much more important!

It was God and prayer that were the source of His power, and He needed much time alone with God, just as we all do.

*Luk 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

As the fame of the Lord Jesus grew, the old religionists came to investigate.

Above all, the Lord Jesus Christ was at this time Teacher, and it is His message that is of greater importance.

This committee had representatives from all over the country. Every major area was represented.

These people could not get along with each other, but they came together to critic the Lord Jesus.

These critics did not come to help Jesus in His ministry of salvation, and they certainly did not come to learn from Him.

They came to investigate and observe Him. They were like spectators at a ball game, except salvation is not a game. Salvation is a God thing, and God sent His Son to show us the only path to Salvation.

What did the Lord Jesus do? He just kept on doing what He was doing and paid them no attention.

Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

We are not here to judge any minister who is serving in the name of our Savior.

We were never called to be judges but witnesses!

*Luk 5:27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
Luk 5:28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
Luk 5:29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.

When the Lord Jesus Christ began building His disciples who stayed with Him, He chose those who were the outcasts of society.

This man called Levi is the same as Matthew, who wrote the Book of Matthew.

Levi was a dreaded tax collector.

The tax collectors of that day were normally Jews, and it was Rome who set up the tax standard, but most of the tax collectors were rich because they collected more than was required.

For this reason, they were hated because they worked for the Roman government.

To the Lord Jesus, Matthew was just a sinner like we are all sinners, and we should see other people as sinners just as we are sinners.

We may be better off than those who reject the Lord Jesus, because He has made a way for us to get to Heaven, but we are not better than anyone we meet, lost or saved.

In fact, Christian Pride can interfere with the job the Lord has given us to do.

We should have a testimony about what salvation has done for us, but the message we have is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus went forth, whether it was from a house or a city, because it was time for Him to be busy about His Father’s business.

What is the business of our Heavenly Father? 1Ti_2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

By associating with a man such as Levi, Jesus was exposing Himself to ridicule and acceptance by the upper class of Jerusalem.

These outcasts were not acceptable to the social network of society, but Jesus loved them.

We must understand that we were all outcasts from Heaven until we accepted the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as the Lord Jesus humbled Himself before these outcasts of society, we have to humble ourselves before Him.

Everything that the Lord Jesus did was an example for us to learn as we are to be more like Him in all His ways.

Matthew made a great feast in his home, and there were many more of the tax collectors there because they were each other’s only friends.

Matthew’s heart was now filled with joy, and he wanted all his friends to learn of God’s Messiah.

Matthew forsook his riches and became a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus wants us all to do the same thing today.

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

As always, the super religious crowd found faults in the way that the Lord Jesus worked His ministry, and these outcasts of society were not wanted in their religious circles.

They were not acceptable!

*Luk 5:30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
Luk 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
Luk 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The religious crowd saw Jesus Christ only as a person who associated with the rejected of society.

Today, this would be the drunks, those who consume drugs, those who have addictions to all sorts of illegal substances, those who are in jails, and anyone else who accepts the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus called us to witness His truths and not be like those who only judge people to see if they think they are acceptable.

If you did not keep the laws of the religious crowd on that day, you were ceremonially unclean and rejected.

Thank goodness we are not under the law, but under grace, God’s Amazing Grace.

The Lord Jesus said to this crowd that only those who realized they were sinners needed a Savior.

All those who are righteous in their own eyes do not need anything.

These are those who are sick, but they do not know it.

They will never call the doctor, so they can never be healed.

The Lord Jesus came to save sinners.

The Lord Jesus died to pay the sin debt of all sinners, even those who think they are not sinners.

The Lord Jesus gave His life for the life of all sinners!

The righteous crowd does not accept the fact that they need repentance!

They say they do not need saving.

Those who trust in some false god say they do not need saving.

Those who are rich think their money can buy them salvation, so they do not need saving.

Those who trust in the ways of the world say they do not need saving.

What does God teach us?

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And God the Father adds: Psa_2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Pro_6:15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

Pro_1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

Today is the day of salvation, don’t wait until it is too late to call upon the Lord!

Amen

It Is Time the World Recognized Jesus

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Servant Acknowledged

Book of Mark Chapter 8

Most people do not object to the thought of a Messiah, but their downfall is that they are seeking some human leader who will make this place called earth a better place, a utopia.

This will be their downfall, when the Antichrist shows up to claim that he is the long-awaited Messiah.

The people will believe they have the true Messiah, but he will be only the true Deceiver.

People are not looking for the true Messiah who comes in judgment after He has redeemed His family.

God has decided that this earth is not worth saving, even after He makes it new again seven years after the return of Jesus Christ.

No place that has been subject to sin will be considered worthy of God’s children.

Even Heaven will be made new because the Devil and his angels once lived in Heaven.

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

The Lord Jesus teaches many valuable lessons in Chapter 8 of the Book of Mark.

The most important lesson in Chapter 8 is that Jesus teaches His disciples about the Church and the Church Age.

Who is the true Church? Those who confess the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Lord Jesus is the Head of the Church and the Church is the Body of Christ!

1Jn_4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

Who is not the true Church?

2Jn_1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s Messiah, not man’s Messiah!

The twelve disciples needed a clear understanding of this.

This is when Judas Iscariot began to have his own doubts about the Lord Jesus.

*Mar 8:27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

Caesarea Philippi was a city with a rich religious history. It had once been the center of Baal worship and there were at least fourteen temples in and around this city.

Remember, a religious history does not mean a Christian history.

It was a place where it was said that the false Greek god Pan was born.

Pan was said to be the god of the shepherds.

In fact, this city was once called Panias.

The name of this city changed after Herod the Great built a temple in honor of Caesar, and his son Philip adorned this new temple making it famous world-wide.

Much of the people began to worship Caesar and many other false gods, but they knew nothing of Jehovah, the One True God.

It was Caesar’s son Philip who caused this to happen, even adding his own name to this city making it Caesarea Philippi.

Caesarea Philippi was a heathen city!

This may be the reason the Lord asked His disciples a very important question.

You see, the world has many gods, but as Christians we know that there is only One True God, and He is Jehovah in the Old Testament and the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament both being the same person.

As Jesus and the twelve traveled from Bethsaida and around the town of Caesarea Philippi, He asked the supreme question of this life.

Jesus had taken a moment for solitary prayer and upon ending this prayer, He confronted the disciples with this question.

Luk 9:18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

How did they answer Him?

*Mar 8:28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

Many of those who had seen the Lord Jesus and those who had only heard of the Lord Jesus, saw him as just a great man.

The Lord Jesus was highly respected by many in those days, but it takes much more than this to be saved.

John the Baptist had been murdered by this time and many said that Jesus was the reincarnation of John the Baptist.

Some said that Jesus was a great Spirit of Righteousness, a Spirit that was willing to be martyred for its faith.

Herod and many in government thought this.

Mat 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
Mat 14:2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him

Even some common people thought that this could be true.

The prophet Malichi had written: Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Some thought that Jesus could even be Elijah reincarnated.

They had said that Jesus was the greatest prophet and rabbi of all time.

Even today the Jews feel that Elijah will return before the Messiah comes.

In fact, when the celebration of Passover, is observed, they always leave a chair vacant for resurrected Elijah to occupy.

The Jews even connect when Jesus was feeding those two great multitudes to Elijah, because of the miracle of the woman and her son.

1Ki 17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
1Ki 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

Many said that Jesus was just one of the prophets, whose name was not mentioned in the Old Testament, who came when Israel had a great need.

They said this because it was a fact in the Old Testament and God would send a prophet because this is the way God spoke to Israel, when the people were rebelling against the truth of God.

There are so many of those false accusations that are still said today.

The Lord Jesus is much more than just a great man. In His flesh He was the greatest of all men. In reality He is God!
The Lord Jesus is much more than some great teacher. In His flesh He was the greatest of all teachers. In reality He is Jehovah.
The Lord Jesus is much more than a prophet. He is Lord of lords and King of kings! He is the true Messiah!

1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1Jn 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

Then, the Lord Jesus asked His own disciples who they thought He was.

*Mar 8:29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

We should clearly understand that the Lord Jesus Christ will hold us accountable for the opinions we have of Him!

The Apostle Peter immediately says “Thou are the Christ” the Messiah.

We should clearly understand that if we do not believe Jesus the Messiah, the things He did and the things He says, then we are calling God a liar.

Jesus is declared to be all that God is, to possess the whole fulness of attributes which make God, God!

If the Lord Jesus was only a man, He could not have died to save this world, but because He is who He says He is, then He is of infinite value and could die in our place, each and every one of us!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Notice John wrote “in the beginning” and not “from the beginning”.

In fact, all the Gospels emphasize the authenticity of His claims as Messiah!

If we put all the Gospels together, we can see that more than half of all the words used, were said by Jesus Himself.

We see them as written in red letters.

When we disagree with the “Gospel” again we are calling God a liar!

Isaiah wrote, the Messiah would give sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, and healing to the lame.

Isa 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Isa 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Isa 32:3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
Isa 32:4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

Isaiah also wrote that there would be a day that vile persons would say that God is a liar and we are in that day right now!

Isa 32:6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Isa 32:7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

The Kingdom of God is surely at hand!

All those of this earth that walk around saying important things about God and then, deny the Messiah are the same ones who are destroying the people of this earth.

It is these words of Peter that determine if we get to Heaven or are sent to Hell!

It is these words of Peter that are the foundation of the Church, and this will never change!

The survival of our souls depends upon these words being true!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only source of life!

The Lord Jesus Christ possesses the source, the energy, and the power of life, within Himself!

There is no other source for life!

At this time, these men who would one day turn the world upside down, were instructed not to say anything about this.

*Mar 8:30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

Why would Jesus say such a thing, if the fact that He is the Messiah was true?

The disciples were just beginning to understand this thing themselves, and they needed to understand what Jesus being the Messiah meant!

Remember that most people of the Jews felt that the Messiah, when He came, would sit on the throne of David as King of the Jews, and push the Romans out of Israel.

It was not this time yet!

This time is still in our future, but this will happen in God’s timing and not man’s timing!

Any false teaching in this day of the Apostles would do much harm to the Church as it began!

We must understand that confessing that Christ Jesus is the Messiah is just the beginning of our Spiritual journey, and there is much to learn on our journey to the true Promised Land.

We must be accurate in our studies! We have already seen how false teaching is affecting the Church and our nation.

We must be accurate in what we share, making sure we share the truth of God!

This means, that we need to take the time to learn these things and it was the same for the Apostle Peter and all the other Apostles.

There is enough false teaching in the world without us adding to it!

*Mar 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Just as all the twelve chosen disciples had just agreed that the Lord Jesus is the true Messiah, the Lord Jesus begins to tell them that He must die to build His Church.

Remember, Jesus is God’s Messiah and not man’s Messiah.

God’s Messiah could not die according to the Scriptures they had been taught.

The Lord Jesus is now in the third year of His ministry and it was time for all of them to learn about our Savior.

1) He would suffer many things.
2) He would be rejected of the elders of Israel, the chief Priests, and the Scribes.
3) He would be killed or murdered.
4) He would rise to live again three days after He was buried.

Nothing like this had ever happened!
Nothing like this would ever happen again!

How could humans ever kill God’s own Son?

It was time for these twelve men to understand that God would not accept any other payment for all the world’s sin, than the sacrifice of His Son.

It is not mentioned, but I wonder if the Lord Jesus told the disciples the story of Abrham and Isaac.

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

You see, we will never understand the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, until we understand that the Lord Jesus is God who came down from Heaven to save His children! Immanuel, God with us.

That word “must” means that these things absolutely had to take place!

Remember John 3:16.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God is love, but man is corruptible!

It is because of this great love God has for His created humans, it was absolutely necessary for our Lord Jesus to suffer and die in our place!

It is because of His great love for us that God had to provide salvation for mankind!

God is also just, so this salvation must be done in a way that justice would be done.

It is because of God’s holiness, that His judgement must take place.

The penalty for sin is death and this penalty must be paid!

Death must be carried out!

Some ideal man had to die for mankind, so this penalty could be paid!

There had never been an ideal man upon this earth until the Lord Jesus Christ was born and lived a sin free life.

Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

The Son of God had to become the Son of Man!

Who is this Son of Man?

Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The phrase the Son of Man refers to the work the Lord Jesus came to accomplish!

**The deity of the Son of Man.

Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

**The royalty of the Son of Man.

Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

**The humanity of the Son of Man.

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

**The glory of the Son of Man.

Joh 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

The salvation of the Son of Man.

Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

These are things that the Lord Jesus Christ saw in Himself.

The Lord Jesus Christ had to suffer in our place, so that all these things would be true!

These were things that the twelve disciples, chosen by Jesus were having a tough time absorbing.

*Mar 8:32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
Mar 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

We should be aware that the other disciples were just as confused as Peter, so they encouraged Peter to confront the Lord.

Peter then spoke without hesitation.

The truth is that most of mankind wants another way to get to Heaven, than the cross of Calvary.

They get confused about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ because they see this as a weakness in a God that cannot die.

Most of the world wants some other way to remove their sin and they think they find it in false gods.

The idea of a suffering Savior does not sit well with the lost!

Peter’s attempt to stop the plan of God did not set well with our Lord Jesus Christ.

We must understand that this is God’s plan and we can be a part of His plan or we can just get out of God’s way!

Those who think of God as only our grandfather who we can call upon for great advice, miss the meaning of a true God.

The cross is much more than an emblem of God’s love!

The cross is an emblem of suffering, and sacrifice, and self-denial!

These are the things that the Lord Jesus did for us, because of His great love for us!

Yes, the rebuke of Peter was harsh, but Peter was saying things that were like those of Satan.

Yes, the Lord Jesus had the power to refuse to go to that cross and had He chosen to use that power, there would be no salvation for anyone!

Jesus was being tempted to bypass God’s will for His life!

We are all tempted to bypass God’s will for us from time to time, but the greatest point of God’s will is for us to be saved.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Then Jesus gathered all those who were in the reach of His voice.

*Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Who is the leader of the Church? He is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Who is the true Church? Those who deny themselves and follow the Lord Jesus Christ!

To follow the Lord Jesus Christ is to expect hardships.

There will be times of self-denial.

There will be cross bearing.

There will be scorn.

The rewards and eternal rest come later!

We must make a deliberate choice to follow Jesus by doing these three things.

1) We must disregard our own desires (deny self).

This means saying yes to Jesus Christ and let Him rule in our hearts and in our lives.

We must let Jesus Christ completely have His way with us!

2) We must become a follower, a companion, a disciple, of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be in union with the Lord Jesus no matter the costs!

3) We must see that His steps led to His death before they lead to glory.

Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Why are these things so important?

*Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

What does this verse really mean?

All those who abandon their lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus, will in the end save their lives.

Those persons who keep to their own lives and seek increasingly more of this life, shall lose that life completely and eternally.

The call of Jesus Christ is just what He says, a life of denying self and takes up the cross of Jesus and follow in His steps.

It is the same for the “Gospel’s sake.”

When we are willing to sacrifice this life and give all we have to the spreading of the Gospel, then we shall save our life eternally.

Then Jesus asked a question.

*Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mar 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mar 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

There are two stages of life that we must examine.

There are two beings and two existences to this same life!

1) Fact: Once a person is born into this world he or she will live forever!

The problem is that after this short life is over our being, our soul still lives forever.

Our choices are to be with God or to be without God!

All the power, all the riches, all the pleasure, and all the fame are nothing compared with our soul!

Nothing we gain in this world can we take with us!

What is a life of 60, 70, or 80 and a few with more years than this, compared to eternal life?

Everything in this life just fades and then passes away.

1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

It is certain that anything we gain in this world stays in this world.

Most people turn these things over to some family member even before their death.

The human soul is eternal; it never dies, never ceases to exist.

Our human souls are more valuable than the entire world!

If we are ashamed of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are deciding that our soul will live in a place without God and there is only one such place, it is called Hell.

The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s Messiah.

All prophecy in the Old Testament has been fulfilled in Jesus!

During our time of life in this life, we must decide if we accept the truth of the Lord Jesus or if we accept the falseness of this world.

We must never deny God’s Messiah!

This world we live in makes it very hard on us to accept the truth of Christ.

It seems that fewer and fewer people want to confess the Lord Jesus Christ, because this world is an adulterous and sinful place, full of lies and deceit.

You would have to be locked away in a vacuum to not recognize this.

Most people just want to keep control of their lives even when life is falling apart or is aging out of existence.

Whether we believe the Messiah or not, the fact remains that the Word of God is true and one day soon, the Lord Jesus will return and reveal His glory and the world will see Him as He really is, but it will be too late for them at that time.

He will have already removed those who were not ashamed of Him!

When the Lord returns in His glory to this world, all those who are ashamed of the Messiah will be more ashamed of their own behavior where it really counts, before God Himself, but the Lord will say, “I never knew you”.

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

How can anyone believe that life is some accident and they live to just die?

Even some animals and insects live more than seventy years.

We are not accidents, but we are the created beings of God and life is our opportunity to choose His magnificence or misery.

To not choose at all is to choose misery forever and ever!

Amen