[uplifting music]
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[uplifting music]
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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We are taking a
look at the book of Mark
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this quarter, and we
are making our way through.
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In fact, this week
we're on lesson number seven,
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and we're taking a look
at "Teaching Disciples."
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This is part one of two.
We're glad to have you with us.
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Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we want to thank
You for giving us the time,
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the opportunity, the ability
to join You on this journey
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through the book of Mark.
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We ask that You would
bless our time together
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and help our
lives to be changed,
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impacted, transformed,
as we see the gospel
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through Mark's eyes.
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We ask that You'll
bless our time together today,
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and we thank You
in Jesus' name, amen.
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Well, in addition to being
glad that you are here with us,
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we're also glad that the author
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of this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson
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is here with us as
well; that's Thomas Shepherd.
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He's the senior
research professor
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of New Testament at
the theological seminary,
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Andrews University.
Tom, welcome back again.
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>>Tom Shepherd: Thank
you. It's good to be here.
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>>Eric: So this
is part one of two
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in "Teaching Disciples."
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We're now in chapter
8 of the book of Mark,
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moving sequentially through,
and there's a turning point
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in the book of Mark.
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Help us to
understand this turning point.
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What do we turn from and to?
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And what is that pivot point?
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>>Tom: Okay, so if you remember,
I think, from our first lesson,
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we talked about
the Gospel of Mark
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divides into two
halves, fairly even.
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The first eight
chapters are especially about
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who is Jesus.
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The answer is He's the Messiah.
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The second half is
where is He headed.
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He's headed to the cross,
and, of course, after that
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comes His resurrection.
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But those two ideas are major
dividing places in the book.
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So we're now
arriving at the place where
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it's this dividing point
where we're going to say,
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where is Jesus going?
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But first, before
where Jesus is going,
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we have to see that He
prepares His disciples for this.
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So go ahead and
read verses 27 to 30.
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>>Eric: "Now
Jesus and His disciples
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"went out to the
towns of Caesarea Philippi;
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"and on the road He
asked His disciples,
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"saying to them, 'Who
do men say that I am?'
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"So they
answered, 'John the Baptist;
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"but some say, Elijah; and
others, one of the prophets.'
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"He said to them, 'But
who do you say that I am?'
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"Peter answered and said
to Him, 'You are the Christ.'
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"Then He strictly warned them
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that they should
tell no one about Him."
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>>Tom: Okay, so we'll
stop there at this point.
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This is the real turning place
where Jesus asks His disciples--
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they've been with Him now
all this time--and He says,
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"Well, who do other
people say that I am?"
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And they all say,
"John the Baptist, Elijah,
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one of the prophets,"
all insufficient names
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or monikers for Jesus.
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He's not that, He's
not John, He's not Elijah,
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He's not one of the prophets,
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and then the question
comes to them straight:
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"But who do you say I am?"
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And Peter, speaking
for the group, says,
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"You're the
Messiah. You are the Christ."
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And it surprises us
that He strictly charges them
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to tell no one about Him,
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but that again fits into
this revelation secrecy motif
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that runs through the book.
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On a historical
level it's very clear
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that Jesus tamps down
saying that He's Messiah
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because people had
the wrong expectation
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of what a messiah would be.
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And on a theological level,
we have this back and forth
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between revelation and
secrecy where the real truth
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cannot be hidden.
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It's going to come out, see?
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So there's the secrecy,
but it's going to be revealed.
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And we'll see how that,
you know, shows up at the cross
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and adds to the
resurrection of Jesus.
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So now we want to
read verses 31 to 33 to see
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what Jesus now
proceeds to from that point.
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>>Eric: "And He
began to teach them
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"that the Son of Man
must suffer many things,
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"and be rejected by the elders
and chief priests and scribes,
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"and be killed, and
after three days rise again.
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"He spoke this word openly.
Then Peter took Him aside
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"and began to rebuke Him.
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"But when He had turned around
and looked at His disciples,
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"He rebuked Peter,
saying, 'Get behind me, Satan!
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'For you are not
mindful of the things of God,
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but the things of men.'"
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>>Tom: Okay, so immediately
upon their understanding
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that He is the Messiah,
now He starts to explain
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more of where He's headed.
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And it's rather shocking.
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He says He's
going to be rejected,
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He's going to be
killed, and after 3 days
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He's going to
rise again, all right?
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So this is His what we
call passion prediction.
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We call it the passion of
Christ because "passion" comes
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from a word that
means "to suffer."
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And so He's going to suffer,
and He's going to be killed,
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and then He's
going to rise again.
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Now, they just
couldn't understand that.
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You know, He speaks
plainly to them about this.
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So, you know, we might
say, "Well, why didn't He
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tell them that
at first," you know?
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He didn't tell
them that at first
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'cause they couldn't understand
it; they couldn't accept it.
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They had to get to know
Him; they had to trust Him.
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I remember the
Gospel of John in chapter 6,
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when Jesus tells people
they have to eat His flesh
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and drink His
blood, a lot of people
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don't go with Him anymore.
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He says to the disciples,
"Are you going to leave too?"
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And they say,
"Lord, where would we go?
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You have the words of life."
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So He had to prepare them.
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They had to reach the
place where they trusted Him.
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And then He could
explain to them the deep truth
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of where He was actually headed.
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>>Eric: So even here, once
He's done that preparation,
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they're still having a hard
time grasping this concept--
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>>Tom: Oh yes.
>>Eric: ...because it doesn't
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line up with where
they think He's going.
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>>Tom: And, in fact, there's
three passion predictions,
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and each of them,
they don't get it.
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They're in the dark still, yeah.
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>>Eric: And I
think, to some extent,
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that can kind of happen to us.
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If we get our minds
going in one direction,
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even if we read
something very clear
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that's something
different, we have a tendency
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to make those same mistakes.
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So maybe we don't want
to treat them too harshly.
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>>Tom: No, no, no, agreed.
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>>Eric: So what about
this cost of discipleship?
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To follow Jesus,
it costs something.
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They were anticipating
glory and power and so forth,
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but it's a little bit different.
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What is the
cost of discipleship?
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>>Tom: There's a famous book
that's written by a guy named
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer called
"The Cost of Discipleship."
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It's a pretty striking book.
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It's, you know, hard-hitting
in terms of where is your faith
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and what does it mean
and what does it cost you
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to be a Christian.
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And Jesus here, it's
interesting--in verse 34,
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He calls the crowd. He doesn't
just tell His disciples this.
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"Calling the crowd to
Him with His disciples,
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"He said to them, 'If
anyone would come after me,
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"'let him deny
himself and take up his cross
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and follow me.'"
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Now, we have
glorified the cross.
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We put it on our churches.
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There's nothing wrong with that.
It's a symbol of Christianity.
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It's become a
symbol of Christianity.
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But it wasn't a
symbol of Christianity
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in Jesus' day.
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It was the most ignominious,
the most terrible way to die
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that the Romans used.
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They would reserve this for
criminals that were, you know,
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rebels against the government,
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and it was basically to
shock all of the populace
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into staying away from whatever
got that guy on the cross.
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So if you were, you know, if you
were to do this kind of thing,
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that's where you'll end up.
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It was a terrible way to die.
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It was not something
that happened quickly.
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There was not much
blood loss in crucifixion.
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So a person could
survive on the cross for days.
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They would be open to the
elements, animals, insects.
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They were
commonly crucified naked.
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It was--nobody
would want this, you see?
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So for Jesus to say this
is to utterly deny yourself.
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That's what He says is
the cost of discipleship.
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And so each of us
has to ask the question:
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am I a follower of Jesus?
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Am I truly a follower of Jesus?
We make it too pretty sometimes.
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We make it too nice
and too easy, I guess.
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We don't always lay out,
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what does it really
mean to follow Jesus?
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It means to deny yourself.
It means to live for others.
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It means to be a blessing
to others and not be selfish.
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>>Eric: So the cost of
discipleship is very high,
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exponentially high,
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almost
ridiculously high. >>Tom: Yeah.
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>>Eric: But in order
to choose that route,
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there must be some reward.
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>>Tom: Yeah, some of
these people would say,
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"Well, if that's
what discipleship is,
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why would anybody want that?"
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>>Eric: Exactly, so there's
got to be something positive
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to counterbalance
that cost of discipleship.
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What does Jesus
say about the rewards
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of discipleship?
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>>Tom: All right,
so let's read verses 35
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through the end of
the chapter, verse 38.
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>>Eric: "For whoever desires
to save his life will lose it,
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"but whoever loses his life
for my sake and the gospel's
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"will save it.
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"For what will it profit a
man if he gains the whole world,
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"and loses his own soul?
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"Or what will a man give
in exchange for his soul?
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"For whoever is ashamed of me
and my words in this adulterous
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"and sinful generation,
of him the Son of Man
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"also will be ashamed
when He comes in the glory
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of His Father
with the holy angels."
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>>Tom: All right, so here's
the topsy-turvy world. [laughs]
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And it's the
paradox of Christianity.
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He says, "Whoever would
save his life will lose it,
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"but whoever loses his life
for my sake and the gospel's
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will save it."
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So He had talked
about denying oneself,
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but then He
immediately ends up describing
00:10:39.67\00:10:43.71
what it is that is
going to give you value.
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You know, He talks about worth.
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If you lose your
life, you'll save it.
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"What does it profit if
you gain the whole world
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and forfeit your soul?"
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Well, you know, they say
you can't take it with you.
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It's really true.
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You get these people
who are extremely rich,
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and they say,
"Extend my life, doctor."
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And the doctor says, "Well,
I've done everything I can,"
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you know? It's money that
can't buy eternal life, you see?
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But following Jesus does.
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So, "What can a man
give in return for his soul,
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"for whoever is
ashamed of me and my words
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"in this adulterous
and sinful generation,
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"of him will the Son of
Man be ashamed when He comes
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"in the glory of His
Father [and] the holy angels"--
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"with the holy angels."
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So there's a glorious day
coming when Jesus will return--
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not as a crucified Savior,
but as the conquering Redeemer
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coming to redeem His people.
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So, you know,
you have to weigh it:
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Which is really worth more?
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Well, what's really worth
more is eternal life with Jesus.
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So, it's--I think
it's John Elliott who said,
00:11:55.58\00:12:00.68
"A man is no fool who gives
up that which he cannot keep
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to obtain that which he
cannot lose." [chuckles]
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And it's, you know, really
the truth of Christianity.
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You give up what
you can't keep anyways,
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but you gain that
which you cannot lose,
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not because of you, but
because of God's great promise.
00:12:17.13\00:12:21.44
>>Eric: So a
beautiful pivot point, a shift
00:12:21.47\00:12:25.14
in the focus in
the book of Mark.
00:12:25.17\00:12:27.61
And this shift, I
expect you probably talk
00:12:27.64\00:12:30.61
a little bit more
about in the companion book
00:12:30.65\00:12:33.31
that we have
for this quarter's--
00:12:33.35\00:12:35.12
but tell us a little bit
more about what's happening
00:12:35.15\00:12:37.35
in this chapter of that book.
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>>Tom: Yeah, so again,
it's the companion book.
00:12:38.35\00:12:40.99
If you want to learn more than
what the lesson quarterly says
00:12:41.02\00:12:43.99
or what the teacher's
lesson quarterly says,
00:12:44.03\00:12:46.56
you get this
book, and it talks about
00:12:46.59\00:12:49.16
the cost of discipleship,
describes it there.
00:12:49.20\00:12:52.10
And then it goes on in
this chapter to describe
00:12:52.13\00:12:54.00
what happens in chapter
9 where Jesus meets a boy
00:12:54.04\00:12:56.94
who is demon possessed
and how Jesus heals him.
00:12:56.97\00:13:03.45
And then the interesting
ending of chapter 9 about--
00:13:03.48\00:13:07.95
we'll talk about that more
in the next section, maybe,
00:13:07.98\00:13:10.39
or in the next lesson.
00:13:10.42\00:13:11.95
We'll find out more
about how chapter 9 ends
00:13:11.99\00:13:14.79
with the
healthy man in hell, so.
00:13:14.82\00:13:18.13
>>Eric: So, lots that you
want to pick up on that will add
00:13:18.16\00:13:20.96
more depth and
breadth to your study of this,
00:13:20.96\00:13:24.93
of the book of Mark.
00:13:24.97\00:13:26.27
Where can you find it?
Very easily at itiswritten.shop,
00:13:26.30\00:13:29.44
itiswritten.shop,
and you'll find
00:13:29.47\00:13:32.11
the companion
book to this quarter's
00:13:32.14\00:13:33.58
"Sabbath School"
lesson right there.
00:13:33.61\00:13:35.14
We're gonna come
back in just a moment
00:13:35.18\00:13:36.71
as we continue
looking at disciples.
00:13:36.75\00:13:40.02
[uplifting music]
00:13:40.05\00:13:42.82
>>John Bradshaw:
The Bible is filled
00:13:45.62\00:13:47.16
with stories of flawed
human beings God called
00:13:47.19\00:13:50.43
to serve Him in incredible ways.
00:13:50.46\00:13:53.46
He took a violent,
impulsive, racist fisherman
00:13:53.50\00:13:56.80
and transformed
him into one of Jesus'
00:13:56.83\00:13:58.63
closest disciples and one
of the most influential leaders
00:13:58.67\00:14:02.47
of the early church.
00:14:02.50\00:14:04.27
Join me for another
episode of our series
00:14:04.31\00:14:06.37
"Great Characters of the Bible"
as we look at the life of Peter.
00:14:06.41\00:14:11.41
Peter was far from perfect.
00:14:11.45\00:14:13.15
He was overly confident.
00:14:13.18\00:14:14.78
He made promises he didn't keep.
00:14:14.82\00:14:16.95
But his experience
is an encouragement
00:14:16.99\00:14:18.95
to anyone who knows the feeling
of messing up as a follower
00:14:18.99\00:14:22.59
of Jesus, of
falling short and wondering
00:14:22.62\00:14:26.03
if you'll ever get it right.
00:14:26.06\00:14:28.23
God stuck with
Peter and helped him grow.
00:14:28.26\00:14:31.30
And if you let Him,
He'll do the same for you.
00:14:31.33\00:14:34.87
"Great Characters
of the Bible: Peter,"
00:14:34.90\00:14:38.57
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:38.61\00:14:42.04
[uplifting music]
00:14:45.71\00:14:49.68
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:49.72\00:14:51.12
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:51.15\00:14:52.79
We are on lesson
number seven of 13.
00:14:52.82\00:14:55.12
We're looking at
making disciples.
00:14:55.16\00:14:57.76
Tom, we get
into here in chapter,
00:14:57.79\00:15:01.40
end of chapter 8, chapter
9 we're heading into now--
00:15:01.43\00:15:04.83
the transfiguration.
00:15:04.87\00:15:06.17
What's the significance
of the transfiguration?
00:15:06.20\00:15:09.34
I mean, to suggest
that it's insignificant
00:15:09.37\00:15:11.57
would be foolish, but
it is clearly significant.
00:15:11.61\00:15:14.54
What are some
elements of that significance
00:15:14.58\00:15:16.18
that we need to
make sure we grasp?
00:15:16.21\00:15:18.11
>>Tom: Okay, so Jesus
had just talked about,
00:15:18.15\00:15:20.38
at the end of chapter 8,
00:15:20.42\00:15:21.95
about the terrible
cost of discipleship.
00:15:21.98\00:15:24.29
You had to deny
yourself, take up your cross,
00:15:24.32\00:15:26.42
and follow Him.
00:15:26.45\00:15:27.76
Then He talks
about how valuable it is
00:15:27.79\00:15:30.76
to be a Christian and that,
you know, there's this, like,
00:15:30.79\00:15:34.30
eternal reward
that you have from it.
00:15:34.30\00:15:36.50
Now, He starts at
the very beginning
00:15:36.53\00:15:38.53
of chapter 9--this
is in His next breath--
00:15:38.57\00:15:40.64
"He said to them,
'Truly, I say to you,
00:15:40.67\00:15:42.60
"'there are some standing
here who will not taste death
00:15:42.64\00:15:45.44
"'until they see
the kingdom of God
00:15:45.47\00:15:46.91
after it has come with power.'"
00:15:46.94\00:15:48.51
Now, immediately
this raises a question
00:15:48.54\00:15:50.21
in some people's minds.
00:15:50.25\00:15:51.28
"What? Did Jesus say
that He was gonna come back
00:15:51.31\00:15:54.55
"in their
generation? And has that failed,
00:15:54.58\00:15:56.82
"obviously, that He
didn't come back then?
00:15:56.85\00:15:59.19
So is the gospel not true?"
00:15:59.22\00:16:01.02
Well, no, that's not the case.
00:16:01.06\00:16:03.63
He says, "Truly...there are
some standing here who will not
00:16:03.66\00:16:08.03
"taste death until--until
they see the kingdom of God
00:16:08.06\00:16:12.03
after it has come with power."
00:16:12.07\00:16:13.27
Okay, so "some" means
not everybody is going to,
00:16:13.30\00:16:18.01
you know, see
what is coming here,
00:16:18.04\00:16:20.74
"standing here who
will not taste death
00:16:20.78\00:16:22.81
until they see the
kingdom come in power."
00:16:22.84\00:16:24.88
So they're gonna taste death.
00:16:24.91\00:16:26.88
Well, if they see the coming,
the kingdom come in power,
00:16:26.92\00:16:29.38
how can they come,
how can they taste death?
00:16:29.42\00:16:32.39
You would expect that
they would go to heaven
00:16:32.42\00:16:34.89
with the Lord, you know.
00:16:34.92\00:16:36.42
So what He's
actually describing here,
00:16:36.46\00:16:38.56
what He's predicting
is this transfiguration.
00:16:38.59\00:16:40.96
Now, remember that
He has just described
00:16:40.96\00:16:44.43
that He was going
to go to the cross.
00:16:44.47\00:16:47.30
And so now He's going to
take three of His disciples
00:16:47.34\00:16:51.21
up on a mountain,
Peter, James, and John,
00:16:51.24\00:16:54.88
leads up on a high
mountain, and He's transfigured
00:16:54.91\00:16:57.48
before them.
00:16:57.51\00:16:58.88
"His clothes
become"-- it says here--
00:16:58.91\00:17:01.18
"become
radiant, intensely white,
00:17:01.22\00:17:03.02
as no one on earth
could bleach them."
00:17:03.05\00:17:05.32
They had these people
called fullers, who would take
00:17:05.35\00:17:08.26
and bleach clothes,
and evidently they had
00:17:08.29\00:17:11.93
pretty strong lye [laughs]
that would really bleach it
00:17:11.96\00:17:16.06
and make it, you
know, really white.
00:17:16.10\00:17:18.30
And He's like--no, but it's
intensely more white than that.
00:17:18.33\00:17:22.44
You know, it's shining white.
00:17:22.47\00:17:24.24
He is there, appears
to Him Elijah and Moses,
00:17:24.27\00:17:28.58
and they're talking with Jesus.
00:17:28.61\00:17:30.71
"And Peter says,
'Rabbi, it is good'"--
00:17:30.75\00:17:34.22
this is verse 5 of chapter 9--
"'it is good that we are here.
00:17:34.25\00:17:37.29
"'Let us make three tents,
one for You...one for Moses
00:17:37.32\00:17:41.09
"and one for Elijah.' For
he did not know what to say,
00:17:41.12\00:17:44.73
for they were terrified."
00:17:44.76\00:17:47.46
All right, so
this transfiguration
00:17:47.50\00:17:51.63
is where Jesus is now radiant.
00:17:51.67\00:17:54.67
It's like He's
gonna, when He comes back
00:17:54.70\00:17:56.94
the second time;
He's gonna be radiant.
00:17:56.97\00:17:59.27
Moses and Elijah are
talking to Him. Why these two?
00:17:59.31\00:18:02.11
Well, these two show up
interesting places together.
00:18:02.14\00:18:04.78
They show up in
the book of Revelation,
00:18:04.81\00:18:07.62
and they show up here,
and they're representatives.
00:18:07.65\00:18:12.62
Moses died and was
raised back to life,
00:18:12.65\00:18:15.26
as the book of Jude alludes to.
00:18:15.29\00:18:18.89
And Elijah, of course, went
to heaven without seeing death.
00:18:18.93\00:18:21.93
So they represent two groups:
one is the group, those who died
00:18:21.96\00:18:25.20
and will be raised back to life;
00:18:25.23\00:18:26.50
Elijah, those
who never face death,
00:18:26.53\00:18:29.37
which would be
really nice, you know,
00:18:29.40\00:18:31.51
not to die but to live
until the Lord returns.
00:18:31.54\00:18:34.68
And this is a typical,
what we call typical theophany.
00:18:34.71\00:18:39.41
There's this cloud
that overshadows them,
00:18:39.45\00:18:41.65
says, God's voice,
"'This is my beloved Son;
00:18:41.68\00:18:44.92
"listen to Him.'
00:18:44.95\00:18:46.96
"And suddenly, looking around,
they no longer saw anyone
00:18:46.99\00:18:50.99
with them but Jesus only."
00:18:51.03\00:18:54.13
I remember
reading this in the book
00:18:54.20\00:18:55.20
"The Desire of Ages,"
that beautiful chapter,
00:18:55.23\00:18:57.03
"The Transfiguration."
00:18:57.07\00:18:58.20
She ends the
chapter with this high note.
00:18:58.23\00:19:01.64
They looked
around, all was gone,
00:19:01.67\00:19:05.34
and they were alone on
the mountain with Jesus.
00:19:05.37\00:19:08.88
You know, it's
like, "Whoa," you know?
00:19:08.91\00:19:11.28
They just had this
incredible experience,
00:19:11.31\00:19:13.95
probably almost
couldn't believe their eyes,
00:19:13.98\00:19:15.32
couldn't imagine--
did that really happen?
00:19:15.35\00:19:18.09
And then here they are
all by themselves with Jesus,
00:19:18.12\00:19:22.32
a most amazing experience.
00:19:22.36\00:19:24.86
And when they're
coming down the mountain,
00:19:24.89\00:19:26.93
He tells them not to
tell anybody about it.
00:19:26.96\00:19:29.10
Well, again, it's that picture
of the secrecy and revelation.
00:19:29.13\00:19:37.77
They just had the
amazing theophany,
00:19:37.81\00:19:39.61
the amazing appearance of God.
00:19:39.64\00:19:41.24
Jesus is very clearly
the heavenly Son of God,
00:19:41.28\00:19:45.41
and that's no doubt a
encouragement to them when,
00:19:45.45\00:19:50.95
after He goes through the cross
and their hopes are dashed,
00:19:50.99\00:19:55.59
but they would have this
memory that He was transfigured
00:19:55.62\00:20:01.06
on that mountain. He
really is the Son of God.
00:20:01.10\00:20:03.50
The Son of God was crucified.
00:20:03.53\00:20:05.27
Now, when He was
crucified, they--I don't think
00:20:05.30\00:20:07.77
they understood that,
but eventually that memory
00:20:07.80\00:20:10.44
came back, and they
could put the two together,
00:20:10.47\00:20:13.17
two plus two.
00:20:13.21\00:20:14.78
>>Eric: So an
incredible experience
00:20:14.81\00:20:16.88
that they saw, that they
had, a sight that they beheld.
00:20:16.91\00:20:21.78
And then we come down,
not too many more verses,
00:20:21.82\00:20:24.62
and we run into, well, here's
another demoniac challenge,
00:20:24.65\00:20:28.79
a demoniac problem, this
boy who's with the mute spirit.
00:20:28.82\00:20:32.83
Why did Jesus take so
long to deal with this boy?
00:20:32.86\00:20:37.80
He could, you know,
snap His proverbial fingers
00:20:37.83\00:20:41.90
and fix things, but
it doesn't work that way.
00:20:41.94\00:20:46.14
>>Tom: No, it doesn't.
He comes down the mountain.
00:20:46.17\00:20:48.74
The scribes are
arguing with the nine disciples
00:20:48.78\00:20:50.91
who were down below.
00:20:50.95\00:20:52.25
They probably were
quite kind of upset
00:20:52.28\00:20:55.58
that they didn't get to go
up on the mountain, you know;
00:20:55.62\00:20:57.52
it's kind of like
you're not chosen.
00:20:57.55\00:20:59.89
[laughs] Why didn't
they choose me? You know.
00:20:59.92\00:21:02.59
When I used to play baseball,
00:21:02.62\00:21:04.59
I was such a lousy
baseball player as a little kid
00:21:04.63\00:21:07.23
that I was like the
person they chose last,
00:21:07.30\00:21:09.40
and they put him
out in right field
00:21:09.43\00:21:10.73
where nobody would hit,
00:21:10.77\00:21:11.93
so, you know, 'cause I
couldn't catch things real well
00:21:11.97\00:21:14.24
and throw things real well.
00:21:14.27\00:21:15.97
So you can
understand how they might feel.
00:21:16.00\00:21:18.91
"And [Jesus] asked them,
'What are you arguing about
00:21:18.94\00:21:21.41
with them?'" And the man
says, the father speaks up,
00:21:21.44\00:21:24.51
"Teacher, I brought my son
to You, for he has a spirit
00:21:24.55\00:21:26.85
"that makes him mute.
00:21:26.88\00:21:28.55
"And whenever it seizes
him, it throws him down,
00:21:28.58\00:21:30.85
"and he foams and grinds
his teeth and becomes rigid.
00:21:30.89\00:21:33.96
"So I asked Your
disciples to cast it out,
00:21:33.99\00:21:36.39
and they were not able."
00:21:36.42\00:21:39.43
It had to be discouraging.
00:21:39.46\00:21:40.76
Jesus really, you know, says,
"[You] faithless generation,
00:21:40.80\00:21:43.43
how long am I to be with you?"
00:21:43.47\00:21:44.77
You know, it had to be
kind of discouraging to Him
00:21:44.80\00:21:47.47
that they just never
seemed to get it, you know,
00:21:47.50\00:21:51.21
and they couldn't do this.
00:21:51.24\00:21:54.28
And they're
going to ask later on,
00:21:54.31\00:21:57.58
"Why couldn't we
cast it out," you know?
00:21:57.61\00:22:00.38
But He says,
"Bring the boy to me."
00:22:00.42\00:22:04.55
So they bring the boy,
and the spirit convulses him.
00:22:04.59\00:22:08.09
He falls down; he foams at
the mouth; he becomes rigid.
00:22:08.12\00:22:10.96
I mean, it's this
terrible demonstration.
00:22:10.99\00:22:13.23
And Jesus seems to
take His time, you know.
00:22:13.26\00:22:16.73
He says, "How long has
it been happening to him?"
00:22:16.77\00:22:19.93
The father describes all
this trouble that he's had.
00:22:19.97\00:22:23.77
And you think about
this father, you know.
00:22:23.81\00:22:25.54
He brought his boy
who was demon possessed,
00:22:25.57\00:22:29.61
He brings him
to where Jesus was.
00:22:29.64\00:22:31.95
"Jesus isn't here,
He's up on the mountain,
00:22:31.98\00:22:33.78
but we can pray for
your boy to be healed."
00:22:33.82\00:22:36.69
They pray, the demon
mocks him; he doesn't go out.
00:22:36.72\00:22:39.92
The scribes come and
start arguing with them
00:22:39.95\00:22:42.19
and say, "Ah-ha-ha, this is a
spirit that you can't throw out.
00:22:42.22\00:22:44.53
I'll bet you Jesus can't throw
him out, either," you know.
00:22:44.56\00:22:47.00
And so the disciples
are like, "Oh my goodness,
00:22:47.03\00:22:49.36
this is no good."
00:22:49.40\00:22:50.87
Jesus comes down, and
then He takes all this time
00:22:50.90\00:22:53.50
to ask the guy about it.
00:22:53.54\00:22:55.34
So the man's faith
just kind of withers.
00:22:55.37\00:22:58.51
And he makes this
really interesting statement.
00:22:58.54\00:23:01.78
And he says, "But
if You can do anything,
00:23:01.81\00:23:04.71
have compassion
on us and help us."
00:23:04.75\00:23:08.68
And the Greek
here is interesting.
00:23:08.72\00:23:11.02
Jesus says, the English
translation says, "If You can."
00:23:11.05\00:23:16.29
The Greek has, it's kind of
like He's quoting the father,
00:23:16.32\00:23:19.83
the "If You can," which is like,
00:23:19.86\00:23:23.93
"The real
problem is 'if You can.'"
00:23:23.97\00:23:28.70
So suddenly the father
realizes that his lack of faith
00:23:28.74\00:23:33.98
could result in his
son not being healed.
00:23:34.01\00:23:38.81
I think any
parent can ponder that
00:23:38.85\00:23:41.75
and think about that a
moment and say, "Oh my goodness,
00:23:41.78\00:23:46.25
I'm going to be--
it's my fault," you know?
00:23:46.29\00:23:50.09
The problem, see, here wasn't
just the demon possession.
00:23:50.13\00:23:54.00
The problem was
the lack of faith
00:23:54.00\00:23:56.16
on the part of the father.
00:23:56.20\00:23:57.87
So I like what the father says.
00:23:57.90\00:24:00.07
He says, "I
believe; help my unbelief!"
00:24:00.10\00:24:03.24
Throws himself on
Jesus' compassion.
00:24:03.27\00:24:05.57
Anybody who comes to
Jesus for help in the Gospels
00:24:05.61\00:24:08.38
always gets it.
00:24:08.41\00:24:10.05
So Jesus throws out the demon,
and he cries out, comes out.
00:24:10.08\00:24:14.72
The people say he's
dead, but Jesus lifts him up,
00:24:14.75\00:24:17.72
and, you know,
everything's okay.
00:24:17.75\00:24:19.92
They come into the
house, and the "disciples
00:24:19.95\00:24:22.02
asked Him privately, 'Why
could we not cast it out?'"
00:24:22.06\00:24:26.53
They'd done it before.
00:24:26.56\00:24:27.76
You know, they'd
cast out demons before.
00:24:27.76\00:24:29.26
"He said to them, 'This
kind cannot be driven out
00:24:29.30\00:24:32.77
by anything but prayer.'"
00:24:32.80\00:24:34.34
Now some manuscripts
say "prayer and fasting,"
00:24:34.37\00:24:36.84
but some just say
"anything but prayer."
00:24:36.87\00:24:40.34
So they had let their
hearts become filled with envy,
00:24:40.38\00:24:47.35
and that took the
place of the power of God.
00:24:47.38\00:24:50.19
So it's a good lesson,
[laughs] good lesson for us.
00:24:50.22\00:24:53.52
>>Eric: So Jesus stretched this
one out so, among other things,
00:24:53.56\00:24:55.96
we could benefit from
learning a little bit more.
00:24:55.99\00:24:58.69
>>Tom: You could
say so, that we get
00:24:58.73\00:25:01.83
the benefit of
their mistakes. [laughs]
00:25:01.86\00:25:03.83
>>Eric: That's
right. That's right.
00:25:03.87\00:25:06.50
All right, latter
part of chapter 9,
00:25:06.53\00:25:09.77
Jesus starts talking about
cutting off hands and feet.
00:25:09.80\00:25:14.18
Now, we hope He's
not being literal here,
00:25:14.21\00:25:17.38
but what is He talking about?
00:25:17.41\00:25:19.35
>>Tom: All right, so if
we go down to verse 43--
00:25:19.38\00:25:20.85
again we have
to skip over a part
00:25:20.88\00:25:22.05
of some of the passages,
and we come to verse 43:
00:25:22.08\00:25:26.05
"And if your hand
causes you to sin, cut it off.
00:25:26.09\00:25:28.32
"It is better for you
to enter life crippled
00:25:28.36\00:25:30.63
"than with two
hands to go to hell,
00:25:30.66\00:25:32.76
"to the unquenchable fire.
00:25:32.79\00:25:34.10
"And if your foot
causes you to sin, cut it off.
00:25:34.10\00:25:36.13
"It is better for you
to enter [into] life lame
00:25:36.16\00:25:38.87
"than with two feet
to be thrown into hell.
00:25:38.90\00:25:40.94
"And if your eye causes
you to sin, tear it out.
00:25:40.97\00:25:42.97
"It is better for you
to enter the kingdom of God
00:25:43.00\00:25:45.24
with one eye than with two
eyes to be thrown into hell."
00:25:45.27\00:25:47.88
Whoa, you know, that's
really powerful language.
00:25:47.91\00:25:51.05
It's hyperbole. It's hyperbole.
00:25:51.08\00:25:53.55
I'm a cellist, and I
would not want to lose
00:25:53.58\00:25:57.45
any of my hand,
either hand or my fingers.
00:25:57.49\00:25:59.79
You use the left
hand to move the position
00:25:59.82\00:26:04.13
and use the right hand to bow.
00:26:04.16\00:26:05.99
And that would be a bad thing to
lose your hand or even a finger.
00:26:06.03\00:26:09.96
Jesus says it's worse to
sin than it is to do that.
00:26:10.00\00:26:15.44
The hyperbole is that,
you know, you think that
00:26:15.47\00:26:17.91
when you go to heaven,
everything's going to be
00:26:17.94\00:26:19.57
all healed up and well.
00:26:19.61\00:26:20.91
He's not telling you
to cut off your hands,
00:26:20.94\00:26:22.48
but He's like, "You know,
it'd be better to go in a hand--
00:26:22.51\00:26:25.38
"with one hand to go into
heaven than to have both hands
00:26:25.41\00:26:28.72
and be in hell." So this
is the healthy man in hell,
00:26:28.75\00:26:30.85
where--you would
expect the healthy people
00:26:30.89\00:26:32.79
would be in
heaven, but He said no;
00:26:32.82\00:26:34.46
it's the people who have,
you know, given up on sin.
00:26:34.49\00:26:37.46
They've said, "I'd
rather lose a hand than sin."
00:26:37.49\00:26:40.86
Boy, that's really something.
00:26:40.90\00:26:42.33
So again, it's the
high call of discipleship
00:26:42.36\00:26:44.33
that He's put before us.
00:26:44.37\00:26:46.20
>>Eric: So a beautiful
coming together of ideas
00:26:46.23\00:26:50.54
here at the very end. He says,
"What are your priorities?"
00:26:50.57\00:26:53.64
And I think He
gives us a good idea,
00:26:53.68\00:26:56.11
to put our priorities
in the right direction.
00:26:56.14\00:26:58.88
And we still have a
little bit of distance
00:26:58.91\00:27:01.58
to go in the book of Mark,
00:27:01.62\00:27:02.92
still a few lessons that
we're going to be looking at
00:27:02.95\00:27:05.79
as we continue
marching through the remainder
00:27:05.82\00:27:08.49
of the book of Mark.
00:27:08.52\00:27:10.33
And we're glad that you are
joining us for this journey.
00:27:10.36\00:27:13.50
Again, if you
happen to have missed
00:27:13.53\00:27:14.96
any of our previous
episodes as we've covered
00:27:15.00\00:27:18.10
chapters 1 through
8, you can find those
00:27:18.13\00:27:21.77
at itiswritten.tv or
on our YouTube channel,
00:27:21.80\00:27:25.74
a variety of other
places as well, but there's
00:27:25.77\00:27:27.98
much, much more, so make
sure that you get caught up
00:27:28.01\00:27:30.58
and don't miss any of
the remaining episodes
00:27:30.61\00:27:33.25
as we continue
and in a few weeks
00:27:33.28\00:27:35.92
finish our study
of the book of Mark.
00:27:35.95\00:27:39.09
But we hope it won't be the end
of a study of the book of Mark
00:27:39.12\00:27:41.26
for you; hopefully, it'll
just be the very beginning.
00:27:41.29\00:27:45.09
Between now and then,
we wish you the very best,
00:27:45.13\00:27:47.23
and we look
forward to seeing you again
00:27:47.30\00:27:48.70
next week here
on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:48.73\00:27:50.63
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:50.67\00:27:52.77
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