Mark 2022

Please take a seat. If you have a a Bible, please open it up to Mark chapter 8. And we're gonna be reading from Mark chapter 8 verse 11. All the way through to March chapter 9 verse 1.

The Faracies came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He side deeply and said, why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly, I tell you no sign will be given to it. Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread except for 1 loaf they had with them in the boat. Be careful Jesus warned them. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of herod. They discussed this with 1 another, and they said, it's because we have no bread. Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them Why are you talking about having no bread?

Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see? Ears, but fail to hear? And don't you remember?

When I broke the 5 loaves for the 5000, how many basketballs of pieces did you pick up? 12, they replied. When I broke the 7 loaves of the 4000, how many basketballs of pieces did you pick up? They answered 7. And he said to them, do you still not understand?

They came to Beth Seder, and some people bought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he'd spat on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, Do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people. They look like trees walking around.

Once more, Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes, then his eyes were opened. His sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home saying, don't even go into the village. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesaria, Philip. On the way he asked them, who do people say I am?

They replied, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, 1 of the prophets. But what about you, he asked? Who do you say I am? Peter answered, you are the Messiah. Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He then began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed after about 3 days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get behind me, stated, he said. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. But whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life, for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation The son of man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his father's glory with the Holy Angels.

He said to them, Truly I tell you. Some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. Thank you, Ben. Good morning, everybody. My name is Tom.

I'm 1 of the pastors here and lovely to see you all this morning. Just to underline what Ben has already said, it has been a tremendous month of Share Life events, and the Lord has been so kind to in bringing lots of visitors in for the first time to hear something about Jesus and something about the church. And if you were there last night at the Jazz evening, it was such, it was so good. I mean, the music was excellent. The stories about jazz musicians and the development of jazz and blues, and how the Christian fight has impacted so many great musicians.

It was just a wonderful the music and the stories complimented each other. Brilliantly. And Dan is here. Dan was playing the Saks last night. And I'm sure if you were there last night and you didn't manage to get hold of a CD.

I'm sure he'd love to have a conversation with you about how to get 1 of those into your hands, and Lydia would be equally happy about that as well. So Wonderful stuff. Let's pray, shall we, as we look at this passage together. Father, we thank you that you are a god who speaks and 1 who loves to reveal himself to us. We thank you for these words.

We thank you for the journey that we've taken through this gospel and for all that you have taught us so far. And we pray lord Jesus for hearts that are receptive to what you want to say this morning. We pray for hearts that are not hard. We pray for eyes that see clearly for ears that hear clearly, and we pray that you would help us not only to see who the Lord Jesus is, but what it means for us to follow Him. In this life.

And we are seeing things in Jesus' name. Oh, man. Well, we've come to a turning point in Mark's Gospel this morning. In our time so far in this series, chapters 1 2 8, we've been slowly growing in our understanding of who Jesus is. Mark has been building up that picture for us.

He's been demonstrating that Jesus Christ, is the son of God, is the Messiah, and he is the 1 who has authority over death and darkness and sickness and storms all kinds of things. We've been seeing Christ in these first 8 chapters. And now, at the end of chapter 8, Peter, the disciple gets it. He finally gets who Jesus is and where this has all been leading. In verse 29, Jesus says, who do you say I am?

And Peter answered, you are the Messiah, you are the Christ. And that is nothing other than a word from heaven. In Matthew's accounts of this confession, Jesus goes on to say, Blessed are you, Peter? Because this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my father in heaven. You have come to a spiritual knowledge and understanding, which has been given to you by God which you could not have come to by yourself.

You are the Christ. Chapters 1 to 8. But chapters 9 through to the end of Mark's Gospel, we're now gonna be focusing not just on who he is, but on the mission why he has come. And as we can see, that is just not clear. Jesus Christ is going to the cross.

He's going to bear the shame and the weakness of the cross, and the disciples just cannot get behind that vision for his life. Verse 32, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. Peter perhaps representing all of the disciples at that point takes Jesus aside and says, the Christ does not belong on the cross You're wrong. That's never gonna happen. And Jesus says to him, verse 33, looking at the disciples, get behind me, satan.

It's just an amazing contrast, isn't it? The Christ, he says. That's a word from heaven. No Lord, you won't go to the cross. That's a word from hell.

In such a short space of time, Peter is both the mouthpiece for heaven You are the Christ, and he's the mouthpiece of hell. Never lord, will you go to the cross. And can't we be a bit like that from time to time. Sometimes we say things and we do things and we act in ways which are from heaven. We act according to God's will.

We think according to God's ways. We speak God's words. But then, at other times, We can be thinking like the world verse 33, our hearts can be hard verse 17, we can say things that are more fitting for hell than from heaven. And so what do, sometimes confused Sometimes, hard-hearted disciples like us need. We need grace.

We need grace. These verses do not make sense to the natural mind. That's what we're gonna see this morning. Left to ourselves, we will choose the religion of the pharisees We will choose the ways of herod, and in the end, we will choose a crossless Christianity. Left to ourselves, that's what we will choose.

And therefore, in order to understand the mission of Christ and the life he calls us to, we need a miracle, don't we? We're gonna see the whole thing, who he is, and why he's got we need a miracle. In fact, more specifically, we need the miracle in verse 25. We need the sight bringing miracle. What we see at the heart of this passage verse 25 is more than just a miracle It is a parable inside a miracle.

What Jesus does for this blind man It's not only wonderful for him, it's a crucial lesson, because it explains what is going on in the hearts of the disciples. And it very well may explain what is going on in our hearts this morning. So we're gonna look at this under 3 headings. We're gonna start with the miracle which is also a parable and explains everything else. And the first heading is this.

A miracle in Beth Sader, Jesus can make us see. So in verse 22, if you look down to verse 22, it says the disciples in Jesus, they came to Beth Seder and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. So this is beginning to look like a classic Mark story. Isn't it? Here's Jesus?

Here's the disciples. They have walked into a crisis situation. They are confronted by a person in great need He is blind. But thankfully, he's got some really good kind friends, and they have led him to Jesus, and they are begging him just like the Sarifoenician woman did last week, they are begging Jesus to do something for their friend and about his condition. And we get the impression here that this man wasn't born blind.

Because later on in the story, he seems to have an idea of what trees look like and what people look like. So lots of commentators think that perhaps at 1 time he could see clearly but then he developed a sight condition, and over the years his vision just degenerated, it got worse and worse The tunnel came in until it blacked out everything, and he could no longer see. And what Jesus does for this man is is strange, the combination of things that he does. He takes him outside of the village, He involves his own spit in the miracle, and then he tells that tells people not to say anything about it. So that's a slightly peculiar way of doing things, isn't it?

Let's go outside the village. I'm gonna use my own saliva, and then I'm gonna tell you not to say anything about it. But this is actually a formula that Jesus is beginning to like and enjoy. So in Mark chapter 7, we find the same things with the deaf and the mute man. Same things.

Outside of the village they go, involves his own spit, and then tells the man not to say anything about it. Now, there's lots we could sort of say about why he does it that way. But the unique thing to see here in this miracle is that halfway through Jesus seems to have a power cut. Verse 23 to 24, he took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village when he had spat on the man's eyes and put his hands on him. Jesus asked, do you see anything?

He looked up and said, I see people. They look like trees walking around. Now, if you were part of the crowd who came to see the Mark drama at the beginning of the month, Mark Jarma has been so helpful for us preaching through this because it just serves as 1 big illustration for every passage that we're looking at. They do this scene really well. Because the blind man is being healed, and someone says to him, what do you see?

And he said, I see people. Then they all say, hooray. They look like trees. Oh. There's the sort of initial enthusiasm I can see, and then the disappointment of not seeing clearly.

I see people. That's good. They look like trees. Well, that could be a problem. I don't know if you've ever tried to drive your car on a very, very cold morning.

And you get into the car and the windscreen is all frosted up, there's mist, there's condensation, you can't really see anything properly, but you're running late. And so you decide, I'm just gonna have a go at this. And you pull out of the driveway and you know that mean, you'll make your bodies in all kinds of contortions, trying to see just what anything that you can. And you know that really this is quite a dangerous way to be operating a vehicle. Too close to another parked car, not able to see around the corner of a junction.

And yet, we just wanna get going. We don't wanna wait for the thing to defrost. And there are times when half sight can be very dangerous, aren't there? When you can only see half a picture, when you're trying to drive a car with only half a windscreen, it's quite dangerous. In fact, you know, in some way, at least a blind person would have the sense not even to get into the car.

They wouldn't even try, but half site can be more dangerous than no site sometimes. Because actually, I'm gonna put myself, and I'm gonna put other people in danger if I try to drive that car, only seeing half a picture. So half sight, well, there's something to celebrate. I can see, but there's something very dangerous about it. People look like trees.

But verse 25, look what Jesus does. Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes, then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus had no intention of leaving him with half a picture. Until trees were trees, and people were people, and friends were friends, and Jesus was Jesus. He was not going to leave this man.

He was always going to restore him perfectly. And that is what Isaiah the prophet said that the Messiah would do. That he would come with good news for the poor, he would come and bring sight to the blind, he would proclaim freedom for the captives. He would bear our afflictions and our diseases upon himself, and he would bring about whole sight, whole clarity. That we could see him and see the new world that he is calling us to.

And so you see the journey that this man goes on. Through blindness, into partial sight, into perfect vision. That's the journey he goes on. Wonderful for him. Great news for his friends.

But also a vital lesson for his disciples. Because as I say, this was not a power cut What Jesus did here was a hundred percent intentional, because this is a parable within a miracle. It's designed to teach something, to show something. In the lives of the disciples. So that's the first thing, a miracle in Beth say that Jesus can make us see second point, a warning in the boat false teaching will corrupt.

It's what we see in the first part of our reading. A warning in the boat, false teaching will corrupt. If you have a look with me to verse 14 and 15, either in your bibles or on your phones, wherever you can see it. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for 1 loaf they had with them in the boat. Be careful Jesus warned them, Watch out for the yeast of the pharisees and that of herod.

Now, we know that whenever Jesus says something, it really matters. He doesn't waste his words. And therefore, the warning that he gives them is because the danger is very, very real. If the danger wasn't really, wouldn't warn That's how warnings work, isn't it? If you're going on a cliff top walk for instance and you see a sign that says do not cross beyond this point unstable cliff ahead, you know that that warning isn't just there for fun or because they had surplus signs at the end of the year, They put that there because there is a genuine danger.

The warning represents a genuine danger. If you see a billboard that says, don't drink and drive or don't text and drive. You know that someone has paid for that and put that there because they believe the danger is serious enough to warrant a big warning. That's how warnings work. If the danger is not real, the warning isn't there.

Well, Jesus says, doesn't he? Verse 15, be careful. Watch out for the yeast of the pharisees and that of herod. Now, this yeast thing is quite interesting because yeast can be used positively in the Gospels. So in Matthew 13 when Jesus is teaching about the nature of the kingdom, he says that the way in which the message spreads is like yeast working its way through a whole batch.

And what he means by that is the message of the gospel may look small and unimpressive and may just be full of weakness But yet, look at how it's worked its way throughout the world changing cultures saving lives. Powerful, unimpressive to look at, but powerful. But yeast is also, and perhaps mainly seen as a negative thing. So in the old testament, going right back to the book of Exodus, Before God's people would celebrate the Passover, the Lord said to them, before you come to this festival, you must remove the yeast not only from your bread, but from your homes, and from your villages, and from your cupboards, the yeast was to be totally absent from all parts of their lives during the festival. Now why was that?

Well, not because the lords just decided to be against yeast. But because it's a symbol. You see, what he's saying there is, look, you have left Egypt behind now, you are a new people. This is an opportunity to worship in a different way, to eat in a different way. This will be sign that you don't belong there anymore.

You don't eat how you used to. You now eat in a new way as part of my people. So in other words, the symbol is that bread without yeast is a picture of people without Egypt. They have left that now. And Jesus is saying to his disciples here, there has been a new exodus.

I am the greater Moses, the redeemer. I have led you out of slavery and your old ways, and you must not go back to that corrupting way of life. The yeast of the pharisees. What is that? Well, verse 11, the yeast of the pharisees is this constant sign seeking, unbelief, demanding more and more proof.

Jesus is saying, that's like, that's an Egypt way of living. You don't live in unbelief and slavery anymore. You've been led out. The yeast of herod, what is that? Well, what did herod do?

He had the light of revelation, and he refused to follow the light of revelation to repentance and hardened his heart. Well, who does that remind you of? That's pharaoh. That's Egypt. That's refusing to follow the light of revelation and repent.

And so with this warning about yeast, Jesus is saying, you have left that behind now. So don't let that old corruption back in. Take it out of your homes and your heads and your hearts before it takes you out. But as you can see, in verse 14 to 16, it's almost It's almost too late for them. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread except for 1 loaf they had with them in the boat.

Be careful Jesus warned them. Watch out for the yeast, the pharisees, and that of herod. They discussed this with 1 another and said, oh, It's because we have no bread. Now, it's hard to be honest to know how the disciples are thinking about this warning. It could just be that they think Jesus is purely talking about bread.

He's talking about bread. He mentioned yeast, that reminds me of bread. Jesus must be saying something about bread. Or it could be that they've seen this as a warning against accepting bread from the wrong sort of people. Be aware of the yeast of the pharisees inherent.

Don't ever take it off those guys. They're breads dodgy. Maybe they're still thinking that physical okay. So we've just gotta make sure we buy it from proper vendors. And not get our yeast and our bread from the pharisees and inherit.

Or And it can be translated this way, If you look at verse verse 16, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread except for the 1 loaf they had with them in the boat. Be careful Jesus warned them, watch out for the use of the pharisees and that of herod, and they continued to discuss with 1 another that they had no bread. In other words, it's like They've been in the boat talking about bread. Jesus says, watch out for the yeast of the pharisees and that of herod. They look at him blankly and think, So what were we talking about?

The bread? As if the warning that he has given has made no impression on than what so he may as well have been talking to himself. And that is a sign, isn't it? That the yeast is already beginning to work through their hearts. In verse 17 onwards, Jesus asked 8 questions.

It just stacks up 8 questions. Why are you talking about having a bread? You still not see your understanding. Your heart's hard. You have eyes fulfilled.

Ears but fail to hear. And don't you remember when I broke, how many pieces? When I broke, how many pieces do you still not understand? And what is strange about the disciples here is that they do actually remember some details from those miracles. They remember how many basketfuls they had, 12.

And what about the other feeding? How many? 7. They do remember things about the miracle, but they can't seem to remember how or why those miracles actually happened. It's as if Jesus being there on both occasions was more like a coincidence.

Oh, he happened to be there both times when there was loads of bread. Rather than seeing that he was the unique factor in both of those miracles. It was him who made it happen. He multiplied the lows. He gave all the leftovers.

He was the decisive factor in both of those things. They can't seem to see that. And, really, the disciples by now should have learned. At least this, that bread issues are no longer their issues. Bread problems are not their problems.

They are with 1 who can solve the bread problem. And actually, if they're worried about what they've got on the boat, they have no reason to be because this is the best bread to human ratio that Jesus has ever had to deal with. I mean, the 5, 10, 15, 20000, that's how the fourth act more. I mean, this is only 12. He can deal with this ratio.

And so you see how this fits in with the miracle. They can see something true about him, that he is worth following, that he has powerful teaching, but they can't yet seem to trust him based on who he is and what he says. They need these constant top ups in order to keep to keep going. If their eyes were wide open, they would see that the greatest sign is with them in the boat. But at the moment, they are like the blind man halfway through.

People are trees, and trees are people. They're trying to drive a car with a frosted window. I can't see. And the real danger of that comes next. So third heading, a calling on the road follow the crucified Christ.

We've looked at the miracle In Beth Seder, we've looked at the warning in the boat. This is thirdly and lastly, a calling on the road follow the crucified Christ. Verse 27 to 28. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesaria Philip. On the way he asked them who do people say I am?

They replied, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others 1 of the prophets. So those answers are not evidence of real spiritual sight. This is just what the crowds happen to be saying. Other than a little bit of old testament knowledge, you don't need much holy spirit wisdom to be able to say those things. That's just what the crowd what the crowd is saying.

Verse 29, though. But what about you, he asked, who do you say I am? Peter answered, you are the Messiah. Now, as we've been working through Mark, we already know that that is true about Jesus. That's the conclusion Mark has always wanted us to come to, but this is the first time in the narrative of Mark's gospel where Jesus is declared to be the Christ.

And it's amazing where it happens. It happens in Caesar Phillipi, Now, that was a place named after 2 people. After 1 of Herrod's relatives, Philip, Philippippi, and after Caesar, Caesaria Philip. In other words, this place had 2 names, which said, this is the heart of Imperial power. This is the heart of where Caesar son of God is truly worship.

This is about Roman rule, and yet it is in this place where Jesus, the Christ, is declared to be the true king in Caesar of Philippines. And, as I said at the beginning, this is something to celebrate. Jesus says, in Matthew, blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, This was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my father, who is in heaven, blessed are you. And that reminds us a bit of the miracle. You see, when the man could only see trees, it wasn't a complete vision that he has, but it was still a work of God, wasn't it?

The fact that he could see anything at all was evidence of Jesus' grace in his life. He didn't kind of regenerate his own vision. He didn't do that to himself. God did that for him. God began to open his eyes.

And it's the same thing here. Jesus has granted them half of the vision. The Christ. He is. Blessed are you, you've seen.

But as we've come to see, half a sight always comes with danger. Verse 31, he began to teach them son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed, and after 3 days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside, and began to rebuke him. That is the danger of half sight. The word used of Peter's rebuke is the word we find in Mark chapter 1 where Jesus rebukes an evil spirit.

It's the same word. And so Peter seems to literally think that Jesus is under some kind of evil influence when he talks about the cross. And that evil influence needs driving out of Jesus, and he is the 1 to do it. He rebukes him, no Lord. This will never happen to you.

You see the half sight? He knows something about Christ and his glory and his power. But the idea that that Christ would go to a cross is just unthinkable. The idea that a king would have to go to a place of such shame and scorn is frankly in his mind, not just wrong, but a kind of wicked thing to say. But verse 33.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, such an interesting little note, isn't it? He turned and he looked at his disciples. He wants them all to know this. He rebuked Peter. Get behind me, satan, he said.

You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. At the beginning of his ministry, when Jesus went out into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan, we read this in Mark chapter 4. The devil took Jesus up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And said to him, to you, I will give all this authority and their glory. For it has been delivered to me, And I give it to whom I will.

If you then will just worship me, it'll all be yours. What does Satan promise him? What is the nature of that temptation? Jesus, if you will worship me, you can have the kingdoms of the world without the cross. You won't have to win it that way.

If you will just worship me, they will all in a moment of time be yours. Peter seems to think that's right. Christ All the kingdoms of the world are yours. But to win them through the cross, Never Lord. Never.

But according to verse 33, Jesus says, to separate the man from his mission. To separate Christ from the cross is to speak under the influence of evil itself. You see, really, that warning in verse 15 is all heading to this point. The yeast of the Faracies has no place for the cross. To them, religion is all about earthly glory and status and building a name for yourself.

And not serving others, but having them serve you, and not doing what you can to lift their burdens, but making them pick up your burdens. The whole of the Faracy religion is earthly glory and boasting now. And Jesus says that that way of thinking is tempting for disciples. It is tempting for disciples. We immediately retreat from the shame and the self denial and the weakness of the cross.

We retreat from that, and are drawn to the earthly way of glory. That the pharisees talked about. But Jesus says to them there is no such thing as a Christ without a cross. And there is no such thing as a disciple without a cross. To see half is to see Christ, to see perfectly is to see him carrying his cross.

See verse 25, that miracle is so essential to understanding this. The half sight. You are the Christ The whole sight, I see you Christ with your cross. And I'm gonna follow you on that road. It is a parable in a miracle.

And that's the journey the disciples are going on. So what does this all mean? Well, I've just got 4 brief applications for us to run through from what we've seen. The first is this. Perfect vision matters for our discipleship.

Perfect vision matters for our discipleship. Verse 34, then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Now, Jesus is not saying there that if you're gonna follow me, you must totally lose your identity. So your personality, everything that makes you you, All God has done that's distinct in your life, just forget it all is just gonna disappear into a great global soup of people. You're gonna lose your identity.

That's not Christian thinking. That's the type of eastern philosophy that you just dissolve into the great nothing. He's not saying that. But he is saying, if you want to follow me, there is only 1 road, shame before glory. You before me, death before life.

And that way of thinking will make no sense to us if the yeast gets in. And maybe this is a chance to ask, has it already began to get into our hearts? Are there areas of our lives, could be money, could be sex and relationships, could be career. Are there areas where we want the freedom and the power of Christ, but not the self denial and self giving of the cross. Can you think of areas in your life where that might be true?

You want the freedom and the healing and the power of the Christ? But the self denial, the self giving, the death to self, to make those things live. Well, actually, I'm not really signed up to that. Perfect vision matters for our discipleship. Secondly, perfect vision matters for our joy.

Here's a wonderful quote I picked up during the week, which I'd love you to be able to see and follow along. Cross bearing as a follower of Jesus means nothing less than giving one's whole life over to following him. And here comes another surprise. This is the way of total freedom. If you clutch your life wholly to yourself, protecting it against all others, asserting all your rights, needs, and privileges, you lose it.

Because it isn't life any longer. If however you acknowledge that life is not yours by right, that all is privilege, and that it is to be lived in the love that the gospel story reveals, self giving love, then you possess it wholly. If we see this call to discipleship, As anything less than a call to deep joy and freedom, we have missed it. We've missed it. The yeast promises power and glory in this life, It delivers wretchedness and misery and slavery.

That's what it delivers. Jesus says, You come and die with me. You put your pride in the ground. You bury it and be willing to associate with the shame and the weakness the cross, and you will find a life more rich and more happy than you ever dreamed of. Perfect vision really matters for our joy.

Thirdly, perfect vision matters for our mission. It's interesting Jesus forbids people to talk about him so much here, isn't it? Have a look again at verse 30. Peter answered you are the Messiah. What would you expect him to say?

Go publish the news, broadcast it to the world, Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Why? Why? Why? If it's true, why?

If they start telling people about Christ without the cross, the world has no gospel. That's why. They're just gonna go out, talk about an earthly king and earthly ruler, might overthrow the Romans, A great 1, like many other great ones who might come. If the cross is not part of their Christ, the world has no gospel. That's where he must go.

To bear our sins in our place. It's where he must go to die our death. It's where he must go to absorb the very judgment of God that we deserve so that the nations can come by repentance, by faith, and be saved. The Christ without the cross is no gospel. And that is true in our discipleship.

If we leave the cross out of Christ, then we don't do people any favors. We don't do them any favors, do we? If we cover this part up of Jesus is calling. To follow Jesus, is to take up the cross. It is to give up on self reliance.

It is to give up on self trust To follow Jesus in this life, he's very clear, is to align yourself or be associated with 1, who receive shame and scorn, and you very well may experience exactly the same, embarrassment and shame for following Jesus. But on the last day, he says, you will not be among those who are shamed by my heavenly father. Come take the shame of the cross now, so that when he comes in the glory of his holy angels, you will be vindicated and glorified with him. And not found among those who are ashamed. And so if you're not a Christian here, still thinking about Jesus.

Perhaps you're thinking about this better life course. I'd love you to come along to that, find out a bit more about it. But this is the call that Jesus makes to you. He says, come follow me, I'd love you to. But know that that means you die to yourself.

You die. You go into the ground in order to live. Take up your cross. Perfect vision matters for our discipleship, for our joy, for our mission, and lastly, perfect vision is a gift of God. If all of these stories teach us anything, it's that without radical, eye opening, grace, We will not understand.

Jesus had to open the eyes of the blind man. So that he could see. He did not open his own eyes, and he could not. He was desperate, his friends were begging, And that tells us that only grace can open our eyes to see both Christ and His Cross. And the good news for all of us is that such eye opening grace is available to every single 1 of us.

If we will come to him, Jesus will lay his hands upon our eyes, and he will say, My son, my daughter, see. See perfectly who I am, and what it means to follow me. Perfect vision matters for our discipleship. It matters for our joy. It matters for our mission.

And it is a gift of God. Let's bow our heads and pray together. Just give you a moment to reflect on those things that we've seen in God's word and thought about together. Heavenly father forgive us for when we are drawn towards a Christianity that is full of yeast, for where we want the the prize for where we live in the unbelief, for where we demand you to prove yourself over and over again for the times when we fuse to follow the light that you give us to its conclusion and demand more and more or just treat your words like Herrah did as something interesting something entertaining, but ultimately not something to respond to. Forgive us lord Jesus for when we want to follow you minus the cross.

For when we aren't willing every day to take up the cross and to die to the old ways and to find freedom in your ways. And yet, we thank you lord Jesus, that this passage teaches us that you love to open blind eyes and you love to correct, confused eyes. And we prayed that each 1 of us might feel your gracious touch upon our eyes this morning. That we might see who you are in all your splendor and glory, but that we might be willing also to follow you. On the road of the cross.

And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Ah, man.