Seeing Jesus Clearly: Messiah, Cross, and Surrender

In the gospel of Mark, it's like the clouds finally break, and a beam of light cuts through. At last, there's clarity. At last, there's a confession. But even now, the picture's only half formed. Even now, they don't fully they don't fully get it because Peter has found the right title, but he has not yet embraced the costly truth behind it. He's ready for a crown. But Peter at this point, not ready yet for a cross. [01:13:35] (26 seconds)  #CrownNotCross

And then expect tension, but follow Jesus anyways. Like like Peter, we may have the right words, but we may still wrestle with what it means. That's normal. The call isn't perfect understanding. It's faithful following. Jesus is gonna keep reshaping our understanding as we obey him, as we seek to follow in his ways. [01:18:34] (23 seconds)  #FollowBeforeUnderstanding

It is so easy to say, yes, Lord. Amen. You are the Christ. Let's sing a song about it. Let's declare it together, but let's name it honestly. I'm gonna ask you this week. You take five minutes. Get real quiet and write down your real answer to Jesus' question in Mark eight twenty nine. Not the church answer, not the super Jesus y Sunday school answer, but the functional one. [01:16:29] (28 seconds)  #BeHonestWithJesus

Ask, where have I made Jesus more comfortable than he actually is? Is he only a forgiver, but he's not a leader in my life? Is he only loving but never confronting? Is he only a savior, but he's not a king? And then number three, take one concrete step of surrender. Choose one area this week. [01:17:11] (31 seconds)  #MakeJesusLord

Does my life, my schedule, my stress, my decisions say he is Lord, or do I say, by the way I live, that he's just helpful? Number two, identify where you've reshaped him. Ask, where have I made Jesus more comfortable than he actually is? Is he only a forgiver, but he's not a leader in my life? [01:16:57] (25 seconds)  #NotJustHelpful

We keep reading the gospels. People who are dead come back to life. Not not they're not mostly dead. They're all the way alive. So it's not a limitation on Jesus. It's a revelation of discipleship. Mark's showing us Jesus is showing us that spiritual sight is is it's it's most often in our lives. It's progressive, not instant. [01:06:55] (23 seconds)  #ProgressiveSpiritualSight

Peter begins to see and confess him. And the dividing line for all of us is not intelligence. It's not sincerity. It's not exposure. It is this. Will we let Jesus? Will you let Jesus? Will I let Jesus define reality or will I redefine Jesus to fit mine? [01:15:44] (20 seconds)  #LetJesusDefineReality

We wanna see you do some kind of sign that we can just know is from God because raising people from the dead and and feeding tens of thousands and forgiving sins and and cleaning the skin of lepers and causing blind people to see and teaching with authority that no one has taught before. That's not enough for us. [00:41:03] (23 seconds)  #MiraclesNotEnough