David Heath-Whyte
NB: This is what I intended to say, for the genuine article, listen to the audio version.
"The One"
The Matrix
I wonder if you've seen the film, "The Matrix"?
In the film, machines have taken over the world, and they use human beings as an energy supply - all plugged in like load of batteries. Into everyone's brain is fed a computer-generated version of reality: the Matrix: a perfect and happy world, instead of the terrible misery that is reality.
But could someone escape and bring everyone freedom? The oracle told of 'the One', who alone would have the power to destroy the Matrix from within.
And along comes Neo, played by Keanu Reeves - could he be 'the One'? Is he the 'Saviour' - the Messiah figure?
It's a very popular film - and not least because people are looking for escape: escape from this world's meaninglessness: people would love to feel that there could be someone, who could come along and fix everything - a Neo figure, a Saviour, a Messiah.
And the truth is that there is just such a Messiah - but most people have failed to see him.
"Do you see anything?"
And what we see is right at the heart of our passage this morning - Mark 8:11-30, page...
In the middle, in v.23, is Jesus' question: "Do you see anything?"
And there are four events here, all about seeing.
v.11-13, the Pharisees want to see signs and wonders.
v.14-21, Jesus is in a boat, getting exasperated with his disciples: v.18 "Do you have eyes but fail to see?"
v.22-26, near Bethsaida, Jesus gives the blind man sight, asking him: "Do you see anything"
And in v.27-30, at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks the disciples what they see when they look at him: "Who do you say I am?"
Jesus is the Messiah, and the question is, when you look at him - through the pages of Mark's Gospel: "Do you see anything?" Or are you missing the obvious, even when its right in front of you?
The Messiah & Sight
Mark, the careful editor
Mark, the Gospel writer, has put these events together like this to make us think carefully about what we see.
In the first half of the book we keep facing the question: "Who is this man?"
And we see lots of events showing Jesus' authority and power - in his teaching and his actions.
So when Jesus asks Peter: "Who do you say I am?" it's a vital moment - and it's a question for us just as much as Peter.
And when we've realised that Jesus is the Messiah, we're ready to face the next question in Mark's Gospel: What does the Messiah do? he dies on the cross to bring forgiveness of sins - as we'll see as the book goes on.
OT
"Do you see anything?"
In the OT, the whole idea of seeing and sight is closely bound up with what the Messiah will do.
God's people were spiritually blind - here's how Jeremiah addressed them: Jeremiah 5:21 "Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear..."
But when the Messiah comes, Isaiah 35:5 "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped."
The Messiah will bring sight - both physical and spiritual.
Mark on 'eyes to see'
The trouble is, when Jesus does come, it seems that the very people who should see him, are just as spiritually blind as their ancestors!
Lake Crossings
And Lake Galilee is one place we keep on seeing the blindness of the disciples.
In chapter 4, Jesus calms the terrible storm with a word: his disciples are bewildered: (Mark 4:41) "They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!""
Later, in chapter 6, having fed the 5000, Jesus walks on water: "they all saw him and were terrified ... They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6: 50-52)
And now, Jesus has fed another huge crowd and he wants to have an important conversation in the boat - but all they can think about is how much bread they've got. No wonder Jesus is exasperated! 8:18 "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?"
They're blind!
Miracles of Hearing & Sight
Which is a tragedy, when you see what's going on all around them
In chapter 7:31f a deaf man gets to hear, a mute man speaks.
And in 8:22-26 a blind man sees.
Who is this? "Do you see anything?"
Let's look more closely.
Worldly eyes are blind (11-21)
First of all then, v.11-21, with the Pharisees and the disciples - where we find that "Worldly eyes are blind"
v.11-21, Worldly eyes are blind.
The Pharisees ask for a sign in v.11, just after Jesus has done about a million of them: they're blind.
And in v.l5 when Jesus wants to warn the disciples about the influence of the Pharisees and Herod, we get the shock that the disciples are just as blind as the Pharisees:
Slow learners
v.15 "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." (Jesus is talking about their influence: just as yeast spreads through dough, so their influence spreads amongst people)
16 They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread."17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand?"
Jesus reminds them about the leftovers when he fed 5000, and then 4000.
What should they have learnt from that?
1. Having just one loaf is not a problem with Jesus around!!!
2. What this man says is far more important than how much food you've got!As Jesus himself put it in the Sermon on the Mount: "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Forget the food - concentrate on Jesus' Kingdom, listen to his teaching!
But it's all lost on the disciples.
Mind that yeast!
Jesus had an important point:
The Pharisees weren't seeking wisdom from Jesus, they just wanted flashy signs.
Herod wasn't seeking righteousness, he just wanted to carry on with adultery and murder;
and these were the role-models, the celebrities of the age - the disciples have got to watch out, and avoid their influence.But the disciples eyes are just as worldly as the Pharisees and Herod, and so they don't understand.
If your eyes are set on the wrong things, you won't understand Jesus;
if we're seeking what people around us seek - outward, physical, temporary things - however comfortable or exciting they may be - they'll blind us to what really matters: Jesus & his kingdom, and his righteousness.Imagine you're playing cricket, and you're fielding out near the boundary somewhere, but you start to get more interested in what's going on in the crowd, you end up looking at the crowd more than the game, becoming completely engrossed - and suddenly there's a shout - 'catch catch' - but by the time you've turned around and focussed the ball has whizzed past you and over the rope for six.
Let's not make the same mistake with Jesus, let's not be deflected by the influence of our culture's role models and celebrities.
"Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod" - and the poor blind disciples:
don't go seeking signs and wonders,
don't go looking for worldly pleasures,
don't even let getting your daily bread fill your sights.Because worldly eyes are blind.
Jesus gives sight (22-26)
But: what is the very next thing that happens? Jesus makes someone see - v.22-26: "Jesus gives sight"
the healing
They've crossed the lake, and they're near the city of Bethsaida. A blind man is brought to Jesus, who takes him somewhere quiet, and uses spit on his eyes to bring healing. No-one really knows why - it's unlikely it was a new medical technique, Jesus probably did it so that the man could feel what Jesus was doing. And it's a two-stage healing - who knows why, except that out of the many healings there may have been that day, Mark included this particular one to make the point: it's Jesus who gives sight!
When the man can see clearly, v.26 Jesus wants him to go home quietly - probably so he could move on without too much fuss.
it's a sign
Jesus gives sight: here's a sign about who Jesus is: Jesus can do this amazing thing: does that remind you of someone?
It's a Messiah sign.
but will they understand - the disciples? will we, the readers, understand?
And it's not just sign about who Jesus is: it's also about what he can do: here we are, thinking about being spiritually blind, and wondering: 'where do we go for spiritual sight, who do we ask?'
go to Jesus!
Jesus is the answer: we need his help to overcome our spiritual blindness.
How are we going to understand what to make of what goes on around us today?
What does God think of the things we hear about? - house arrests for terror suspects, the Tsunami, Charles' wedding?We need Jesus' help: his help to take what we know from our bible reading and put it together to make sense of what's going on - to know how to respond - should we behave like that? should we be happy or sad or outraged?
And what about our own personality and habits? Are we doing the right things or the wrong things? We need Jesus' help to give us spiritual understanding to know where we need to change.
And what does the cross mean? What is it all about? Why is the resurrection so important? Why does it matter that it was real and physical?
Jesus gives sight - and we need it.
Holy Spirit
Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to believers - God the Holy Spirit gives us sight instead of blindness. He does it by giving us understanding of God's Word - the bible. Helping us to see what it means, and to apply that meaning to our lives. He uses the Bible to give us Wisdom - gradually changing the way we see and understand God, ourselves and the world, so that we think more as Jesus does.
We need this help from Jesus: Jesus gives sight.
Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Messiah (27-30)
So: what does this all add up to?
Only one thing: Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Messiah (v.27-30)
'the One'
Jesus is "the One" - He is the Messiah.
Have a look at v.27: Who do people say I am? Jesus asks.
Well, some are saying John the Baptist - come back to life.
Others are saying it's the great OT miracle worker and prophet Elijah - after all, Malachi, another prophet, said that Elijah would return before the Messiah.
"But (v.29) what about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ."
You are the Christ - that's Greek for the Hebrew word Messiah - "the anointed one"
At last, Peter sees - but not very clearly yet! Perhaps this is why Mark includes the two-stage healing in the verses before - for now it's like seeing people as trees walking around - Peter sees that Jesus is the Messiah - but he's going to object when Jesus says the Messiah has to die!
Later Peter will see clearly.
But what about us? You've seen the evidence that Mark has presented: Who do you say that Jesus is?
If we've got eyes to see, we'll say: "The Messiah, the Christ"
And then what?
And then: we'll fix our eyes on him, because the Messiah is fundamentally important to our lives - more important than food and water even.
who provides salvation
Why? Because Jesus is 'the One' - he's the one who brings escape from meaninglessness, he's the one who can break us free from the machine of sin and death. He's the one with the power to tackle the problem head on - and that's what he did on the cross, successfully destroying the power of sin and death. But did it destroy him? No - he's the One: and he rose again, alive and triumphant.
We have a disease called sin - and sin is when we put ourselves in God's place.
For example - Our first instinct isn't to want God to look great, it's to want me to look great.
We don't want God to make the rules, we want to make our own - and change them frequently, because we can't keep our own rules even.And God the sovereign judges us usurpers who try to take his place; he declares us guilty and condemns us to death - hell.
So we need the Messiah.
And when Jesus died on the cross, he took on himself the guilt for all our sin, and the punishment for all our sin - so that we can be free from it.
Think of a game of cricket again, but this time you're in a friend's back garden. You're batting, and you let loose a particularly viscious shot that heads straight for the greenhouse, and smashes a window. Your friend's Father roars from within "What's going on" - you're doomed, but your friend says: "here, give me the bat" - you pass it to him, and when his Father comes out, it's clearly him who's responsible, and he takes all the blame.
At the cross Jesus says: "here, give me your sin" - and he becomes responsible for it, taking the blame and the punishment.
Three days later he's alive again, victorious.
The Messiah makes it possible for us to be free from sin and death, restored to a right relationship with God.
Opt-in
How do we get all this? We need to opt-in.
Our new family list here at Holy Trinity is a great idea - it'll help us to stay in touch with each other - but you've got opt-in, otherwise you won't be in there.
And we have to opt-in to what Jesus has done. We do this by getting on our knees before God and saying:
I'm sorry that I've sinned against you and I'm determined to stop and change;
Thank you that Jesus is the One who has died for me and is alive to be my Lord;
Please give me your forgiveness and new life and receive me as yours.God promises that the answer to that prayer is 'Yes' and immediate membership of Jesus' Kingdom.
service provider?
But then what?
Once we've opted in, can we treat Jesus like a service provider?
We get Gas and Electricity from service providers, don't we.
With a Service Provider, we pay our bills, we get what they provide, but we can completely ignore them, they just do the job anyway.
Can we treat Jesus like that?
He provides forgiveness, so you pay the odd bill (and turn up at church occasionally), and just get on with life ignoring him completely.
No way!
No - Beatlemania!
Jesus is the Messiah - he is 'the One' - he is what life is all about: we exist for him, and the real aim of life is to glorify him.
And look what he has done for us, and at what cost?!
He's worthy of our devotion, our avid attention, our worship - he deserves to dominate our lives.
Let's fix our eyes on Jesus, the Messiah.
"Do you see anything?"
"do you see anything?"
You won't if you let worldly things divert your gaze. Worldly eyes are blind.
You'll only see if you turn to Jesus for help with spiritual sight. Jesus gives sight.
When you see, you'll realise that Jesus is so amazing he puts everything else in the shade. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Messiah.