June Week3 Lesson: Jesus, The Christ Revealed.

LESSON 25. JUNE 18, 2017.

TOPIC :  JESUS, THE CHRIST REVEALED.

MEMORY VERSE:  Mark 8:29. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that Iam? And Peter answered and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ(KJV)

LESSON TEXT: Mark 8:27 through 9:13

CENTRAL TRUTH:  God provide Godly leaders to tend his flock.

FOCUS : To examine Jesus’ revelation of himself and believe in Him.

LESSON OUTLINE

1.    Jesus Recognised as Christ

A.      Understand who Jesus is

B.      Embrace who Jesus Is

2.    Requirements for Following Christ

A.      Turn from Selfishness

B.      Do not Be Ashamed

3.    Jesus’ Divine Nature Revealed

A.      Revealed in Transfiguration

B.      Revealed in Resurrection

                   Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1.      Comprehend  the meaning and importance of following Jesus wholeheatedly

2.      Evaluate their understanding of who Jesus is and how this relates to sharing Him with the lost.

3.      Ascertain the significance of the Transfiguration and Resurrection, and apply it to their lives.

                                           Introducing The Lesson

Today we face a similar task. Many voices offer opinions on who Jesus is, but we must determine for ourselves who He really is. Jesus revealed himself and His divine nature in Scripture. The Scriptures covered in this lesson provide us with a record of this revelation

               COMMENTARY  AND APPLICATION.

1.    Jesus Recognised as Christ.

A.   Understanding Who Jesus Is.  Mark 8:27-30

               Today, debate about Jesus abounds. Some believe He never existed, while others believe He did exist as a great teacher and philosopher but nothing more. Among those who accept His existence, opinions run the gamut-from madman to deity.

During His time on Earth, Jesus showed interest in people’s opinions about Him. When He asked His disciples about this (Mark 8:27), they in turn replied with various popular opinions about His identity (verse28). Moses and Elijah were forerunners to the Messiah. During Jesus’ earthly life, many tended to see Him in same way: a great prophet who ultimately pointed toward someone else.

Question : Why is someone believes about Jesus so important?

If we view Jesus as merely as historical figure, our knowledge about Him will have no more effect on us than our knowledge of any other person from history. If we dismiss Him, we are rejoicing every promise  and claim He has made on our belief. But if we accurately determine His identity- and respond to His claims with faith – we can experience eternal blessings and rewards.

Jesus posed the question again. This time He asked the disciples their opinion about His identity. Peter quickly declared Jesus to be “ the Christ” (verse 29,KJV). This term identified Jesus as the Messiah, God’s Anointed One. Peter’s declaration was decisive, and one we do well to repeat. If we hold   a vague view of Jesus, we can lose sight of who He really is: our Savoiur.

Question: How would you respond to someone who denies the existence of Christ? How would you respond to someone who claims Jesus was merely a great teacher?

Teaching Tip: Have students respond to these questions, then discuss their responses.

Once the disciples had acknowledge His identity, Jesus warned them not to tell anyone (verse 30).

Question : Why would Jesus not want His disciples to share the answer Peter had just given?

Peter had answered correctly. Jesus was and is the promised Messiah. But many people in that day believed the Messiah would come to deliver Israel from Roman rule. Yet Jesus came to set people free from sin. Following Him well result in reproach and suffering in this life.( John 15:18-19). Jesus did not come to provide a political Messiah, but a saviou. He knew the masses would  not  comprehend or embrace His identity at that time.

When we tell others about Jesus, we must be sure that the listeners understand that the freedom Jesus offers is spiritual freedom, not physical or social freedom, although that might be a benefit. Jesus came to save the world from the penalty of sin (John 1:29).

B.    Embrace who Jesus Is. Mark 8:31-33.

  Jesus referred to himself as “Son of Man” (Mark 8:31), a term relating to Him being the Messiah. This phrase affirms Scripture’s description of Jesus as both deity and Humanity ( Colossians 1:15-17;1Timothy 3:16). Jesus used the term to identify Himself as the Messiah.

Jesus also revealed His mission which included suffering, rejection, death and His resurrection from death (verse 31). While Peter identify the nature of Christ correctly, he could not grasp what Jesus was revealing. In fact, he began to rebuke Jesus for what He had said (verse 32).

Question: Why do you think Peter rebuke Jesus ?

The thought of a suffering Messiah was abhorrent to Peter. He likely embraced the notion that the Messiah would come as a political figure to deliver  the Jews from Roman rule. Note Christ’s blunt response. Verse 33 indicates that He regarded Peter’s rebuke as satanic in origin. Earlier, during Satan’ temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11), Satan had tried to distract Jesus from the suffering of the cross. Jesus understood that the cross played the central role in His work on earth.

Question: why was Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection an essential part of His coming to earth?

Teaching Tip: Read Paul’s explanation of the gospel in 1Corinthian 15:1-8. Discuss what the verse say about Christ’s suffering.

The suffering, death and resurrection of Christ form the foundation of the gospel. If we omit them from our proclamation of truth, we proclaim something less than the good news Jesus calls us to share.

             2.    Requirements for Following Christ.

A.   Turn from Selfishness. Mark 8:34-37.

Question: How does the message of Christ’s suffering and death relate to the way He calls us to Live?

Taking up one’s cross illustrates how Jesus calls His followers to live. Jesus emphasized this reality when He turned to the crowd following His words with Peter. He called them and Hid disciples to himself, and expanded on the meaning of the cross, making it a symbol  of the life He calls His followers to observe. Following Jesus involves  the kinds of things one might imagine when contemplating His cross: self-denial, willingness to suffer, and obedience to the Father (verse 34).

Question: What will happen if we deny the reality of sacrifice and try to live out our lives on our own terms?

In seeking to hold on to a life of self-centred gain, a person actually loses eternally (verse 35). At the same time, the person who chooses to sacrifice personal goals for the sake of Christ gains eternal life (verse 35).

In verse 36, Jesus used a kind  of “profit- and- loss  ledger” to illustrate the folly of clinging to life without surrender to Him. Gaining the whole world and all that it offers, and yet losing our souls, holds no benefit but results in horrific loss (verse 36). Conversely, all the money and possessions in this world cannot compare to the value  of our eternal souls (verse 37).

This is a critical message in our self-serving society. How tragic it is for a person to spend his or her life in selfish pursuits, only to find in the end that it cost the person everything. The wise choice is to forsake our self-centred pursuits and choose  instead to selflessly follow Jesus. We may lose temporal gain but gain eternal life.

B.                   Do Not Be Ashamed. Mark 8:38 through 9:1.

          Christ’s followers must avoid feeling shame concerning their commitment to Him. In fact, He said that if we are unwilling to identify with Him and His message, we will be rejected when He returns to earth(Mark 8:38). Christians must not choose to live a “closet” Christianity-living as if their commitment Him is a private matter. Such an attitude is direct threat to our relationship with Christ.

    Jesus  followed His teaching on discipleship with a profound promise, in Mark 9:1. They would not die without seeing God’s kingdom displayed. Scholars have offered several explanations as to what Jesus meant by this: His resurrection or the coming of the Holy Spirit are two prominent ideas. It could also refer to the Transfiguration, which immediately followed, in 9:2-13. This provided the disciples a preview of the glory of the kingdom of God that would come for all who follow Christ.

If we find ourselves ashamed of Jesus, we are wise to remember His hopeful promise. A glorious future awaits those who follow Him. Meanwhile, we must live our commitment to Christ openly and without reservation. When we do this, we fulfill another of the requirements for ourselves as His followers. 

3.    Jesus’ Divine Nature Revealed.

A.   Revealed In Transfiguration. Mark 9:2-8  

     In Mark 9:2, six days had passed since Jesus’ teaching on the cost and reward of discipleship. Peter, James, and John-Christ’s “inner circle” of disciples were taken up on a high mountain. Here Jesus changed before their eyes. One language scholar points out that the team “transfiguration” pictures more than a mere change in appearance. Instead, it involves an absolute change into sort another form. The original word is the same as that which gives us the word “metamorphosis”.

Question:  Why was Jesus so completely transformed before His disciples’ eyes?

      Jesus showed the three disciples His “Glorified” form in all its splendor. What they saw on this mountaintop presented them a preview of how Jesus will appear when He returns.

     Verse 3 describes in greater details what these disciples witnessed. Jesus’ clothing became dazzling white-beyond anything any human could reflected such glory (Luke 9:29).

      The disciples also saw two significant figures from the Old testament: Elijah, and Moses-representing the Law and the prophets (Mark 9:4). Luke 9:31 indicates that they spoke together concerning Christ’s crucifixion and what this would mean in terms of humanity’s redemption.

     Peter responded impulsively to the dramatic  scene by suggesting that they build three tabernacles, or booths (Mark9:5-6)-one for each of the figures who stood before him. Peter may have though of erecting such structures would cause the three to remain longer. The fear that the disciples felt at that moment (verse 6) may have played a role in what He said: Such a suggestion would hardly befit the glory of the moment. Peter may have also had in perhaps even seeing this as the inauguration of the coming Messianic Age.

God ‘s voice then broke through the cloud that had come to surround the scene – reminiscent of the glory cloud that accompanied Israel in the wilderness (see Exodus 40:34). He made plain the meaning of the event: Jesus stood supreme over all humanity,including the two historical  people they saw. The disciples’ responsibility was not to simply revel in the experience of the transfiguration. The event was intended  to draw their attention and allegiance to the Lord they followed (Mark 9:7).

Question:  What is the value of the Transfiguration for us today?

    With many voices offering conflicting ideas about Jesus, we must keep our focus on the Jesus revealed in the scripture. Note in verse 8 that the scene ended with Christ alone standing in their midst. He is the eternal, glorious son of God, transcending time and eternity. We must focus our attention and allegiance only on Him.

B.    Revealed in Resurrection. Mark 9:9-13

The scene following the Transfiguration made it clear that the disciples did not yet fully grasp what they had witnessed. Jesus commanded them to be silent about what they had seen until His resurrection (Mark 9:9). This perhaps reflected a propensity on their part to misunderstand or misinterpret the event.

   The mention of resurrection perplexed the disciples (verse10). Yet their confusion led them to ask about Elijah, who was prophesied to come before the messiah and restore all things (verse11; see Malachi 4:5-6). Their concept of restoration left no room for a suffering, dying Messiah.

     Jesus confirmed what the disciples had pointed out (verses 12-13). John the Baptised had fulfilled this prophecy of Elijah. But that doesn’t negate the necessity of suffering servant. The old testament proclaimed this truth repeatedly (see Psalm 22:1-5; Isaiah 52:13 Through 53:12) .

     Some scholars point to Elijah as one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11, appearing prior to Jesus’ second coming. So these events have their fulfillment in both appearances of Christ –His incarnation as well as His return.

     What an encouragement this provides for those who follow Christ. The Bible reveals the truth about Jesus. It is not a collection of fables. Jesus is not a fictitious character, but the glorious son of God. In following Jesus, we build our lives on the solid foundation of truth.

                            DISCIPLESHIP IN ACTION

In light of this lesson, ask yourselves this reflection questions: Do I understand what Jesus is even as I seek deeper clarity in my understanding? Do I share the gospel with clarity?

    Is my life best described as selfish or selfless? What would both selfishness and selflessness do to my life? Do I contemplate the grandeur of Jesus Christ on a regular basis?

    The Bible’s revelation of Jesus Christ  must be regarded as more than historical record. Its picture of Him must impact the way we live. When we allow the Bible’s revelation of Jesus to shape all that we do, the world around us will see what it desperately needs authentic Christian transformation.

                                  MINISTRY IN ACTION

   Challenge students to think of the many people they encounter who have never entered church. Remind them that many of these likely watch Christians; Christians must live in such a way that the image of Jesus they displayed is accurate. Close in prayer for the lost, asking God to help students share their faith effectively.