Mark chapter 8. I want to speak to you this morning. This message is for you. And when I say you, I'm not talking
about this crowd. I'm not talking about all the
people who have assembled inside this building together this morning. I'm talking about you. And you. You. I point my finger at myself and
I say, you. I have a message for you. I have a personal message for
you. Not y'all. You. Okay? You. Mark 8 verse 27 says, And
Jesus went out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And by the way, he asked his
disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist. But some say, Elias or Elijah,
and others, one of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? Who do you say I am? Now it does not matter what other
people think. It does not matter what other
people say. This is between you and God. This is between me and God. You know that? Individually. Well, you see, my mama says,
doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Well, my grandparents
say, doesn't matter, right or wrong. They might be right on
the money. They might be right on the money. My preacher says, doesn't matter. It does not matter what your
preacher says. All that matters is what God
has said. And with that being said, here's
the question. With that being said, whom do
you say that he is? With that being said, whom do
you say that he is? What do you think? This morning, I don't want to
throw the message out like a blanket. A lot of times, you know, you
just kind of throw it out there like a net, like a blanket. I
don't want to do that this morning. This message is for one person
at a time. What think ye of Christ? Who do you say that he is? You. You. Verse 27, And Jesus went out
and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi, And by
the way, he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men
say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist.
But some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets. Some thought
that our Lord was John the Baptist reincarnated. And the reason
they thought that is because our Lord's message was very bold,
just like John's. Very straightforward, very truthful.
But whose message came first? Where did John get his message?
Some thought he was Elijah because of the miracles he did. Some
thought that he was Elijah or one of those other prophets reincarnated
because he performed miracles, and those men did too. In their minds, that was a huge
compliment. Here's what I want us to understand.
They were not, in their minds, shunning him. They said, that's
got to be John the Baptist. That's got to be Elijah. In their
own minds, it was a huge compliment. Now, if somebody said that about
me, if somebody said, I tell you
what, that's John the Baptist right there. That man, that's Elijah. You
realize what a compliment that would be to me? Not to him. Not to him. It is an indescribable disgrace. Indescribable. To compare his
glory to a man. Indescribable. It may have been a compliment
in their eyes, but it's a crime worthy of eternal hell. Punishable. A punishable crime. To bring the glory of God Almighty
down to a man's level. May God keep us from the abomination
of lessening Him. lessening him, lowering him in
our own eyes. Go with me over to Romans chapter
1. Romans 1. Verse 18 says, For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. The wrath of God. That's something
you don't hear much about anymore, isn't it? Has it gone away? Verse 19 says, Because that which
may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed
it unto them. He's given man a conscience. Verse 20, For the invisible things
of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power
and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." What that means
is, we can clearly see that God is God. Look at the sun, S-U-N. Isn't that thing amazing? How did it get there? One little flame of gas was floating
through space. And it bumped into a piece of
paper. And then that bumped into... God put it there. God put it
there. He said, they're without excuse.
Verse 21 says, because that when they knew God, they glorified
Him not as God. Neither were thankful. but became
vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."
What that means is, man started saying, well, you see, I think,
vain in their imaginations. Here's what I think God is. We
just started reading, the wrath of God is clearly revealed from
heaven. And they say, I don't think God
has any wrath. I think God loves everybody.
That's what I think. Why? It's clearly revealed. No, you see, God doesn't want
any bad to come to anybody. Why did he send a flood in the
days of Noah then? Why does he say that he will
return, gather his elect to himself, and then burn up this earth?
The heavens are going to melt. Why does he say that? I don't think that's going to
happen. Okay. You're welcome to think that,
but that's a vain imagination. Verse 22 says, professing themselves
to be wise, they became fools. and changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made like two corruptible men. They started thinking of God
Almighty as just being another man. And even worse than that,
to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things, they just
kept bringing Him lower and lower and lower. This man Jesus, This
man that everybody's heard of, Jesus, is not just a man. He's not just a man. I am so
thankful I'm allowed to tell the truth. I get to tell the
truth. This man, Jesus, is not just
a man. Turn with me over to Matthew 12. Matthew 12 verse 41 says, the men of Nineveh shall rise
in the judgment with this generation. The actual men of Nineveh are
going to rise in the judgment with this generation and shall
condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And
behold, a greater than Jonah is here. A greater than Jonah, look at
verse 42, the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment
with this generation and shall condemn it for she came from
the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon
and behold a greater than Solomon is here. Solomon was made to
be the wisest man on this earth. Oh man, a much wiser than he
walked this earth and is coming back. Those who said that our
Lord was John the Baptist or Elijah or one of those prophets,
they gave Him the highest honor you could give a man. Really. They gave Him the highest honor
you could give a man and they missed it. They missed it. But wait a minute,
wait a minute. They loved Jesus. They were given
Him the highest honor they could give a man. We love Jesus. We have given our lives to Him. We've given our hearts to Him. We've given our money to Him.
We have bake sales for Him. We have garage sales for Him.
We build houses for people in the name of Him. We've done all
these wonderful works. They missed it. Isn't that what our Lord said
in Matthew 7? Turn over with me to Matthew 7. Matthew 7 verse 21. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. There
are going to be people standing there going, Lord! Lord! Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, we have prophesied in thy
name. I mean, I never worked a job
in construction, and I never got my education into worldly
things and such. I was a preacher all my life.
I mean, from a child, I grew up in the pew, and then I started
helping in the church, and then one day I became a preacher,
and I'm a preacher. We prophesied in thy name. And
it goes on to say, in thy name we've cast devils out of people. and in thy name done many wonderful
works." He said, then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.
Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. All that stuff was
sin. That's what he said. The problem
is, is they missed Christ. Okay? We're going to get to the
point here. They have missed Christ. Now,
hold your place right here. We're going to come right back
to Matthew. Hold your place and look at our text again in Mark
8. Mark 8 verse 27. And Jesus went out and his disciples
into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And by the way, he asked his
disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist,
but some say Elias, and others one of the prophets. And he saith
unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and
saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. Thou art the Christ. Now we know
that Peter gave the right answer because of what our Lord said
in Matthew's account of this. Look at Matthew 16. Matthew 16 verse 13, When Jesus
came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? And they
said, Some say thou art John the Baptist, and some Elias,
and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And he saith unto
them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. He said, Peter, you've had the
truth revealed to you. You've had the truth revealed
to you. And flesh and blood didn't reveal it. You didn't learn it
from a man. God has shown you something.
God has revealed something to you. Taught you about who this
man Jesus really is. And I'm going to tell you, that's
the issue. Who this man Jesus really is. He's the Christ. He's the Christ. Now let's see
what that means, okay? We'll be quick about this, but
let's see what it means that He is the Christ. Turn with me
to Matthew 1. The definition of the word Christ is the Messiah. the anointed one, Immanuel. All right, that's the definition
of the word Christ, Immanuel. So Matthew 1 verse 21 says, And
she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all
this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his
name Immanuel, Christ, Immanuel, which being interpreted is God
with us. God with us. Isaiah said a child
is going to be born. A son is going to be given. A man is going to come forth
from a womb. And his name is going to be called
Wonderful. Counselor, The Mighty God. That's the name of this child.
The Mighty God. The Everlasting Father. That's
the name of this child. The Everlasting Father. The Prince
of Peace. Well, is He a man? Is He a man? One hundred percent. Man sinned against God. So man
had to die. Isn't that what's right? Man
sinned against God. Man had to die. God could not
die. To be just and right and fair,
man had to die. So God became a man. God became
a man. Is He really man? One hundred
percent. The Eternal One. You realize
that He has no beginning? The Eternal One was born. How is that possible? The Complete One grew. The All-Knowing learned. The Prince of Peace labored and
he suffered and he grieved. The one who will not slumber
never slept. Cannot, but he did. The one who
needs nothing hungered and thirsted. The sinless one was made to be
sin. Life Himself, the One who is
the source of all life, died. And He accomplished that the
only way it was possible. God became a man. God became
a man. Alright, well then is He God?
One hundred percent. Three times over, He is the only
God, there is no other. Now, you know what that means?
It means Buddha is not God. That's what it means. Allah is not God. Mohammed is
not God. There's only one God. There is only one actual, true,
and living, in a body God. The whole time that he was a
child, He never stopped being the man. The whole time that he was a
servant, he never stopped being the king. The whole time that he was on
trial, he never stopped being the judge. The whole time that he laid in
that grave, he never left the seat of his throne the whole
time. I don't believe that. I'm sorry. I don't believe that for one
minute. He can't be both. Well, then
you've missed Christ. I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous.
I had a man tell me one time, and I couldn't believe I heard
it, because I've heard people say, you'll hear people say, I never
heard it, until somebody finally said, he can't be just and the
justifier. Well, then you've missed Christ. That's what it means to say,
thou art the Christ. Listen to this, okay? Men think
they see God. In their vain imagination, they
have an idea of God. And men think they see this man
Jesus. Oh, He was so good. I wish I
could just be like Jesus. He was so kind. He was just so...
Wish I could just forgive like He did. They think they see God
and they think they see this man Jesus. They've missed the
Christ, though. They don't see the Christ. There is no salvation for a soul
that misses Christ. I don't believe I've ever preached
a more important message in my life. As we all continue our
way to hell, as we all take every step we take one step closer
to hell, I don't think I've ever preached a more important message
in my life because one day it's all going to be so clear. There is no salvation for a soul
that misses Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Lord means supreme in authority,
the controller, the sovereign God, the ruler. It's His name of deity. Jesus
means Savior, the one who has the right to redeem, the one
who can, the only one who's able. It's His name of humanity. Christ means He is the union
of both. That's what it means. He is where
God and man meet. Outside of Christ, God and man
cannot meet. If a man goes to meet God outside
of Christ, he will die. That's what it means to say he's
the Christ. He's the Christ. How can a sinner be just with
God? Only in Christ. How can a sinner
find favor with God? Only in the Christ. Only in the... We say it all
the time, don't we? Everybody thinks they need to
turn over that new leaf. Don't do it. Don't turn it. Stick your hands in your pocket.
Everybody thinks they need to come down front. Don't do it.
Sit still. There's only one way. There is
only one way. It's only in the God-man. It's only in the perfect man. The sinless man. You see, I could
never die for your sins. No matter how badly I wanted
to. And I don't. Because I'm a sinner. But I could never die for your
sins. And the reason is because I have
my own sins to deal with. I'm going to die for my own sins
outside of Christ. But he was sinless. Sinless. And he was the only man eligible
to take the sin of another and lay it on himself. The only man
eligible. He was the only man who actually
could wipe a slate clean. You know how he wiped that slate
clean? By making his slate dirty. He had to take that mud and smear
it on himself. Back to our text, he's going
to tell us how he did that. All right? Go back to Mark 8.
I'll be very quick. Mark 8 verse 27, And Jesus went
out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And
by the way, he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men
say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist.
But some say Elias, and others one of the prophets. And he saith
unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and
saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that
they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them that
the Son of man, the man, the actual man, Jesus the man, must
suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and of the chief
priests and scribes, and be killed. paying that price of the sin
of another. And after three days, rise again. He told them as God's Redeemer
what He was going to accomplish for fallen man. He said God has
chosen some to show mercy to them And this is how he's going to
do it. The perfect man is going to give his life a ransom for
many. Verse 32, And he spake that saying
openly, and Peter took him and began to rebuke him. Don't do
that. Don't you go over there and die on that cross. There's got to be a better way
than that. Verse 33, But when he had turned
about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get
thee behind me, Satan, for thou savourest not the things that
be of God, God, but the things that be of men. A man is doing
this, but God is doing this. That's what he's saying. God
was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. And the adversary,
our adversary, tried everything he could do to stop it. He entered
into Peter and he said, No, Lord, don't do that. But it could not be stopped. That is the gospel. That's our good news. He could
not be stopped. He set His face like a flint
to the cross and nothing could stop Him from dying for His people. Nothing. Christ accomplished
the salvation of His people totally. Let me tell you something. There
is nothing you have to do. Every time God reveals the truth
to a sinner, they fall on their knees crying, What must I do? Christ already did it. Christ
already did it. Your believing that is not what
causes Him to do it for you. He did it for you and then one
day opened your eyes and He opened your ears. Before you always
thought, what must I do? What must I do? Okay, let's see,
I got it. Baptism, got it. Lord's table, got it. Forgive,
got it. Help my neighbor on both sides
of my house, got it. Just to be safe, I'll help the
guy across the street too. Got it. Uh-uh. It's finished. I mean, it's finished. It's over. He did it. As a man,
he laid down his own life. And as God, he raised himself
from the dead. He was the judge that required
the sacrifice. Sin has been committed. Kill. He was the priest who offered
the sacrifice. The only one worthy to enter
into the Holy of Holies with blood. And He was the sacrifice
Himself. That's what it means to say,
Thou art the Christ. It means He is all. That's what it means. He is all.
Now let me ask you this question. Do you believe that? Not y'all. Not y'all. Do you believe that? Seeing what
God has said about this man Jesus, do you believe in your own heart
that He indeed is the Christ? Do you believe that? If you do,
if you don't, don't turn with me. But if you do, turn with
me to 1 John 5. Just before Revelation, 1 John
5. 1 John 5 verse 1 says, Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. And I tell you this, flesh and
blood didn't reveal it to you. I cannot convince you of anything.
If God doesn't move, you'll walk out of here saying, that man's
an idiot. I can't convince you of anything. All I can do is
declare what God has said. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. And verse 20 in the same chapter
says, And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given
us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true. And we are in Him that is true,
even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the true God And He is eternal life. Now we know
what they say, don't we? They'll say everything under
the sun, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. What or who
do we say that He is? Who do we confess Him to be? Thou art the Christ. Thou art
the Christ, God manifest in the flesh.