Keep your eyes on the Servant King
This week in church, we are diving back into the Gospel of Mark, picking up the story from chapter 9. Last year in term 3, we walked through chapters 1–8 together, watching Jesus burst onto the scene in Galilee with unmatched authority and transformative grace. As we do that I thought it would be helpful for all of us to get a reminder of what has happened so far!
So, the first half of Mark relentlessly presses one question upon us: Who is this man? And the story moves quickly from moment to moment, helping us consider how we might answer that question. You see Jesus command unclean spirits, heal the sick, calm raging storms, and forgive sins; and it all demonstrates that in him, the long-awaited Kingdom of God has arrived in power.
When open Mark 8 you get to the dramatic hinge of the entire book as Jesus asks his disciples (and us), “Who do you say I am?” Peter rightly confesses, “You are the Christ.” And as readers of the whole Bible, those words announce that God’s long awaited King is here to bring victory for his people. But immediately, Jesus reshapes their expectations of what this King will do, revealing that the Messiah’s path was not immediate political triumph, but suffering, death, and resurrection. As the divine Son of Man who came to give his life as a ransom for many, he calls all true disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. That was the challenge we were left with in October last year. How are you going with that? And as we pick up in chapter 9 this week, the challenge to live for Jesus who is full of glory and power will just keep coming.
I am really looking forward to this series and if you have been around Christ Church for a while you will have noticed that we always study a gospel in term 3 and you might have wondered why. Well, even if you haven’t wondered, let me tell you because it is an intentional choice. I want our study of the gospels to help us do two things at this time of year:
Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus: As Hebrews 12:2 says, we run the Christian race by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Nothing grounds or transforms a believer quite like gazing directly at the Saviour. So as we emerge from winter, I want us to catch the vision of following Jesus afresh each year. I want us to keep our faith anchored in his flesh-and-blood ministry, reminding us what it truly looks like to live under his Word and authority.
Fuel our Share Life season: I am convinced that true evangelism flows out of knowing God deeply. Out of knowing his love and being compelled by the love of Jesus to love others. As we head into our upcoming Share Life Sundays season, we need our hearts captivated afresh by Jesus. We cannot warmly recommend a Saviour to our neighbors if his grace feels distant to us. Seeing Jesus clearly gives us both the confidence and the compassion to speak and invite - and knowing the whole term is about Jesus makes it a really easy season to invite a friend to church any week.
As we open Mark 9 together this week, let’s pray that God uses his Word to deepen our love for Jesus and for each other and from that might flow a fresh desire to proclaim him boldly.
