Renewed Teaching on the Death of Christ

Mark 9:30-32 Gospel of Mark

Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds Mark 9:30-32, focusing on Christ's renewed teaching about his impending death and resurrection, and the disciples' lack of understanding. He argues that Christ's death was not an accident but a deliberate act central to salvation, refuting notions that Jesus' primary mission was merely to alleviate temporal suffering. Martin then draws vital lessons on spiritual understanding, highlighting how the will, emotions, prejudice, preconceived notions, and ultimately God's sovereign illumination affect one's ability to grasp divine truth, calling for humility and dependence on God for spiritual light.

3 illustrations in this sermon

Vital Lessons on the Person and Work of Christ

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Doctor Retreating from Plague

The point: Do not allow yourselves to be bullied by the world into its agenda for the Christian faith and the Christian church, but take the agenda from our Lord.

Martin uses the analogy of a doctor with a cure for a plague retreating into a cave to illustrate how illogical Jesus' withdrawal from suffering humanity would be if his primary mission was merely temporal alleviation. This highlights that Jesus' true mission was spiritual salvation.

and deafened ears there was a veritable sea of sick and broken and bruised and devil bound humanity and what does Jesus do he retreats deliberately the scripture says he was not willing that any man should know his whereabouts he withdraws deliberately in a calculating way from men in all their wrong need how do you account for that well you can't account for it if you perceive the mission of Jesus then and now to be primarily a mission of alleviating the sufferings of men in this life then Jesus would be guilty of the same kind of criminal activity that we could attribute to a doctor who has ...

29:41 - 31:10 Read in full sermon

The Relationship of Will and Emotions to Spiritual Understanding

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Fear of Dread Disease or Bankruptcy

Driving home: His will is saying, whatever you tell me, I will not hear that I am lost, that I am an undone, helpless, hell-deserving sinner, that I am bound by my sins, I am under the wrath and curse of Almighty God, and there's not …

He compares the disciples' fear of asking to someone afraid of a dread disease who tells the doctor 'I don't want to know,' or someone facing bankruptcy who refuses to examine their books. This illustrates how fear of unwelcome truth can prevent inquiry and understanding.

They understood enough to know that if we ask what we suspect is true, we'll probably be enforced with greater clarity and greater emphasis and repetition. And so it says they were afraid to ask. It's like the person who goes for an examination thinking he might have some dread disease, and then tells the doctor, Doc, I don't want to know. Like the person who's afraid that he may be going into bankruptcy and says, please, please, don't examine my books, don't tell me, I don't want to know.

45:23 - 46:03 Read in full sermon

Call to Humility and Dependence for Spiritual Light

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Bunyan's House of Interpreter

The point: Ask God to give you light and open to you the mysteries of God.

Martin alludes to John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' and Christian's visit to the House of the Interpreter, where mysteries of God are opened. This serves as an example of seeking divine illumination for spiritual understanding.

And you need to be humbled and cry to God for light. You need to ask Him, as Bunyan beautifully records in the directives that were given to Christian with respect to saving truth, you need to ask God to give you light. You need, by God's grace, to go to the house of interpreter and have Him open to you the mysteries of God. And dear children of God, we likewise need that constant ministry.

59:25 - 59:59 Read in full sermon

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