The Risen King

My family served in the Philippines as missionaries in a little village on Luzon. The mission had a little helicopter to shuttle us in and out of the village and to transport us in case there were medical emergencies. This was a jet turbine helicopter, a miracle of modern engineering. It's so cool it could make a grown man weep. Just amazing.

The flight to our village on the coast was about 30 minutes over some of the last virgin rain forest on planet Earth. There was a particular waterfall we would fly over at the halfway point. It had this perfect veil of water cascading down into clear pools. Just stunning. And the flight through the final pass to the coast gave us a view of the village and its rice fields, and the turquoise ocean breaking onto the reefs. People take vacations and spend huge amounts of money to have a flight like that. It was breathtaking. Beautiful.

The first dozen times in the helicopter was incredible. But you know what would happen though? At some point in the flight, I would look to the back seat, and my kids would be there… sleeping. Or they'd have their books out because they were bored. And it would happen to me too. I would be enjoying the flight but at a certain point I’d start staring off into space, not really taking it in anymore. I felt like we’d seen it all before.

It can be a similar challenge for us with the resurrection story, because whether you meet weekly or Resurrection Sunday is the only day of the year you come to church, this is a challenge for all of us because at some point we start to feel like we’ve seen this before. We know this story. Jesus died. Jesus rose three days later. We've heard it all before.

My prayer is that we look at it again with fresh eyes, look at who Jesus is, and dig into the questions that come from the text below. These questions not only go right to the heart of the Christian faith— but they are life-defining, life-giving questions.

Mark 8:27-38
  27 Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am? ”
28 They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”
 29 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am? ”
Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him.
 31 Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”
 34 Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. 36 For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? 37 What can anyone give in exchange for his life? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 9:1
1 Then he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power.”

GOING DEEPER 
Parallel, Related and Referenced Passages 
Parallel Accounts: Matthew 16:13-28; Luke 9:18-27 
 
1) WHO IS JESUS?  

• Psalm 2 — The anointed King  
• 2 Samuel 7:12–16 — The promised King from David’s line  
• Jeremiah 23:5 — The righteous Branch, the coming King  
• Genesis 3:1–6 — The temptation in the Garden  
• Colossians 1:15–18 — Christ as King and Creator  

 
2) WHAT DID HE COME TO DO? 

• Luke 24:25–27 — He had to suffer/ the Scriptures point to Him  
• Isaiah 53:3–6 — The suffering servant 

 
True Forgiveness 

• Mark 2:5 — “Your sins are forgiven”  
• Romans 3:23 — All have sinned 
• Hebrews 9:22 — Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness 
• Colossians 2:13–14 — Debt canceled at the cross  

Human Inability 

• Romans 3:10–12 — None righteous  
• John 8:34 — Slave to sin  
• Ephesians 2:1–5 — Dead in sin, saved by grace  

Perfect Love 

• 1 John 3:16 – This is how we have come to know love 
• Romans 5:6–8 – Perfect love demonstrated at the Cross 
• John 3:16 – God’s love for the world, through Christ’s gift 

 
3) WILL YOU FOLLOW? 

• 1 Corinthians 15:17–19 — If Christ has not been raised… 
• Galatians 2:20 — Crucified with Christ  
• Philippians 3:7–11 — Losing everything to gain Christ  
• Romans 10:9 — Confess and believe