Jesus Christ – The Suffering Servant
Pastor Tan Thai · Feb 16, 2014
This sermon explores the central image in the Gospel of Mark — Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant — anchored in Mark 10:45. Three key questions are addressed: Who is Jesus, why did He come, and what does He call us to do.
The sermon opens with an overview of the four Gospels, emphasizing that each has a distinct purpose and audience. Mark wrote primarily for Gentile Roman citizens who spoke Greek, focusing on Jesus' actions rather than extended discourses. The symbolic image assigned to Mark is the lion — king of the forest — reflecting the power and urgency of Christ's ministry. The word 'immediately' appears more than 40 times in the book, conveying that Jesus' time on earth was brief and demanded urgent attention.
The central portion of the sermon addresses three questions drawn from Mark 8:27–38. The first — 'Who do you say I am?' — exposes the danger of people reshaping Jesus' image to fit their own social, political, and economic needs. Whether the Jews longing for liberation from Rome, Latin American liberation theology movements, or American political parties, everyone tends to bend the image of Christ to serve their own agenda. The preacher warns this is extremely dangerous because a distorted understanding of who Jesus is will inevitably distort one's understanding of why He came.
The second question — 'Why did He come?' — is answered through Mark 8:31 and Mark 10:45. Jesus came not to solve economic or political problems, but to serve humanity and to give His life as a ransom for many. Three key phrases are unpacked: 'Son of Man' — a title from Daniel 7 describing eternal authority — which Jesus used not to speak of ruling but of suffering as in Isaiah 53; 'must suffer' — pointing to the necessity of fulfilling prophecy and atoning for sin; and 'to give his life as a ransom' — the image of redeeming what was lost, paid for by Christ's own blood on the cross.
The third question — 'What does Jesus want us to do?' — is answered by Mark 8:34–37: 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' The cross at that time was not a decorative symbol of charity but the most brutal form of execution reserved for the worst criminals. Jesus calls His followers to die to themselves in order to find true life. The sermon concludes that taking up the cross is expressed in two dimensions: a deepening relationship with Christ, and living out the Great Commission to bring others to Him.