Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Despised and Rejected

Bryan Schneider · April 15, 2023

Mark 9:9-13

sharonrpc.org/sermons/despised-and-rejected

Summary

After the transfiguration, Jesus' instruction about his resurrection and the coming of Elijah leaves the disciples struggling to reconcile glory, suffering, and the promised kingdom.
Daniel's Son of Man receives everlasting dominion, glory, and a kingdom, while Daniel also teaches a future resurrection to life or everlasting contempt.
Malachi promises a messenger in the spirit and power of Elijah who will prepare the Lord's way before the great day arrives.
John the Baptist fulfills that Elijah ministry by calling Israel to repentance and preparing the way for Jesus, even though John does not identify himself as Elijah returned in person.
The disciples expect Elijah, the Messiah, political revolution, restored land, and an immediate everlasting kingdom, but leave no place for the Messiah's suffering.
Jesus joins Daniel's glorious Son of Man with the despised and rejected servant: he must suffer, be treated with contempt, die, and rise before the kingdom's consummation.
The sermon calls Christians to pray for Jewish people who still await Elijah and the Messiah, telling them that redemption has come in Jesus.
Believers are to prepare faithfully for Christ's return rather than speculate about times, and to bear witness in the Spirit's power from nearby communities to the ends of the earth.

What does Daniel 7 reveal about the Son of Man's authority and kingdom?
Why are the disciples puzzled by Jesus' reference to rising from the dead?
What did Malachi promise about Elijah before the day of the Lord?
How can John deny being Elijah while Jesus identifies his ministry with Elijah's promised coming?
Which step did the disciples omit from their expectation of the Messiah and the kingdom?
How do Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and Psalm 118 prepare for a despised and rejected Messiah?
Why does fulfillment in Jesus produce concern and prayer for Jewish neighbors?
How does Acts 1 redirect curiosity about the kingdom's timing toward Spirit-empowered witness?
What does faithful preparation for Christ's return look like now?

Son of Man: Jesus' title from Daniel 7 for the human figure who approaches the Ancient of Days and receives everlasting dominion and glory.
Messiah: God's anointed King, fulfilled in Jesus, whose saving path includes rejection, suffering, death, resurrection, and reign.
Elijah to come: Malachi's promised forerunner ministry fulfilled by John the Baptist in Elijah's spirit and power.
Suffering servant: The rejected and afflicted servant foretold in Isaiah, whose suffering corrects expectations of a merely triumphant political Messiah.
Resurrection: God's raising of the dead, anticipated in Daniel and inaugurated decisively in Jesus' own rising after his suffering.
Apostle: A sent and commissioned witness who proclaims the risen Messiah through the power of the Holy Spirit.