This talk can be a really fun talk in which the congregation is walked through the gospel of Mark as we explore how people are progressively transformed (converted) as they discover who Jesus really is. Although the demons know Jesus' true Identity and God the Father knows who Jesus is, human beings in Mark's gospel get more and more light regarding his identity.
1. Jesus is known as teacher (1:16-4:34);
2. Jesus is known as prophet (Mark 4:35-6:30);
3. Jesus is known as Messiah (Mark 6:31-8:30);
4. Jesus is know as Son of Man (Mark 8:31-10:45);
5. Jesus is known as the Son of David (Mark 10:46-13:37).
Finally at the cross, Jesus is called by a human being, a Roman Centurion no less, the Son of God: "Surely this man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39). It's this progressive discovery of who Jesus is that brings fulfillment to us. It is when he was on the cross that we see most plainly, this is the Son of God. (Tom Holland in his book Dominion contrasts the way Christianity spread w Islam - the Early Christians choose to take this disgusting form of death and man that was put on the cross and worshipped him as Son of God. It completely flipped the worldview - a Roman recongized that this was the Son of God in the death on the cross - now we care about the weak and lowly and those things become valued)