Mark 8:31-38
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Take Up the Cross and Follow Him
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him
And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
THE SUFFERING SAVIOUR
While Jesus was speaking of suffering, the disciples were thinking of Glory.
Suffering did not enter into their thinking.
THE RESURRECTION
They had trouble believing after the Resurrection.
The Resurrection is a given.
The Resurrection is of extreme significance.
The Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Exaltation of Christ should be looked at as one great work.
When one makes the Cross the Object of one’s Faith, the Resurrection is included. If one makes the Resurrection or the Exaltation the object of one’s faith, then it becomes a faith that God will not accept.
“Must” indicates a divine necessity stemming from God’s will. This is the first of three explicit pronouncements concerning Jesus’ death.
The name Son of Man is Jesus’ most common title for Himself.
“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
The Son of Man is a heavenly figure who has authority and power. The name refers to Jesus as the Messiah, the human agent of God who is vindicated by God. Son of Man is linked closely to Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ and confirms its messianic significance.
Jesus spoke plainly and directly to His disciples about His death and resurrection.
And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
SIMON PETER
“And Peter took Him,” means that words hit the Disciples like a bombshell. Peter had just made the great confession.
If the Death is ignored, Resurrection Life becomes impossible, with the person actually being put in the place of rebuking Christ, exactly as did Simon Peter!
THE REBUKE!
“And began to rebuke Him,” means that Peter was speaking with force.
But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
THE LOOK
This look that the Lord gave to Peter, was not a look of approval. What type of look is He giving us?
THE REBUKE GIVEN BY CHRIST
Mark uses the same word for “rebuke” as He did for Peter’s answer to Christ. Peter’s rebuke did not cause Jesus to change His Mind; the rebuke given to Peter and the Disciples of Christ should have brought Peter to Repentance.
satan
Jesus is speaking directly to satan.
This time satan does not ask Jesus to fall down and worship him. “Behind Me,” demanded that satan cease his temptations. satan tempted him to move outside the Will of God.
TEMPTATION
What was the type of temptation Christ suffered?
The first ten Verses of the Fourth Chapter of Matthew, concern the temptation of Christ. He was tempted to step outside the Will of God. That’s where the real temptation was, and that’s where the real temptation is.
THE THINGS OF GOD AND THE THINGS OF MEN
“For you savour not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” satan did not want the things which were of God, and Peter was wanting the things which were “of men.”
Peter was considering not God’s purposes but only his own natural human desires and feelings. Peter wanted Jesus to be king, but not the Suffering Servant prophesied in Isaiah 53. He was ready to receive the glory of following the Messiah.
Focus on the good that God can bring out of apparent evil.
Jesus may have been addressing all of them indirectly. The disciples were trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross and thus fulfilling His mission on earth. satan also tempted Jesus to avoid the way of the cross. The disciples were motivated by love and admiration for Jesus. The disciples’ job was not to guide and protect Jesus but to follow Him. Only after Jesus’ death and resurrection would they fully understand why He had to die.
And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
TAKE UP HIS CROSS
The cross of Christ is a symbol of suffering.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
“We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
We as believers must take up our cross to follow Christ.
A CHRISTLESS CHRISTIANITY
Christianity, in most circles, is Christless.
THE GOSPEL OF SELF-ESTEEM
Man has come up with the false gospel of “self-esteem.” Man consequently needs his self-esteem elevated.
One of the foremost proponents of the self-esteem gospel, has called for a “new reformation.”
If this man is right, we should elevate men and women’s self-esteem. He says: “A theology of self-esteem produces a theology of social ethics and a theology of economics.”
This self-esteem theology states that we need a new reformation and a new theology.
Concerning this new gospel of self-esteem, it strikes at the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
ALL TRUTH IS GOD’S TRUTH?
“All truth is God’s truth,” is a standard quote offered by “Christian psychologists” to justify the “self-help” philosophies and “new speak” theologies.
“If humanists stumbled upon truth, so be it. We must accept truth.”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Jesus is Truth. Without Him, there is no Truth. Jesus does not merely contain truth, He is Truth.
Truth is not a philosophy.
All that purports to be truth without Jesus is a lie. What is being touted as truth today (“All truth is God’s truth”) is disconnected facts taken out of context.
“Even though it’s not in the Bible, it can still be truth. And anything that is truth is God’s truth, because all truth comes from God.
There is no truth outside of Christ! Anything else which looks like truth, actually comes from satan. Jesus is Truth. Truth related by a liar becomes a lie.
THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE THEORY
“The Purpose Driven Life” philosophy is based 100 percent on humanism. Now it has a more religious face in the form of “The Purpose Driven Life/Church.” It is now easy for the Church to buy into “The Purpose Driven Life” scheme.
“The Purpose Driven Life” theory is an extension of the self-esteem program. The self-esteem teachers and the proponents of the Purpose Driven Life are saying that Jesus does not hold the answer to man’s problems.
THE BIBLE AND SELF-ESTEEM
One of the foremost proponents of self-esteem claims that to glorify God, we must first love ourselves.
The only thing the Bible says about self esteem can be found in:
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
This does not state that man’s crying need is enhanced self-esteem. It is a far cry from the elevated self-esteem being promoted today.
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
John 16:8 tells us that the work of the Holy Spirit is to “reprove the world of sin and of righteousness.”
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
The Holy Spirit convicts men of sin in fact.
It becomes the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to convict sinners and bring them to Jesus Christ.
The gospel of self-esteem and the Way the Holy Spirit used Simon Peter, are certainly hard to reconcile.
THE FOOT-WASHING SPIRIT
The only way self-esteem could be purged from the Disciples was for the Master to demonstrate the foot-washing spirit.
THE ANSWER TO SELF
Christ and the Cross are the answer to self.
The answer to the individual is not in elevating their self-esteem, but rather taking their problem to Christ and the Cross. The answer is the exact opposite of what we think.
THE CARNAL MIND
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
THE CROSS
“And take up his cross,” is the central focus of the activity of Bible Christianity.
The “Cross” spoke of death.
Jesus came from heaven and died on a cruel Cross in order that man may be saved.
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
Luke added the word “daily,” showing this is a decision we must make on a daily basis. The Believer, on a “daily” basis, must resolve to take up the cross.
We are to believe the Lord for the fresh benefits of the Cross, even on a daily basis. “Taking up the Cross daily” teaches us Faith and Trust.
Taking up the Cross is the only thing in the Bible which we are commanded to do on a “daily” basis.
Jesus used the image of carrying a cross to illustrate the ultimate submission required of His followers. Jesus was talking about the heroic effort needed to follow Him moment by moment.
Jesus did not teach self-denial as an end in itself. Taking up your cross will lead to a life with a new level of appreciation for Jesus and service to others.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
WHAT DOES CHRIST MEAN BY LOSING ONE’S LIFE?
If Preachers do not look exclusively to Christ and the Cross, they will not e preaching the Gospel.
We are to live the Christ life.
Nothing can compare to what we gain when we follow Jesus. Jesus wants us to choose to follow Him rather than to lead lives of sin and self-satisfaction. As the Creator, Jesus knows better than we do what real life is about.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
The simple equation of profit and loss states that one’s soul is worth more than the whole world.
PROFIT
“For what shall it profit a man,” proclaims Christ bringing this all-important subject down to the level of the businessman. He now speaks of profit and loss!
The profit and loss equation is placed in each individual realm.
If a man dies without God, it should certainly stand to reason that there is no profit in that.
WHAT IS THE SOUL OF MAN?
The soul is one’s personal existence. The “soul” and “spirit” of man are indestructible. Man consists of “spirit, soul, and body.”
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The soul and the spirit of the unbeliever are consigned to hell to await the Second Resurrection of Death and Damnation.
All unbelievers also will be given an indestructible body, which will join their soul and spirit, and then will be cast into the lake of fire forever. The soul and spirit of all Believers instantly go to be with Christ. The Believer will be given a Glorified Body, which will then join with the soul and spirit, and be with Christ forever.
With his soul, man appeals to himself.
Jesus defines righteousness as an apprenticeship to Himself as Master Teacher through the Holy Spirit. Righteousness s now defined by the Person of Jesus and not by the Law. This Person who is righteous requires our loyalty.
“For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
The Lord challenges man to think of anything that could be “given in exchange for his soul.”
Jesus said that worldliness is worthless. Are you willing to make the pursuit of God more important than the pursuit of pleasure for pleasure’s sake? Follow Jesus.
“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.”
SHAME
The verse speaks of “shame” respecting Christ and the Word of God.
THE CROSS
The Cross of Christ appears to the great body of mankind to be shameful and contemptible.
AN ADULTEROUS AND SINFUL GENERATION
“In this adulterous and sinful generation,” pertains to the character of Israel at the time of Christ. Mankind is ashamed of Him because it is “adulterous and sinful.” The word “adulterous,” pertains more in this instance to the worship of that which is not of God. That means that those who put the Church ahead of Christ are “adulterous.”
THE SON OF MAN
“Of him shall also the Son of Man be ashamed,” means that such attitude will be reciprocated in like kind. No one can be saved and be ashamed of Christ at the same time.
Considering the Cross and the price which He paid, one then can well understand how “shame” will come back on the heads of those who hold Christ in disdain. He is “the Son of Man,” but He is also “the Son of God.” The reason that men think of Him in the realm of shame is because they see Him only in the position of “Son of Man.” But if we see Him also in the realm of Deity, then His Splendor and Glory outshine the Sun.
GLORY
“When He comes in the Glory of His Father with the Holy Angels,” speaks of the Second Coming.
The Lord will come with such Splendor and Glory that there will be absolutely no doubt as to Who and What He is! His coming will be with such Glory that “the sun shall be darkened.”
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
All who are Born-Again, will actually come back with Him at this time of Glory and Splendor.
Jesus constantly turned the world’s perspective upside down with talk of first and last. We can reject Jesus now and be rejected by Him at His second coming, or we can accept Him now and be accepted by Him then.