The Expense of Discipleship

Mark 8:31-38 31“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” 34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Intro: To be a disciple of Christ one must deny self, and have faith in Christ, and in his words.

Disciple - means pupil or leaner. In its most intense sense; discipleship suggest a total commitment to stay close to and to obey the person chosen as ones teacher.

Marks gospel account shares with us several movements as it relates to the maturation process of discipleship.

1 The Ignorance that exist in Discipleship. Vs. 31-33 Mark 8:31-33 31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.””

This statement of Jesus raised many questions for the disciples. If He is indeed the Christ of God, as they had confessed, then why would He be rejected by the religious leaders? Why would these leaders crucify Him? Did not the Old Testament Scriptures promise that Messiah would defeat all their enemies and establish a glorious kingdom for Israel? There was something wrong somewhere and the disciples were confused.

This caused Peter to be somewhat bipolar in his response to Jesus. One minute he was led by God to confess his faith in Jesus , and the next minute he was thinking like an unbelieving man and expressing the thoughts of satan. One minute Peter was a “rock”, and the next he was a stumbling block. One minute he was led by the Spirit, and the next Led by satan.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Seven: The Servant’s Secrets (Mark 8:27–9:50)

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan said, “The man who loves Jesus, but who shuns God’s method, is a stumbling block to Him.”

A: Peter was Ignorant of Jesus’ Purpose: 31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

B: Peter was Ignorant of God’s process: He did not yet understand the relationship between suffering and glory. The disciples ha d a “theological problem” and a “practical problem”.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Seven: The Servant’s Secrets (Mark 8:27–9:50)

They were following Satan’s philosophy (glory without suffering) instead of God’s philosophy (suffering transformed into glory). Which philosophy you accept will determine how you live and how you serve.

2 The Investment of Discipleship; Vs. 34 Mark 8:34 34“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Jesus wanted his disciples to know that there is a price to pay for true discipleship.

A: Deny yourself - we must surrender ourselves completely to Him.

B: Take up your cross - we must identify with Him in suffering and death.

C: Follow me - we must follow Him obediently, wherever He leads.

3 The Insulation of Discipleship; Vs.35 Mark 8:35 35 “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

This is how we insulate ourselves from the elements of life. Through:

A: Personal Devotion - loosing yourself is not an act of desperation; it is an act of devotion. This leads to:

B: Practical Duty - the sharing of the Gospel with a lost world .“For My sake” could lead to selfish religious isolationism, so it must be balanced with “and the Gospel’s.” Because we live for Him, we live for others.

4 The Interrogation of the Disciples; Vs.36-37 Mark 8:36-37 36“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Discipleship is a matter of profit and loss, a question of whether we will waste our lives or invest our lives. He was not telling them how to be saved and go to heaven, but how to save their lives and make the most of their opportunities on earth.

Loosing ones soul is equivalent of wasting your life, and missing great opportunities God gives you to make you to make your life count.