The Price of Life

Mark 8:31-38 (Pew Bible 714)"He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”"

Introduction

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? He said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” But how do we apply this to our lives during this Lenten season?

The cross was a wretched symbol of death. It was hated among the Jews. A man on a cross was not only condemned to death in this life, according to Roman law, but if he was Jewish, he was also accursed. This had eternal implications. This was the worst kind of death!

When Jesus taught the disciples about the kind of death he was to experience, Peter insisted that this could not be. How would it look to the people if the Messiah were accursed by hanging on a tree? But, because of the sin of all humanity, it must be so. The penalty of death, and accursedness, must be paid. Jesus knew this to be God's way of alleviating the punishment for our sinfulness, provided we believe and follow.

Application

But what does it mean to follow? It was not just a trapsing around after Jesus that he was looking for. There would always be people around to do that. He was looking for men, women and children who would do the things He did. He preached, He healed, He loved people to death... His death! But how do we do this?

Paul said he did not preach with eloquent words, but by the power of the Gospel. Peter and John did not have the power to heal themselves, but they told the beggar, “We have no silver or gold, but such as we have we give you. Rise and be healed in the name of Jesus.” It was the power of the Resurrection at work in them. We think we can love, but really we want love more than we want to give it. But through the Holy Spirit in us, we can love beyond our means! “We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!” We do it by deny ourselves, and affirm Christ! We do it by “taking up the cross.” But what does this mean?

Conclusion

What is the price of life? Jesus took up the cross for us. When we take up the cross each day, it is for Him and others. The cross is an instrument of death. Jesus is telling us the price of life is death! We die to truly live!

Write down three ways you can deny yourself and take up your cross each day.