Content
(choice of suffering)
In Mark 8:30, Jesus did not want the disciples to disclose his godly identity everywhere. Why? It is because he did not want to increase the risk of being arrested so soon. There was a time for him to be arrested and to sacrifice, which is spelled out in the next verse. In Mark 8:31, he said that “the Son of man must suffer many things.” There were no ways for him to escape this suffering; it was only a matter of time. And the time for him to sacrifice was actually very near, in a year or two. If you know you are going to suffer and die in a year or two, how would you feel and face it? Will you immediately reschedule your priorities in your timetable? Will you put God’s concern as your first priority like Jesus? For those who do not believe in eternal life, they might lavish and revel with their wealth in the remaining days. The apostle Paul senses the shortness of life and exhorts us to be wise men, “redeeming the time (NIV, making the most of every opportunity)(「要愛惜光陰」)” and “understanding what the will of the Lord is”. (Ephe 5:16-17) If we always sense that our life does not last long, we will have a driving force to do what the Lord wants to finish before we go to see Him.
Jesus knows very well what he needs to finish in the end. He will “be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (v31) This is not the right time to disclose his identity, not because he is afraid of his enemies. There are two main reasons for it:
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He just didn’t want to be delivered by human method. He knew the Father would send him to the hands of the chief priests when “his time” came. In John 7:6 & 7:8, he said twice, “My time is not yet come.” If we study in more detail when and how he was killed, we will understand that the Father had a specific schedule for his suffering. In Matt 26:18, he told his disciples, “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples.” He knew that he was going to be killed during the Passover, since he was “the Passover lamb”. In fact, it is precisely during the Passover feast that Jesus was sentenced to death. The Roman judge, Pilate, knew that according to the Jewish custom, “at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.” (Mark 15:6) While he desired to release Jesus, it was the chief priests who “moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.” (Mark 15:11) He had no other choice but eventually crucify Jesus. So, even the judge himself proved that Jesus was innocent and under no circumstances deserved death sentence. Jesus knew very well that since this was the Father’s will, there were no reasons to escape. He gladly submitted to the Father’s will and entered Jerusalem 5 days before the Passover (John 12:1,12). Then he said to the disciples, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” (John 12:23)
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He still had tasks to finish in his earthly ministry. During these final years, he did not cease doing God’s work every day. Beginning from Mark 14:43, it is recorded that he was arrested and judged. Between Chapter 9 and 14 are recorded many tasks that Jesus performed in the remaining one to two years’ time, not counting those tasks recorded in the other three Gospels. If you were Jesus, would you make the most of every opportunity to do God’s work like him?
But why did he tell the disciples about his suffering? According to Mark, he repeated twice the same message--one in Galilee (Mark 9:30-32) and another on the road to Jerusalem (Mark 10:32-34). Why did he keep on telling the disciples about his suffering, especially when the time for his suffering was getting near? The reason is that he foretold the disciples what was going to happen on him, so that they might believe afterward what he told them in advance was true. In John 14:29, he said, “And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.” His prediction certainly helped build up their faith in him after his suffering. Besides, he kept repeating this message so that they would not forget and would recall what he has said before about his suffering—and then believe that he was truly the Christ of the cross. In John 16:4, Jesus said to the disciples, “But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.”
While he was predicting his death, Peter “took him, and began to rebuke him.” (v32) Here in Mark, we are not told what Peter did say to Jesus that caused his master to rebuke Peter back with harsh words. Matt 16:22 gives us the detail: “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee.’ ” Jesus turned and rebuked Peter before the disciples, “Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men (NRSV, “For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”).” (v33) It is the very first time that Jesus called a man ‘Satan’ and that’s his beloved disciple Peter!
Still remember right before this that Peter said Jesus was the Christ and he earned his master’s praise: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matt 16:17) ? A moment before, Peter had the Spirit of God; but now, he had the spirit of Satan?! There are two reasons why Jesus rebuked Peter as Satan:
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He wanted to indicate clearly it was Satan’s will behind Peter’s saying. Satan was just trying to influence Jesus’ mind through Peter’s voice. Peter of course was not aware that he was being used by Satan to speak something that was totally against God’s will and plan.
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Jesus’ reaction showed his determination to suffer according to the Father’s will.
There are times when we have made up our minds to do God’s will but later encounter a different voice to persuade us to give up. If our faith is not strong enough, we could have yielded to Satan’s voice and scrapped God’s plan.
(choice of denying yourself)
Now Jesus gathered the people with his disciples and challenged them to follow him: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (v34) This is a totally opposite message from Jesus’ rebuke for Satan. Jesus was telling his followers to set their minds on divine things, not on human things. We are to deny ourselves, meaning that we should no longer think or do according to our own will but God’s will only like Jesus. If we are determined to be Jesus’ followers, we should take up the cross like him. Paul in Phil 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (「你們當以基督耶穌的心為心」) What is the mind of Jesus? Paul continues to explain, “who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but…took upon him the form of a servant…he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:7-8) Jesus certainly denied himself as God and debased himself to become a human body with all kinds of human limit. In the end, he suffered the excruciating pain of a human body physically, mentally and spiritually. He chose not to enjoy the wealth of his own creation but to taste the suffering of a miserable life—that is the cross he chose to take! He has definitely shown us an example of denying oneself and taking up his cross. Satan wants our minds to set on human things, but Jesus reminded his disciples to set their minds on divine things. Christ had a mission for Peter—to build the church. Christ also has a mission for each and every one of us. Each of us has our own cross to bear!
(choice of life or death)
If we choose to follow Jesus, we have to make the choice to take up the cross. This is a life-and-death decision: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (v35) This is a very philosophical paradox: when you save, you lose; when you lose, you save. What does it really mean? We all want to save, but the condition is that we must lose first. Jesus, after taking up the cross to die for us, “God..hath highly exalted him… That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” (Phil 2:9-11) He lost his physical life in exchange for an eternal life of extreme glory.
Very often we cannot deny ourselves because we cannot give up “our” human things. We don’t want to lose our human possessions. Jesus reminds us all these human possessions do not last long; they do not deserve our lifelong attention. He says in Matt 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Since our heart is set on earthly things, we care not for the heavenly things. We must let loose our earthly things before we can pay attention to the heavenly things. We must give up pursuing our earthly treasure before we can store our heavenly treasure. The more earthly treasure we give up pursuing, the more heavenly treasure we can store. This is proportionate. The less we are willing to give up pursuing on earth, the less we can store in heaven. Sometimes we think we can keep on pursuing our earthly treasure and at the same time pursue our heavenly treasure. But Jesus has said clearly that this is a matter of our heart. If we attempt to pursue our earthly treasure for life, we have already set our minds on earthly treasure. We will not possess the heart and concern for God’s things. We are only deceiving ourselves, trying to give ourselves reasons to keep and pursue “our” lovely treasure. In such case, how can we deny ourselves? We are taking earthly things too seriously to neglect the more valuable heavenly treasure. Jesus has said very clearly: you must deny yourself (including all the treasure you desire to pursue) before you can take up the cross for his sake and for the gospel.
Jesus has said two very short and similar parables in Matt 13:44-46:
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“The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”
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“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
Treasure is hidden somewhere. You must have the desire to search for it, like the merchant seeking good pearls. Once you find the hidden treasure or the pearl, you will want to possess it. However, the price for the treasure or the pearl is too great. You must pay high price for it. You cannot just keep your wealth and at the same time own the treasure. The man in the parable is willing to sell all that he has in exchange for the field or the pearl. Why? He is too excited and joyful to discover the treasure; he sees its value far more than any of his belongings. That’s why he is willing to give up all he has in exchange for it. This is what is going to happen on everyone who is determined to follow Jesus!
If you can perceive the eternal value of heavenly treasure far outweigh the value of earthly possessions, you will seek to accumulate the heavenly treasure at all costs. Otherwise, you will always hang on to the earthly things, which are sure to perish very soon. Have you given up anything for the sake of the Lord and the gospel, including your wealth, time and energy? To deny yourself is to admit that all that you have are not yours. They belong to our Savior who has redeemed you with a high price. Learn to give up “your” wealth, time and energy in pursuit of earthly things but invest on heavenly things.
(choice of win or lose)
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (v36-37) Again, this is a life-and-death issue. It is also the win or lose issue. The most precious thing is our eternal life. Without it, we are losing everything. Whatever you gain of your earthly possessions do not bring any profit to your heavenly account. We always want to gain more from this world. However, the more we gain, the more we lose when we come to God one day. You think you are a winner in this world, but actually you are a loser before God! When we invest our whole lives to gain the most from the world, we are actually losing the most precious thing in our lives—our own soul. Remember when Jesus was tempted by Satan, Satan tempted him and said, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Jesus turned him down and said, “ ‘Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.’ Then the devil leaveth him.” (Matt 4:9-11) When we are trying to pursue and own as many as we can possess, we are actually falling into Satan’s temptation. We are not gaining any benefit for our eternal life. There is no value added to our heavenly account. Why? We are worshipping Satan instead of God! In the end, we lose everything like Satan. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (NRSV, wealth).” (Matt 6:24) When Satan tempts you with the earthly things, can you say ‘No’ to him and rebuke him firmly, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ ?
(choice of glory or shame)
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels?” (v38) Ignoring his calling to take up our cross for him and for the gospel is to ignore the above warning. The end result is to bear our own shame. If we deny Jesus and his words, we will be denied. On the contrary, if we deny ourselves and take up our cross like Jesus, we are rest assured we will receive glory like him. Shame or glory--it all depends on our own choice for God or for the world.