Mark 8:28-38

Mark 8:28-38 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 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.”

You are the Christ--the Messiah, the anointed one, even the Son of God--was Peter's reply to Jesus' question, Who do you say I am? Jesus validates Peter's answer, but almost immediately attacks Peter for Peter's rebuke of him. Peter's statement, You are the Christ, is correct, but his conclusion about Christ's position and mission on Earth was wrong. Peter thought, surely the Great Messiah, the Son of God, would not have to experience the awful things Jesus was talking about. Doesn't God take care of his own, especially his own Son? Isn't this God that we serve a God of power and love? However, Peter once again expresses what Satan expressed to Jesus in the wilderness: the whole world is yours for the taking if you fall at my feet, if you live just for the good things of this world. Jesus did not take this kind of speech lightly; He harshly rebukes Peter: Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. Peter was saying what so many men preach today: you can have the whole world if you know Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Healer, the Miracle Worker. The fancy cars, the big houses, financial success, a peaceful household, and security will all be yours if you believe in this mighty God, for isn't He the King of kings. Jesus categorized this as Satan talk. He tells Peter that he was using Satan's words, expressing his philosophy, being his flunky.

Jesus came to express God's nature, which was one of servanthood. Peter was expressing the world's nature, which is one of rulership, control, selfishness. When Jesus heard this same philosophy from the devil in the desert, He said, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and SERVE him only.’” (Matthew 4:10) Satan left him after that, for he could not entice Jesus with the attractions of this world. He knew Jesus came to reveal God's nature. Jesus did not come to rule, to control, to overwhelm by force. He came to serve. As a servant, one without power or control of his own life, He was going to suffer many things, even a violent death. In the above passage, Jesus reinforces this point by telling the crowd, “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." This is the gospel, the Good News: Jesus came to Earth save man, to serve him, even by dying on the cross for our salvation.

We, too, are to serve men as Christ's body here on Earth. Jesus indicates that you can save your life as Satan told him to save his life in the wilderness. You can try to have it all. As a Christian, you can take the peace and power that God has placed in your life and use it for your own purposes, to win the best this life has to offer, but Jesus says that if you do so, you will lose your life. In these verses, we see Jesus calling his beloved Peter by the name of Satan because Peter was talking as Satan talks. Jesus goes on to say, if you are ashamed of this gospel, ashamed of ME, the GREAT SERVANT, I will be ashamed of you, for you did not embrace and implement my mission, my plan, for you. These are very strong words. This passage is very strong. The worst thing that we can do is to say that this world is my oyster because Jesus is within me. No, this world is your mission field, this world is your harvest field. This world is where we die daily--where God evaluates the quality of our servanthood (how we use our talents). He will someday say, "Enter into my rest, my good and faithful servant." We are not to store up treasures here on Earth; we are to store up treasures in heaven, which is the result of good and faithful service to the Lord and brings true and lasting joy to our hearts and joy to the heart of our Father in heaven.