Mark 8:34-38 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.”
After dealing with Peter on the same issue, we find Jesus continuing to delineate between a true follower and one who follows him for the loaves and fishes. The former wants a kingdom for God's purposes; the latter wants a kingdom to serve his purposes in the flesh. Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about dying because Peter expected Jesus to continue as an earthly leader of the people. After telling Peter he is speaking the words of Satan, Jesus draws his disciples and the people together and asks them for a total commitment to him and not to their preconceived ideas of who He is and what He should do for them. He probably surprises them by saying, if anyone wants to follow me, he must deny his own wishes and desires and sell out completely to God's will. He must take up his cross, which represents death to this world, and follow me wholeheartedly. Jesus knew that to ask anything less would mean those who answered his call were not true followers of the Lord. Peter's vision for Jesus and probably the vision of the rest of the apostles was for him to be the Messiah who would set up a new Jewish state, a kingdom controlled by their beloved miracle working Jesus. Jesus smashes that vision, by saying they must die to the world and prepare their souls for God's plans. Jesus was not looking to bring fame and fortune to his followers or himself: his mission was to bring salvation to the whole world. He was preparing them to take a stand for the cross of Christ, a cross that meant death but also stood for resurrection and victory over sin and death. He had just told them God's plan when He proclaimed 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. (Mark 8:31) Now He demands their allegiance to his mission, saying, 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.
The crowd greeted Jesus on Palm Sunday with shouts of joy: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! (Matthew 21:9) They saw him as the coming king, who would throw off the yoke of the Romans. However, a week later, the same people were ashamed of him when they saw him in the hands of the hated Romans, not a king but a prisoner. Pilate mocks them by claiming Jesus is the king of the Jews. Their hope of deliverance from the hated Romans was crushed. To be so deceived by Jesus was an embarrassment to them. In anger, they shouted, "Crucify him!" They thought his death would wipe this problem from the face of the earth, close this chapter of history, and let it be forgotten; for they were a laughingstock to the world for believing in this man as the Messiah. However, there was a great crowd of witnesses that day: God and the heavenly host looked in on the scene. The sky darkened that day in shame. But the curtain in the Temple was torn in two to indicate we have access through the blood of Christ to the presence of God. The disciples were warned that they should not be ashamed of this crucified Lord, nor his many words spoken boldly before Jews and Gentiles. As He gave his life, so should they. As He won victory through his death, so should they win victory with their sold-out lives. This remains our mission As the resurrection was witnessed, so are our lives as we commit to the risen Christ: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3) Observe how Jesus ran the race; therefore, do not give up, don't grow weary in doing good, don't lose heart and faint on your journey. God is faithful and good regardless of your personal circumstances.
Don't reject God's purposes in your life for one minute. Don't be like Esau, who rejected God's will, giving his birthright to Jacob for a single meal. He did not want to die to his desires and wants that day because of his fleshly needs; consequently, God's judgment came upon him. Praise God, we have Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, the Light, and the Life. He paid the price, so we would not have to suffer for our sins. But Jesus warns us not to build our house of life on the sand, but to build it on the rock, Christ Jesus; so when the storms of life come, our house will not fall. He said if we hear his words and do not obey him, when the rains come down, the streams rise, and the winds blow and beat against that house, it will fall with a great crash. (See Matthew 7:24-27) God is a consuming fire of holiness; yet, IN CHRIST, we have been adopted into God's family because He has washed us in his blood and made us holy, without spot or blemish. We are the beloved, in the presence God and a holy assembly. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. (Hebrews 12:22-23) Yet He calls us to walk in the light as He is in the light. Paul tells the church we should become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. . . (Philippians 2:15-16) To live holy means we die to our wills and desires. We live for the kingdom of God, not for the kingdom of men. Jesus said if we are ashamed of him, He will be ashamed of us. Basically, He was talking about our choices, our allegiance to one kingdom or another. When Pilate questioned Jesus, he asked him, "What is it you have done?" Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:35-36) Pilate found no fault in Jesus, but he also did not defend Jesus. That is our choice: Will we take up the cross and preach Christ to this adulterous and sinful generation, or will we behave as Pilate and fail to recognize and to follow our Lord wholeheartedly?
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