We are in a series of lessons in which we are looking at how Jesus would transform a fisherman named Simon into the foundational apostle Peter. There are a number of times when Jesus speaks to Peter which becomes teaching moments to Peter, to the other disciples, and to us. Open your copies of God’s word to Mark 8:27-38 and we are going to see how Jesus is going to teach Peter and the rest of the disciples about the challenge of following him.
Knowing Who Jesus Is (Mark 8:27-30)
While Jesus and his disciples are walking to the villages around Caesarea Philippi, Jesus has a question for them. Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” It is important to realize at this moment that this is not something that would be hidden from Jesus. Jesus is not asking about how his opinion polls are doing as if he were like our American presidents. Jesus is not asking about his approval rating. Jesus is not seeking information nor is wanting to take a poll. When Jesus asks questions, he does not ask them for his own information but for the people he is talking to at that moment. Jesus wants his disciples to consider what everyone’s conclusions are about him. The disciples respond that some people are saying that Jesus is John the Baptist. Others are saying that Jesus is Elijah and even others are saying that Jesus is one of the prophets (Mark 8:28). Notice that Jesus does not respond about what others are saying about him. He wants his disciples to think about what others are saying so that he can ask this really important question to them. “Who do you say that I am?” This is the question on which everything Jesus is about to say and do hangs. This is the question on which this lesson hangs. This is the question I want you to ask yourself throughout the time of this lesson and throughout the time of your life. Who do you say that Jesus is?
Peter knows the right answer to this question. Peter does not waver about who Jesus is. Jesus is not merely a prophet. Jesus is not another in line of John the Baptist or Elijah. Jesus is the Christ. Peter states a very important truth. “You are the Christ.” Even with all the misunderstandings that existed at that time concerning Jesus, Peter is very clear on who Jesus is. Now we need to stop here for a moment because unfortunately the title “the Christ” has lost its meaning the way it is used today. Christ is not a last name. Too often people say Jesus Christ like this is a first name and last name. “Christ” means “the anointed one.” The Hebrew and Aramaic parallel to this word is “Messiah.” Both words means the same thing. This also needs a little explanation. We seeing anointing used in the scriptures to appoint a person into a particular office. We see this happen to Aaron and his sons to put them into the office to be God’s priests and God’s high priest. We see this happen to Saul, David, and Solomon who were appointed to be God’s kings. Jesus is the Anointed One. Jesus is the one that the scriptures promised would come as God’s eternal king who would rule in righteousness forever and as God’s high priest who would intercede for the sins of the world. Peter is saying that Jesus is the anointed and promised King and Savior. Peter and the disciples know who Jesus is. But this prepares us for what Jesus is about to do.
Confessing But Resisting (Mark 8:31-33)
Jesus now teaches his disciples what he must experience. The Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and then be killed. But after three days he will rise again. Look at verse 32. Jesus said these things plainly. He must suffer. He must be rejected. He must be killed. He must rise again three days later. This was not the expectation for the Christ. This was not the expectation for the Anointed One of God. Peter has confessed that Jesus is God’s anointed and appointed King. Jesus then says that people are going to reject him, cause him to suffer, and ultimately kill him. So Peter takes Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. Let those words sink in for a moment. Peter took Jesus aside and Peter rebuked Jesus. Peter tells Jesus that this is certainly not going to happen to him (cf. Matthew 16:22). Peter argues with Jesus. Please key in on this point. Peter knows who Jesus is. Peter has confessed who Jesus is. But even though he has confessed that Jesus is the Anointed One, he is resisting and arguing with what Jesus is teaching. Peter is rebuking God’s anointed King.
Why would Peter do this? Why would Peter pull Jesus aside? Why would Peter rebuke Jesus? Peter did not agree with what Jesus said or what Jesus said he must do. This explains Jesus’ response. Jesus rebukes Peter. “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mark 8:33). Jesus addresses Peter’s problem. You are not setting your mind on God’s concerns. You are thinking about human concerns. This is a blessed rebuke and a critical warning. Jesus is saving and transforming Peter with this important explanation. Your mind is on the wrong things. You are not thinking about God’s ways but your own ways.
This is the deception of human pride. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One. But then Peter honestly argues with Jesus about what he taught and what he must do. Though his heart was right in his confession, his resistance to what Jesus said revealed his pride. He was going to tell Jesus that his teaching was not right. He was going to set Jesus straight about what Jesus said would happen. You see that the problem is we can think that we have the right attitude toward God, only to be confronted by a difficult teaching or a disagreeable situation and learn that we are not living according to our confession. If Jesus is the king, then what he says is authoritative. We are in no place to tell God what he is supposed to teach or what he is supposed to do in our lives. Our belief in Jesus is going to be tested by his teachings. Jesus is going to test this in the people now.
The Meaning of Our Confession (Mark 8:34-38)
In verse 34 Jesus calls the crowd to him with his disciples. If you want to follow Jesus, you must deny yourself and take up your cross to follow him. This is what confessing Jesus as the Christ means. Let’s spend a few minutes breaking down what Jesus is teaching Peter, the disciples, and the crowd. To deny ourselves means that we have to surrender our agenda and plans and get onboard with where Jesus goes. Denying self means that I am not in the driver’s seat of my life. There used to be a shirt or bumper sticker that would say, “Jesus is my copilot.” This is a completely wrong way to look at what Jesus is saying. Jesus is not saying that we are both in the cockpit, making decisions together. This is not the image Jesus invokes. Jesus is telling that he is the pilot and we are in the backseat. We are surrendering to his direction for our lives. We are surrendering to his teaching and its implications to our lives.
This leads us to the second point. Our confession means that we will take up our crosses to follow him. This means that we will surrender to God’s plan and teaching, even if this means suffering and hardships. If Jesus leads us through the valley of the shadow of death, then we will surrender to his direction and go with him. If Jesus leads us through the sufferings of Job, then we will surrender to his direction and go with him. When Jesus leads us through this life in which life does not go the way we wanted or planned, we will surrender to his direction and go with him. This is exactly the point Jesus makes in verse 35. Trying to save our lives by avoiding the cross and avoiding the suffering will mean that we will lose everything. Our confession means that we are losing our lives for Jesus. But losing our lives for Jesus means we will gain everything.
Now Jesus knows that everything within us will want to resist this idea. How can we give up our lives to follow Jesus? How could Jesus ask us to do something like this? How can we put Jesus in the driver’s seat of our lives and have us take a backseat, going wherever Jesus wants us to go? Why does following Jesus require denying self and taking up the cross? No one by nature wants this path. So Jesus addresses this in verses 36-37. What good is it if you get everything you could possibly want in this life and lose your soul?
This is the part of the equation that we often forget but is critical to continuing to follow Jesus by denying ourselves and taking up our crosses. Look at verse 37. What is your soul worth? What is eternity worth? The frequent reason why we are unwilling to sacrifice our desires and agendas is because we are only looking at this life. We are not looking at the value of our souls. We are not looking at the value of eternity. When we fail to see that our souls are at stake, then we will take Jesus aside and argue with him about what he is telling us to do and argue with him about where he is leading our lives. However, when we remember that we are eternal beings, then I will recognize that the immediate sacrifice and difficulty is not worth comparing to what eternity means for us (cf. Romans 8:18). There is nothing worth the trade for your eternal soul. This will cause us to change how we make decisions. I am not thinking about comfort now. I am thinking about the Paradise of God to come. I am not making decisions on what is easiest for me in this life. I am making decisions based on the joy that is to come for my eternal soul. When we see that our souls are at stake, then we will not be ashamed of Jesus (Mark 8:38).
Preparing To Follow
Let’s consider what we see and learn through the transforming work of Jesus in the life of Peter. Confessing Jesus is not enough. Confessing Jesus with your lips is not the total of our salvation, as it is sometimes portrayed. Notice that Peter clearly confesses Jesus and yet failed to let that confession change his approach toward Jesus. We can say that Jesus is the Lord, the Savior, the King, and the Christ. But these are just words if it does not cause us to put Jesus in control of our lives. We can say that we are followers. We can say that we are Christians. We can say that Jesus is in charge. But we must take the backseat to his direction for our lives. We must take the backseat to what he teaches us. We do not tell Jesus the way our lives should go. We do not tell Jesus what the scriptures ought to say. We do not tell Jesus what commands we will follow and what commands we will not follow. We do not tell Jesus when it is good for us to obey him. We are losing our eternal souls if this is our approach. Jesus is telling us that we have our minds on human concerns rather than the interests of God.
So here is my challenging question for this lesson. Are we trying to shape Jesus to fit our lives or are we allowing Jesus to shape us? Peter was trying to shape Jesus in this moment. Peter pulls Jesus aside and tries to set Jesus straight about what was going to happen. Peter tries to straighten Jesus out on what he was teaching. This is trying to shape Jesus to fit what he want him to say and do for us. We do not want Jesus tell us to do hard things. We do not want Jesus to make us uncomfortable. We do not want Jesus to tell us to make sacrifices. But friends, what benefit is it to you to get all there is in this world but lose eternity? What good is it to resist what Jesus says and lose your soul? We must allow Jesus to shape our lives. We must listen to what Jesus is tells us to do in our marriages. We must listen to what Jesus tells us to do as parents and as children. We must listen to what Jesus tells us to do when we are at work, when we are in the neighborhood, and when we are at home. We must listen to what Jesus is tells us about what it means to belong to the body of Christ. We must listen to Jesus when he tells us put the interests of others ahead of ourselves. We must listen to Jesus when he says that the greatest command is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Nothing less than this will be enough to follow him. What is your soul worth that you would tell the Christ that you will not do this?