"Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me"

Is it in you?

Mark 8:31-38

In Mark, chapter eight, Jesus predicts his trial, death, and resurrection; rebukes Peter, and challenges all  to 

 lose their lives 

for the sake of the Gospel and growth for the Kingdom of God. Discipleship should not be taken slightly or percieved as an easy task, we know through the words in Mark’s Gospel that discipleship calls for self-sacrifice as well as a many different forms of suffering .

Before we can really decide to  follow the life of Jesus, we need to first count the cost of that commitment. Mark’s Gospel proclaims that Jesus taught the disciples

 "that the Son of Man

must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and

the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (8:31). 

These words create the dramatic tone for the remaining chapters of Mark‘s Gospel, through Christ‘s death and resurrection. The disciples couldn’t understand why their “Almighty Savior” was going to have suffer.

The disciples knew Jesus as being strong and powerful. Therefore, a statement like that just seemed to be outrageous. Peter thought that Jesus was crazy, possessed and in need of an exorcism, therefore Mark took Jesus aside "and began to rebuke him". This signifies that Mark thought Jesus was in the wrong stating that the “Son of Man” would suffer. Clearly Peter had not yet known what it was going to take to be a true “disciple” because Jesus’ retort to  Peter were the words, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things" (vs. 32- 33). This alone is a great indication that our walk in discipleship is going to be more spiritual than it will ever be in the physical realm.

When Christ stated that "the Son of Man must undergo great suffering," he was speaking in a very certain way about the road that was yet before him. Rejection by the elders, the chief

priests and the scribes - all those things are to be anticipated for someone who is willing to challenge the religious traditions  and show the new and only way to God. Jesus didn’t cower in his walk on this world. Instead, he walked upright and girded with the word of God to complete the work of the Father regardless of the suffering and sacrifice might be on His path.

Jesus is willing to put his life on the lines as he begins to walk the path we are to follow in order to become disciples. Jesus is not some mad man, but a man who was daily willing to dedicate His body, mind and spirit to the work that God has called him to do. He has never been concerned with satisfying the expectations of others, but only the will and the business of his Father. 

There's a message for us here … set your mind on divine things and be willing to suffer. "The Son of Man must undergo great suffering," says Jesus. And so must those who follow him. Because we know His path involved suffering and sacrifice we should expect those things.

However, we tend to want the prize with no sacrifice and/or suffering. We want to win wars without fighting, we want to lose weight but won’t work out, we want more materials and stuff despite the fact that we labor less. We don't want to suffer.

Discipleship is going to have to involve suffering, Jesus sees it as a huge element in the world of discipleship. "There can be no love without

Suffering”, Jesus illustrates this life of loving sacrifice by lifting the sin drenched

cross. Proclaiming to both the crowd as well as his disciples, he says, "if any wants to become

my followers(disciples), let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for

my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it" (vs. 34-35).

This is the ultimate petition,  Take up the cross! That statement indicates that we must be prepared to sacrifice, not just to be willing to die but to undergo times of great suffering as Christ experienced through the crucifixion at Golgotha. Even greater than the commission is the Promise. Mark’s Gospel tells us that if we commit ourselves and surrender our lives to the work and will of the Lord that we will save our life. That promise is something that we can eternally hold to for the word tells us that if we die with Him, we surely will rise with Him in Glory(Romans 6:4)

With the teaching of Christ through Mark I believe discipleship can be summed up like this: 

The decision and process of following the “Son of Man” by sacrificing all and suffering much for the glory of God, for building the Kingdom of God, and for the hope of life eternal.

Now the question is posed, will you pick up your cross and follow Him?