Day Two Mark 8:27-9:1
27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”
30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
9 Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!” – Mark 8:27-9:1 (NLT)
Discover
1. What does Jesus spell out very plainly for the disciples in verse 31?
2. How is Peter only seeing Jesus partially (verses 29 and 32)?
3. Who does Jesus call to hear His words in verses 34-38?
Respond
Put yourself in the place of the crowds. Reread verses 34-38 and hear Jesus’ words to you, too. What stands out to you? Peter still expected Jesus to be a great political Messiah and totally missed the suffering servant part. As Jesus began to prepare the disciples for what was to come, He told them some hard things about what it would look like to be His disciple. Have you bought into any lies that following Jesus would mean a life of ease and comfort? Spend some time now asking to see this world from God’s point of view, not a human one. Confess the areas where you’ve not been willing to give up your own way, and ask for God’s help to grasp what it means to take up your cross and follow Him.
For Further Reading: Read Isaiah 53, an Old Testament prophecy Peter would have been familiar with.