Bearing the Cross
In Mark 8:27-30, Jesus asks the disciples about how He is perceived by others. After getting an answer from them, He asks who they think He is. Of them all, Peter is recorded as confessing Jesus as the Christ. Jesus, though, then tells them basically not to tell others. Why would He say that? Wasn't the whole point of everything He did to get the people to know that He was the Christ?
Why do you think Jesus told them what He did? Could there be a lesson here for us, as disciples, about how time and circumstances must be considered before we act? See also John 4:25-30.
Notice what follows next in Mark. Jesus' response to Peter should have basically affirmed for them that He was the Messiah. Imagine what must have gone through their minds when He started telling them what would happen to Him (Mark 8:31). Notice, too, it is again Peter who responds, the same Peter who just a few verses earlier professed Jesus as the Messiah (vs. 32).
Read Jesus' response to Peter (Mark 8:33-38). What crucial message is Jesus giving for all who would be His disciples?
Verse 34 brings in an important element. It says that when Jesus called the people along with His disciples, He then began to give them these powerful words about what it means to be a follower, a disciple, of Christ. Though at that time there were certain things only a select few were privileged to know, this message here, about death to self, about bearing a cross, about losing everything for the sake of the gospel, was one everyone who wanted to follow Him needed to hear.
Ask yourself this question: When was the last time you bore a cross for Christ? What does your answer tell you about the kind of disciple you truly are? What changes might you need to make, and how can you make them?
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