Category: Uncategorized

Mark 8:35
This is another of Jesus’ extreem statements that many misunderstand or take offense at. To lose one’s life is a serious thing. So what exactly does the Lord have in mind here? Did he expect his disciples to be crucified with him? No, we know that he knew that would not happen. But, we are told that they ‘forsook’ him and fled when the soldiers came to take him away.
And yet, every one of the disciples, except for Judas of course, seems to have come to understand what Jesus meant in these verses. They all gave thier lives for him. They realized that Jesus was calling for absolute surrender of self. No holding back.
A life lived devoid of Christ will meet only with death and hell fire afterwards. And, the measure of devotion Jesus calls for here assures the genuine Salvation of the offerer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for helping us to understand the reality of what we have in Christ. He is all that we need. We can live totally for him and not worry about what this world says is valuable. The true value in life is knowing the One who has given us a future. He has saved us from ourselves. Thank you for Christ! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Today, click the link on the right that says, ‘My Wife’s Blog’. It will be a blessing to you!

For my post today, click the link on the right that says, ‘A Friend’s Blog’. There you can read a blog post by Beth Durham about the message I just preached last Sunday about celebrating the feast of thanksgiving in a worshipful manner. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark 8:34
Obviously, Jesus taught many things as a result of current events. This passage about living for Christ is a teaching Jesus purposely gave on the heels of his revelation about his crucifixion. It explains to the disciples how that they should be ready to give thier lives as well.
What Jesus is saying here would have been pretty hard to swallow for his hearers. To deny oneself is a noble goal that any religious person might aspire to. But, the taking up of the cross along with it indicates more than aspiration is being called for. Those who were crucified were made to carry their cross to the place of crucifixion. So to carry one’s cross indicates complete dedication to the destination. In other words, Jesus is not calling for fine religious aspiration, he wants absolute personal surrender.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the sacrifice of Christ! We will praise you for this for all of eternity. That you would even plan all of this is so amazing, and it reveals your love so much. We will praise you with our lives. I will live for him who died for me! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:33
Some debate has surrounded this, but it’s seems that Jesus actually physically turns his back to Peter. This is quite likely given that Jesus knew how to handle the deceptions if the devil. This was quite a temptation in that Peter was precious to Jesus and this persuasion against going through with the betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion, was very inviting.
So, Jesus knows how to respond because he recognizes the trickery. We might ask ask how Peter could be influenced by Satan this soon after having confessed Christ? But, we have Christ’s own words to show that this was the case.
What then does Jesus mean by what he says here? How was Peter to take this? Jesus spoke directly to the wicked one, knowing that Peter had been tempted to engage in this conversation. And, his words are quite appropriate. Unlike his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus did not directly quote Scripture, but his words were based in God’s Word. He made a statement on the basis of what we know from Scripture about the devil.
Indeed, Jesus words were a real demeaning and direct attack against the devil himself personally. He said that Satan was stuck on humanity, and that he had no desire for the things of God. Though this makes perfect sense, please understand what Jesus means by this. He is binding the destiny of the devil up with the destiny of evil men. Because Lucifer didn’t want to do God’s will, he has become nothing more than a pawn of sin like fallen humanity. His power is limited, he has little authority, and his days are numbered. In other words, it’s kinda like Jesus is saying, you’re the one in the cage, remember? No matter how free the devil feels at this time, his sphere of influence is doomed for destruction.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the victory in Jesus Christ! Thank you for his power over the kingdom of darkness. Thank you for rescuing us from the clutches of the lion in the cage. Thank you for giving us life in Christ. I will sing of your glory forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:32
Jesus told his disciples about this where they could all hear him. Peter takes him aside to issue his rebuke. What is happening here is the devil seazing upon misunderstanding in the heart of Peter. Thus, thinking Jesus is just being pessimistic, and missing the part about rising again, Peter feels it his duty to set things straight. Ah, and how often does a well-meaning person fall prey to this trickery!

Heavenly Father, thank you for protection from the evil one. You will keep us from being destroyed by the enemy if we will find our strength in you. May we never forget that you are the perfect Source for all that is good in our lives. You always have the best plan. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:31
Jesus begins to tell his disciples about what was going to happen towards the end of their time together. It’s important for us to remember that Jesus is indeed a prophet. He tells the future because he knows the future. In fact the Bible tells us the spirit of Christ is the spirit of prophecy, all the prophets prophesied by him. Indeed, this is what makes the prophets different from fortune tellers or diviners that find their source in the devil. The prophet of God gets his truth from Jesus, who knows the future because he is God, and knows everything.
This is a very unique situation. Who would claim to know the day of his death, unless he were God? And, it would only stand to reason that God would speak of rising again because you would not think that to be final for him. If human authors had written the Bible by themselves, without divine inspiration, they would not have put such a thing in Scripture. Someone would be considered mad to believe something like this, and yet it is the truth. This is one of the great things that verifies the truth of Scripture.
It is interesting that several groups of the Jewish leaders are mentioned here. It’s not just that all of them are thrown in together. The elders would reject him. The chief priests would reject him. The scribes would reject him. This is interesting because, had any one of these groups been on his side, there would have been a possibility of him not being rejected. But, they all turned against him.

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus even though you knew exactly what was going to happen. Thank you for the sacrifice of your son. Thank you for your great mercy and love! Thank you for Christ! Oh Lord Jesus thank you for dying in my place, your great love for me is overwhelming! I will praise you forever, and lift your name on high. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you Father, Amen.

Mark 8:30
We have to understand Jesus in terms of his eternal existence. There were times in the writings of the prophets that the Lord told the prophet to seal something up. The Lord controls what is revealed, and when. Thus, it would be strange not to expect the same thing from Christ.
Jesus is not trying to keep people from believing in him. But, he wants them to come to the conclusion on their own. The time for national transformation was over. The Jews were not going to accept their Messiah, they were going to have him crucified. So the disciples were not to proclaim his identity as the Messiah openly until after the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, you for your direction of history. You always know what is best, and what to give us at any given time. You do the most merciful thing, and that is a great glory to You! Thank you for your truth. Thank you for your love. Thank you for judging us on the basis of your Word, and not our own misconceptions. Give us a desire and love for your truth, it is so precious! I will praise you for your Word as long as I live! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:29
Jesus now plows ahead and gets the disciples to think about the question themselves. Who was Jesus? Did they really know him? After all this time with him could they identify him for who he was?
Mark’s Gospel has of course been accused of being too short, and not descriptive enough. But, I find this short statement of Peter’s faith to be quite appropriate. Jesus is the Christ. That puts it plainly, just as it needs to be. It tells us that he is all that the Old Testament had prophesied. It tells us that he is the One the Holy Father has chosen. It tells us he is the only Hope for mankind. It tells us that he is the King. It tells us that he is the Savior.
This is the conclusion that Jesus wanted people to come to. He wanted them to understand who he is in his fullness. And yet, he wanted people to come to this realization on their own. He didn’t want them to be forced into it, coerced into it, or just wowed into it through miracles. He wanted people to come to this conclusion in their hearts.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the Christ! The Lord Jesus is our Hope, our Salvation, our King, our great love. He is your suffering servant, and by His righteousness he has justified many. He has brought us to you, dear Father. Thank you for the shed blood of Christ on Calvary! I will never be able to thank you enough for Christ, but I will live my life for him. He is worthy of all the glory. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:28
Taking part in the superstition of that day, Herod had assumed Jesus was John the Baptist come back from the dead. So, many people took the same opinion. Others thought Jesus was Elijah, forgetting the Ministry of John the Baptist, and that he would usher in either the Messiah or some impending judgment. The rest weren’t really sure what to think, so they tried to liken him to one prophet or another.
Though the popular opinion concerning Christ was incorrect, we can draw some parallels between this and common belief today. The disciples make it sound as if everyone believed something about Jesus. This is true even today. Everyone has some kind of belief about Christ. Even those who would say he’s just a man, or he didn’t exist, are fairly vociferous about their belief. In other words, everyone realizes that Jesus is the crucial subject. One cannot adopt any form of what might be called Christianity without dealing with the Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for Jesus! This is what we must come to. We must realize the fullness of Christ. We must understand his person, and have a relationship with him. Jesus is the key to everything. You, Father, have made it so. Jesus is the person that matters for our eternal destiny. Our lives are to be wholly surrendered to Him. Lord Jesus I surrender myself to you, and seek Your glory in everything. You are worthy! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.