He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." (Mark 8:31-33 NIV)
Sometimes the teachings of Jesus are hard to understand. Other times, like this, his teachings are simply hard to accept. Peter didn't understand why Jesus needed to die and he certainly didn't want it to be true. So, Peter did what many of us do. He argued with Jesus.
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (Mark 8:34-38 NIV)
Finally, there are times Jesus' teachings are hard because we simply don't want to do them. We're OK with a God that calls the weary and heavy-laiden to give them rest. We appreciate it when he says his yoke is easy and his burden is light. We love it when he offers salvation to the whole world and the gift of His Spirit to help us through everything in this life. We don't enjoy it so much, though, when he says we need to pick up our cross and follow him.
Notice, though, what our cross is to bear. We need to let go or lose our lives for Jesus. We cannot be ashamed of Jesus. We need to follow, hold on to, and proclaim Jesus to our worlds. Jesus must be the center of our lives. This will save and continually refresh our souls. It will also bring us to The Father through The Son.
And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power." (Mark 9:1 NIV)
This final statement is considered a hard saying or "problem passage" because so many have interpreted it to mean Jesus didn't keep his promise. It's two thousand years since he left and he has not returned yet. Is someone who was standing there still roaming the face of the earth? Perhaps the answer is much more simple than that.
What is Jesus trying to teach his disciples here? He's telling them that he will suffer, die, and in three days rise from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus shows great power. Some of them standing there that day saw the resurrection of Jesus. At least one of them, Judas Iscariot, would not. Judas would give up before he saw the power of God at work in Jesus.
How about you? Are you ashamed of Jesus? Do you stick with Jesus when his teachings are hard to understand? Do you stay when you don't like what he taught? Do you follow him even when he tells you to pick up your cross? Do you give up just short of seeing God's power, like Judas, or hold firmly to him through the storms like the others?
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