What was the last test that you took? How did you feel walking into it? How did you prepare in advance?
Have you ever felt you had a strong opinion about a particular topic, until you were confronted with it? Have you ever been in a position where you didn’t have your opinion as well-formed as you had previously thought?
Gospel writer Mark tells us of Jesus challenging the opinions of his own disciples, and of people around him.
At this moment, nobody had ever called Jesus “Messiah.” Nobody had dared to wonder out loud if he could actually be the one sent from God to deliver his people. Jesus had never even said it about himself. Instead, what we see immediately preceding this moment is Jesus doing big miracle after big miracle.
- feeding the five thousand
- walking on water
- Big healings
- Feeding the four thousand
After these, Jesus asks his disciples, “Don’t you understand yet?” (Mark 8:21)
Jesus never tells them who he is… He is showing them who he is. He is making his case by his amazing, miraculous actions.
That’s when Jesus and a small crowd begin to travel…
Mark 8:27–29 (NLT)
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?”
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”
If Jesus asked you the same question He asked His early disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”, how would you respond?
Do you think Peter fully understood the implications of what he was saying? Why or why not?
Mark 8:30–33 (NLT)
But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
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. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
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.”
Why do you think Jesus told the disciples not to tell anyone about His true identity? How would their description of the Messiah at this time have fallen short of Jesus’ true identity and mission?
How does this scene help you understand all of Jesus’ previous commands to keep His healings and miracles a secret?
Jesus did not refute the disciples’ identification of Him as the Messiah. He strictly warned them, however, not to use this title related to Him. Why? The title “Messiah” meant different things to different people. Even the disciples misunderstood its full implications for Jesus. He preferred to privately teach them its meaning as it related to Him and His purpose from God. Before they could tell the world the good news about Him, they had to live it first, and this meant telling no one until they had the complete picture of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
What are those four things Jesus prophesies about Himself in verses 31-32?
How might the disciples have felt about this teaching? How might this have altered their understanding of Jesus’ mission and their part in it?
Peter was understandably shocked by the insight Jesus gave them into His mission. Why do you think Jesus reacted so strongly to Peter?
A combination of denial, spiritual immaturity, and love motivated Peter to correct Jesus. Peter’s confrontation provided further opportunity for Jesus to teach. He could not allow the rebuke to go unchallenged. No doubt the other disciples felt the same way. While Peter apparently spoke privately, Jesus turned to the group and rebuked Peter in front of them. Just as Satan worked throughout Jesus’ ministry to divert Him from His purpose, Peter now provided the same kind of interference. Peter put human preference above God’s will. Jesus’ death was not something any of them wanted to consider. But He taught the truth that the cross could not be avoided, and it was not to be feared.
Mark 8:34–38 (NLT)
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. 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. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 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.”
What activities or attitudes are key to following Christ, according to this passage?
In your own words, what did Jesus mean by “take up his cross”? Why is doing so a necessary part of discipleship?
Why does Jesus want wholehearted commitment? Why isn’t it enough to be “somewhat” willing to follow Jesus?
In order to call ourselves Christians, we have to be willing to follow Jesus no matter what it costs us, because that cost is far less than the cost Christ paid for us.
Discuss the concept of shame, which Jesus warned against in Mark 8:38. Where do you see this in your own experience?
What promise did Jesus make to His followers in this passage? How does that promise encourage you to take up your cross daily?
Jesus often used paradoxical statements to provoke thought. His teaching about losing one’s life in order to save it is a case in point. To live a self-centered life is to miss both the joy of living a Christ-centered life on this earth and the reward of Jesus when He returns. Jesus wants us to consider seriously the requirements of following Him. He pointedly asked what we would be willing to give in exchange for our souls.
What are some practical ways you might integrate the practice of self-denial into your life this week?
What is one situation you anticipate this week when you will have the opportunity to confess that Jesus is the Christ of God?
In what ways can we help each other take up our crosses?