Mark 8

Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The disciples were reasoning with each other in order to try to grasp what Jesus was saying to them.  They were not able to come to an understanding through their own effort and reason, however, as they needed a revelation from God.  This is a problem for us today as well.  We all have struggles and experience confusing situations in our lives for reasons that are beyond our understanding.  As long as we are busy trying to figure it out on our own, God can not get through to us, just as Jesus could not get through to His disciples.  Reasoning can be a problem because it comes from a lack of trust, and does not show faith.  The apostle Paul wrote: “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Romans 8:6-7).  You cannot have peace of mind and contentment in your heart if you try to reason without God’s truth to enlighten you.  If you lack peace in your life, it may be that you are worrying too much and trying to figure out too many things on your own.  Stop asking, “Why or When or How or Who, God?” and say, “Lord, You know the solution, and I need to be satisfied with that.  I am willing to wait until you are ready to reveal it to me.  Until then, with Your help, I am going to enjoy my life, trusting that You are in charge and that You will take care of everything that concerns me.”

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Jesus had a mission.  He was sent to Earth so that He could die for our sins, and re-establish our relationship with God the Creator.  Here, Peter was thinking of his own concerns, and tried to convince Jesus not to go through with this plan.  But Jesus knew that no matter how difficult His task was going to be, He was going to honor and obey what His Father needed Him to do.  We are all required to have this same level of obedience and commitment to our Heavenly Father.  We were not created so that we could live on Earth and have all of our wants and desires fulfilled.  We are here so that we can be a blessing to the people that God puts in our path, and to share the news of the Gospel with others.  This requires loving and serving others, and thinking of the needs of others ahead of our own: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13).  

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬-‭38‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

What did Jesus mean when He said to take up our cross and follow Him?  First, let’s examine what Jesus did not mean by this statement.  Many people interpret “cross” to represent some kind of burden they must carry in their lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness.  With self-pitying pride, some say, “That’s my cross I have to carry.”  This is not what Jesus meant.  He was trying to explain that following Him is not an easy task.  Following Jesus may involve ridicule, persecution, hardship, as well as denying desires, comforts, and possessions.  Being a follower of Jesus involves deliberate, conscious decisions that govern the choices we make in life.  What did He mean when He said you need to lose your life for Jesus and the gospel?  He is teaching here that we must put our selfish interests aside and instead do what will benefit the kingdom of God.  Undoubtedly our flesh will not like this plan.  Will we be able to do this perfectly, every day?  Absolutely not, but we have the gift of forgiveness for the times that we stumble.  Can we do this in our own power?  No, but we can rely on the help of the Holy Spirit within us.  Thankfully, it gets easier to deny our selfish tendencies as we grow in our Christian walk and trust the Holy Spirit to guide us.  The apostle Paul reminds us: “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).