Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
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Mark 8:27-38
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 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. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 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 the things of men.”
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 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.”
The editors of our NIV Bible separate this reading into two sections, each with its own heading. But that seems to me like a mistake. Revealing Jesus’ identity as the Messiah and foretelling his death seem like things that belong together. And the fact that Peter couldn’t deal with that connection says a lot about the expectations of the Hebrews about what the Messiah would be like when he appeared.
As they’re walking along the road, Jesus asks the disciples who people say he is. The disciples give various answers, all of which have one thing in common – everybody seems to agree that Jesus is a very important religious figure who speaks with the authority of God.
And then Jesus asks the disciples, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” And Peter becomes the first to acknowledge that Jesus is in fact the Messiah. Our Bible says “the Christ,” but that’s just the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. The point was that Jesus was the one who had been foretold by God through the prophets centuries before.
Obviously, this reading marks a critically important moment: the first time any of the disciples identifies Jesus as the Messiah. But as it turns out, realizing that Jesus was the Messiah didn’t really mean they understood what that meant. So Jesus tells them that, as the Messiah, he would be rejected and persecuted by the leaders of his own people, and that ultimately he would be killed, but then would rise again from the dead.
Probably from our perspective, it’s hard to imagine what a shock this must have been to the disciples. The Jews expected the Messiah to be a mighty warrior, like King David, from whom the Messiah would be descended. The Jews thought the Messiah would drive out the Romans and restore the glory of Israel in its golden years. Nobody in ancient Israel expected the Messiah to die for the sins of the world.
That helps to explain what happens next. Peter is so shocked by what Jesus says that he tries to talk him out of allowing himself to be persecuted and killed.
That’s when Jesus utters the famous words, “Get behind me, Satan.” You might remember that when he was being tempted in the wilderness, Satan had offered Jesus shortcuts to avoid going to the cross. So when Peter started arguing with him, Jesus must have heard the echoes of that satanic temptation he had once left behind him.
And of course, Jesus is right – Peter is expressing human desires and aspirations, speaking out of Jewish patriotism, not out of obedience to God’s will. But Jesus understands the truth: that his death on the cross would be the fulfillment of God’s plan for the salvation of humankind.
And there’s more. Jesus tells the disciples that anyone who really wants to be his follower has to be ready to join him in his suffering and death. His true followers must be ready to deny their own agendas, even risk their lives, to take part in Jesus’ mission. Anyone who is more devoted to the things of the world than they are to serving Jesus can’t really claim to be one of his followers.
Most of us will never be asked to die for Jesus. But if we really want to follow Jesus faithfully, to live in imitation of him, we need to pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to stop clinging to the things of our worldly lives, to our self-absorption. And we need to be praying for that Spirit to come more and more into our lives to strengthen our commitment to knowing and serving Jesus. We need to open our hearts to let that Spirit transform us into people who really are willing to take up the cross and follow him.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the great love for us you showed by going to the cross. By your Spirit, turn our hearts to love you more and more, so that eventually we are willing to sacrifice for the building of your kingdom, and to serve others in your name. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
(The other readings for today are Psalms 116 and 147:12-20; Isaiah 54:1-17; and Galatians 5:1-15. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)
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