Mark 8:22-38

“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.” (Mark 8:34–35, NKJV)

Peter had come to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. He did not deduce this on his own; God revealed it to him. But Peter’s concept of the Messiah was very different from what Jesus came to do. When Jesus told His disciples that He would suffer many things, be killed, and on the third day rise again, Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him. He likely felt that He was helping Jesus to be strong and keep the faith, but he was listening to the wrong voice. Jesus called him “Satan” because he was thinking as men think rather than as God thinks. Jesus is the Christ, but He had to suffer as the Lamb of God before ruling on the throne of David.

Jesus came, not to seek the best for Himself, but to deny Himself to seek the best for others. If we would follow Him, then we must do likewise. As Jesus lived every day in the shadow of the cross, so we must be willing to die daily to our own desires so that we may live for Him. This is real life.

Here is the kingdom paradox: if you seek to hold onto your life, it will slip through your fingers, and you will have nothing. But if you will lose your life for God and for others, then you will have abundant and eternal life. Are we seeing clearly? Are we listening to the right voice? Are we minding the things of God or the things of men? I must decrease; He must increase. Discipleship is dying to self to live for my Redeemer.