I am simply amazed by how often we put on this act like we have it all together when in reality we are far from the mark. It seems like everyday I meet a new person who is determined to convince me that they are a spiritual giant. (By the way if your wondering, I am no where close. Just ask anyone who knows me, I am all messed up)The reason I share this is because in today's study we are going to look at what it means to be a follower of Jesus and embrace the heart of what the kingdom of God is all about.
Look with me at Mark 8:31-38
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.”
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.”
In this passage Jesus starts out telling His disciples in plan words what He would have to suffer so that He could bring the kingdom of God to fulfillment. Peter, ever the first to stick his foot in his own mouth rebuked Jesus. (I love that God can use someone like this to do great things, it gives me hope)
After this Jesus speaks to the crowd and His disciples with this great proclamation, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." This might sound like a great poetic statement to many of us today but in Jesus' day in the ancient Middle East this statement carried a great weight to it.
Let's break this down some
Whoever wants to be my disciple: Being the disciple of a rabbi was the greatest honor a person could have in their culture. If you were a rabbi's disciple it meant that he believed you could do the things he is doing.
Must deny themselves: This is the heart of being a disciple. You say, "no" to your own way of doing things and say, "yes" to your rabbi. This wouldn't have been a very unusual saying for a rabbi. Self denial is a great means of growing deeper in ones faith.
Take up their cross: WOW! Now this would have turned some heads. The "CROSS" was and instrument of torture, pain and death. A form of execution set aside for the most grievous of criminals and political rebels. To this day it is viewed as one of the cruelest forms of death man has ever devised.
Follow me: A rabbi's statement of total acceptance.
The Good News:
The most beautiful thing in this passage is the overwhelming reminder that God's kingdom isn't limited by our goodness. In fact, none of us are good enough for the kingdom of God. Jesus brought us God's kingdom in His very life and in His teaching and in His sacrifice on the cross and in His resurrection.
What Jesus is telling us is that as we surrender ourselves to God that we too will bring God's kingdom to people here and now. It isn't something that people need to sit around and wait on. God's kingdom is here.
May we stop waiting for a kingdom that is to come and embrace the kingdom that has already came and is here and is to come as we take it to others. This is the kingdom that Jesus spoke about. One that transcends all the junk we deal with everyday and produces a better life, one that is worth sharing with others.
This is at the heart of the great commission, that we take God's kingdom to the world as we are going!
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