Mark 8:27-38
Lesson Focus
Those who wish to call themselves followers of Christ will be the kind of people that are continually giving themselves over for the lives of others.
Learning Outcomes
Through this lesson, students should:
Gain an understanding the true identity of Jesus: Through Peter's proclamation and Jesus' subsequent teachings, learners recognize Jesus as the Messiah but grapple with the depth of his purpose.
Embrace the sacrificial nature of discipleship: Jesus challenges followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and prioritize divine values over worldly desires, fostering selfless devotion.
Seek to align personal identity with Christ: Exploring the connection between knowing Jesus and understanding oneself, individuals are encouraged to emulate Jesus's characteristics of faithfulness, obedience, and self-sacrificial love.
Catching up on the Story
Jesus has continued to move about the countryside, teaching, preaching, and healing. On two different occasions, Jesus fed large crowds of people. Just when he thinks the disciples are starting to catch on to what he is doing, to what the Kingdom of God looks like, they make it plainly obvious that they still haven’t gotten it.
When Jesus begins to reveal what it is that he must do, suffering, rejection, and death, Peter rebukes him. It is in this setting that our story takes place. Jesus’ rebuke of Peter provides a segue into talking about the sacrificial nature of those who would truly follow Christ.
“Who do people say that I am?”
This section begins with Jesus questioning his disciples about who Jesus really is. The disciples begin naming off people who they have heard other people say that Jesus is. Finally, Peter says, “You are the Messiah.” Peter has hit the nail on the head, this is exactly who Jesus is, but Jesus orders the disciples not to tell anyone.
Why? Because he knew that the disciples didn’t quite get it yet, they knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the one who would bring salvation, but they didn’t fully understand it. Now that Jesus has revealed to his disciples who he is, he begins to explain to them, and others, what it is that this Messiah must do.
Contrary to the notions of the disciples, and everyone else for that matter, Jesus proclaims that the Messiah must suffer and die but that he will be raised on the third day. But to the disciples, this doesn’t sound very Messiah-like.
Peter, who was certain he knew who Jesus was, immediately rebukes Jesus for his crazy talk. Peter has not understood, he knows who Jesus is, but he doesn’t know what Jesus is supposed to do. How often do we find ourselves in the same place? We know who Jesus is, but at times, we haven’t a clue exactly what he is supposed to be doing or how he is supposed to be doing it.
Suffer and Die
Mark then uses these two episodes to launch into the second half of his gospel which is consumed with portraying what it is that the Messiah must do.
Verses 31-38 begin to depict plainly how Jesus must live and die and, as a result, how his followers must live and possibly die. Jesus now begins to set the record straight. If you want to become Jesus’ follower, you must take up your cross and follow him.
This taking up of the cross is not just any burden that one might bear because of being a Christian; it is the willful giving over of one’s life for the lives of others. It won’t due at all for followers of Jesus to grasp at life, at the things that we think will complete us, but that, in all reality, probably cause pain and suffering for others. Jesus is very clear that those who do this will ultimately lose the life that they are so frantically trying to gain.
Rather, those who are constantly giving up their lives so that others may live, as Jesus did, are the ones who can be called true followers. “The cross Jesus invites his hearers to take up refers not to the burdens life imposes from without but rather to painful, redemptive action voluntarily undertaken for others” (Williamson, 154). Therefore, the nature of those who seek to follow Christ is determined by the nature of the one who is followed.
This is the essence of Christianity, the imitation of Christ. “The text has significance for individuals. By leading to a clear understanding of the correct answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” this text points to a clear understanding of the question, “Who am I?” I am a disciple: a learner who follows Jesus: a follower who learns from him” (Williamson, 157).
So What?
The question “Who am I?” is a question we probably should never quit asking ourselves. At your stage of life, whether you know it or not, you spend a considerable amount of time trying to answer that question. The pull to fit in, to be accepted, even loved, is so strong that it is often easier to abandon who we might really be in order to belong. You might find yourself acting differently when you are with one set of friends than you would if you were at home or with a different group of people. Longing to belong is a good and normal impulse, yet not an impulse without consequences.
Consequences aside, there’s really only one way that we come to know who we are and should be, and that’s through discovering who Jesus is. Today’s passage gives us a picture of the future of Jesus’ life and, well, his death, too. Who Jesus is, in fact, who Jesus continually chooses to be, is characterized by faithfulness, obedience, and self-sacrifice love for you, me, and all of creation.
The reason Jesus goes off on Peter is because Peter was tempting Jesus not to be loving, faithful, and obedient. Though Peter likely didn’t know it, he insisted that Jesus’ path should not lead to the cross. It is through the mystery of the cross and resurrection that creation is freed from sin and death. But Jesus’ death and resurrection aren’t just about saving us from Hell or something like that. Jesus’ death and resurrection are also a call to become like him, to become faithful, obedient, and loving in such a way that our care for others might possibly lead to our own sacrifice.
In your internal monologue, when you ask the question, “Who am I?” go ahead and ask, “Who is Jesus?” and then pray that God might help you be more like Jesus. Don’t worry if you see a large difference between who you are and who Jesus is, it takes a while to learn to live like Jesus. But that’s what we’re here for, to walk together with you as we all strive to be like Jesus.
Discussion Questions
Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Who am I?” If so, what was your answer?
Why do you think Jesus asked his disciples who people thought Jesus was? Why would Jesus ask who they thought he was?
Peter answers, “You are the Messiah.” Apparently, that’s the right answer. What is a Messiah? What does a Messiah do? Why would Jesus tell his followers not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah?
Right after that, Jesus begins to tell his friends that he’s going to be rejected by just about everyone who mattered, and undergo great suffering and ultimately death, but ultimately raising again in three days. Peter corners Jesus and rebukes Jesus. Why would Peter try and correct what Jesus was saying?
Jesus’ response to Peter is, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Why such strong words from Jesus? What’s the difference between “divine” and “human” things?
Next, Jesus tells his disciples and the crowds that if they want to follow Jesus, they “must deny themselves and take up their cross.” What does Jesus mean by that?
What does Jesus mean by “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”
How would you answer the question, Who is Jesus?
What kind of relationship should there be between who Jesus is and who we think we are?
Works Cited
Williamson, Lamar. Mark. Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Atlanta, GA: J. Knox Press, 1983.
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