Written ~ 02-19-2024
Read Mark Chapter Eight
Mark 8
In this chapter we find Mark’s account of Jesus feeding the 4000, we see the further demands of the Pharisees, Jesus healing a blind man, Peter declaring the truth of who Jesus is and then we have Jesus predicting His death. Once again we have powerful recollections of what Jesus set out to do while on earth, in His actions He points all glory and honor to His Father in Heaven.
Let’s narrow our focus on the verses 8:34-38,
34 Then, calling the crowd to join His disciples, He said, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of Me and My message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
When Jesus is speaking to the crowd and to His disciples, He is also speaking to us. These verses are timeless. When the Word of the Lord can speak to our hearts just as strongly now as it did when He actually said them, that confirms that the Word of God will live on and be just as powerful with each generation to come. When our hearts can be pierced and convicted by words that were said over two thousand years ago, that’s a phenomenon that only the Almighty God could do.
But do we listen? Do we really let the Words of the Lord sink into our hearts? Verses 8:34-38 are incredibly important, especially as the days we live in now get increasingly more evil, selfish and immoral.
Everything you do or say, all your actions towards others, the condition of your heart will eventually bring you to this one verse, Mark 8:38,
38 If anyone is ashamed of Me and My message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
If we continue to live out our sinful desires without any regard to what the Bible says, then the Savior, Jesus Christ will be ashamed of you and deny you before the Father. This warning is also captured in Matthew 10:32-33,
32 “Everyone who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies Me here on earth, I will also deny before My Father in heaven.”
It’s a dangerous path to be on if you continually deny who Jesus is… and the verses we highlighted today talk what happens when we deny Christ and also what happens when we turn from that destructive path.
Verse 8:34b,
34b “…If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me…”
We have touched on this topic before (Matthew 10:38), but let’s dig a little deeper. To take up your cross does not mean we have to carry our burdens or “cross.” That is a big misconception. Taking up our cross refers to us taking up the way of Christ. Taking up our cross means we may need to suffer persecution and possibly face death because of our devotion to the way of Christ. Taking up our cross means we are not going to follow our heart’s desires, we are not going to indulge in the things of this world. We are going to set ourselves apart and focus all of our intentions on the things of the Lord. That’s what Jesus expects when we say we are going to follow Him.
Look at what it says in verse 8:35a,
35a “…If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it…”
Jesus warns that by denying Him and walking your own path may result in your physical life being saved, but your eternal life will be lost, hanging onto your life without Christ will cause an eternal separation from you and the Lord. Depending on the state of your heart, you may not think anything of it… being separated from the Lord doesn’t seem like much of a threat and you continue doing “life” all on your own. Well, my diligent prayer is that you will have a change of heart and that you will see your need for Christ, before it’s too late.
The rest of verse 8:35 is the flip side to denying Christ…
35b “…But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it…”
If by losing or giving up your life means you are following the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul, that means your life will be eternally saved and you will have life abundant. Upon your physical death, you will be alive with Christ and obtain an eternity in Heaven with your Lord and Savior! To “give up your life” means we are declaring our complete devotion to Jesus, to His Way, His Path and to the Good News proclaimed in the Scriptures! Our lives are completely cut off from the things of the world and our entire focus is on Jesus.
For those of us who have made the decision to give our entire lives to the Lord, means we understand the road to glory will be difficult. We may come against opposition because of our stance. But being fully clothed in the Salvation of Christ means, no matter what happens here on earth we will stand next to Christ in Heaven forever.
Mark 8:36-37,
36 “…And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul?”
The “Expositor’s Bible Commentary” explains these two verses this way… “These two verses emphasize the incomparable worth of the “soul” which survives human death. Once a person has forfeited his or her share in eternal life (that means we have denied Jesus), even the whole world cannot buy back eternal life.”
So, we need to examine our motives while on this earth. Are we trying to get recognition for our own actions or do our actions point only to Jesus? Do we try to gain the approval of the world, while we dismiss the approval of the One who can save us? Has the state of our souls been given over to the world’s standards? Contemplate verse 8:37, “…Is anything worth more than your soul…?” I hope your answer to that question is “No.” Turning from your sinful behavior and following Jesus will not only improve your outlook while here on earth, but it locks in a position for you in Heaven after you die.
Place your life in the Lord’s hands. Become His follower.
If you already walk with the Lord, search your heart to see if anything stands in the way of completely giving your life to Him.
This cannot be a wishy-washy decision. Do not be ashamed of Jesus. Do not deny Him.
“…Take up your cross and follow Jesus…”
~AMEN~