Mark 8:31-38
Jesus Predicts His Death
31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Now that Jesus acknowledged for the first time to his disciples that, yes, he is the Messiah, he then told them what that meant. He spoke plainly, telling them what the cost would be. This must have been shocking for them. I’m sure they all had hoped Jesus was the Messiah, but most, if not all, must have had a completely different idea of what would happen if it were true. They had all been raised to believe that when the Messiah came, he would free Israel from Roman occupation and become king, ruling a righteous kingdom from David’s throne. That was the popular belief at the time, and it’s understandable from prophecy. The thing is, that is what will happen, ultimately. But first, Jesus had to suffer and die so that all of us could be saved from our sins. Because he was willing to endure that, when Jesus does finally take David’s throne, he won’t just rule over Israel, but the whole world. We think our dreams are big, but God’s plans are bigger.
I think it’s possible that when Jesus explained to his disciples what was going to happen to him, he also told them what the cost would be to them. They would be persecuted and rejected as well, and most would die much the same kind of death that Jesus did. Lots of times we think we want to know what the future holds. The fact that only God knows what’s going to happen is really a very good thing.
When Jesus told the disciples plainly the bad things that were about to happen, Peter took Jesus aside and told him he shouldn’t say such things. What’s interesting to me about this incident is that it immediately followed Peter’s confession of Christ. One minute Peter is saying out loud, for the first time, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and Jesus praises him for it. The next Peter is taking Jesus aside and rebuking him for telling the disciples what being the Messiah means and Jesus says to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” One minute Peter is getting revelation directly from God, and the next he’s saying what the devil would say. It’s a little like losing your religion in the parking lot after church. The Amplified Bible is revealing in the way it words verse 33.
33But turning around [His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, Get behind Me, Satan! For you do not have a mind [n]intent on promoting what God wills, but what pleases men [you are not on God's side, but that of men].
I always had the mental picture that Jesus said that to Peter’s face, but Jesus actually turned his back to Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan!” to the rest of his disciples, with Peter behind him. Jesus explained why he said that in the next sentence. Peter had in mind the things of men rather than the things of God. How often are we guilty of that? How often do we promote our own agendas rather than focusing on what God wants?
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life[c] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
To me, this passage shows that Jesus did tell them what was coming for them as well as for him. I imagine he said something like, “You’ve had lots of fun seeing me perform miracles, hearing me teach, and enjoying large and enthusiastic crowds, but now we come to the hard part. The fact that I am the Messiah is going to cost me, and it’s going to cost you as well, if you choose to continue to follow me.” Why else would he then turn to the crowd and say what he said in verses 34-38? They had all seen crucifixions, which were common under Roman rule. When Jesus told that crowd that if they wanted to be his disciple, they had to take up their cross and follow him, they all knew what that meant. They had seen the procession through the city of condemned men carrying their crosses many times.
Verses 35-37 are very deep. If your read them in the Amplified Bible, it seems that Jesus used two different words for life in these verses, one for temporal life on earth, and another for eternal life with God.
35For whoever wants to save his [[r]higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the [s]lower, natural, temporal life [t]which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it [his [u]higher, spiritual life [v]in the eternal kingdom of God].
36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [[w]in the eternal kingdom of God]?
37For what can a man give as an exchange ([x]a compensation, a ransom, in return) for his [blessed] life [[y]in the eternal kingdom of God]?
He’s still talking about Peter’s attitude. Peter was more concerned about the disciples’ life on earth at that moment, rather than the higher, eternal life with God in his kingdom. That’s how Satan wants us to think, and that’s why Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan!” when Peter talked that way. He turned to the crowd, and basically said, “Following me is not just about witnessing miracles and getting fed. If you really want to follow me, you have to go where I go, do what I do, and suffer what I suffer.” Tough stuff.
Crucifixion was not just a painful death, it was also a shameful one. We have largely lost our sense of shame in 21st century America, but in Middle Eastern cultures, shame is a huge deal to this day. Jesus was saying in verse 38 that if they rejected him because of the shame of his crucifixion, he would also be ashamed of them when he finally did come into his kingdom. And if they were not willing to endure the same kind of shame that those who were crucified suffered, they could not be his disciples. After that, some of the crowds that followed him around started to drift away. Many are attracted to the joy and blessings that Jesus offers, but not as many are willing to take up their cross and suffer alongside him. Do we want to just be part of the crowd that receives his blessings, or are we willing to do what it takes to be a true disciple?