Mark 8:31-33 — The Painful Path

Mark 8:31-33

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Comments:

Why was Jesus teaching about his coming death? Because Peter had just confessed that he (Jesus) was the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah. Jesus was simply teaching what the Messiah was going to suffer in order to redeem his people. It appears that Peter had bought into the popular belief that the Messiah was to come like a conquering hero-king, rather than as a suffering servant. Peter began to rebuke Jesus for such a plan, but Jesus rebuked Peter. We cannot rebuke God and come out ahead. Peter did not understand at what price the Messiah’s work would be accomplished. One day he would not only understand, but many years later would choose to follow his Lord and Christ in death (upside down) on a Roman cross.

Jesus was teaching what they should have already understood from the Old Testament scriptures. "He spoke this word openly." His normal approach was to present spiritual issues using metaphorical theology, but here we see he didn't use parables or figurative language. He was simple and direct so that there would be no misunderstanding (or later misinterpretation) that he was going to suffer, die, and rise again. But Peter, in his knee-jerk reaction to the first and second steps, didn't seem to listen to the last part about rising again.

Are there things that God has communicated to us very clearly that we just don’t want to hear? Does his greater plan for our good require a path that we don’t want to walk? I am so thankful that Jesus had no such hesitation in doing what needed to be done for me.

In this post-Easter season, as we celebrate the ascension, we should not forget about the incarnation, God come in the flesh—Jesus’ birth—it is appropriate to consider that this great plan of God was so much greater than Peter’s objections.

 ^“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:14-18)

The cradle and the cross are not separate stories but integral parts of one comprehensive plan to save us and re-bind the broken cosmos! 
God's love will not be deterred. 
His dying swallows up our death in life! 

What a gift purchased for us at an unimaginable price one Black Friday long ago. I am so glad that Jesus could not be turned away from this ultimate act of sacrificial love.