Following and Serving King Jesus

Following and Serving King Jesus
Following the Servant
Mark 8:27-38

These verses are the turning point of the Gospel of Mark.  From this point on, all events move toward Jerusalem and the cross.  We have here Peter’s famous confession of Christ and an explanation that the genuine Christian life involves dying to self so that we may be identified with Christ.

1.    Know and who Jesus is (vv. 27-30)

A.             The question we all must answer is: who do you say Jesus is? (vv. 27–28)

            B.        There is one (vv. 29–30).

1:1       Mark: “Jesus Christ, the Son of God”
1:11     God the Father: “You are My beloved Son.”
1:24     Demons: “the Holy One of God”
3:11     “You are the Son of God”
5:7       “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.”

2.   Follow God’s ways and (vv. 31-33)

A.             God’s ways are often hard (vv. 31–32).

Daniel 7

The Son of Man is a divine person who comes from Heaven to .

Isaiah 43 and 53

B.             God’s will is often a challenge but(vv. 32–33).

3.   Jesus calls (vv. 34-38)

A.        The must be put to death (v. 34).

There are three things required:

Deny yourself.

Take up your cross.

Follow Me.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”             (John 14:15)
“If anyone loves me He will keep My word.”                          (John 14:23)
“You are My friends if you do what I command you.”            (John 15:14)

B.        Themust be put to death (v. 35).

“The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become . . . our real selves are all waiting for us in Him.  The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surrounding and natural desires. In fact, what I so proudly call ‘myself’ becomes merely the meeting place for trains of events which I never started and which I cannot stop.” C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”

“There are, in fact, two motives that should spur us constantly to evangelize. The first is love to God and concern for His glory; the second is love to man and concern for his welfare.”                                                  -J.I. Packer

C.        Themust be put to death (v. 36–38).

Philippians 1:21

“Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end. Submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life.

Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” -C.S. Lewis

John 10:10

“The cross is laid on every Christian. . .. So it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. Jesus’ summons to the rich young ruler was calling him to die, because only the man who is dead to his own will can follow Christ. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die . . .. But we do not want to die . . ..”                                                                                            -Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Discipleship”

Daily Meditations

Memory verse: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34

Monday
Read Mark 8.  How is Jesus’ call to discipleship “radical”?

How have we made the everyday Christian life less radical than what the Bible calls for?

Tuesday
Read Mark 8:27-38.  Why is it inadequate to consider Jesus only a great moral teacher?

Why is it inadequate to see Him as merely an example to follow?

In what way is it commendable to “proudly” declare that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God?

Wednesday
Read Mark 8:27-38.  What kind of King did the Jews of Jesus’ day expect the Messiah would be?

How would you answer a child who asked, “Why does it say Jesus ‘must’ suffer, die, and rise again?” How would you answer a Muslim?

Thursday
Read Mark 8:27-38.  What do you suppose Peter was thinking when he rebuked Jesus (8:32)?

What are man’s concerns (8:33)?

Friday
Read Mark 8:27-38.  How does the world entice you to live the self-centered life?

How does giving up the right to self-determination counter those temptations?

Compare the sayings “The safe life must be put to death” and “The safest place to be is in the middle of God’s will.” What is the definition of safe in each case?

Saturday
Read Mark 8:27-38.  Discuss Bonhoeffer’s statement: “In fact every command of Jesus is a call to die.”