Are You Ashamed of the Cross?

Mark 8:31-38

This morning I want to walk through Mark 8 and then give some impressions about this passage. 

First, let us read the text together.

31 He 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.

 32* He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

 33* But 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.”

 35* For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

38* If 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.”

Second, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will help us understand the text and its application to our lives.

Third, let’s look at the text.

                    As I begin, I note that this passage begins with the theme of suffering and rejection and ends with the issue of shame.  It is as if Jesus is saying, “I will be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, but don’t you be ashamed of me and reject me.

                    Notice in verse 32 that this is not a parable.  Jesus speaks plainly, in no uncertain terms.  He used parables so often, but in this instance, he clearly does not.  He comes right out and says, “This is the way it is…”

                    Interjected between these two ideas are several contrasts.

                    The first contrast is found in verse 32 and 33.  Peter rebukes Jesus privately and Jesus rebukes Peter publicly.

                    It is obvious that Peter and Jesus disagree.  What is the nature of their disagreement? 

                    I think that the nature of the argument revolves around the word “must.”  Jesus said that he must suffer and be rejected.  Peter rebukes him for saying that this “must” happen.

                    Was it necessary for Jesus to suffer, be rejected and killed?  Let’s think about this for a moment.  What if one of our children were to say to us,
“God is calling me to be a missionary in Saudi Arabia.  I am going to go there.  While there, I am going to suffer, be rejected and ultimately killed!”  Would you not rebuke them?  Wouldn’t we tell them, “There is a better way to get the job done?”

                    In verse 33, Jesus turns and looks at his disciples.  Why?  Why would Mark include this in the text?  I think the answer is found in verse 34.  “Get behind me…” 

                    When he looks at the disciples, Peter is not with them.  He pulled Jesus off, on his own, to talk to him.  Peter is doing two things here.  Follow me and ask yourself if I have it right.

                    First, he is separating himself from the other disciples.  He is not representing the group.  He is taking Jesus aside.

                    Second, he is putting himself ahead of Jesus.  How many of us would have the courage (or be crazy enough) to pull our boss or the owner of the company aside and tell him that he is wrong?  Let’s say I am working for you and I pull you aside and tell you, “You don’t need to build another warehouse,” after you have just said in clear English in front of the entire staff that it is absolutely necessary to build the structure.

                    So Jesus tells him,  “Get behind me, Satan.”  “Get in your proper place.”  “Go over with the rest of the disciples.” 

                    “Satan” would have double meaning.  Satan is a name given the devil.  He is real.  But the Greek word is “opponent” or “adversary.” 

                    When Peter tells Jesus what to do, he becomes his opponent, his adversary.  We fill the same role when we read scripture and say, “This isn’t right.  Let’s do this another way.”

                    Jesus points out Peter’s problem.  He did not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.  What are the things of God and the things of men?

                    We can start by saying that sometimes God leads us to suffer, be rejected and even die for our faith.  The things of man are to live easy, be accepted and protect ourselves from death.

                    The second and third contrasts are in the form of proverbs.  These proverbs illuminate Peter’s problem.  He wanted to save life.  Jesus said that you must be willing to lose your life to truly save it.  Peter wanted to live and enjoy life.  Jesus asked the question, “What do you gain by gaining the whole world and losing your own soul.”  Implied in this is that the opposite is good.  It is better to lose the whole world, to be in poverty, experience sickness and go through hardship, if in so doing, you gain your soul for eternity.

                    Certainly we can look back and see that Jesus knew his death would give people eternal life.  It was necessary that Jesus die so we could gain our own soul.

                    Now he finishes by saying that we should not be ashamed of him.  What is the shame?  The shame is the cross.

                    When a person was to be crucified, they were required to carry the crossbar on their back to the point of crucifixion.  Jesus was too weak to do so, so someone else carried it for him. It was an embarrassing experience to carry your cross. The person would be paraded through the streets of the town. People would make fun of them and have a good time at their expense.

                    Jesus said to the disciples, “If you are embarrassed to be associated with me, I will be embarrassed to be associated with you when I return.”

                    To mark of the contrast even more, notice the words Jesus uses as another contrast.  We will be embarrassed when we stand in front of an adulterous and sinful generation, so Jesus will be embarrassed when he stands in front of holy angels.

                    Think about this.  Why are we ashamed of Jesus?  Because we want the approval of people who are not following Jesus.  The word “adulterous” is not referring to sexual immorality.  It is referring to people who are not following Jehovah God!  Which group forms the basis of our approval?  Do we want approval of those who disapprove of Jesus or do we want approval of Jesus and the holy angels?

                    This is crucial to our lives.  How often do we find ourselves compromising ourselves?  Do we ever lie to someone to protect ourselves?  Do we allow our children to do things we don’t approve of so that they won’t “hate us”?  Do we find ourselves hiding our Bibles, Christian magazines or switching radio stations so we will not be embarrassed to our friends?  Are we embarrassed to be known as a Christian, a follower of Jesus, a born-again believer, a Bible-thumper?

                    Now think for a moment about how Jesus views this.  I remember in High School being embarrassed by my mother.  She didn’t dress up to what most people around us did.  I didn’t know what she was apt to say in certain social situations, not that I remember her ever saying anything wrong.  Don’t get me wrong.  I loved my mother.  And what would have been even more embarrassing for me would be for her to find out that I was embarrassed by her. 

                    But Jesus knows.  He is calling us to take up the cross and walk the street beside him.  He wants us to be looking ahead to our reunion with him.  He wants us to experience the joy that comes when he says to us, “Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.”