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Mark 8:31-38
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the 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 concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their 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 them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Expository Introduction
I. The Suffering Messiah
v. 31,32 Jesus speaks plainly about the suffering and rejection he was to endure including death and his resurrection after 3 days. Peter decides he’s going to rebuke Jesus about this. The following scriptures have to do, I believe, with Jesus correcting what he sees in Peter's heart.
II. Peter’s Biggest Problem
v. 33 He has a Satanic agenda for Jesus’ life in his heart and declares it out of his mouth. This Satanic agenda is compared to the things of men.
III. Peter has Misdirected Ambition
v. 34 Peter is being challenged here for not denying himself. It’s relatively easy to see that Peter is seeing himself as Jesus’ right hand man. A suffering and dead messiah didn’t fit with his personal ambition to rule over the Roman empire with Jesus. Peter sees the messiah as fulfilling his complete mandate in Jesus. However we know that Jesus came as the Lamb of God, he will return as the conquering King at his second advent.
IV. The Paradox of Death to Self
v. 35 You save your (spiritual or eternal) life by losing your (natural) life. Submitting your human will to the will of God. Jesus then states the same thing using the opposite wording. Whoever loses his (natural) life for me and the gospel will save (his spiritual or eternal life) it.
V. Jesus Reasons with his Hearers
v. 36,37 Jesus now begins to reason with his audience. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his Soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Again, he’s most likely talking about Peter here. Peter, trying to “gain the world” was going about it in his own way. If we are to gain the world we must seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, his way.
VI. Shame of Jesus Identifies us with Adultery and Sin
v. 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.”
Peter was ashamed to identify himself with a suffering Messiah. He much rather wanted to identify himself with a “winner”.
Application
I. Sometimes God’s ways and Man’s ways are in direct opposition. Even when in the mind of man it convincingly seems good and right.
II. Sometimes this human agenda rooted in selfishness, logic and personal promotion is completely in line with the plans and agenda of Satan himself.
III. The Christian life is a life of self denial. When the Lord tells us to “take up our cross” he’s creating an image of a man, already condemned, required to carry the cross beam of his own cross to the place of execution. Cross-bearing is a willingness to suffer and die for the Lord’s sake.
IV. By dying to ourselves we get to take on the life of God that is truly life. With this dying comes eternal life and God’s purposes being expressed through our lives on the Earth. If we live unto ourselves we will show that we’re not kingdom people and our eternal destiny comes into question.
V. The highest priority in your life should be your soul. What is worth losing your soul over?
VI. We must not allow our own plans and agendas based on human wisdom to cause us to be ashamed of Jesus and his words.
Conclusion
Now because I’m a Trinitarian I believe that Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit are one. So when Jesus says, “ashamed of me and my words” (Mark 8:38), I believe he’s not just talking about the red type in the Bible but he’s speaking about the entire counsel of God’s word as well as the Godhead. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
A. How could a person be ashamed of Jesus?
B. How could a person be ashamed of the Holy Spirit?
A. Ashamed of Jesus
Our shame of Jesus today would be very similar to the feelings that Peter had. Which one of us wants to suffer and die? It’s not an easy pill to swallow.
So we may gravitate toward teaching that focuses more on (from a human perspective) good things. Subjects like
- Positive thinking for blessings
- Becoming the best you
- Achieving your Dreams
- How to Increase God’s Favor in your life to get what you want
When Jesus comes back I don’t want him to be ashamed of me. I want him to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” “You have been faithful with a few things, now become master over much.” “Come into my rest.”
However according to the Lord’s own words in Mark 8:34 there is no such thing as cross-less Christianity. Cross-less Christianity is a Satanic philosophy that will lead many astray. (2 Tim 4:3)
B. Ashamed of the Holy Spirit
Many churches today prefer to control what happens in services. They will use scriptures like
1 Cor. 14:40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
To say everything should be controlled.
In using that scripture they tend to forget the entire chapter proceeding it. Even the verse before it, v. 39 says, “39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.”
Have you ever been in a meeting where you hoped no one gave a message in tongues and an interpretation or a prophetic utterance because someone might be there who would think this was weird and potentially be offended?
If you have then you were ashamed of the Holy Spirit.
God’s plan is to use these gifts to manifest himself. When we squelch these gifts we are saying, “Yes God I know you have a plan but I think I’m a little smarter than you. We’re going to do it my way.”
God help any ministry that doesn’t encourage the manifestations of Holy Spirit when the body of Christ is gathered together in his name. The Holy Spirit is God.
Tongues need to be interpreted. If you are going to pray out loud in a meeting in tongues where unbelievers are present you have a responsibility to interpret what you say. If you don’t have an interpretation pray in tongues in your mind or so quietly no one can hear you.
1 Corinthians 14:23,28 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.
2 Timothy 1:8
So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
Revelation 19:10b
For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
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