Mark 8:31-33 - Trusting In God

JESUS EXPLAINED THE PLAN (Mark 8:31).
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.
Q: How must Jesus prediction of His suffering and death sound to His disciples?

• They were shocked and appalled that such an infamous end would interrupt this ministry of miracles which drew such big crowds.
• They expected upward not downward mobility in His future.
• The Christ was supposed to be a symbol of strength, not weakness!

Q: What is the significance of Jesus identifying as the Son of Man?

• He self-identifies as the Son of Man. This is indicative that the role of the Messiah is come to serve men and die so that all people may live.
• He must suffer many things. The suffering of Jesus shows that His anointing and appointment highlights the depth and breadth of human rebellion against God.
• He must be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. He would be rejected by the civic leaders, the spiritual leaders, and the religious experts. He would be rejected by those esteemed to have the utmost human wisdom. His rejection is the thorough evidence of the incomprehensibility of the love, grace, mercy, and righteousness of God Almighty!
• He would be killed. We have no shortage of animosity against our Creator, that we not only would murder Him but that we would subject Him to ignominy and humiliation in doing so.
• After three days, he would rise again. It almost seems like an afterthought, this promise of victory. It demonstrates that Jesus would in fact die…and remain dead for three days. There would be no way to suggest that Jesus did not really die, that He merely swooned. His resurrection was inevitable, but for it to pass, He must die!

JESUS IS REBUKED FOR THE PLAN (Mark 8:32).
And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
Q: How does verse 32 describe Jesus teaching?
Verse 32 clearly teaches that all these things Jesus said plainly. He wasn’t trying to be metaphorical or vague. This was a clear, consistent private teaching of Jesus.
Q: How could Peter rebuke the one he had just called the Christ?
Although it's not advisable, it is conceivable to argue with a provincial king, but not with the King of the Universe!
Peter's idea of "the Christ" may still be blurry. He may not have seen Jesus as a suffering servant, but a conquering king.
JESUS WOULD NOT BE DETERRED FROM EXECUTING THE PLAN (Mark 8:33).
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.
Q: How did Jesus respond to Peter, and how does He similarly respond to our contemporary mistaken approaches to Jesus?

• Jesus was so focused on the cross that He would not tolerate any suggestion to veer from His mission.
• Jesus rebuked Peter, and he rebukes our carnal, man sized views of who Jesus is.
• Jesus is not available to accommodate our selfish agenda for the Savior of the World.
• He is not beholden to our limited views, our impaired perception, and our appalling purposes for Him.
• He is God! He alone had the authority to rebuke Satan and rebut any carnal agenda.
• In going to the cross, Jesus showed the ultimate folly of men’s plans to force the will of God.
• He will not be constrained, restrained, obstructed, or undone.
• The cross could not hold Him, the grave could not imprison Him, and you cannot control Him!

Q: How do we sometimes/often settle for a less than who He truly is appreciation of Jesus?

• Some people have a cheap appreciation for Jesus as Savior. They see Him as saving them from the mess they are in at that moment, or from the mistakes they have made, but they don’t appreciate their own sinful nature or the depth of their own depravity that can only be atoned for by the death of the Spotless, Sinless Lamb of God.
• Some people see Jesus as a good example or the idealized human who offers a sage approach to life, but without any realistic expectation of living consistently the way He lived.
• Some people see Jesus as the timeless therapist, the Cosmic Counselor who offers them therapeutic aid for their circumstances, without requiring anything more of them in an ongoing way.
• Some people see Jesus as their God in a box, who they can put on the shelf to be accessed for their circumstantial need and put away at all other times.