Daily Scripture: Mark 8:31 He began teaching them that the Son of Man had to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head cohanimand the Torah-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that after three days, he had to rise again. 32 He spoke very plainly about it. Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him. 33 But, turning around and looking at his talmidim, he rebuked Kefa. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said, “For your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God’s perspective!”
34 Then Yeshua called the crowd and his talmidim to him and told them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. 35 For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it. 36 Indeed, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? 37 What could a person give in exchange for his life? (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions: Resisting Barnum’s invitation, Philip Carlyle said, “Let's just say that I find it much more comfortable... admiring your show from afar.” And Barnum murmured, “Comfort, the enemy of progress.” Jesus' closest followers became uncomfortable when he talked about suffering and crosses. Scholar Craig Evans wrote, “In that time there was no sentimentality attached to Jesus' death, and certainly not to the cross, a horrifying symbol in Roman antiquity.”* Peter found the idea of Jesus on a cross appalling. But Jesus didn’t shrink from using the cross as a positive, yet hugely challenging, symbol of the cost of following him.
- “Jesus said to them, ‘All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.’” Did Jesus' words apply only to his first-century followers who faced Roman persecution, or do they apply to us in the 21st century, too? If so, what does “taking up your cross” look like in your daily life? In what ways have you found greater depth of life by saying “no” to yourself at key times?
- Peter’s effort to deny Jesus' words about suffering and dying fit with the disciples’ belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Scholar David Garland wrote that “most Jews… hoped for a Messiah [who] would be a kingly figure who would reign triumphantly as David had.”** For what reason(s) do you think Jesus found it important to talk to his disciples in advance about his death? Had you been one of them, how easy or hard would it have been for you to accept what he said?
* Craig A. Evans and N. T. Wright, Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened, ed. By Troy A. Miller. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, p. 4.
** David E. Garland, comments on Mark in Matthew, Mark, Luke: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002, p. 255.
Emily is our Early Childhood summer intern for KiDSCOR and will be a junior at K-State studying marketing, entrepreneurship and sales. She has attended Church of the Resurrection since she was born, and she loves spending time with her family and attending K-State sporting events.
I have many memories from my childhood in KidsCOR and Rezlife, but one sticks out the most. I had just completed my junior year of high school as we departed on our mission trip to Denver, Colorado. We started our week by dividing up into groups and hearing about our job sites. My group got to help lead the Vacation Bible Camp.
I was placed in a room with first graders. We talked about the Bible and how Jesus loves us, but during lunch I saw something amazing happening before my eyes. I saw these innocent kids thinking about God, and really wanting to learn about him. Therefore, for the whole week each of the children took turns to have their questions answered. One little boy chose to not ask his questions with everyone listening, but when he could get an individualized response from one of us. He and I really connected that week–-so much so that on the last day of VBC he cried to his mom because he didn’t want this week to be over.
I look back on that time and see the same inquisitive nature in the children I witness on Sundays. I've had the amazing opportunity to relive that VBC week, only this time here at my church home.The verse “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34) jumped off the page when I read today’s passage. I remember those little kids wondering about Jesus, only to realize they are tomorrow’s VBC leaders. In order to be a leader a person needs to be a follower--of Jesus. We can’t change what happened in the past; we can’t control what is to come. All we have to do is have faith in the Lord and trust that he has our best interests in mind.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
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