Do we let God be God? Mark 8:27-9:1
Jesus asked his Disciples who people thought he was and they suggested John the Baptist, Elijah, or a prophet. Then he asked the Disciples who they thought he was and Peter quickly said he was the Messiah.
Then as Jesus warned them that he was going to be rejected and even killed, Peter, the same one who proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, began to rebuke Jesus saying that these things would never happen to him.
How might we be just like Peter? Are we willing to take God at his Word, or are we quick to dismiss passages we don’t want to hear with our excuses based on human logic? There may be situations where the culture of the day shaped a particular verse, but if you find yourself excusing one verse after another after another on the same topic, it might be a sign to look inward for the real problem and let God be God.
There is much more in today’s passage that I barely skimmed over, so I encourage my readers to read it in full.
Mark 8:27-9:1 (NLT)
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.[a]”
30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Predicts His Death
31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man[b]must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.[c]
33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said.“You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?[d] 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
9 Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”
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