The Context of Mark 8:31-38!

‘Then Jesus began to tell them [His disciples] that the Son of Man 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. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

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.”

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 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. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 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.”’ – Mark 8:31-38 NLT

Today, I would like to start devotional series on Mark 8:31-38. I know this Bible passage is big but I think when we read and think about it, it is not a big passage. I actually was planning to write only Mark 8:34-38 but some of the Bible passages are interlinked with each other. Because of this, I am convicted to write about what led to Mark 8:34-38. Overall, I believe writing devotional about Mark 8:31-38 is quite necessary for an Advent Season.

In the chapter eight of Mark’s gospel, from verse 31 to 38, talks about the prediction of Jesus’ death. To be more specific, Jesus Christ wanted His disciples to know what would happen later on to Him. He probably wanted them to get ready for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, so they would not get troubled spirit. 

Tomorrow, we are going to look at the reason that Jesus had to suffer many terrible things.