Whosoever Will

Jesus described His mistreatment, death, and resurrection in this passage. Peter didn’t see the bigger picture and received a well-deserved rebuke from the Savior.

You can play, download, or read the transcript of this Take Note Podcast below.

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Mark 8:31-37

Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection many times in His ministry
Our passage of the day records just one instance of this
His disciples and others listening responded in different ways
In this case, there was a very specific response from Peter
But it was not the correct response

What Jesus said in His rebuke to Peter is a reminder of His mission
Of the fact that He concentrated on the Father’s will
While we often concentrate on what we think would be good for us

This interaction is a key feature of the passage
But it is not the only well-known portion of the text
Jesus uses the phrase “whosoever will” twice
And “whosoever shall” once
In some really important New Testament thoughts

Our theme will be “Whosoever Will”
From Mark 8:31-37 today

When we read this text looking back, we understand it
We know that Jesus Christ was falsely accused and crucified
We know how He died for our sins, not His own
And we know that after He died and was buried, He rose again

Before this all took place
His disciples had a very hard time understanding and accepting these ideas
How was it that the King of kings and Lord of lords would allow Himself to be killed?
How is it that He would allow Himself to be mistreated?
And why, after all this time of waiting for the Messiah, would Israel lose Him so soon?

No doubt, these questions and others came to the minds of those He told
But they were missing the point
Not remembering, not comprehending, not accepting the words of the Old Testament
In places like Isaiah 53:5…

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

He would die in our place and for our sins
So that we could be healed
This was His mission
And He explained it…

Mark 8:31

31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Jesus speaks with His disciples here
And, pretty much, lays it all out
He would suffer many things
He would be rejected of the Jewish elders
And the chief priests
And the scribes

Not only that, He would be killed
The great news is that He would raise from the dead

We know this to be the gospel story
The good news that provides salvation for men
But for those who were with Him
Who don’t have the perspective we will have today
This must have been a difficult thing to hear…

Mark 8:32

32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

Peter took exception to the idea of Jesus’ mistreatment
He began to rebuke to the Savior
You can understand him not wanting to see this happen
Being against that kind of injustice for his Lord
But Jesus had a mission
He knew what He was saying, and He knew what He was doing
And this outline of future events was God’s will

Peter’s notions of Christ’s mission on earth were faulty
He wasn’t seeing the bigger picture
And Jesus makes this clear to him…

Mark 8:33

33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

Peter’s rebuke was well-earned
He was directly opposing God’s will
Salvation would come to mankind through Christ’s sacrifice
And it was a cup He must drink
Not Peter’s will, not His own will, but the Father’s will

He was behaving in a way Satan would behave in the same position
He had his mind set on the things of man
Concerned about his own discomfort at the thought
Fighting against any injustice
Even if injustice was a mechanism God would use to save men

Disciples must not see the world using their own wisdom
We can get it all wrong
We must look to the wisdom that comes directly from God in scripture
This will take denial of self…

Mark 8:34

34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Self-denial is a daily reality of Christian discipleship
Followers of Jesus must not be concerned with “the things that be of men”
We have a different way
The way of the follower
Going anywhere He calls us to go
Doing anything He calls us to do
Without regard to our own will, our own satisfaction, or our own opinion

If we choose to come after Him, then we choose the narrow road
It’s a road that not many walk down
But it is the road that leads to eternal life

The miles ahead will be difficult
They will require sacrifice
But He will be with us all the way

Even for those who were with Him on the day
Seeing only His loss in the future
They would be sent another Comforter
One of the very same sort
That would take up residence within them
To walk with them in His physical absence

This is the same Holy Spirit every believer relies upon today
And it’s a good thing
Because this is what we understand about our lives…

Mark 8:35

35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

Anyone holding onto their life will lose it
It is not ours to hold
He gave it to us for a purpose
Just as He gave His life up to do the Father’s will
We must do the same

The Creator is worthy
What He gave to us
We must give up willingly
For Christ’s sake
And for the gospel’s sake

It is only when we give it up
That we will see it saved eternally

It is a surrender
It is a release
That every disciple of Christ must make

If we do not give up our lives
Here are some key questions…

Mark 8:36-37

36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Saving our lives means saving it for ourselves
To gain what we want
To live our way
To do our own will

But what is any of this saving worth?
In the long-term?
In eternity?

Is gaining that which we desire in this life worth losing our souls?
What can we give in exchange for our soul?

The soul is that immaterial part of us
The part of us that remains when our physical life ends
That which remains when we die
Which will spend eternity somewhere

Will we place our faith in Christ
Who died in our place, was buried, and rose again
The perfect sacrifice for our sins
Will we surrender to His will?
Or save our own lives for our purposes

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