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Lesson 8: Discipleship, Mark 8:34-9:50
by Brad Anderson
A new section in Mark's Gospel begins with 8:31.
Its structure centers around three predictions Jesus makes of his
suffering and death (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34). What had previously
been veiled is now stated openly: the Son of Man must go up to Jerusalem,
suffer and die, and on the third day be raised from the dead. Mark
also stresses what this will mean for Jesus' followers. Throughout
the section there are sayings about what true discipleship is, with
the stress on suffering. Another purpose of this middle section
of Mark's Gospel is to provide for Jesus' move from Galilee (where
almost his entire ministry took place) to Jerusalem for the climactic
events of his ministry. Mark does this by means of a travel narrative.
Jesus progressively moves closer and closer to the Holy City. The
final event, the healing of blind Bartimaeus (10:45-52), takes place
when Jesus is coming out of Jericho with the crowds of people on
the way to the Passover Feast in Jerusalem. Chapter 11 opens with
the Triumphal Entry into the city.
This section with its emphasis on the suffering of the Messiah and
of those that follow him must have had special meaning for the persecuted
Christians in Rome. Mark is reminding them that to follow Jesus
is to walk the path of suffering and even death. There is much material
in this section, but we’ll focus on what it means to be a
disciple (discipleship).
Requirements of Discipleship (8:34-38)
The purpose of the section is to encourage and strengthen the Roman
Christians who are faced with persecution and trials. Mark is saying
to them that such experiences are normal in the life of discipleship.
Jesus suffered, and so will his followers.
Regular Believer or Disciple?
Did the gospel writers intend to create a distinction between
regular, garden-variety believers and disciples? That is,
are disciples a class of “super believers” who
have a whole different set of standards and responsibilities
than normal believers do? The answer is an emphatic no. All
believers are disciples and are expected to live as such.
There is only one class of believer—disciple. The requirements
for following Jesus are not just for the Twelve but for all
Christians.
Two requirements of discipleship are (1) denial of self and (2)
taking up one's cross and following Jesus. The word “deny”
means to disown or to refuse association with. By denial of self,
Jesus does not mean to deny oneself of something. He means to renounce
self—to cease to make self the object of one's life and actions.
God, not self, must be at the center of life. Paul teaches the same
thing when he instructs that believers should no longer live for
themselves, but for him who died for them (2 Cor 5:15).
Cross bearing does not refer to some uncomfortable or inconvenient
aspect of life. Rather, it involves the way of the cross. The picture
is of a man, already condemned, required to carry his cross on the
way to the place of execution, as Jesus was required to do (cf.
Luke 23:26). The cross is that suffering which results from our
faithful connection with Christ. Disciples of Christ will have their
share of suffering. To bear the cross is to follow Jesus, even to
the extent of suffering and death—a message especially appropriate
for Mark’s readers, who were facing persecution. Although
the cross was a Roman method of execution, it was well known to
the Jews of Jesus' day.
The cross represents:
Denial — Believers deny themselves,
substituting the will of God for their own will.
Death — The cross means the abrupt,
violent death of a human being. It means the end of life. To take
up one’s cross means dying to your self.
Discipleship — One takes up his cross
and follows Christ. The cross speaks of identification with Christ
in his suffering and death.
[(Lenski quoting Godet) Travelling with Jesus requires 3 things:
1. Saying farewell to self, 2. Picking up your baggage (the cross),
3. Proceeding on the journey (following Christ). The tense of these
verbs is important. The first two are aorists—point of time
acts. The third is a present tense verb—continual action is
required.]
No one should consider himself to be a true disciple of Christ who
refuses to pursue the same course as his Master. Note that Jesus’
invitation to salvation includes negative elements. Unlike many
modern evangelicals, he didn’t try to “sell” himself
or his gospel. He plainly explained that following him would be
very costly.
Jesus warns that by denying him, one's physical life may be saved;
but one's eternal life, his salvation, will be lost. On the other
hand, to lose one's physical life by remaining true to Christ, by
confessing him even when faced with loss of life, is to be assured
of eternal life and salvation. This idea would have sounded a warning
to any in Mark's audience who might be thinking of deserting the
faith under hardship.
“What carelessness and what brutal stupidity is this,
that men are so strongly attached to the world, and so much
occupied with its affairs, as not to consider why they were
born, and that God gave them an immortal soul, in order that,
when the course of the earthly life was finished, they might
live eternally in heaven! . . . The soul is of higher value
than all the riches and enjoyments of the world; but yet men
are so blinded by [worldly] views, that they knowingly and willfully
abandon their souls to destruction.”
John Calvin
What are verses 36-37 talking about? The folly of striving for material
wealth at the expense of the immortal soul. It’s irrational
to reject Jesus because you love what the pleasures of the world.
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what
he cannot lose.
Jim Elliot
Verse 38 is the climax of the warning. To be ashamed of Jesus and
his words means to reject or deny him, to turn away from him. In
the End, at the Judgment, the Son of Man will disown those who were
ashamed of him and his message. The mention of “his Father's
glory with the holy angels” suggests the final judgment (cf.
2 Thes 1:7).
Note: Jesus makes an inseparable connection between himself
and his words. You can’t have one without the other. You can’t
admire Jesus as a person and reject what he taught.
The Position of Discipleship (9:33-37)
What were the disciples arguing about on the way to Capernaum (.34)?
Who would be greatest.
What does this tell us about the spiritual state of the disciples?
The dispute betrays the disciples’ arrogance and their continued
failure to understand Jesus’ message and mission. Jesus and
his followers are marching toward the cross, not toward a crown.
Sacrifice, self-denial and persistence are required. It’s
not a time to be disputing over who is the greatest.
The disciples must have been embarrassed and ashamed of themselves
when Jesus mentioned the dispute. Instead of contemplating Jesus'
death and the suffering it would involve for both him and them,
they had been occupied with senseless argument about greatness.
Since questions of this sort were common among the Jews of the day,
the disciples' dispute shows how much they were influenced by the
culture of their time.
What’s the point of verse 35? True greatness comes through
service of others. This is a complete reversal of worldly values.
How important this principle is can be seen by its repetition in
the tradition (cf. Mark 10:31, 43-44; Matt 23:8-11; Luke 22:24-27).
The very fact that the disciples were concerned about who was greatest
underscores again their failure to understand Jesus' statements
about his suffering and death. The kind of service Jesus was talking
about involved sacrifice.
What’s the paradoxical (surprising) result of selfish ambition?
The first shall be last. Those who seek to promote themselves shall
be demoted.
How did Jesus illustrate his point (.36a)? By taking a little child
into his arms.
True greatness means caring about people, even insignificant people
like children, because Jesus himself is concerned about them. Ambition
for notoriety and high position should not enter the mind of a disciple.
More Demanding Requirements of Discipleship (9:43-50)
The main point of verses 43-50 is that eternal life is so important
that radical means must be taken to remove whatever may be hindering
it, namely, sin.
Is Jesus suggesting here that the hacking off of one’s body
parts will prevent one from sinning? No. Note that the parts he’s
talking about come in pairs. Hacking one off will not prevent the
other from sinning. Further, it’s not really the body part
that sins, it’s the soul. Instead, he is demanding the cessation
of the sinful activities of these members. The heart is what needs
to be changed. Radical spiritual surgery is demanded.
The word translated “hell” is gehenna, a Greek form
of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”).
This was the valley along the south side of the city of Jerusalem,
which was used in OT times for human sacrifices to the pagan god
Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35). King Josiah put a stop to
this dreadful practice (2 Kings 23:10); and the Valley of Hinnom
came to be used as a place where the city dumped and burned its
garbage. The fire of gehenna never went out, and the worms never
died. So it came to be used symbolically of the place of divine
punishment. All NT uses of the term refer to the place of eternal
torment, not to the literal valley where they burned the trash.
Note: Jesus clearly and repeatedly taught the reality of eternal
torment for the damned. While it’s not a popular doctrine
today, the reality of hell as a place of eternal punishment cannot
be denied.
What do you suppose verse 49 means? The “fire” here
probably refers to the trials and persecutions of the disciples
of Jesus. The previous verses relate to the dedication of the various
members of the body (hand, foot, eye) to God. These must be sacrificed,
if need be, to enter into the kingdom of God. Here the total self
is in mind. Every true disciple is to be a total sacrifice to God
(cf. Rom 12:1); and as salt always accompanied the temple sacrifices,
so fire--i.e., persecution, trials, and suffering--will accompany
the true disciple's sacrifices (cf. 1 Peter 1:7; 4:12).
This saying, which is preserved only by Mark, must have had special
meaning for the persecuted Roman church. It helped them understand
that the purifying fires of persecution were to be expected as part
of the Christian life.
Please Pass the Salt
Salt played an important role in the ancient world. The rabbis
considered it necessary to life. It was used to make food
tasty and as a preservative to keep food from spoiling. Jesus
calls his disciples the “salt of the earth” (Matt
5:13). The figure of salt losing its saltiness is striking—who
ever heard of that happening? Jesus is warning his disciples
not to lose that “saltiness” in them that brings
life to the world and prevents its decay. The disciples' spirit
of devotion and self-sacrifice to Jesus Christ and his gospel,
if lost, will neutralize their influence.
Conclusion:
These passages teach us much about what it means to be a disciple
of Jesus Christ. We should evaluate what kind of disciples we are
by the standards Jesus sets here.
Applications:
1. What do we learn about disciples/discipleship?
a. Disciples deny their own desires and follow Christ, no matter
what the costs. The cross is a means of death. When believers take
it up, they are forsaking their own lives.
b. Disciples should expect persecution. Being “salted with
fire” is part of the Christian experience. People hated Jesus;
it follows that they will hate Jesus’ disciples.
c. Disciples are to be like salt, preserving and adding “taste”
to their world. Those who lack devotion and refuse to sacrifice
are incapable of advancing the cause of Christ.
2. What do we learn about the cost of following Christ? Following
Christ is costly. We must remember that Christ is calling his disciples
to a life of sacrifice and service, not to a life of ease. Also,
we must not fail to mention the requirements of discipleship when
leading someone to Christ.
3. What do we learn about the value of individuals? People are precious
and valuable. One soul is worth more than all material possessions.
Those who seek wealth at the expense of their souls are fools.
4. What do we learn about true greatness and service for others?
True greatness is found in caring for others, not in promoting your
self. Those who desire to lord over others deserve the lowest positions.
Humble service will be rewarded by promotion.
Discussion:
1. Jesus doesn’t promise his disciples a very glamorous life.
In fact, he declares that his followers will encounter suffering
and even death. Why then would anyone follow him? a. Because doing
so is the only means of eternal life; b. Because eternal rewards
are better than worldly goods; c. Because the life of discipleship
is better than anything the world has to offer.
2. Why is it important to present the costs of discipleship when
presenting the gospel? a. That’s what Jesus did; b. To be
fair; c. To give the person all the information he needs to make
an informed decision; d. To prevent false professions.
3. What does it mean to be “salt”? Being an influence
for Christ, speaking the Word of God into a situation, standing
for truth and righteousness, etc.
4. How can you be “salty” in your world? a. By living
a righteous lifestyle; b. By telling others; c. By standing up for
right and biblical principles.
