May 12 | Mark 8:34-38
- Pastor Dave Mann
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
The Joy of the Cross
By Dave Mann
This passage is one of the most heart-gripping sayings that Jesus ever uttered. Imagine if you were present in the crowd that Jesus assembled to hear these words. How many people who had wanted to follow Jesus were stunned by such challenging words? How many looked at each other and then drifted away, throwing in the towel on the possibility of being a follower of Jesus?
Or, for that matter, think about Jesus addressing a crowd in the present day, where we are indeed present. How many of us want Jesus to change what he says? We might think, “Come on, Jesus. You have to walk back what you just said. If you double down on what you just said, your poll numbers will plunge!”
Whenever I read a biblical passage like this one and find myself squirming, I turn to Gene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message, hoping to find some alternative way of looking at the matter. I usually find a more modern wording expressing the same idea, and I discover that the challenge is even greater.
Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”
Jesus is not calling us to do anything different from what he does. He is just being transparent about what it means to be his disciple. If we follow Jesus, we will find ourselves on the road of radical self-sacrifice. The cross was before Jesus. That means that self-sacrifice and the cross is on our road as well.
On the positive side, the cruciform lifestyle will eventually lead us in the joy of being with Jesus forever.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, even though Jesus spoke challenging words, thank you for his transparency. Thank you for the joy of being with Jesus – in baptism, in his suffering, in his death, and in his resurrection. Amen.
Find additional "Dying to Live" study materials designed for small groups or individual use here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVE MANN
I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.
Good words, David.