Mark 8:31-33 "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. (32) And he spake
that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
(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."
"And he began to teach them." We often hear the saying, "you never get too old to learn." Many of us can remember a time in our lives when we felt we knew it all. When a person is at that place in life, it truly is hard to teach them anything. When I was at the time of life, it was difficult to teach me anything. Why should I try to learn anything when I already know all the answers? Jesus "began to teach them." Of course, we know He had been teaching them for all the time they had been together. In fact, John told us at the end of his account of the Gospel that Jesus said and did so many things that there would not be enough books in which to write of them all. But now, Jesus is beginning to teach them about the next phase of His life on earth. David Phelps sings a beautiful song that speaks of the "end of the beginning." This day in the life of the disciples and Jesus could be described in that way. He began to teach them about "the end of the beginning."
He spoke to them concerning His work that was to be done in Jerusalem. "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes." That in itself would be a terrible thing. We all want to be accepted by others. We want others to like us and to include us. Jesus was not telling them these things because of His sadness; rather, He was preparing them for the event that would lay ahead in the coming days. Jesus knew what was going to take place when He entered Jerusalem. In fact, there is a passage in the book of Isaiah that can give us some insight into what took place. We often declare, and it's true, that God knows the end from the beginning. But let us read the verses that states it in another way. "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." (Isaiah 46:9-10)
Jesus was not speculating as to what was going to take place. He was declaring that these things would happen. He was declaring the end from the beginning. His declaration did not stop with His enduring suffering and being rejected. He plainly declared that He would be killed at the hands of the elders and priests. He used the word kill to show us that it would be the hands of men that carried out the declared will of God, the Father. According to Acts chapter 2, it was the determinate counsel of God that Jesus would die on the cross. It was the foreordained action of Jesus being made a curse for us as He was hanged upon the cross. "Cursed is every man that hangeth upon the tree." I wonder what was going through the heart of God as He spoke that portion of the law to Moses, knowing His Son would fulfill even that portion of the law.
As the disciples heard the words of Jesus, they were filled with emotion. They were filled with so much emotion that they missed the most important part of His statement. After three days, the Son of man must rise again. Oh what joy that should have given to them! How could this be? Yet, they had seen the many miracles of Jesus in the three years they had walked with Him. Yet, now they only focused on the harshest part of Jesus' statement. I suppose that is normal of most people. We probably would have had the same response. No! I won't let them do this to you! That was Peter's response. He just didn't understand. He missed the most important words, "I will rise again after three days.
Do we sometimes miss the most important part of the lesson that God is teaching us? Do we sometimes focus so much on the negative that we miss the positive? I know we all are tired of hearing about the virus, but should we be looking around to see what positives are coming from this? Is there anything that has changed in your life for the better? I think the earth would say that it feels better as a result of the virus. Pollution is down. Crime is down. Theft is down. Families are spending time together. I truly believe more people are spending time in prayer than has been in quite some time. It seems many people are seeing the blessing that is experienced when we are able to gather together in worship unto the Lord. People are missing that aspect of life and its importance to them.
Let us be sure to know that God is so very able to take something negative and bring something positive out of it. Let us not focus on the negative but pray for and anticipate the positives that our God is going to bring.
"And he began to teach them." We often hear the saying, "you never get too old to learn." Many of us can remember a time in our lives when we felt we knew it all. When a person is at that place in life, it truly is hard to teach them anything. When I was at the time of life, it was difficult to teach me anything. Why should I try to learn anything when I already know all the answers? Jesus "began to teach them." Of course, we know He had been teaching them for all the time they had been together. In fact, John told us at the end of his account of the Gospel that Jesus said and did so many things that there would not be enough books in which to write of them all. But now, Jesus is beginning to teach them about the next phase of His life on earth. David Phelps sings a beautiful song that speaks of the "end of the beginning." This day in the life of the disciples and Jesus could be described in that way. He began to teach them about "the end of the beginning."
He spoke to them concerning His work that was to be done in Jerusalem. "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes." That in itself would be a terrible thing. We all want to be accepted by others. We want others to like us and to include us. Jesus was not telling them these things because of His sadness; rather, He was preparing them for the event that would lay ahead in the coming days. Jesus knew what was going to take place when He entered Jerusalem. In fact, there is a passage in the book of Isaiah that can give us some insight into what took place. We often declare, and it's true, that God knows the end from the beginning. But let us read the verses that states it in another way. "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." (Isaiah 46:9-10)
Jesus was not speculating as to what was going to take place. He was declaring that these things would happen. He was declaring the end from the beginning. His declaration did not stop with His enduring suffering and being rejected. He plainly declared that He would be killed at the hands of the elders and priests. He used the word kill to show us that it would be the hands of men that carried out the declared will of God, the Father. According to Acts chapter 2, it was the determinate counsel of God that Jesus would die on the cross. It was the foreordained action of Jesus being made a curse for us as He was hanged upon the cross. "Cursed is every man that hangeth upon the tree." I wonder what was going through the heart of God as He spoke that portion of the law to Moses, knowing His Son would fulfill even that portion of the law.
As the disciples heard the words of Jesus, they were filled with emotion. They were filled with so much emotion that they missed the most important part of His statement. After three days, the Son of man must rise again. Oh what joy that should have given to them! How could this be? Yet, they had seen the many miracles of Jesus in the three years they had walked with Him. Yet, now they only focused on the harshest part of Jesus' statement. I suppose that is normal of most people. We probably would have had the same response. No! I won't let them do this to you! That was Peter's response. He just didn't understand. He missed the most important words, "I will rise again after three days.
Do we sometimes miss the most important part of the lesson that God is teaching us? Do we sometimes focus so much on the negative that we miss the positive? I know we all are tired of hearing about the virus, but should we be looking around to see what positives are coming from this? Is there anything that has changed in your life for the better? I think the earth would say that it feels better as a result of the virus. Pollution is down. Crime is down. Theft is down. Families are spending time together. I truly believe more people are spending time in prayer than has been in quite some time. It seems many people are seeing the blessing that is experienced when we are able to gather together in worship unto the Lord. People are missing that aspect of life and its importance to them.
Let us be sure to know that God is so very able to take something negative and bring something positive out of it. Let us not focus on the negative but pray for and anticipate the positives that our God is going to bring.