Mark 8:38 - Of Whom the Son of Man will be Ashamed

Mark 8:38
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

Message: Of Whom the Son of Man will be Ashamed


Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Preface - Jesus is headed to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he questions the disciples as to who He is and they answer He is the Christ, the Jewish Messiah. He tells them what the Son of Man must do, but Peter rebukes Jesus, and then Jesus reminds them his purpose is not man's purpose. He speaks to the multitude and the disciples that to follow Jesus means we deny ourselves and take up our cross.

I've been listening to these messages by John Piper on this passage of scripture - Mark 8:34-38. He did four messages on these 4 verses, each about 10 minutes long. He states that verse 34 is the command and then verses 35-38 give reasons as to why denying yourself and taking up your cross.

³⁴ And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Come after and follow me has the same idea - follow. The cross was an instrument of death in that day. He states that to take up the cross means (1) embracing opposition, (2) bearing shame, (3) suffering, and (4) death. To come after comes with a risk. We must deny our old self. Our old self wants (1) approval, (2) honor, (3) comfort, (4) safety and (5) life. So when we find this attitude rise up we deny it. We have a new self. We are to take up the cross and deny that old self that does not want to take up the cross. Cross-bearing is losing one's life. To lose life is to embrace the old self and it's ways; to save your life is to bear the crosses way of life. One way is a loss, the other way will save my life. The new self loves Jesus more than the things of the old self (approval, honor, comfort, safety and life) and even if it costs him his life (opposition, shame, suffering, death). 

And then verse 36 says that no amount of money used to acquire the old self ideals of approval, honor, comfort, safety and life can buy one's soul. You cannot acquire the soul this way. And then verse 37 takes it a step further and says that nothing at all can be exchanged for the his soul. So, it isn't just the old self ideals, but it is nothing. 

Verse 38 then concludes Jesus' thought with very clear words. To be ashamed of something is to deny your association with whatever that is. If the world hates Jesus (and it does) then you want to be as far from that as possible. The world desires to please itself (generation). James 4:4 says, "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." It is not that I love opposition or I love shame or I love suffering or I love death. No, but it is that I love approval, honor, comfort, safety and life more than I love Jesus. Jesus is at the center here. 

For me, I think this entire discourse by Jesus is because Peter first, as the representative of the disciples, speaks in response to Jesus' question of who do you say that I am and responds to Jesus that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. Then Jesus states his purpose on earth and Peter rebukes him. Peter says, "no Jesus, I will tell you your purpose." This is the danger of man. Even after understanding who Jesus is we still want Jesus to do what we want. And so Jesus then emphatically and with clarity states that to love Jesus means accepting a different purpose for your life. Jesus taught in verse 31 that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. But Peter rebuked this mission. Peter wanted Jesus to maybe continue doing the things that he saw people wanted of him (healing many, casting out demons, exhibiting the power of God, walking around with his people, teaching, preaching); these are all good things but Peter wants it his way. But Jesus says that this isn't simply about knowing who I am so that I (Jesus) will then meet all of your needs, "no" this is loving Jesus more than everything else in life and accepting whatever that comes your way. Jesus says that to follow me means taking up a cross of opposition, shame, suffering, and even death. Anything else is a lost life, it is forfeiting the soul, it is loving the world and the things of the world and so it is not receiving eternal life and having the Son of Man be ashamed of me.

This is a radical and tough statement. Those that see Jesus as the Christ, as the Messiah can still miss it. They can still miss eternal life. We are not a people that simply knows who Jesus is, but rather a people that love Jesus more than anything else in our lives. 

Summary - John Piper concludes - Therefore, take up the cross of opposition and shame and suffering and death, and deny the old self that lives off of the approval of others, and human honor and comfort, and safety, and in your new self -- the self that loves Jesus more than life - follow Him.  

Promise: Jesus will forgive me when I repent for being ashamed of him. But, if I persistently refuse to be identified with Christ, then I am most clearly not his disciple.  

Prayer: Lord, in my life, I notice how much I value the approval of others. I love to be included, to be valued, and in acquiring this I will often sin through gossip or slander of others, just so that I can achieve approval from the audience I have before me at any given time. I want people to be proud of me so that I receive the honor and glory. I want it my way. But, Lord, this is choosing what the world loves, what my self loves - getting it my way - over You. Lord, you have saved me and washed me clean. You have called me to love you more than anything, more than father or mother, more than friends, more than any good. Lord, I have moments where I choose You, but I rather want to have a life that loves you Jesus more than life. I want to follow You. Only you can give me this type of strength. It goes against me to accept opposition, shame, suffering, and even death, but help to realize that loving you and following you is the only way to the Father. You have already bore my shame, my sin. I want to run to You, follow You, love You, honor You, glorify You, even if it means not getting my way.