Follow Day 15 Lydia, Spaghetti and Waffles: Digging Deeper

1) What was Jesus calling people to when He said that to follow Him one must “take up his cross”? (verse 34)
The first four books of the New Testament are referred to as “the gospels.” Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, each writer had an agenda to proclaim the good news about Jesus. As eyewitnesses to the life of Christ, they revealed what Jesus taught and how He lived. At the time of Mark’s writing, the word gospel had become a term referring to the preaching about Jesus and His saving work. (netbible.org) (Mark 1:1) Written to especially convince Gentiles that Jesus was the long-awaited and promised Messiah, the author, Mark, begins at Jesus’ baptism rather than His lineage. Though His disciples failed during His earthly ministry to fully comprehend Jesus’ messiahship, it seems His disciple Peter understood that following Jesus was much more than commitment to a good leader. When asked, Peter made an essential declaration, “You are the Messiah.” (verse 29) It’s obvious that Peter didn’t quite get it (Mark 8:32-33), but the disciples were privy to an important revelation that Jesus did not deny, He was the Christ! (verse 30) On hearing the words Jesus spoke in verse 34, the disciples and crowd knew what He meant. The Messiah was calling His followers to be willing to die. A cross served no other purpose. This was a call to complete surrender, even to the point of death.

2) What is the reward for someone who is willing to lose their own life to follow Christ Jesus? (verse 35)
Peter confessed that Jesus was anointed by calling Him “Messiah” (“Christ” is used in the Greek) in verse 29. This confession was an especially important message for Mark to communicate to his readers as it emphasized that Jesus was indeed the perfect fulfillment of every Jewish prophecy. Jesus usually drew large crowds including Jew and Gentile alike. Although they often followed Him as Messiah, their perspective of Jesus was distorted by their own desires. Many of His followers believed that as Messiah, He would free them from their Roman oppressors. When Jesus began predicting His suffering, rejection, and death, most of His followers left. The cost of following was becoming too steep. (John 6:66-69) As much as Peter believed in Jesus (John 6:68-69), he was also often confused. His arrogant rebuke of Jesus (verse 32) revealed his own misunderstanding of Jesus’ personhood and purpose. It was only human to think the reward for following Jesus would be a worldly victory, but this was the opposite of what Christ proclaimed! Jesus Himself was faced with the possibility of gaining the world and rejecting God’s will when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. (Matthew 4) Instead of giving in, Jesus chose obedience and headed to the cross. (Luke 4:5-8) His willingness to taste death was rewarded by His Father. (Philippians 2:7-11, Hebrews 2:9) It is through His obedience, and our faith in Him, we receive the reward of life everlasting. (2 Corinthians 5:14-19, Colossians 3:2-4)

3) How is being ashamed of Christ demonstrated in someone’s life, and how will it impact their future? (verse 38)
Being ashamed of Christ would have been demonstrated by an unwillingness and embarrassment to associate with Him due to His humble human condition. Being ashamed of His words referred to His doctrines and instructions. (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible) In Romans 1, Paul explains his purpose and mission to the Gentile believers by saying, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” Paul’s confidence in Jesus’ teaching and example was clear through his preaching and his life. It was his willingness to suffer for Christ’s sake that drove Paul to share the gospel everywhere he went. A woman named Lydia was living in Philippi when she met Paul. She heard the gospel from him, and God opened her heart to his message. After she and her family were baptized, she boldly invited Paul and his friends to her home (Acts 16) Attaching herself to Paul and the gospel was courageous. In doing so, she was attaching herself to the Christ he preached. This could have cost her life, yet she was unashamed, believing her faith would ultimately save her. (Acts 16:20-24)