Marcos 8
Kent Hughes · Citado em PreceptAustin
Marcos 8
Hughes - Confessing Christ means we must follow him to crucifixion....The Cross is for all who follow Christ. Christ leads the procession carrying his cross, and we, his followers, tread in his steps, bearing our own crosses. We march to death....A cross comes from specifically walking in Christ’s steps, embracing his life. It comes from bearing disdain because we are embracing the narrow way of the Cross—that Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). It comes from living out the business and sexual ethics of Christ in the marketplace and world. It comes from embracing weakness instead of power. It comes from extending oneself in difficult circumstances for the sake of the gospel. Our crosses come from and are proportionate to our dedication to Christ. Difficulties are not an indication of cross-bearing; difficulties for Christ’s sake are. We need to ask ourselves if we have any difficulties because we are following close after Christ. (Preaching the Word) James Edwards points out that "A wrong view of Messiahship leads to a wrong view of discipleship." (PNTC-Mark)
Marcos 8
Hughes - This call to a crucified life demands a willingness to pour out one's life for Christ. The biography The Shadow of the Almighty records a beautiful prayer uttered by Jim Elliot: Father, take my life, yea, my blood if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mine to save. Have it, Lord, have it all. Pour out my life as an oblation for the world. Blood is only of value as it flows before Thine altar. Young Jim Elliot went on to willingly shoulder his cross in missionary service, literally sealing it with his own blood at the hands of primitive spearmen deep in the jungles of Ecuador. (Preaching the Word – Luke, Volume I: That You May Know the Truth) Robert Morgan on Luke 9:23-26 - God uses temptation to cultivate obedience. Look at Luke 9:23-26: In other words, if we’re Christ’s disciples, we’re going to be in hostile territory and we’re going to have to make hard moral decisions every day. The world will try to tempt us. The world will try to intimidate us. The world will try to make us ashamed of being Christians. But Jesus can use that temptation to cultivate obedience in our lives. I think one of the best things that I read in the purpose-driven materials we’ve been going through is this paragraph. I want to read it to you, because it is so well-stated: “Temptation always tests whether you love God more than the temptation. Let me give you a tip about temptation. When you’re tempted, don’t resist it. Because as you’re resisting it, guess what you’re doing? You’re just thinking about the temptation! You’re getting into a spiritual tug-of-war with Satan, and he always wins. You don’t resist it, you just drop the rope and walk a different direction and you think about something different. This is a verse that I’ve used literally hundreds and hundreds of times in my life [Philippians 4:8: “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”] When I’m tempted it’s my favorite verse to use to turn my thoughts from what’s wrong to what’s right, so I’ve memorized it very well, because I have been tempted a lot. If you’ll take a verse like this and let it turn your mind from what’s wrong to what’s right, you’ll find the temptation starts to drop away.” ILLUSTRATION - THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH IN NORTH KOREA - adapted from report by Jan Vermeer The inspired writer of the book of Hebrews says that everything was put in subjection under Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:8). Does His supremacy actually show in this country full of idols, hunger and death camps? The North Korean Church consists of between 200-400,000 members. Fiercely persecuted, all of them hide their beliefs from the authorities. The church is truly an underground church, divided into thousands of small networks and cell groups. Most Christians hardly know other Christians outside their families. In case of an arrest, not many other Christians are in danger. The most visible proof of their faith is the possession of a Bible, which is illegal and punishable by death. Probably nowhere else in the world are so many copies of God’s Word literally hidden underground. But the church is definitely growing. Many Christians keep their faith secret and are surviving. Open Doors is able to support almost 60,000 Christians with Bibles, books, training, food, clothes and medicines. Yet it is the individual tragedies that make it difficult to see with spiritual eyes that Jesus Christ is supreme even in North Korea. For example, a middle aged man was arrested after the police found a Bible in his home. He was terribly beaten in prison, as we learn from released prisoners who witnessed it. “His face is deformed. He told us he is certain he will die.” How can Christ be supreme if one of his disciples is tortured so severely? "I’ve known this man for a long time,” says a Christian friend of the prisoner. “When he came to faith, he made the decision that one day he would die for Christ. Every Christian in North Korea has made that choice. Every Christian in my country has the spirit of martyrdom in him. If you lose that spirit for one second, you cannot carry the burden of being a follower of Jesus. My friend knew that one day he could get caught and on that day he had to be steadfast in the faith and loyal to Jesus. I am convinced he can take the suffering because he constantly reminds himself of the joy that is set before him.” The suffering North Korean Christians reveal Christ’s supremacy because they look at the reward (Heb 11:26): Jesus Christ Himself. He is our Treasure (Col 2:3). He calls us to Himself, to suffer outside the gate and bear the reproach He endured (Hebrews 13:12-14). The kingdom of dictators like Kim in North Korea is limited in size and time. The Kingdom of our Lord is eternal and will come with power and crush all kingdoms like Kims! ILLUSTRATION Missionary Amy Carmichael worked with children in India, and one day she took them on a field trip to see a goldsmith refine his gold after the ancient manner of the East. He was sitting beside a little charcoal fire, and in the fire was a little curved roofing tile. Another tile covered it as a lid. This was the crucible. The goldsmith had concocted a solution, put it in the tile crucible, placed the lump of gold in the solution, and put the whole thing in the fire. As the fire did its work, the impurities in the gold began to leak into the solution and the gold become more pure. The goldsmith would occasionally take the gold out of the crucible with a pair of tongs, let it cool, and rub it between his fingers. Then he put it back into fresh solution in the tile and heated it up again. Every time this happened, the goldsmith blew the fire hotter than before. Looking up at the children, the goldsmith said, “The gold could not bear the fire this hot to begin with; it would have destroyed it. But now it helps it.” One of the children asked, “How do you know when the gold is purified?” Here was the man’s answer: “When I can see my face in it (the liquid gold in the crucible) then it is pure.” Of course, Amy Carmichael couldn’t miss the lesson for her own life. When our Great Refiner sees in us His own image, He has brought us to maturity and wholeness. He uses truth to cultivate wisdom; trials to cultivate faith; tasks to cultivate faithfulness, and temptation to cultivate obedience until He can see His face to us and we have grown into the image of Christ. Is that process happening in your life? Fanny Crosby put it: O to be more like Jesus, Earnest when ’ere I pray, Into His perfect likeness Growing from day to day. Oh, that we might all be growing into the image of Christ, growing up into Him in all things, letting Christ be formed in us. And then one day all shall be fulfilled. As the old apostle John told us in the third chapter of his first epistle: Beloved, we are now children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. RANDOM/ASSORTED NOTES ON MARK 8:34 (use "as is" - not proofread) -- these are related primarily to "take up your cross"... Context - Mk 8:31-32 is the context for the command to take up your cross - and He began to teach them 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. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him." While Jesus did not specifically state He was to killed by crucifixion, we know from many other NT passages this is what He was describing. And this clear declaration of physical death prompted Peter's strong opposition and rebuke. "33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” This is the context for the following instructions on following Jesus -- Peter sought man's interests (the Jews wanted a king to conquer Roman rule) but Jesus now points them to God's interests which are to follow Jesus and His Gospel. And so Jesus' allusion to death (cross implied) was a perfect segue (lead in) to the teaching on death to self (man's interests) and commitment to God's interests. Parallel Passages: Luke 9:23-27 and He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 26“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27“But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. COMMENT - In this parallel passage "carry" (Greek bastazo - to bear connotes carrying something with endurance. Metaphorically it means to bear/endure sufferings) Carry is in the present tense so here Jesus adds the thought that not just to take up the cross, but to keep on bearing the cross (not "wearing" a cross around our neck -- not to disparage this but it is NOT taking up one's cross!) as one's lifestyle, continually, daily as in Lk 9:23. While Jesus' primary meaning of taking up and carrying one's cross was metaphorical/figurative, He does not rule out that carrying it for His Name, might in fact cost one their physical life (as we hear of many Christians living in countries closed to the Gospel even today being willing to die [take up their cross] rather than to deny that they are followers of Jesus!) The verb take up is airo - it was used 102x in 97v in the NT so it is relatively common verb. Literally airo means lifting up something, taking it up, raising it up as Luke used it to describe raising the ship's anchor (Acts 27:12). In the present context the verb is used figuratively by Jesus, not to take up a literal cross but a figurative "cross." The essence of the meaning is to be willing to suffer shame, disgrace humiliation, and if necessary martyrdom for the sake of the Name of Jesus and the Gospel of Jesus. The cross applies to any and all sorts of suffering in the name of Christ. (PARALLEL PASSAGE - the writer of Hebrews statement about Jesus' own reaction/response to the Cross - Heb 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." And since we are not called to imitate Jesus - 1 Cor 11:1, especially 1 Pe 2:21 "walk in His steps" - Jesus' actions in Heb 12:2 would help motivate us to take up our cross "despising the shame.") In the first century the cross was an instrument of torture but only the most horrible criminals were crucified. To die on a cross was to be horribly shamed and humiliated. The crowd and disciples were well aware of this meaning because the Romans crucified criminals on frequently used roadways so that those who saw would be fearful of suffering the same fate and thus would seek to be obedient to the Romans government. Crucifixion was known to be a lingering, dreadfully painful way to die and was in essence being tortured to death. So Jesus was calling for all who would follow Him, to be willing to suffer shame for His Name. Take up is in the aorist tense, imperative mood (command) which calls for this to done immediately, to be done even with a sense of urgency (like the popular Nike commercial "Just Do It!") and to be done once and for all (although in another sense every follower would need to renew their commitment daily to take up their cross for the fallen flesh fights against the Spirit and seeks us "coerce" us to deny the cross, not take it up! Luke 9:23 supports the need to DAILY take up the cross - “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.) Take up is also in the active voice which is the voice calling for a personal decision, a choice of one's will, a "volitional" choice. Here is the paradox - Jesus is calling for potential followers to be willing (volitional choice) to die to self (figuratively to be crucified as Paul later describes in Galatians 2:20 - “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.) And yet we know that self does not hate self or even more unlikely seek to kill self, but in fact loves self. And so Jesus' commandment necessitates supernatural enablement to obey. The paradox is that the only way to obey is if God provides the power to obey. One passage that clearly teaches this vital truth is Phil 2:12-13 where Paul commanded (present imperative - continually, as their lifestyle) "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." In the context of Mk 8:34 to work out one's salvation would be tantamount to taking up one cross. But Paul then gives the Philippians the supernatural solution to enable them to "work out their salvation". Phil 2:13 for (preposition introducing Paul's explanation of how to work out) it is God who is at work in you (almost certainly a reference to the indwelling Spirit), both to will and to work for His good pleasure." The NLT paraphrase says God gives them the "desire" and the "power" to obey the command. So while fallen flesh does not "want to" take up a cross, the Spirit gives this person the "want to" (so to speak) and then adds the provision of power to carry out the "want to" and thus to obey Jesus' command to take up the Cross and follow Him. Another thought on taking up the cross - in context this relates to "Deny self" and in a sense is the ultimate denial of self, doing so to the point of either willing to die or literally dying, for the sake of the Name of Jesus. Another point (parallel passage) that helps explain the powerful picture of taking up one's cross - Crucifixion was a deeply shameful death especially to Jesus' Jewish audience for they would recall the words of Deuteronomy 21:23: ‘anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse!" So for those hearers who knew this passage, Jesus' command would be even more radical! Another parallel passage to mention is Galatians 5:24 "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Here we learn that one aspect of taking up one's cross results in radical dealing with our fleshly, sinful passions and desires! And we all have plenty of opportunities each day to "take up our cross" when these passions and desires come before our eyes or fly into our minds (like fiery missiles! Eph 6:16). It should be emphasized that take up your cross does not refer to what many often think it means -- "I am bearing my cross" referring to some difficult circumstance or difficult person they are encountering. In this context they often say "I am bearing my cross" as they "put up" with this circumstance or person. That is not what Jesus is referring to for His command is for a holistic willingness to bear His shame and humiliation which also fits well with the context of this pericope in which Jesus says "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.”." (Mk 8:38) To be "ashamed" in context would be to be unwilling to take up one's cross and follow Him. The cross speaks of suffering in service. If you are going to do your duty for God, you will sooner or later meet up with the cross of suffering. But a good servant will not stop serving just because suffering for God is part of that service. That is what Jesus himself will have to do literally, and it is the way that all his followers must be prepared to take. It means that we are prepared to follow our Master on the path of suffering. It means that if we are called on, we too will literally be willing to die—blood, toil, tears and sweat. There are no detached observers here, no spectators. If you are a Christian, this is what you have already committed yourself to, for Christian discipleship is shaped and determined by the cross. Quote on Cross - So it meant social ostracism and utter loneliness at a time of the deepest suffering, when the slightest crumb of comfort would have been longed for. (Geoffrey Grogan - "Mark: Good News from Jerusalem" page 162) Ezra Gould - The idea is, that a disciple is to follow the example of Jesus in giving up everything, even life itself, that belongs to the selfish interests, sooner than anything belonging to the higher purposes of life. (ICC Commentary on Mark - page 157) Quote from an older writer J C
Marcos 8
Hughes - Jesus said, “Losers are keepers.” This is a fundamental law of life. No one is excepted, in time or eternity. Nothing could be more opposed to the spirit of our age. The world today says, Look out for Numero Uno. Save yourself. Love yourself. Pamper yourself. Live for yourself....Narcissism is the order of the day as multitudes ease their souls into a living death by the respectable vice of selfishness. A society of keepers inevitably becomes a society of losers. Ours is a society of losers! (Preaching the Word) For (gar) is a term of explanation. Jesus is explaining why He placed supreme value on obedience to His commands to deny self, take up your cross and follow Him. In comparison everything else was of minimal significance when viewed from an eternal perspective. Lose some of your "self rights" temporally now (which is the behavior a believer would practice, and being enabled to do so ONLY by the supernatural enabling power of the Holy Spirit) or lose your soul eternally forever. Osborne - This clarifies (“for”) the meaning of “deny self” in Mk 8:34. “Life” has double meaning, referring to the temporary earthly life and also the eternal heavenly life. The question is which one we are truly “living” for. To “save” the one is always to “lose” the other. So the only way we can gain eternal life is to “deny” or “lose” (i.e., surrender) our temporary values and priorities. Interestingly, only Mark has “lose their life for me and for the gospel.” “Gospel” appears four times in the second half of Mark, twice in discipleship sayings involving self-denial (Mk 8:35; 10:29) and twice regarding the proclamation of the kingdom message (Mk 13:10; 14:9). To follow Christ is to join his kingdom mission and proclaim the gospel.(Teach the Text - Mark) Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it - Wishes(thelo) speaks of an exercise of the will from a motive of desire (and so to wish). The present tense describes this as this person's lifestyle. This is what they live for so to speak. They live to save their life! They treasure the temporary and lose the eternal. Save (4982) (sozo) has the basic meaning of rescuing one from great peril. Additional nuances include to protect, keep alive, preserve life, deliver, heal, be made whole. They fight in vain to keep their life (and all it's "goodies"), and to fill the "God shaped" hole in their soul whole by filling their life with pursuits and pleasures of this world which is passing away and even its lusts (1 John 2:17+). Life (soul)(5590)(psuche from psucho = to breathe, blow, English = psychology, "study of the soul") is the breath, then that which breathes, the individual, animated creature. Lose (622)(apollumi from apo = away from or wholly + olethros = state of utter ruin <> ollumi = to destroy <> root of apollyon [Rev 9:11] = destroyer) means to destroy utterly but not to caused to cease to exist. The ultimate idea is to lose all worth to accomplish anything of eternal value. It describes that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose. The point Jesus is making is if one lives merely for this temporal life, their future life will be lost forever! Stephen Olford - Anyone who hoards life selfishly will lose it. Life is like sand: the harder one tries to grasp it, the faster it flows through one’s fingers. There must be selfless sacrifice. Hiebert - A man may decide “to save his life,” to preserve his personal interests by keeping aloof from Christ and His self-sacrificing demands. The sure result will be that he will “lose his life,” more literally, “destroy” it. His self-preserving action will result in the destruction of his higher welfare. (Gospel of Mark - An Expositional Commentary)
Marcos 8
Hughes - The most famous living author of the 1930s was William Somerset Maugham, “Willie.” He was an accomplished novelist, playwright, and short story writer. His novel Of Human Bondage is a classic. His play The Constant Wife has gone through thousands of stagings. He was a man who lived for his own refined tastes, his comfort, and his sexual perversions. In 1965, at the age of ninety-one, he was still a fabulously rich man, although he had not written a word in years. He still received over three hundred fan letters a week. What had life brought W. Somerset Maugham? The London Times carried this excerpt by his nephew, Robin Maugham: I looked round the drawing room at the immensely valuable furniture and pictures and objects that Willie’s success had enabled him to acquire. I remembered that the villa itself, and the wonderful garden I could see through the windows—a fabulous setting on the edge of the Mediterranean—were worth £600,000. ($820,683.00) Willie had 11 servants, including his cook, Annette, who was the envy of all the other millionaires on the Riviera. He dined off silver plates, waited on by Marius, his butler, and Henri, his footman. But it no longer meant anything to him. The following afternoon I found Willie reclining on a sofa, peering through his spectacles at a Bible which had very large print. He looked horribly wizened and his face was grim. “I’ve been reading the Bible you gave me.… And I’ve come across the quotation, ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’ I must tell you, my dear Robin, that the text used to hang opposite my bed when I was a child.… Of course, it’s all a lot of bunk. But the thought is quite interesting all the same.” Robin Maugham goes on to describe an empty, bitter old man who repeatedly fell into shrieking terrors, crying, “Go away! I’m not ready … I’m not dead yet.… I’m not dead yet, I tell you.… ” He was a man who had gained the whole world and lost his own soul, a “keeper” who lost. On the other hand, there are “losers” who are the ultimate keepers. My wife, Barbara, and I visited John and Lorraine Winston who have been missionaries in France for more than thirty-eight years. The last twenty-two of those years have been given to founding the French Evangelical Seminary in Vaux-sur-Seine. As we sat in their rooftop apartment overlooking the seminary grounds, John reminisced. He said, as we well knew, that life had not been easy. There had been times when they had been pushed to their limits. And Lorraine nodded her assent. “But,” he continued, “I have had the best life. It has been challenging, exciting, and fulfilling. I wouldn’t change a thing. I have no regrets.” Losers are keepers! One hundred and eighty years after the death of Charlemagne, in about the year 1000, officials of the Emperor Otho opened the great king’s tomb, where they found an amazing sight apart from the treasures. What they saw was this: the skeletal remains of the king seated on a thrown, the crown still upon his skull, a copy of the Gospels lying in his lap with his bony finger resting on this text: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Preaching the Word) ILLUSTRATION - John Sung, the apostle to China from 1928–1951, lost his faith in an American seminary. His liberal friends, thinking he had lost his mind, had him placed in a mental institution for 193 days. He was very sane, however, and with his brilliant mind he gave himself to unhurried Bible study and declared that the day of his release was his true graduation. Enroute home apart from a trophy kept to please his father Sung threw his academic prizes overboard. He died to the promise of a lucrative academic career and determined to live only for Christ. He had a profound influence on his generation. ILLUSTRATION On Tuesday April 20, 1999, Cassie Bernal was in the Columbine Colorado high school library reading her Bible when the two students burst in carrying guns. According to one of the witnesses, her friend Josh, one of the killers pointed his gun at Cassie and asked, "Do you believe in God?" "She paused," Josh stated later, "like she didn't know what she was going to answer, and then she said 'yes.' She must have been scared, but her voice didn't sound shaky. It was strong. Then they asked her why, though they didn't give her a chance to respond. They just blew her away." Cassie's martyrdom was even more remarkable when you consider that just a few years ago she had dabbled in the occult, including witchcraft. She had embraced the same darkness that drove her killers to such despicable acts. But two years earlier, Cassie dedicated her life to Christ and turned her life around. According to the Boston Globe, on the night of her death, Cassie's brother Chris found a Scripture she had written out just two days prior to her death. It read: Now I have given up on everything else—I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him. So, whatever it takes I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead. (Phil 3:10-11 TLB) Would you die for Jesus? ILLUSTRATION: Dave Earley writes - "What else is better in this life? I have heard of nothing better." Jim Elliot was a promising student at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was a champion wrestler, honor student, amateur poet, and was warmly admired by students at Wheaton. He dated and married the prettiest girl at the school. He was truly the "big man" on campus. In his studies, he read the words of Luke 9 and took them seriously. During his senior year, he wrote in his journal these now famous words: "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." God called him to take the gospel to an unreached tribe, the Waodomi people, called the Auca or Savage Indians in Ecuador. Elliot wrote, "Glad to get the opportunity to preach the gospel of the matchless grace of our God to stoical, pagan Indians. I only hope that He will let me preach to those who have never heard that name Jesus. What else is better in this life? I have heard of nothing better. 'Lord, send me!'" Unfortunately, he and his four associates were killed by the warriors before they could share with them. Jim gave up what he could not keep. He gave up his earthly life to gain what he could not lose: eternal life. Due to the publicity generated by the martyrdom of the missionaries, thousands of other young men and women committed to missions to take their place. Beyond that, the widows of the martyred missionaries went back to that tribe and led those warriors to Christ. "Jim Elliot did not die in Ecuador." Years later, a young man traveling in Ecuador flew in a small plane over the country. The pilot knew of Jim Elliot's ministry. "When we fly over the place where Jim Elliot and the others died, show me," the man said to the pilot. "I can't take you there," replied the pilot. "Why not?" "Because Jim Elliot did not die in Ecuador." Perplexed, the young man remarked, "Yes, I know Jim Elliot died here in Ecuador." "Jim Elliot's body died in South America," the pilot said, "but Jim Elliot died while a college student at Wheaton College several years before when he yielded his life to God no matter the consequences." Being a disciple requires that we follow Jesus to the cross. Would you be willing to die for Jesus Christ? Not unless you are living for Jesus right now. (Disciple Making Is...) ILLUSTRATION - One hundred and eighty years after the death of Charlemagne, about the year 1000, officials of the Emperor Otho opened the great king's tomb, where in addition to incredible treasures they saw an amazing sight—the skeletal remains of King Charlemagne seated on a throne, his crown still on his skull, a copy of the Gospels lying in his lap with his bony finger resting on the text, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Preaching the Word – Luke, Volume I: That You May Know the Truth) ILLUSTRATION OF SAVING ONE'S LIFE BUT LOSING ONE'S SOUL - The most famous living author of the 1930s was William Somerset Maugham, "Willie." He was an accomplished novelist, playwright, and short story writer. His novel Of Human Bondage is a classic. His play The Constant Wife has gone through thousands of stagings. He was a man who lived for his own refined tastes, his comfort, and his sexual perversions. In 1965, at the age of ninety-one, he was still a fabulously rich man, although he had not written a word in years. He still received over three hundred fan letters a week. What had life brought W. Somerset Maugham? The London Times carried this excerpt by his nephew, Robin Maugham: I looked round the drawing room at the immensely valuable furniture and pictures and objects that Willie's success had enabled him to acquire. I remembered that the villa itself, and the wonderful garden I could see through the windows—a fabulous setting on the edge of the Mediterranean—were worth £600,000. Willie had 11 servants, including his cook, Annette, who was the envy of all the other millionaires on the Riviera. He dined off silver plates, waited on by Marius, his butler, and Henri, his footman. But it no longer meant anything to him. The following afternoon I found Willie reclining on a sofa, peering through his spectacles at a Bible which had very large print. He looked horribly wizened and his face was grim. "I've been reading the Bible you gave me... And I've come across the quotation, 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?' I must tell you, my dear Robin, that the text used to hang opposite my bed when I was a child... Of course, it's all a lot of bunk. But the thought is quite interesting all the same." Robin Maugham goes on to describe an empty, bitter old man who repeatedly fell into shrieking terrors, crying, "Go away! I'm not ready... I'm not dead yet... I'm not dead yet, I tell you..." He was a man who had gained the whole world and lost his own soul, a "keeper" who lost. On the other hand, there are "losers" who are the ultimate keepers. (R Kent Hughes - Preaching the Word - Mark, Volume I: Jesus, Servant and Savior) “What can a man give in exchange for his life?” (Mk 8:37) The answer is nothing. On April 17, 1998, Linda McCartney, wife of Paul McCartney of the Beatles, died. Newsweek concluded its article on her death by saying, “The McCartney’s had all the money in the world.... Enough to afford their privacy. Enough to give them a beautiful view. But all the money in the world wasn’t enough to keep her alive” (Giles, “Lady McCartney,” 64). ILLUSTRATIONS OF INVESTING ONE'S LIFE (from SERMON by Steven Cole) The famous evangelist George Whitefield once told of seeing some criminals riding in a cart on their way to the gallows. They were arguing about who should sit on the right hand of the cart with no more concern than children who are going somewhere with their parents. It seems absurd that men who are about to die would be arguing about who gets the best seat in the cart! Yet isn’t that an indictment of us all? We’re all about to die! This life is so fleeting and uncertain. Eternity is ahead. Yet we devote ourselves to gaining position and possessions in this world, with no thought of the world to come! The irony of Jesus’ perceptive statement is magnified by the fact that few of us ever come close to gaining the whole world. But even if we could do it, Jesus says, what good is it if we forfeit our own soul? Alexander the Great conquered vast territories and even ordered that he be worshiped as god, but he caught a fever and died at age 33. What good did his conquests do him in light of eternity? Just over 50 years ago, Adolf Hitler tried to conquer the world, but he ended up committing suicide when his plans failed. Some business tycoons, like Ted Turner, reject God and commit themselves to amassing a fortune. He owns more land than almost any other human being. But he soon will die and face God’s judgment with nothing to cover his sin. How much wiser was Jim Elliot, who was killed at 28 trying to take the gospel to the fierce Auca tribe in Ecuador. At age 22 he had written in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” (Shadow of the Almighty [Zondervan], p. 15). Two years earlier he had prayed, “Lord make my way prosperous, not that I achieve high station, but that my life may be an exhibit to the value of knowing God” (ibid., p. 13). The Christian life must be lived daily by keeping in view the shortness of this life and the insignificance of the things of this world in light of eternity. When he was just 19, Jonathan Edwards wrote down 34 resolutions that he committed himself to practice for God’s glory. Number 9 was, “To think much, on all occasions, of my dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards [Banner of Truth], 1:xx). That may strike you as a bit morbid for a young man, but Edwards was seeking to live in the light of eternity. A few months later he wrote, “I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, That I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age” (ibid., 1:xxii). To apply this, think about being at the end of your life. None of us knows how long we’ll live, but assume that the Lord gives you 80 years. In light of eternity, what would you want to accomplish as you look back on your life from that point? In light of this, write out a purpose statement that sums up what you want God to do through you in the years He gives you. Then write out some specific goals for the coming year in light of that overall purpose. Then, whether you live to be 80 or 40, you won’t spend your time trying to gain the world while losing your soul..... ILLUSTRATION In 1777, Dr. William Dodd, a well-known London clergyman, was condemned to be hanged for forgery (the penalties were a bit more severe back then!). When his last sermon, delivered in prison, was published, a friend commented to Samuel Johnson that the effort was far better than he had thought the man capable of. Dr. Johnson’s classic reply was, “Depend upon it, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” If we would keep in mind that life is very short and that eternity is just ahead, it would concentrate our minds wonderfully! Even though it is difficult and painful, we would daily put self on the cross and follow Jesus because we will soon stand before Him on judgment day. Instead of getting caught up with the things of this world, we would live in view of the world to come. The reality of eternity is the motivation for living obediently now, even though it means a slow, painful death to self. An Italian legend tells about a man who had a servant who was rather stupid. One day the master became exasperated and told the servant, “You’re the stupidest fellow I’ve ever known. I want you to take this staff and carry it with you. If you ever meet a man who is more stupid than you are, give him the staff.” The servant took the staff. He met some pretty dumb men, but he wasn’t sure if they were dumber than he was, so he never gave away the staff. Then one day he was called back to the castle. He was ushered into the master’s bedroom, where the master was on his deathbed. He told the servant, “I’m going on a long journey.” The servant asked, “When will you be back?” The master replied that he would not return. The servant asked, “Well, sir, have you got everything prepared for your journey?” The master said, “No, I’ve not really made much preparation for it.” The servant asked, “Could you have made preparation? Could you have sent something on?” The master said, “Yes, I guess I had a lifetime to do that, but I was just busy about other things.” The servant went on, “Then you won’t be back to the castle, to the lands, to the animals?” The master said he wouldn’t be back. The legend says that the servant took the staff which he had carried for all those years and said to the master, “Here, you take the staff. I finally met a man who was more stupid than myself.” We’re all going to take that journey. Jesus tells us how to prepare. Trust Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord, denying self even when it’s hard. One day you will see Him smile and say, “Well done!” Then it will be worth it all! (from SERMON by Steven Cole) Willing To Jump Read: Luke 9:18-26 Whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. —Luke 9:24 Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin spoke of communists as “dead men on furlough.” Those dedicated followers of the atheistic philosophy were willing to die for the cause, and each new day was simply a reprieve. If people were willing to risk everything for a cause based on a lie, how much more should we who know Christ be willing to do so for the truth! Jesus told those who wanted to be His disciples that they had to be willing to follow Him to death. It was to be a commitment of their entire life, no matter what the cost. In his book One Crowded Hour, Tim Bowden describes an incident in Borneo in 1964. Nepalese fighters known as Gurkhas were asked if they would be willing to jump from airplanes into combat against the Indonesians. The Gurkhas didn’t clearly understand what was involved, but they bravely said they would do it, asking only that the plane fly slowly over a swampy area and no higher than 100 feet. When they were told that the parachutes would not have time to open at that height, the Gurkhas replied, “Oh, you didn’t mention parachutes before!” Halfhearted! Master, shall any who know Thee Grudge Thee their lives, who hast laid down Thine own? Nay! We would offer the hearts that we owe Thee, Live for Thy love and Thy glory alone. —Havergal We may not walk to the martyr’s stake, but we must walk in the Master’s steps. A Life That Satisfies Read: Mark 8:34-38 Whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. —Mark 8:35 In his book Facing Loneliness, J. Oswald Sanders writes, “The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache. . . . The millionaire is usually a lonely man, and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience.” Sanders goes on to emphasize that being successful often fails to produce satisfaction. Then he refers to Henry Martyn, a distinguished scholar, as an example of what he is talking about. Martyn, a Cambridge University student, was honored at only 20 years of age for his achievements in mathematics. In fact, he was given the highest recognition possible in that field. And yet he felt an emptiness inside. He said that instead of finding fulfillment in his achievements, he had “only grasped a shadow.” After evaluating his life’s goals, Martyn sailed to India as a missionary at the age of 24. When he arrived, he prayed, “Lord, let me burn out for You.” In the next 7 years that preceded his death, he translated the New Testament into three difficult Eastern languages. These notable achievements were certainly not passing “shadows.” If we commit ourselves to Christ And follow in His way, He’ll give us life that satisfies With purpose for each day. —Sper A fulfilled life is a life full of love for the Lord and others. Risky Business Read: Luke 9:18-27 Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. —Luke 9:24 As the worldwide financial crisis deepened in 2010, executives of a global banking firm were investigated for deceiving their customers about the risk involved in certain investments they were selling. While promising a high rate of return, the banking firm knew that the investments were destined to fail, leaving those who purchased them with nothing. Deception is nothing new. Jesus described Satan as one who “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him . . . for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). The enemy of our souls tells us, “Live only for the present,” when he knows it will result in our eternal loss. Jesus, on the other hand, did not offer His disciples a life of prosperity and ease but called them to self-sacrifice and identification with Him. After telling them that He would be killed and raised from the dead, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24). When you hear the Shepherd’s voice As He calls you, “Come to Me,” In your life make Him your choice And His faithful follower be. —Hess If we hold on to God’s truth, we won’t be trapped by Satan’s lies. Mark 8:36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? NET Mark 8:36 For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life? NLT Mark 8:36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? ESV Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? NIV Mark 8:36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? GNT Mark 8:36 τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον κερδῆσαι τὸν κόσμον ὅλον καὶ ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ; KJV Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? ASV Mark 8:36 For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? CSB Mark 8:36 For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his life? NKJ Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? NRS Mark 8:36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? YLT Mark 8:36 for what shall it profit a man, if he may gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? what: Job 2:4 Ps 49:17 73:18-20 Mt 4:8-10 16:26 Lu 9:25 Lk 12:19,20 Lu 16:19-23 Php 3:7-9 Rev 18:7,8 profit: Job 22:2 Mal 3:14 Ro 6:21 Heb 11:24-26 Jas 1:9-11 Mark 8 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries A SHORTSIGHTED BARGAIN! Related Passages: Luke 9:25+ "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? Matthew 16:26+ “For (term of explanation - explains Mt 16:25 losing one's life by asking a rhetorical question) what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Luke 12:19; 20+ ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ Luke 16:19-23+ “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20“And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. For - Term of explanation - Jesus continues to explain the value of His call to follow Him (discipleship) by explaining the priceless value of losing one's life versus the incredible loss of trying to save it. If our goal is to gain the whole world, we are clearly not going to be individuals who deny our selfish desires and take up our cross because the cross speaks of death to self and those selfish desires (which we all have because we all have the fallen flesh we must battle daily, a battle Jesus called for in Lk 9:23+). "for elucidates by contrasting the higher life with the world, all that it stands for as estranged from God." (Hiebert)