Marcos 8
William MacDonald · Citado em PreceptAustin
Marcos 8
William MacDonald - The natural tendency is to save our lives by selfish, complacent, routine, petty existences. We may indulge our pleasures and appetites by basking in comfort, luxury, and ease, by living for the present, by trading our finest talents to the world in exchange for a few years of mock security. But in the very act, we lose our lives, that is, we miss the true purpose of life and the profound spiritual pleasure that should go with it! On the other hand, we may lose our lives for the Savior's sake. Men think us mad if we fling our own selfish ambitions to the wind, if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, if we yield ourselves unreservedly to Him. But this life of abandonment is genuine living. It has a joy, a holy carefreeness, and a deep inward satisfaction that defies description. (Believer's Bible Commentary) For My sake - Because of His Name. Because we openly, proudly "wear" His Name. It will cost! See related passages on for the sake of Jesus and His Name (His Name equates with all that He is, His essence, His attributes, etc)... Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. Luke 6:22; 23+ “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23 “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. John 15:20; 21 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. Acts 9:16+ (JESUS SPEAKS OF PAUL) for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” And the gospel's will save it - Mark alone adds and the gospel's. This refers to salvation by grace through faith. (Spirit energized) Self-sacrifice is the only way to self-discovery. Dying is the doorway to living. Giving is the key to receiving. However beware of the deceptive thought that your DOING in any way contributes to your salvation but to the contrary is the fruit of your salvation. Daniel Akin - If you save or treasure your life above all else, you will lose it. The one who plays it safe and considers his existence more important than Jesus will lose both Jesus and eternal life. In contrast, the one who gives his life for Jesus and the gospel will actually save it! Following Jesus involves risking it all—safety, security, satisfaction in this world. But He promises us that it leads to a reward this world can never, ever offer. There is a life worth giving for the glory of God and the gospel! It is a dying to self that others might live! It is not safe! But it is the normal Christian life! J. I. Packer says, “There are, in fact, two motives that should spur us constantly to evangelize. The first is love to God and concern for His glory; the second is love to man and concern for his welfare” (Evangelism, 73). C. T. Studd (1860-1931), missionary to China, India, and Sudan, said, “We will dare to trust our God ... and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man” (Platt, Radical, 178). Your life is set free to live the normal/radical Christian life when you see death as reward, when you can say with Paul, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (Phil 1:21). (Christ-Centered Exposition – Exalting Jesus in Mark)
Marcos 8
William MacDonald - As the Savior talked with the twelve, He realized that the desire for material riches might be a powerful deterrent against full surrender. And so He said, in effect, "Suppose you could stockpile all the gold and silver in the whole world, could own all the real estate and property, all the stocks and bonds—everything of material value—and suppose that in your frantic effort to acquire all this you missed the true purpose of life, what good would it do you? You would have it for only a short while; then you would leave it forever. It would be an insane bargain to sell that one, short life for a few toys of dust." (Believer's Bible Commentary) What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul - There may be short term, temporal "profit," but long term, even eternal loss! A financial adviser would call this a very bad "investment!" Osborne - Jesus says what is at stake in the choice stated in verse 35. We are dealing with temporary benefits versus eternal loss. This same truth is stated frequently in Jewish thought (Ps. 49:7–9; Eccles. 1:3; 2 Bar. 51:15). To live only for earthly benefits is to waste your life. One can be a billionaire, have all the world’s goods at one’s fingertips, and in the end have nothing. Death is the great equalizer. But those who have eternal rewards will enjoy them forever....Nowhere are the two choices that determine the meaning of life more apparent than here in 8:35–37. There are no options more important than these: temporary gain that brings eternal loss versus temporary loss that produces eternal gain. Every human being is faced with the alternatives, and none matter more than these. To opt for the temporary is to face constant uncertainty and anxiety, for this world will never be our friend. More importantly, to choose the earthly over the heavenly will result in the greatest loss imaginable, the loss of eternal life. The soul is an everlasting creation and will never cease to exist, but that eternity can be what is called “eternal destruction,” eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15+; Rev 21:8+). (Teach the Text - Mark) (Bolding Added) Profit (5623)(opheleo from ophéllo = heap up or from ophelos = increase, profit) means to provide assistance, with emphasis upon the resulting benefit. It is used usually with the sense of gain, profit in both a material and non-material sense. Gain (win) (2770) kerdaino from kerdos = gain) means literally to procure an advantage or profit, to acquire by effort or investment (as in the parable of the talents Mt 25:16,17, 20, 22; James 4:13 = "make a profit"). The synoptic Gospels use kerdaino to emphasize the tragic state of a man who "gains" the whole world (Mt 16:26, Mark 8:36, Luke 9:25), this use speaking literally of money, possessions, investments, etc, but also figuratively of the position, power, acclaim, etc ("boastful pride of life" 1 Jn 2:16). The Spirit must consider this truth of great importance, to reiterate it in all three Gospels! Note also that world in each of these three passages is kosmos. World (2889)(kosmos) refers to the world system of evil of which Satan is the head, all unsaved people his servants, together with the pursuits, pleasure, purposes, people, and places where God is not wanted. Kosmos defines the world not as a neutral influence but as an "evil force", the inveterate, incorrigible, intractable, intransigent, irrevocable enemy of God and of every believer. This begs the question "Why would any believer ever desire to befriend or be friends with such a 'ferocious' foe?" Bishop Trench summarizes the definition of the kosmos, the anti-God world system as "All that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitutes a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale." Forfeit (2210)(zemioo from zemia) means to affect with damage or to do damage to, to suffer injury, to suffer loss, to sustain damage, to forfeit or to fine. It means to experience the loss of something, with implication of undergoing hardship or suffering. Zemioo was a business term meaning to "punish by exacting a forfeit" (Vincent). A T