Mark 8

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (34). Jesus taught that the cross, the path he would take to save the world, was also a pattern to be followed by his disciples. Peter wanted Jesus to win the world another way (32), but Jesus insisted that laying down his life was the only way to break sin’s power (33). And his disciples must also be willing to give up control and refuse worldly power to follow him (34-38).

The world tells us to protect, hoard, and control our lives and our resources. But Jesus asks us to follow him – in cheerful self-surrender and in the security of being in the Father’s hands.