Take Up Your Cross June 18
Mark 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Matt. 10:38 and Luke 9:23 speak similar words, and Luke adds that this act must be done daily.
What is the cross, this burden that we must take up and follow Jesus?
Look at a cross. There is the vertical piece stretching from earth toward heaven. There is the horizontal piece attached to it pointing outward in opposite directions.
The cross is a figurative symbol of our relationships with God and with each other. These we must carry. If they are a burden, their weight is only noticeable when our desires are like gravity pulling us down.
Jesus’ two Commandments (e.g. Mark 12:29-31) are, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Jesus is not just the law-giver in the sense of the Pharisees, or of the secular rulers, or even of Moses. He is also our model, that we might not choose what is good and miss the opportunity for what is best.
As we allow Him to be a model for our thinking on these things, our minds become entrained with His. This is having “…the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). This also is “…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Cor. 10:5).
We find Jesus centered on the figurative cross where we are to meet Him.
Vision of the Cross June 19
Mark 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Disappointment, pain, frustration, death, and so many more unpleasant things are a part of life. Like the rain, these fall on the just and the unjust, the good and the evil.
When Jesus speaks of a person taking up their cross, He is not referring to these unfortunate events that fall upon us. He is speaking of taking His two Commandments as our burden and carrying them as He has taught us to do.
The cross is overwhelming in one sense. To take up the cross of the two Commandments – love of God and of His Creation – we will have to lay down many other things. Most of what we have accumulated in secular things, ideas, and beliefs simply have no relevance beneath the cross. These are lost, overwhelmed by the meaning of the cross, literally washed away.
Perhaps this is the test of whether one is ready to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, to bear the cross. Picture Him on the cross, as the cross - standing tall toward God with His arms outstretched ready to embrace all that His Father has made.
We were made in that image, also. The cross is the picture of Genesis 1 and 2, the unity of all Creation under God and beside each other.
Saving and Losing June 20
Mark 8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
There have always been places in the world where the desire for a true relationship with God resulted in condemnation and death. This has been true since Abel, through the history of the Old Testament, through the prophets, to Jesus, and beyond.
Jesus’ words include those who have literally sacrificed their lives for their belief.
His words also include those who have sacrificed the lives they might have led apart from God. They have sacrificed the life that might have glided smoothly over the surface of existence, never realizing the thin ice beneath their feet. Instead, they have gone under, embraced the icy cold water, and shared the reality of the whosoevers beneath the surface.
The divine desire for us is not just to survive, but to thrive, and to thrive together as one.
The desire to want more than this is our own creation, an addition without foundation, a bridge too far. Unequal gain results in unequal loss. Divine abundance math is jettisoned for secular personal math.
The cross of the previous verse means that this is the life that must die, the life that dwells only in the realm of relative wealth. The touchstone of this physical life is ephemeral, without substance. It disappears with the using, and is lost altogether at physical death, or at spiritual rebirth.
Without the cross, there is no peace. All that is accumulated is never enough. Constant longing for more perpetuates this sickness unto death, and the fire is never extinguished.
The cross of the previous days’ study is the only cure, the only way to quench the fire of accumulation.
Heart and Soul June 21
Mark 8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus describes the result when a person’s priority is anything other than the cross, the kingdom of heaven.
We are often confused between gross profit and net profit. The apparent wealth of the lottery win is the gross profit. The taxes paid may be substantial, but the change in our own character and the relationships with friends and family may impose an even higher cost. The result of a lottery win is often viewed as a net loss.
Our understanding of Jesus’ words may be confused by the translation of the same Greek word, psuche (Strong’s G5590), as life in verse 35 and soul in verses 36 and 37.
Zoe (Strong’s G2222) is generally translated as life, the vital element of plant, animal, or human (often eternal life).
Psuche (G5590) in Strong’s is “breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only…).” Psuche is life that is conscious, aware (as either life or soul).
Pneuma (G4151) is the spirit, the Holy Spirit that is the breath of God, the rational and immortal soul of humans (as spirit and in Holy Spirit).
Cardia (G2588) is the heart, figuratively the mind, thoughts or feelings. (perhaps “the other brain” is more descriptive); e.g. Mark 7:21.
Summary: G2222 zoe = all living things; life; G5590 psuche = animal vitality, mind; and G4151 pneuma = breath; rational and immortal soul.”
The heart is the seat of being, the concept of self and its relation to the world. While the mind might be trained to respond in a certain way, character resides in the heart. This is why a heart of stone that does not know the value of relationship must be removed and replaced with a heart of flesh.
We were made of flesh in the Beginning. Moving to a heart of stone – or electronic chip – destroys our identity. We are cast adrift from the secure land of Oneness with God onto the variable seas of time and chance without a compass, only a mishmash of zeroes and ones.
The Exchange June 22
Mark 8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
In gaining the world, one must give up the heart of flesh, the heart with one instinct - love.
From mankind’s original position between the natural world and the spiritual world, the cross need only be figurative. A loving spiritual vertical connection and a loving physical horizontal connection was the position of those entrusted as stewards of the earth.
Corruption of the spirit resulted in corruption of the physical body, death. A restoration of the spirit, fixed to the spiritual cross between heaven and earth, is a restoration of life as it was meant to be.
“Gaining the world” describes the Fall – Adam and Eve gained the world in the sense that they and the earth were bound together in a struggle. The dominion over earth given to them as regents of God now became a dominion without legitimacy. They must try to assert dominion in their own right.
Or they could submit, return to the original delegated power as regents under God. That is, they could return themselves and the world to God. And we can do the same: return supremacy to God, and work with our gifts in nature as co-workers for His glory.
Even if the body’s physical life cannot be restored to an eternal plane, the body ruled by the spirit on earth will experience the peace – as well as the place and purpose – of heaven on earth.
The heart, the seat of the human soul, need only submit to God’s authority to have its own dominion restored as the rightful ruler of self.
Ashamed June 23
Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Shame is a fruit of the flesh for which there originally was no need.
Jesus’ assertion in verse 31 - that He must suffer, be rejected, be killed, and then rise again after three days - was not just a sad commentary on the state of the times in Israel, but was also a promise laced with hope.
Peter’s reaction to this travesty of justice is understandable. That this injustice serves a higher purpose is not immediately obvious to the disciples standing in Jesus’ presence. Shame is the logical emotion resulting from an awareness of an action that is wrong, unjust.
The crucifixion engenders shame
Execution reveals the weakness of the executor, that there is not truth in the prevailing power structure that can withstand arguments against it by means other than murder.
Jesus acknowledges there are those who are ashamed of what He speaks, and they will be humbled when they see Jesus “in the glory of His Father and the holy angels.”
In the kingdom of heaven, Jesus will be ashamed for them, that they have missed the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Tasting Death – or Not June 24
Mark 9:1 And He said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”
This statement belongs at the end of Chapter 8, but the editors have placed it in a new chapter as a prelude to the transfiguration.
What represents the reality of “the kingdom of God present with power?” This is key to understanding the verse and the accomplishments of Jesus.
The significant word here is “power,” Strong’s G1411 dunamis. This is not force, as used by an army, for example. According to Merriam-Webster, power is “strength or energy exerted or brought to bear: cause of motion or change: active power.” Dunamis is more specifically miraculous power, or mighty work.
And the word translated as “present” is the verb meaning to make public. The KJV simply says “come,” a more straightforward translation.
Did “miraculous power” come following Jesus’ resurrection? Yes, on the day of Pentecost! As an example, we can see this on the day when Peter spoke and three thousand were converted (Acts 2).
This dunamis power is the power of the Holy Spirit working within a person.
This is the power to be able to use a person’s gift for the benefit of all.
This is the power within that comes from knowing our identity as a child of God, empowered by the love that has bestowed the gift of opportunity for His service upon us.
A kingdom is any place ruled by a king who has a loyal citizen. The kingdom of heaven come with power in the individual was witnessed and experienced by many in the generation of Jesus’ death, and by many more following that generation.
Next page
Mark 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Matt. 10:38 and Luke 9:23 speak similar words, and Luke adds that this act must be done daily.
What is the cross, this burden that we must take up and follow Jesus?
Look at a cross. There is the vertical piece stretching from earth toward heaven. There is the horizontal piece attached to it pointing outward in opposite directions.
The cross is a figurative symbol of our relationships with God and with each other. These we must carry. If they are a burden, their weight is only noticeable when our desires are like gravity pulling us down.
Jesus’ two Commandments (e.g. Mark 12:29-31) are, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Jesus is not just the law-giver in the sense of the Pharisees, or of the secular rulers, or even of Moses. He is also our model, that we might not choose what is good and miss the opportunity for what is best.
As we allow Him to be a model for our thinking on these things, our minds become entrained with His. This is having “…the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). This also is “…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Cor. 10:5).
We find Jesus centered on the figurative cross where we are to meet Him.
Vision of the Cross June 19
Mark 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Disappointment, pain, frustration, death, and so many more unpleasant things are a part of life. Like the rain, these fall on the just and the unjust, the good and the evil.
When Jesus speaks of a person taking up their cross, He is not referring to these unfortunate events that fall upon us. He is speaking of taking His two Commandments as our burden and carrying them as He has taught us to do.
The cross is overwhelming in one sense. To take up the cross of the two Commandments – love of God and of His Creation – we will have to lay down many other things. Most of what we have accumulated in secular things, ideas, and beliefs simply have no relevance beneath the cross. These are lost, overwhelmed by the meaning of the cross, literally washed away.
Perhaps this is the test of whether one is ready to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, to bear the cross. Picture Him on the cross, as the cross - standing tall toward God with His arms outstretched ready to embrace all that His Father has made.
We were made in that image, also. The cross is the picture of Genesis 1 and 2, the unity of all Creation under God and beside each other.
Saving and Losing June 20
Mark 8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
There have always been places in the world where the desire for a true relationship with God resulted in condemnation and death. This has been true since Abel, through the history of the Old Testament, through the prophets, to Jesus, and beyond.
Jesus’ words include those who have literally sacrificed their lives for their belief.
His words also include those who have sacrificed the lives they might have led apart from God. They have sacrificed the life that might have glided smoothly over the surface of existence, never realizing the thin ice beneath their feet. Instead, they have gone under, embraced the icy cold water, and shared the reality of the whosoevers beneath the surface.
The divine desire for us is not just to survive, but to thrive, and to thrive together as one.
The desire to want more than this is our own creation, an addition without foundation, a bridge too far. Unequal gain results in unequal loss. Divine abundance math is jettisoned for secular personal math.
The cross of the previous verse means that this is the life that must die, the life that dwells only in the realm of relative wealth. The touchstone of this physical life is ephemeral, without substance. It disappears with the using, and is lost altogether at physical death, or at spiritual rebirth.
Without the cross, there is no peace. All that is accumulated is never enough. Constant longing for more perpetuates this sickness unto death, and the fire is never extinguished.
The cross of the previous days’ study is the only cure, the only way to quench the fire of accumulation.
Heart and Soul June 21
Mark 8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus describes the result when a person’s priority is anything other than the cross, the kingdom of heaven.
We are often confused between gross profit and net profit. The apparent wealth of the lottery win is the gross profit. The taxes paid may be substantial, but the change in our own character and the relationships with friends and family may impose an even higher cost. The result of a lottery win is often viewed as a net loss.
Our understanding of Jesus’ words may be confused by the translation of the same Greek word, psuche (Strong’s G5590), as life in verse 35 and soul in verses 36 and 37.
Zoe (Strong’s G2222) is generally translated as life, the vital element of plant, animal, or human (often eternal life).
Psuche (G5590) in Strong’s is “breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only…).” Psuche is life that is conscious, aware (as either life or soul).
Pneuma (G4151) is the spirit, the Holy Spirit that is the breath of God, the rational and immortal soul of humans (as spirit and in Holy Spirit).
Cardia (G2588) is the heart, figuratively the mind, thoughts or feelings. (perhaps “the other brain” is more descriptive); e.g. Mark 7:21.
Summary: G2222 zoe = all living things; life; G5590 psuche = animal vitality, mind; and G4151 pneuma = breath; rational and immortal soul.”
The heart is the seat of being, the concept of self and its relation to the world. While the mind might be trained to respond in a certain way, character resides in the heart. This is why a heart of stone that does not know the value of relationship must be removed and replaced with a heart of flesh.
We were made of flesh in the Beginning. Moving to a heart of stone – or electronic chip – destroys our identity. We are cast adrift from the secure land of Oneness with God onto the variable seas of time and chance without a compass, only a mishmash of zeroes and ones.
The Exchange June 22
Mark 8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
In gaining the world, one must give up the heart of flesh, the heart with one instinct - love.
From mankind’s original position between the natural world and the spiritual world, the cross need only be figurative. A loving spiritual vertical connection and a loving physical horizontal connection was the position of those entrusted as stewards of the earth.
Corruption of the spirit resulted in corruption of the physical body, death. A restoration of the spirit, fixed to the spiritual cross between heaven and earth, is a restoration of life as it was meant to be.
“Gaining the world” describes the Fall – Adam and Eve gained the world in the sense that they and the earth were bound together in a struggle. The dominion over earth given to them as regents of God now became a dominion without legitimacy. They must try to assert dominion in their own right.
Or they could submit, return to the original delegated power as regents under God. That is, they could return themselves and the world to God. And we can do the same: return supremacy to God, and work with our gifts in nature as co-workers for His glory.
Even if the body’s physical life cannot be restored to an eternal plane, the body ruled by the spirit on earth will experience the peace – as well as the place and purpose – of heaven on earth.
The heart, the seat of the human soul, need only submit to God’s authority to have its own dominion restored as the rightful ruler of self.
Ashamed June 23
Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Shame is a fruit of the flesh for which there originally was no need.
Jesus’ assertion in verse 31 - that He must suffer, be rejected, be killed, and then rise again after three days - was not just a sad commentary on the state of the times in Israel, but was also a promise laced with hope.
Peter’s reaction to this travesty of justice is understandable. That this injustice serves a higher purpose is not immediately obvious to the disciples standing in Jesus’ presence. Shame is the logical emotion resulting from an awareness of an action that is wrong, unjust.
The crucifixion engenders shame
- for a generation who actively rejected Him, for those in the time and place that it occurred;
- for those who actively participated in the condemnation and murder of an innocent man;
- needlessly in the disciples and followers of Jesus who did not, could not, prevent it from happening.
Execution reveals the weakness of the executor, that there is not truth in the prevailing power structure that can withstand arguments against it by means other than murder.
Jesus acknowledges there are those who are ashamed of what He speaks, and they will be humbled when they see Jesus “in the glory of His Father and the holy angels.”
In the kingdom of heaven, Jesus will be ashamed for them, that they have missed the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Tasting Death – or Not June 24
Mark 9:1 And He said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”
This statement belongs at the end of Chapter 8, but the editors have placed it in a new chapter as a prelude to the transfiguration.
What represents the reality of “the kingdom of God present with power?” This is key to understanding the verse and the accomplishments of Jesus.
The significant word here is “power,” Strong’s G1411 dunamis. This is not force, as used by an army, for example. According to Merriam-Webster, power is “strength or energy exerted or brought to bear: cause of motion or change: active power.” Dunamis is more specifically miraculous power, or mighty work.
And the word translated as “present” is the verb meaning to make public. The KJV simply says “come,” a more straightforward translation.
Did “miraculous power” come following Jesus’ resurrection? Yes, on the day of Pentecost! As an example, we can see this on the day when Peter spoke and three thousand were converted (Acts 2).
This dunamis power is the power of the Holy Spirit working within a person.
This is the power to be able to use a person’s gift for the benefit of all.
This is the power within that comes from knowing our identity as a child of God, empowered by the love that has bestowed the gift of opportunity for His service upon us.
A kingdom is any place ruled by a king who has a loyal citizen. The kingdom of heaven come with power in the individual was witnessed and experienced by many in the generation of Jesus’ death, and by many more following that generation.
Next page