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Mk. 8:31, Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. [32] He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. [33] But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God's concerns but human concerns."

 The PROMISED One would be built upon in many ways through the O.T. But there are two primary PASSAGES & PICTURES of the Messiah

  • Isaiah 53 – Messiah Suffering Servant (Isa. 51-53), the earthly sufferer.
  • Daniel 7 – Messiah as Son of Man, The triumphant heavenly redeemer.


In Mark 8 Jesus: uses Daniel’s TITLE (“Son of Man”) but describes Isaiah’s MISSION (suffering, rejection, death, vindication) and frames suffering as a divine “must” (dei—a necessity in God’s plan)

 Peter rebukes Jesus for HERESY. Why would Peter think this is heresy?
Because Peter’s Messiah theology is Daniel 7 (Son of Man) CENTERED:

  • Triumphalist
  • Nationalistic
  • Power-oriented

Secular worldviews teach:

  • HAPPINESS comes through SELF-ACTUALIZATION
  • FREEDOM comes through removing LIMITATIONS
  • IDENTITY comes through SELF-DEFINITION

Jesus is saying something radically different: LOSE yourself to find yourself:

  • You lose the FALSE self. You find the TRUE self
  • You surrender control. You gain wholeness
  • You give up autonomy. You receive identity
  • You lay down your life.  God gives it back to you fuller than before

 Q: Where are you resisting the death Jesus is calling you to make
because you fear the loss but have forgotten the resurrection?

  • Maybe it’s a RELATIONSHIP you can’t fix.
  • Maybe it’s a PLACE you feel overlooked or misunderstood.
  • Maybe it’s the loss of CONTROL, the loss of a dream, the loss of a timeline.
  • Maybe it’s a season where God feels SILENT.

When we SURRENDER to the WORK of Christ in us, when we live with the INTENTION of taking up the CROSS, we will experience the Kingdom of God.