Daily Devotional For Tuesday, June 18, 2024

It is Tuesday and you’re on your way through this week. As with the previous daily devotionals the last few days, we are looking at questions that are asked in the Bible. Some are asked by people. Some are asked by the Lord. Today, we come to a probing and penetrating question that Jesus Christ asks everyone in Mark 8:36,  “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (ESV). This question by Jesus that He poses to everyone comes right after Jesus said these words in Mark 8:34-35, “And calling the crowd to Him with His disciples, He said to them, `If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. (35) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it” (ESV).

This passage comes right after Jesus asked His disciples who people say that He is.  Peter said, “You are the Christ!” (vs. 29). Very high moment for Peter. And in a matter of minutes, he will have one of his lowest moments. Then Jesus told His disciples that He would be killed, Peter rebuked Jesus for making such a statement. Jesus wasted no time in correcting Peter with this in Mark 8:33, “Get behind me, satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (ESV). 

One second Peter is on a big high and the next moment, he is at one of his lowest moments. Jesus’ point in making this statement is that, so what if you gain the whole world,  if you lose your soul, the world you gain is gone forever. You will experience eternal death in hell forever. And second, if you gain the world world, you will lose your life in this life. There is a price you pay for trying to gain the whole world. You will never experience the abundant life here in this life Jesus promised if you are so intent on gaining the whole world. King Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest man ever experienced this in Ecclesiastes 2:9-11:

“So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. (10) Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. (11) But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere” (NLT).

You will experience what Jesus says is the devil’s lie about going after the world in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (NLT). In other words, there are two deaths that occur while trying to gain the whole world. First, your abundant life here dies and your eternal life in heaven dies later. 

So, in the previous verses, Jesus said if we wish to come after Him, we must take up our cross to follow Him. Rome had a tradition that made any condemned prisoner carry the implement of his own death to the place of execution. In this case, the cross bar of the cross. If we did that today, we would force someone to carry the noose to be hanged, or the electric chair that would kill them or carry the needle for their lethal injection that would be used to kill them as punishment for their crimes. So, to take up one’s cross to do choose to intentionally die to one’s own agenda. 

Pastor and author John MacArthur writes this:

“In contrast to the man-centered, feel-good platitudes that pervade contemporary Christendom, the gospel preached by Jesus was a sobering call to self-denial, suffering, and absolute surrender. False gospels entice their hearers with promises of material prosperity, physical healing, earthly success, self-esteem, and an easy life. The true gospel deals a deathblow to such counterfeits. The Lord Jesus calls His followers to humble brokenness, a life of self-sacrifice, and a willingness to endure hardship for His sake” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Mark,” p. 423).

To follow Jesus, the Greek New Testament word is [ἀκολουθέω, akoloutheo] and it means “to move behind someone in the same direction” or “to come after” (Source: Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 36). Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll writes this:

“The command calls us to do as He did, to follow in His footsteps. He gave all for the sake of the kingdom of God, holding all earthly things loosely. Not surprisingly, He made this a necessary condition of discipleship. To establish this “deny, take up, and follow” model as mandatory, Jesus offered a penetrating paradox: “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35). Or the verse could just as easily be paraphrased this way: “Whoever wishes to save his soul will lose his soul, but whoever turns over his soul for My agenda, he is the one who will get to keep his soul.” The first rejects selfishness. The second rejects self-righteousness” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, The Swindoll Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Mark,” pp. 227-228).

This is why we should be storing up our treasure in heaven, not here. We should be committed to building Christ’s kingdom, not our own kingdom. 

Questions To Consider

1. We live in a very consumer-oriented and self-absorbed culture. How does what Jesus says resonate with you and why?
2. Have you seen or experienced how going after the “American dream” symbolically killed someone’s life? If you could advise them or a brand new Christian on what to do now, what would you say to them and why?
3. Jesus’ call to discipleship is sobering. There is nothing in Jesus’ call to discipleship that makes the world jump up and down for joy. Why?
4. Have you ever had a spiritual moment like Peter, where you were on a high and then within minutes, you were on a low? What happened and how did you handle it?
5. Discipleship rejects both selfishness and self-righteousness. Why is this so important in our walk and discipleship with Christ?

Scripture to Meditate On: Mark 10:45, Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (ESV).

Prayer to Pray: “Dear Jesus, I want to be a fully committed disciple for You. Help me not to build my kingdom, but Your kingdom. Help me to keep my priorities right even in my purchases and accumulation of possessions and titles. I want that when people see me, they see You. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly