Who do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am?

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?" So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

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. 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. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 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."

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."

- Mark 8:27-9:1

In the previous reading, we read that the Pharisees began to dispute with Him, asking Him to show them a sign. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." Later, He got in the boat with His disciples, to go toward Bethsaida. He told them, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." His disciples had forgotten to take bread with them, and they assumed He was speaking about the fact that they had no bread! Jesus told them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven." So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" Then they came to Bethsaida; there was a man who was blind. Jesus led him out of town, spat on his eyes and put His hands on him, and asked if he saw anything. The man said, "I see men like trees walking." Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?" So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. Here we hear the results of Jesus' fame. Many people say different things about Him, depending on popular expectation. But Peter confesses for all of the disciples; He is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah. Jesus warns them explicitly that this is to remain a secret for now, just as He has repeatedly told those who are witness to or recipients of miraculous signs they should tell no one. Jesus has picked the place for this discussion in a Gentile area, Caesarea Philippi, 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. My study bible says, "Jesus chooses this Gentile area to challenge His disciples with the messianic question in private, apparently wishing to avoid popular repercussions among Jews." It adds, about Jesus' identity: "The understanding of Christ's identity cannot be gained through human reason; nor do miracles divulge it. It comes only by revelation from the Father in heaven."

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Not only must the messianic identity of Jesus be a secret, but there are even harder things to learn. Our human expectations cannot fathom the will of God, working through revelation. Jesus uses the title Son of Man as a "veiled Old Testament messianic title" (says my study bible) -- see Daniel 7:13. It's an extraordinary challenge to Peter's beliefs, values and sentiment to hear what is to happen; but this "worldly" perspective, even if well-meant, unwittingly supports that which is opposed to Christ.

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. 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. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 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." A new doctrine is being interjected here, a new note of solemnity, says my study bible. Jesus will place His tremendous emphasis on the difference here between what we think is good, and what may actually be best in service to His followers, to the kingdom, to the Body of Christ. He is preparing them for adversity and suffering. It is a doctrine both completely unexpected and counter-intuitive, both in terms of their preparation and understanding and our own worldly assumptions about what is good or fit. The message is clear: we must all be prepared to take up our own crosses and follow Him. So starkly does Jesus put this message that we must be impressed by His urgent tone: would we gain the whole world but lose our souls? And here is the really powerful statement, making it crystal clear: "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." How we carry on with our lives in this world, following in His footsteps, will affect the very judgment of the Kingdom itself and our place in it. One can simply hardly imagine the astonishment of the apostles. Indeed, it seems they simply could not take in what He was teaching them.

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." But here comes the reassurance. The Kingdom will come, is coming. They themselves are working toward it. His words and His promise may refer to the Transfiguration, which is coming in up in our next reading.

My study bible has another note on today's passage which I feel is worth quoting. "Discipleship is costly," it says. "It requires giving up all claim to everything the world holds dear." You have to think about what it means today to take up our own crosses, and follow Him. Many times it seems to mean (at least in my life) "forgoing all the things the world holds dear." In many ways, I have been rejected for not following a common path. I choose instead to write this blog, despite misunderstandings I have encountered from nearest and dearest because I choose to do so, rather than say a more conventional occupation or career. Along the way, before I began to write, necessity seemed to push me into making important decisions that sort of defied convention, forgoing visible rewards for invisible ones. But through it all, faith became strengthened. The things that seemed so awful, like such a loss, turned out to be just the opposite, opportunities to learn things I never would have learned otherwise, to gain values that have helped me far beyond anything else would have. And truly, much later on, "all these things were added unto" my life in ways I could not have expected. That's my testimony. I'm sure many, many of my readers could tell much more for themselves and their own lives. But I have found Jesus' words to be true, and they continue to be true in my life. How do you take up your cross? How does your life reflect the wisdom of what is counter to that which is worldly? Perhaps you find yourself making decisions that go against expectations, or what is popularly accepted as "good" -- they may even be counter-intuitive. How does your life reflect Jesus' teaching? When you have an important decision to make, consider the crossroads and what is in your heart, the place where we come to Him. It's there you will find the choices that open to His life for us. How do you make the choice?