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?

 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

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Jesus, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  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."   And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to 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 He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and 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.  "Who do you say that I am?" is, according to my study bible, the greatest question that a person can ever face.  It is the question that defines Christianity.  Peter's correct answer, it says, prevents the Christian faith from being seen as simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  The essence of the faith is that Christ is the one and only Son, fully God and fully human.   It is this that has remained through the centuries both the crux of the faith and also a stumbling block for many.  The position excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Peter's understanding doesn't come through rational human deduction and proofs, but really needs divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study bible also notes for us that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself.  This is in order to identify the incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

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."   After Peter makes his confession, Jesus reveals the true nature of His messiahship -- the mystery of His Passion.   My study bible notes that it was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, therefore this idea that Christ would die was not only perplexing to Peter but it would remain scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  In rebuking Christ, Peter unwittingly speaks for Satan.   It is a question of whether or not Christ would fulfill His mission, and save humankind through suffering and death, thereby defeating the devil.

 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."  The cross was a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, but it became a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  We practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel, my study bible notes.  To accept this suffering isn't a punishment.  It is not an end in itself.  But it is a means to overcome the fallen world for the sake of the Kingdom and to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).   Those who will see the kingdom of God present with power are the disciples who will witness the Transfiguration (in our next reading, tomorrow), and also those in every generation who will experience for themselves the presence of God's kingdom. 

 In addition to the central question, "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asks two more questions in today's reading of central importance to us and to our lives:  He asks, "What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" and  "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?"   My study bible calls it the central paradox of Christian living that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal -- but should we sacrifice everything in this world, we gain eternal riches that are unimaginable (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Christ's questions take us even further, emphasizing that it is foolishness to seek to accumulate worldly wealth or power as the whole of our focus in life, as this ignores the rest of life -- these possessions can't redeem a fallen soul, nor can it benefit us in the life to come.   With the confession that Jesus is the Messiah or Christ come the paradoxes of our faith.  The central paradox is the Cross.  How can God be killed?  How can God be crucified?  These questions remain with us, and invite hosts of questions yet to come.  Why the Cross?  Let us consider first of all Jesus' own words here, His response to Peter (who speaks for the rest of the disciples).  They've known His ministry so far.  They even have shared in His power of healing and exorcism as they were sent out on their first apostolic mission.  They are there for the confrontations with the authorities.  But now this is a whole new revelation, that Jesus will suffer and be killed, just as it is clear He is the Christ.  What are they to think?  How can they understand what He is telling them?  The questions that He poses here are the questions we continually ask ourselves, and He gives us to understand that life will always ask us these questions, making it imperative that we make choices.  What's worth our soul?  What would we give in exchange for our soul?  He takes us away from thinking about Him, and asks us about ourselves.  What is our identity worth?  Our very notions of ourselves stand upon which values, what kind of self-worth?  The answer is that He has come into the world to die for us -- that's how much our souls are worth to Him, and to His Father.   It's what His teaching tells us.   If there is anyone who can tell us what our soul is worth, it is our Creator, it is God.  We know what our soul is worth to Him.  What is it worth to us?  All the questions and all the answers come right down to this:  Christ Himself points the questions back at us, and asks us what we think we are worth.   In Christ's framing, this is the question the Cross asks us.   What are our souls really worth?