Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men

 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 loves 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.   My study bible comments that Jesus' question, Who do you say that I am?  is the greatest question that a person can ever face.  It is the question that defines Christianity.  The answer defines our faith.  Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as just another system of philosophy or spiritual path.  As the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16), Jesus the Incarnate Son is the center of human spiritual history and the fullness of humanity for all of us.  Peter's understanding, my study bible adds, can't be achieved through human reason, but only via revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is equivalent to the Hebrew title of "Messiah."  A further note draws our attention to the fact that Jesus first solicits the erroneous opinions about Himself, so that He identifies incorrect ideas.  In this way we are better prepared to avoid false teachings, as they are clearly identified.   Once again, as has been the case throughout recent readings in Mark's Gospel, we note Jesus urging toward secrecy at this point in His ministry.

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 the revelation that He is the Christ, or Messiah, Jesus reveals what kind of Messiah He is -- that He will suffer many things, be rejected, be killed, and after three days rise again.  This message is "to the Jews, a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness" (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Peter responds to this unthinkable outcome with a rebuke to Christ.  But Christ responds with a stronger rebuke, Get behind Me, Satan!  Popular expectations of the Jews were that the Messiah would reign forever.  Peter, scandalized, unwittingly speaks for Satan, as the devil did not want Christ to fulfill His mission of saving mankind through suffering and death.

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."   Here Jesus begins to speak of the cross as something we must all take up in our lives, cementing the idea that His mission as Messiah isn't one of self-exaltation or as mere figure-head like a king, but one that delves deep into the experience of each one of us who will follow Him.  He goes first where He asks us to go.  Each one of our crosses may be different, but nevertheless it is a symbol of exchange, of one way of life for another, and the difficulties of repentance and change in the struggle for faith.  My study bible calls the cross a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment that becomes a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  It says, "We practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  Accepting this suffering is not a punishment, nor is it an end in itself, but 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).  Through the life of the cross, God offers us a better way -- even when, like Peter above, we can't see how that could possibly be so.  The question, as Jesus puts it, remains the value we place on our own soul.  The final verse here, the beginning of Mark's chapter 9, is considered to be a statement by Jesus referring to the events of the Transfiguration, which come in tomorrow's lectionary reading.

In today's reading, we are given a "peak" experience, and then a devastating letdown in the revelation of the the way of the cross.   That is, speaking from the point of view expressed by Peter, this is certainly the case.  Jesus is revealed to be the Christ, the Messiah, the "Anointed One," long awaited by the Jews and hoped for in a time of longstanding turmoil.  The Christ was expected to reign as king forever, liberating Israel from all her foes and captors, from the succession of struggles, warfare, and occupation that had come before.   But this is simply not to be.  This Messiah is a spiritual liberator, and One who invites us into His own struggle, His way of the cross.  His purpose is not merely to save a nation, but to be Savior to all the souls who long for Him:  past, present, and future.  The way of His cross is a way of absolute transformation and transfiguration (as we'll read about in tomorrow's lectionary reading).  It will take Christ to the depths of human suffering and humiliation, to death itself, even bringing His message of Resurrection to the souls of the dead in the tradition of the Church, and to Resurrection, life itself.  Rather than being the king of Israel, we know Him as Lord of the universe, the Son, Second Person of the Trinity, and the One who has defeated the evil one of this world.  But there is even more to this story, and that is that Christ invites us into this struggle, this way of the cross, with Him.  He is not merely our Liberator, but also calls us friends.  In John 15:15, Jesus says, "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."  It is just this kind of revelation and sharing that teaches us that Jesus calls us into participation in this way of the cross, with Him.  We enter, not merely as pupils (disciples) or servants of our Lord, but as His friends, the ones who will do as He says, and take up our own crosses in life.  In fact, He assures us that this is the one way to follow Him.  To take up the cross is to enter a life in which we exchange one way of being in the world for another; it is to exchange the things we know and think for His way, a better way, so that our very souls may be expanded, refined, made to shine in His light.  This is a long journey, and one that is life-long.  We are not "saved" with a one-time declaration, but rather put on a path, a way of life, the way of the cross.  Jesus will Himself lose His life for the sake of the gospel, and He invites us into that struggle.  How we "lose our lives" will be different for each one of us, but like Peter, it may mean a great disappointment with the things of this world, even the things we cherish, but we find ourselves in Him and in His blessed way of life.  To sacrifice what stands in the way of that life is to accept that His love has a better way for us, and that, in fact, in the end we lose nothing that truly belongs to us -- and nothing that He does not replace a hundredfold.