Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. (Mk 8:27-35)
“Who do people say that I am?”
The people had a common opinion of Jesus. He was a prophet. But the disciples who have been sharing the life of Jesus was able to perceive who Jesus was, the Christ in Greek or the Messiah in Hebrew.
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
This is another instance of the Messianic secret in Mark's gospel. He didn't want the people to know that he was the Messiah because people expected the Messiah to be a military leader who would drive away the Romans and re-establish the glory of the kingdom of Israel as of old.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly....
Once the belief of the disciples in him had been expressed, Jesus began to teach them the truth about the Messiah. The way of the Messiah was suffering.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan."
Peter could not accept the idea that the Messiah had to suffer and so he attempted to dissuade Jesus from taking that route. In doing so he acted as the devil acted when Jesus stayed in the desert forty days and forty nights. There the devil also tempted Jesus to take a different route, the route of power.
What does it mean to be a Satan? To be a Satan then means to be a stumbling block to the fulfillment of the Father's will.
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow me.
In Matthew and Luke, only the disciples received this instruction. In Mark, the crowd received it, too. The way of the cross then is for all who would follow Jesus. The cross is part of the Christian life.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
"Something to suffer, something to offer
little to suffer, little to offer
plenty to suffer, plenty to offer
nothing to suffer, nothing to offer"
(Fr. Rizzato SDB)
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