Mission and ambitions (Mark 8)

Introduction

‘Drop dead!’ she screamed.

It was a frosty weekday morning and they had been fighting again. Things had been getting steadily worse. It was clear that something was going to have to give. She slammed the front door after him. It was the last time she saw him alive.

It was an episode of EastEnders. As if to highlight the awful thing she’d said, a little while later he really did drop dead. They both lost out. She had only a few episodes left to deal with the guilt and hurt before moving on. His acting career pretty much died with his character. (Well, let’s just say that I’ve since seen him only in Hollyoaks and an Admiral Insurance advert.)

There can be fewer phrases more brutal than ‘drop dead’, fewer expressions indicating less affection for someone. And so it’s rather troubling to find the phrase coming from the lips of Jesus (Mark 8:34). But Jesus isn’t yelling like a jilted lover in EastEnders, or reacting in the heat of the moment. He’s not even talking to his enemies. No, even more shockingly, he’s talking to people who want to follow him. In this passage we see two types of death (verse 35 ‘losing life’): one now and one later. Jesus invites any would-be followers to die now.

Right ambition: die now and live later

Jesus` description of what it means to be a Christian is summarised in verse 34, with an invitation to do three things: ‘deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.’

(1) What does denying involve? Why does the self need denying?

(2) ‘Taking up my cross’ has become a familiar way of describing even trivial hardship. What would it have meant for a convicted criminal in Roman times to take up his cross?

(3) Is this the image of Christianity we’re familiar with and present to others?

These two images (denial and the cross) are shockingly brutal. Our lives as we have lived them are unacceptable to God. We have lived for ourselves and not for him, and so we need to start again by turning from our old priorities and learning to live with God at the centre. Negation of ourselves does not mean we all become cringing wimps with no notion of self worth; instead we are to ‘follow him’.

(4) Look at Matthew 9:37-8; 24:14; and Luke 15:7. What are Jesus’ priorities?

(5) How does this affect the ambitions we’ve made?

Jesus calls us to make decisions about our future based on the things that matter. Angels do not rejoice when we pass our exams, get a job, fall in love or make lots of money. It is when souls find forgiveness that there are parties in heaven.

Wrong ambition: live now and die later

Jesus goes on to reinforce his point by showing the folly of its opposite. He describes three features of a life lived for self: it seeks all the world has to offer, costs us our soul, and is ashamed of the words of Jesus.

(6) What would it mean in our culture to ‘gain the whole world’?

(7) What might we choose to live for instead of Christianity?

(8) Why do these priorities cost us our soul?

(9) In what ways do our ambitions reflect being ashamed of the words of Jesus?

This passage reflects much of what the Bible teaches on guidance. It may not tell us which career to pick or where to live, but it does tell us what our attitude should be. We might not be told what to decide, but we are told how to make the decision. It’s easy for us to lose sight of God’s priorities.

(10) How have your ambitions changed as a result of becoming or growing as a Christian?

(11) How can you follow Jesus?

Sam Allberry, 2000