Week 7, Saturday, Mark 8:31-33

 Mark Devotions

by, Rev. Sunil Balasundaram
 

Go to Mark 8:31-33

[Please do read the passage before (or after) reading the devotion.]

Reminder: There will be NO daily devotion tomorrow, Sunday. Hopefully most of you will be in a House of Worship listening to God yourselves. Go prepared with open hearts, though!

 

After Peter’s amazing God-inspired confession that Jesus was indeed the Messiah (the anointed Deliverer), Jesus proceeded to clearly describe what would really happen to this Messiah. Popular expectations of Messiahship had to do with politics and power, which would have fit into Peter’s image of him. But Jesus’ Messiah was going to be a Suffering Servant – “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Peter and the rest of humanity find such a Messiah weak and useless, which is why he pulls Jesus aside to scold him for even talking about it. Jesus makes two observations. First, the Evil One can use even those closest to us to “trip” us. Second, unless we begin to see things from God’s perspective nothing of spiritual import will ever make sense to us.

 

Prayer: Loving Savior, I cannot bear to look at suffering. Whenever I look at it with my normal eyes all I see is pain. And I don’t want pain – not for me, not for those around me, not even for you. But your Spirit in me makes me see something completely different. I see that you had to go through it, or else I would never have been delivered from my own sin, my past, my pain. From a heaven-perspective I see there is no greater power than that of loving sacrifice. I know it hurt you, and when I do as you do it will hurt me as well. So give me the “mind of Christ” … to “do the things of God.” Amen.

 

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