31 Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said,“Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.” -- Mark 8:31-33

Suffering Savior (Mark 8:31-33)

This week at NorthStar, we concluded our "Questions God Asks" series as we looked at Jesus's question to His disciples, "Who do you say I am?"Following Jesus' question and Peter's accurate response ("You are the Christ"), Jesus begins to teach his disciples about the kind of Messiah Jesus is. The "type of Messiah" that the messiah described in verses 31 and 32 is a "suffering savior." Jesus highlights his suffering, his death, and his resurrection. (v.31-32) This idea of the "suffering messiah" is the focus of this passage because many 1st Century Jews understood the Messiah to be a glorious and powerful figure, not one who would suffer and die.We get a taste of the provocative nature of Jesus' statement in verse 32 as Peter (the one who rightly identified Jesus as the Messiah) pulls Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him because of his statements about suffering and dying. This idea of a "suffering savior" has no place in Peter's plan.Take a moment to imagine and picture this scene. Peter has just declared that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah and then Jesus states his purpose to suffer, be killed, and rise after 3 days then Peter, in a fit of rage and frustration, pulls Jesus aside and rebukes him! Jesus was not the kind of Messiah that Peter had originally thought.Jesus then turns back to the disciples and rebukes Peter strongly, saying, "Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God's concerns but human concerns." Likely, Peter was thinking about political, social power, whereas Jesus focused on obedience to God's plan to redeem all things through His son. Peter wanted the way of control and comfort, Jesus was choosing the way of the cross.

"The way of the cross was God's will, and Jesus refused to abandon it." - Dr. Roy Zuck

That last phrase from Jesus, "You are not thinking about God's concerns but human concerns," is particularly poignant for us today. In our lives, what is our frame of reference? Through which lens do we see our world? Do we think about God's concerns or human concerns? Are we concerned with the way of control and comfort, or do we look to the way of the cross?Jesus Christ is our "suffering savior". May we follow His lead.