Mark 8:36

The implied answer to the rhetorical question Jesus asks is that possessing the entire world has no value if you give up eternal life. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” (Jim Elliot). You need your soul to enjoy the benefits of the world to come. When you forfeit your life or soul, there is nothing you can give to purchase it back.

• Jesus invites his disciples and the crowd to understand what following him will cost them.

• must deny himself: This means letting Jesus decide your goals and purposes in life. Taking up your cross is a metaphor (compare Luke 9:23). It means being faithful to Jesus, even to the point of death if necessary. Following the teachings and example of Jesus requires continual commitment.

Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again: Jesus now clearly predicted what he had previously revealed in a hidden way (2:19–20). In response, Peter objected, so Jesus taught him and the other disciples the nature of his mission and what it really means to follow him.

Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, God’s chosen king) and the first prediction of his death mark a turning point in the Gospel of Mark. This begins a new stage in his ministry. The question, “Who is this?” asked by the disciples in 4:41, is now answered by Peter.

This section is the first cycle (a repeated pattern) that includes three parts:

• Jesus predicts his suffering (8:31),

• the disciples respond with misunderstanding (8:32–33), and

• Jesus teaches about discipleship (what it means to follow him; 8:34–9:1).

Compare with 9:30–10:31.