Taking a Look at Scripture 

 

“Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.” – Mark 8:31 NLT

 

            This verse redefined who the Messiah would be. The disciples expected a political liberator instead of a suffering servant figure. The Jewish people wanted to be freed from being under the thumb of the Roman Empire, but this was not what God had in mind. The plan was on a universal scale and not a limited, individualistic scale that only aided the immediate situation of the Jewish people of Jesus day.

            The suffering Jesus was destined to endure was foreordained by God and predicted in Isaiah 53 of the OT. Christ’s death would be a substitutionary one that would atone for the sins of all of mankind.

            Mark 8:31 represents the first of three predictions of Christ’s death in Mark’s Gospel. You can be sure that his disciples were not at all prepared to hear of the Lord’s death, in spite of the fact that his statement ended with him rising from his tomb alive again. Killing an innocent man to stop the proselytization of their own beliefs was hardly a reason to commit murder, but the religious leaders didn’t see Jesus as the Messiah. They also saw him as a blasphemer which was punishable by death. God had other plans that involved Christ returning to heaven and observe his followers fulfill their mission to share the teachings of the Lord throughout the known world at that time.

            Take notice of the word “must” in the beginning of verse 31. That one word controls the entire statement.  That which was to take place was non-negotiable. It was divinely necessary for Christ to suffer and die. It should be no surprise that Jesus spoke in terms of suffering. He saw what happened to John the Baptist and also knew that there was a growing antagonistic sentiment against him. Since he was trained as a Rabbi Jesus would have had to memorize the entire OT and would have thus been intimately familiar with Isaiah 53, the Suffering Servant. His obedience is the reason we as followers of Christ shall live in heaven with Almighty God for all eternity. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: https://www.bereanbiblechurch.org/transcripts/mark/8_31-33.htm