Keep Heaven in Sight

Mark 8:31-33 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
 
WE read Jesus speaking again of his death and resurrection in Mark 9:31 He was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. The first time Jesus spoke of rising from the dead, it seems they did not hear him. The second time they were afraid to ask.
   As a result a large gap loomed between Jesus and his disciples. Their fear to ask Jesus about the “rising again” caused them to experience much greater fear at his death and burial. They even seemed to be afraid to believe the news, “He is risen!” because it was far too great for them to understand. The chosen 11 were not ready for Resurrection Day because they did not know, even though Jesus had told them. Are you ready for the  final Resurrection Day? The Lord has told you.
   Of course, that was Satan’s purpose. We can be confused and even reject Jesus’ teachings because we do not see his lessons through God’s eyes. To be Jesus’ disciples, we must accept his suffering and his resurrection as essential elements of our own relationship with him.  He has promised that we will even in some way suffer for our faith. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) We hear this and hope that doesn’t apply to us. But we can trust that in some way it will. Perhaps you are taking up that cross right now.
   The Truth is the Truth. That’s why Jesus answered Peter’s rebuke with his own rebuke to Peter. To address Peter as “Satan.” is placing this future apostle on a level with the Accuser, Deceiver, Liar and Destroyer. There is a chasm between our faith and our Lord when we reject his Word. We might also consider that Jesus spoke directly to Satan. The Prince of Darkness was always waiting for an opportune time (Luke 4:13) to assault Jesus’ mission. His aim is to cause us to ignore, doubt and even be fearful of the Lord’s Word.
   To be Jesus’ disciple requires we listen closely to Jesus, so we can correctly hear the Bible’s teachings. To have in mind the things of God requires we put Satan’s weapons such as fear and doubt behind us. We must keep our eyes where they belong. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus been killed. He has risen. He has done this for you. He says he is coming. Look ahead. Be confident and faithful.