Mar 8:34-37 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mark 8:34-38: 8:34-38 Jesus’ invitation to his disciples and the crowd lays out the cost of being his follower . • To give up your own way involves letting Jesus determine your goals and purposes in life. To take up your cross is metaphorical (cp. Luke 9:23 ); it indicates that faithfulness to Jesus must extend, if required, even to the point of death. To follow Jesus’ teaching and example is a continual commitment.

a8:34-38►

bLuke 9:23►

d8:36-37►

‏ Mark 8:34-37

Summary for Mark 8:34-38: 8:34-38 ^a Jesus’ invitation to his disciples and the crowd lays out the cost of being his follower.

• To give up your own way involves letting Jesus determine your goals and purposes in life. To take up your cross is metaphorical (cp. Luke 9:23 ^b); it indicates that faithfulness to Jesus must extend, if required, even to the point of death. To follow Jesus’ teaching and example is a continual commitment.
8:35 ^c If you try to hang on to (literally save) your life by keeping it from Jesus, you will lose it in the next world. But if you lose it to Jesus and his cause (the spread of the Good News), you will save it forever.
Summary for Mark 8:36-37: 8:36-37 ^d The implied answer to Jesus’ rhetorical question 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.