Not long after Peter made the good confession at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus “began to teach…that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’ And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it’” (Mark 8:31–35).
Being a disciple of Jesus demands a willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel. However, not all suffering is for the sake of the gospel. Sometimes we suffer for other reasons. But, when we endure suffering for the sake of Christ, we are blessed (Mt. 5:10-12).
Discipleship demands suffering. How so? A disciple is a learning follower. We follow Jesus who said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mk. 8:34). In what are we to follow Jesus? In self-denial and a willingness to suffer according to the will of God. As time drew near for Jesus to go to the cross, why did He become increasingly plain in His teaching about His own death and resurrection? In part, it was because Jesus knew that doing the will of God meant suffering for Him and for all those who want to live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:12).
Jesus is our example in suffering. In teaching us how to suffer for doing what is right, Peter wrote, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps…” (1 Peter 2:21). We are to follow in the steps of the One who suffered unjustly for doing what is right. Why suffer for the cause of Christ? Because we are His disciples. He was willing to suffer for doing right and His followers must be willing to do the same. There is no easy way to follow Jesus.
— Glen Elliott —