Mark 8 records another one of those 'switch' points in the story, this time where Peter declares Jesus as the Messiah (v29). Things had been going well: the tally of miracles and healings nicely accumulating, and the Pharisees put in their place on more than a few occasions. Next stop surely the Romans in Jerusalem!
Yet the real 'switch' is v31, where Jesus starts teaching about what must actually happen. It doesn't sound very Messiah-like, and soon Peter wants to get this negative talk straightened out. Today we really cannot appreciate how strange Jesus' words must have sounded to people who were so totally up for a leader who would ride on in triumph. The talk of rejection and being killed was probably so odd that they didn't even hear the words about rising again.
The trouble is Jesus doesn't stop there. For this Messiah is looking for followers who will be up for a similar pattern of life-laying-down. Within a few sentences discipleship suddenly just got a whole lot harder.
We all have our own pre-conceived ideas of what our saviour-hero should be like, or indeed what they should do for us. What does your 'Messiah' look like?
Yet Jesus calls us to choose between these pre-conceptions and a way which involves not getting everything your own way. And how we choose now can have ramifications for the future (v38).
So weigh it all up, and choose your Messiah very carefully.
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