About Jesus

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Mark 8:27-30

Regardless of the reason you clicked on this page I want you to know that there is one question that stands before you right now waiting to be answered: “Was this ancient man Jesus the promised Christ/savior of all humans sent from God?” Though Peter didn’t understand many things and did not yet understand the implications of his confession (read 8.32 and 9.5-6), he believed that Jesus was this promised Christ. If you have questions in your own mind, I encourage you to keep reading. It may seem strange to you that Jesus warned Peter not to tell anyone of this good news. If you are interested in Jesus’ reasoning, feel free to contact me at CampusChristiansFlorida@gmail.com

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
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 concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Mark 8:31-33

When Jesus attempted to tell Peter of His future mistreatment and death, Peter could not at first deal with what he expected and what Jesus described. Jesus’ words offer us a window in to the heart of God. God chose a sacrificial death to defeat all that had gone wrong in His world: sin, death — everything that separates us from Him. And so Jesus died for the Jews, for the Jews’ enemies the Romans, for every side that will ever battle over anything. He died so He could take our sins with Him to the grave, but once there, God raised Him back to life, thus offering His hand to lead us to everlasting life also. I want to give you a couple more questions that stand before you now: Is there a God? And if you believe there is one, do you by your actions and words show that you believe YOU are Him? The great news is that there is a God and you are not Him, and that means you are loved with a love that is bigger than you could have ever hoped. You! are so cherished and special that God intricately and powerfully made all that is — just so you might look up and search for Him (Psalms 148)!

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mark 8:34-38

Some of Jesus’ words here may seem a bit confusing to you. Maybe I can explain them this way: You can’t hold on to death when you choose to live. You can be the one who dies with the most toys, but without Jesus you are still dead. The strangest revelation is often expressed by people who have experienced a deadly illness, they are freed from the concern of finishing work assignments, paying the mortgage and so many other once-"important’ things. In the end, they know that what is important is the next breath of air. This is what fills their lungs, their cells, their blood with oxygen needed to sustain life. Jesus is that life; His words are meant to help you realize such, but just short of the hospital bed, of course. If you would like to ask questions or engage in a guided, one-on-one or group study of Jesus, shoot me an e-mail at CampusChristiansFlorida@gmail.com

May God richly bless your day,

Read more of the Bible at:
www.gospelcom.net