Pastor Tim Patoka
Rethinking Suffering Under the Cross
February 25, 2024
Where Is Your Mind Set? Mark 8:31-38 Everybody views suffering in a different way and it often comes down to where their mind is set. If you’re mind is set on getting and staying in shape, you’ll view the suffering of working out and denying yourself unhealthy food as a good thing, as weakness leaving the body. If you’ve decided to give something up for Lent, you hopefully view your suffering as a daily reminder of what all Jesus gave up for you. But where is your mind set when you suffer under the cross? Do you willingly endure it or do you try to shy away from it? Our suffering under the cross are those pains we bear because of our faith in Jesus as our Savior. When we suffer so, our minds should be set on the things of God that willingly receives these sufferings and even sees how they build up our faith. But that mindset is foreign to our sinful world. That’s why we’ll look at our verses this morning from Mark chapter 8. For Jesus explains what these sufferings are and how he uses them for our good. With that in mind, we then set our mind on the things of God and follow our Savior where we will surely face sufferings that try us and strengthen our faith. Jesus spells out what it means to suffer under the cross as denying ourselves of sinful pleasures and taking up our cross. These sinful pleasures come from any number of places: from our inner selves as we desire what’s contrary to God’s will and from others’ temptations to entice us away from God. As for taking up our cross, those are the persecutions we endure because of our Christian faith: people mocking us, giving us the cold shoulder, passing over us, or even taking our life. If someone sets their mind on the things of God, they will need to suffer under the cross in these ways. After teaching this, Jesus then gives a counterintuitive truth, “whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” (Mark 8:35 EHV) If you try to save your eternal life with your mind set on the things of men, you’re going to lose it. That’s because you’ll shy away from the Christian’s necessary suffering under the cross, eventually trade in your faith in Jesus for the things of this world, and ultimately set yourself up for eternal disappointment. There’s nothing we can do to save ourselves. Even if you were to gain the whole world and offer it all in exchange for your soul, it still wouldn’t be enough! Against all human logic, the only way to save yourself is this: trust Jesus as described in the gospel above all else. That’s how important Jesus is! Faith in him is more important than our own safety, comfort, or logic. 1