Bible Study Mark 8:34

[In Christ]

What does this mean to you? It has always facinated me, but Id like others interpretations.

 

[ChristianNationalist]

Seems pretty cut and dry to me. Stop thinking so much about yourself and follow the Word.

 

[nmwings]

What does this mean to you? It has always facinated me, but Id like others interpretations.

He is making a reference to the instruction of the Burned Offering given to us in Lev 6:8-9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
2 remarks on this verse:

1. The Hebrew text is much more precise by saying, “This is the Law for the Burned Offering: he is theBurned Offering and he is to remain on the Altar all night….” The “he” is not the lamb, but the person presenting it.

2. At the word for “hearth” (mokedah) in the Hebrew text is a scribal mark (“jot” or “tiddle”) in which the letter mem (m) is made small. The letter mem looks like the shape of a womb which is where the soul is joined to the body. Without going too deep, the instruction is that when a priest presents this evening sacrifice, he is not just presenting the lamb, he is to present HIMSELF! We’re supposed to put our SOUL up on that Altar! To put this into perspective: a man brings an animal & prepares his sacrifice by laying his hands on its head (putting his burdens on the innocent animal.) He makes his confession & then the moment would come where it’s time to take the animal’s life, capture its soul to present it to the Altar. Men who truly understood what this meant would fall down on their faces bawling their eyes out before God knowing, “It shouldn’t be this animal going up on this Altar…. It should be ME having MY throat cut, it should be ME cut into pieces and put up there to be burned and consumed!”

Paul teaches the exact same thing in Rom 12:1-2, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. “….by the mercies of God…” is a direct reference to the Altar service. The 13 sacrifices of the Altar MATCH the 13 attributes of mercy of the Living God. The Altar is the Lord’s Table. And just like the corporate world does business at a table, God does business around His Table, too. Paul says that when you come to do your service to the Lord (your “business”) you are to put ALL of you up on that Altar… which is the exact same instruction that Moses gave to Aaron about how an animal sacrifice is to be presented.

By telling His followers to “take up your cross daily…” He is FILLing up FULL of meaning (FULL_FILL= fulfill) the original instruction. And when they see Him up on that cross, they were to put themselves up on their own crosses with Him. The same applies to us today: when we read about or think about what He did for us, we are put our souls up on that cross, because WE are the sinners, we are the ones deserving of scouraging and WE are the ones deserving of death! On a side note, Paul upheld this instruction about how we are to approach the Altar AFTER the resurrection….. but that’s an entirely different subject.

 

[Webers_Home]

.
†. Mrk 8:34-38 . .Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: If anyone would 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 me and for the gospel will save it.

. . .What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.

With a little imagination it's possible to interpret that as Buddhism; wherein if someone wishes to escape samsara, they have to relinquish every worldly possession, every dollar they own, every worldly ambition; become a Buddhist monk, and devote themselves entirely to the dharma and the Four Nobel Truths.

†. Mtt 19:21 . . If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Cliff
/

 

[Slider]

Seems pretty cut and dry to me. Stop thinking so much about yourself and follow the Word.

Good answer... I had to snicker at myself a little bit. I read this and thought to myself, "Sheesh ChristianNationalist.... That's a bit harsh! He just asked for someones opinion!"

...Then I read Mark 8:34! That pretty much is what it's saying in a nutshell.

 

[Fedusenko]

Is this a forum for conversation?

@ nm Wings: Thanks for the insight. You helped 'fullfill' the understanding of the word.

@ webers home: Are the 4 Noble Truths the same as the 4 Agreements?