What is the meaning of Mark 8:31? Then He began to teach them • Jesus turns from public miracles to private instruction. The disciples need clear understanding before they can proclaim Him (Mark 4:34). • Teaching is continuous and purposeful; He will repeat this prediction (Mark 9:31; 10:32-34). • John 13:13 reminds us, “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so…”, highlighting His authority to unveil God’s plan. that the Son of Man • “Son of Man” links Jesus with Daniel 7:13-14, where One like a son of man receives dominion forever. • The title blends majesty with shared humanity (Mark 2:10, 28). • His messianic identity is anchored in Scripture, not in popular expectations. must suffer many things • “Must” signals divine necessity; the cross is not accidental (Luke 24:26). • Isaiah 53:3-5 foretells a suffering Servant “pierced for our transgressions”. • 1 Peter 2:21-24 affirms Christ’s sufferings as our model and substitute. • Suffering here includes betrayal, physical agony, emotional anguish, and bearing sin. and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes • The entire religious establishment will turn Him away, fulfilling Psalm 118:22, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”. • John 1:11 notes, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him”. • Acts 4:11 later echoes this rejection when Peter preaches to the same leaders. and that He must be killed • Physical death is explicit; substitutionary atonement is implied. • Isaiah 53:8-10 speaks of the Servant “cut off from the land of the living… yet it pleased the LORD to crush Him”. • Romans 5:8 declares, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. • 1 Corinthians 15:3 places His death “according to the Scriptures” at the heart of the gospel. and after three days rise again • The resurrection is just as necessary as the cross (Romans 4:25). • Hosea 6:2 foreshadows, “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up”. • Mark 16:6 records the fulfillment: “He has risen! He is not here”. • 1 Corinthians 15:4 stresses that He “was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”, guaranteeing our future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-22). summary Jesus deliberately unveils the divine roadmap: the sovereign Son of Man will suffer, be rejected, die, and rise. Each step is a “must,” anchored in prophecy and necessary for our salvation. The verse invites us to trust the certainty of God’s plan, embrace the cost of discipleship, and rest in the triumphant hope of the resurrection. |
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