Mark 8:31-38 is challenging to hear. Not only for the disciples of Jesus then, but for us now. At first glance, Jesus’ words sound crazy at best, and depressing at worst. To our ears, any talk about ’self-denial’ or ‘taking up our cross’ or even ‘following someone’ is vulgar. Nonetheless, these remain the words of the Light of the World, God’s Agent of Change in our world. So how can we comprehend the words of Jesus today for us?

Let me begin with an illustration. The other day some of my friends were talking about buying Porsches and they forwarded Porsche’s CNY campaign - https://porschezodiac.asia

How does one choose a Porsche? Start with the year of your birth, identify your Zodiac Sign and apparently, there’s a Porsche suited for you. I was struck by the fact that Porsche was so confident in their marketing, they were not trying to make us buy the car; they were just educating people on which Porsche was the right one for them. They weren’t ‘selling the car’ or talking about how good or great the car was.

Here’s the observation - Porsche doesn’t need to beg people to buy their car. They don’t need to explain. And they definitely are not concerned to justify the price tag. When you go and buy the Porsche… you don’t go there and haggle or bargain. You just find your Zodiac sign and sign the cheque and pay the price. This is precisely what Jesus is doing.

”If anyone wants to follow me…”, here’s what needs to happen. Here’s the price tag. And most of us look at the price tag, and we are shocked! What? Are you serious? Can’t be right? We are looking at the price tag, because we forget what we’re shopping for. We’re not looking at what is being offered to us… Jesus.

What is Jesus offering to us? Life. Nothing more, nothing less. There are three things He uses to help us see this. Three things we miss because we’re too busy looking at the price tag of self denial and a cross-bearing life.

Life.

Jesus is offering Life to us. “Those who seek for their Life will lose it… but those who loses their life for me… will save it.” Do we know what Life is? Do we know what true abundant fulfilling Life is? Jesus does and He wants us to have it.

Dignity of our Soul.

Jesus is offering us a Dignity that is beyond everything the world can give to us. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?” Consider the words carefully… what would a man gain if he “gained the whole world“? If I got the whole world - that would be everything. And if I have everything, won’t I be happy? Won’t my soul be fulfilled? Won’t I finally be secure and comfortable? Apparently not. According to Jesus, you can gain everything the world has to offer; and still lose your soul. How so? Because as far as Jesus is concerned, our soul - our identity, our personhood is greater than all that the whole world has to offer us. What Jesus offers to us is a dignity that is greater than the whole world. Have we reduced ourselves to something less than who we were created to be?

Honour and Glory.

Jesus is offering to us an eternal honour and glory that cannot compared to what is on the earth. ““For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”” There is an Honour and Glory worth waiting for. Jesus is offering this to us.

Can you put a price tag on Honour and Glory? Can you put a price tag on our Soul? Can you put a price tag on Life? Jesus is offering all these things and more… isn’t that a bargain?

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

- Jim Eliot (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/he-ws-no-fool/)