Mark 8:31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke to them openly. Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33 But he, turning around, and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan. For you have in mind not the things of God, but the things of man.” NHEB
Peter rebukes Jesus who returns the favor. In Hebrew, “Satan” equals adversary (or as S.D. Gordon called it, the great outside hindrance). Nothing supernatural here as Peter is just being a pain and hasn’t suddenly changed allegiances. (Matthew and Luke have more detail). Another way to look at this is that the rebuke isn’t against Peter but against Satan. In His earlier temptations, the devil was trying to divert Jesus away from His ultimate purpose with the sales pitch that there is an alternative. By choosing this other route, Jesus could still help people and have a following but could do so without dying on the cross. Here Peter is saying essentially the same thing (but for different reasons).
Mark 8:34 He called the crowd to Himself with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for My sake and the sake of the Good News will save it. 36 For what does it profit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever will be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” NHEB
This is Jesus’ understanding of discipleship as when Jesus bids us to follow Him, He is essentially inviting us to die. In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus tells us about a man whose land has produced an abundance. He decides to tear down his old barns, build bigger ones in order to hold all of his treasure and live the life of leisure for the next few years. Problem is that God tells him that he will lose his life tonight and all of his accumulated wealth will end up in the hands of others. The rich man was a fool because he focused on earthly wealth instead of being rich toward God. As we take up our cross, we know we will face opposition and some will face martyrdom. Even the first steps of dying toward self and worldliness are not that easy. Good thing for us that Jesus is taking up the cross first.
Mark 9:1 He said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come with power.” 2 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and brought them up onto a high mountain privately by themselves, and he was changed into another form in front of them. 3 His clothing became glistening, exceedingly white, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah and Moses appeared to them, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer, for they became very afraid. 7 A cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” 8 Suddenly looking around, they saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone. NHEB
Verse one has been described as one of the most perplexing in the Bible. It seems to suggest Second Coming and if that is what it means, then Jesus was wrong. There are scholars who say that because Jesus didn’t live up to expectations and return quickly that we need to rethink everything. Another way to read this is that it is talking about something else, such as Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Luke ends with Jesus telling them not to act until they receive power from on high. This continues into chapter one of Acts. We could also read the “Kingdom of God with power” as talking about resurrection because that establishes the authority of Jesus with power (see Romans 1:4) But before making an interpretive decision, perhaps we should read this verse in light of what Mark writes in the sentences that follow as he will tell us in these verses what he means.
Unlike the eastern church, the western church has never paid much attention to the transfiguration. For those in the east, the transfiguration reveals who Jesus is (and ultimately who we will be as the way the New Testament describes our ultimate glorification is similar to the transfiguration here). In the transfiguration we have the Law and prophets represented along with Jesus. Peter, James and John are here because they represent the inner circle of the twelve. We know from Luke’s account that the discussion was about Jesus’ departure, i.e., His exodus.
The cloud here, as in other parts of Scripture, represents a moment in history where God shows up. For example, there is a cloud on Mt. Sinai as Moses ascends to meet with God. Later, when Solomon builds the Temple and the arc of the covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies, the Temple was filled with a cloud and the glory of the Lord filled the entire building. In Acts, Jesus ascends in a cloud and we are told that is the way He will return. Here we see that same cloud.
Peter still doesn’t quite get it but in his defense, he is in the presence of something bigger. He isn’t scared but is understandably overwhelmed at being in the presence of the Lord (not unlike Isaiah in Isaiah 6) which causes him to babble. Later, when all of this has sunk in, Peter writes:
2Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised tales, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. NHEB
“To my mind, there is something very lovable about Peter; and, in my opinion, we need more Peters in the church of the present day. Though they are rash and impulsive, yet there is fire in them, and there is steam in them, so that they keep us going”. Charles Spurgeon.