The Gospel of Mark makes it clear that Jesus' chosen ones have a special task that distinguishes them from those who are generally called. God needs 144,000 disciples to complete his work. However, all disciples and followers of Jesus must fulfill the same conditions: Self-knowledge of their blindness, self-denial, faith and selfless service.
In Mark 8, verses 22-38, Jesus talks about these conditions. Denying oneself means recognizing one's own error and putting it aside. Self-denial means letting go of the error/self-deception within. Faith is about realizing the truth about oneself and selfless service is about knowing that it is not about us.
What are the means of discipleship and followers of Jesus? They are:
The unchanging standard: a spiritual compass is necessary to properly understand scripture and life's information.
Suffering and difficulties: These experiences show us our inner problem.
Selflessness: The conviction that selflessness is the solution to all human problems must be anchored in our thinking.
Faith: Our convictions must be translated into action.
Jesus teaches his disciples through concrete examples from life. The rich young man, for example, rejected Jesus' offer because his possessions were more important to him. With this story, Jesus emphasizes that it is ALL or NOTHING.
Misunderstandings about marriage and the reward of discipleship are further topics that are dealt with in the eighth part of our series “The Gospel of Mark”.