Cruciformed disciples reject the Prosperity Gospel. By “cruciformed” I refer to a life shaped by the cross. And what I am saying is that we cannot be shaped by the cross and adhere to the Prosperity Gospel. At least that is what Mark’s Gospel teaches us. Now, if this makes you a bit uneasy, please bear with me. You will soon see why I say these things.

For starters, have you ever noticed what, in the Gospel of Mark, immediately follows those predictions about Jesus death? The answer might stun you and reveal something about us.

Explore with me the passion passages in Mark. As we do so, see the contrast between a life shaped by the cross—a cruciformed life—and the one shaped by worldly ambition and expectations. I argue that Mark shapes his Gospel to show us that a worldly view of success pervades all, including Christians. We will also note how Jesus shows us a better way to live.

So, let us now delve into the texts.

#1. Jesus: I will die. Peter: No way!

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus predicts his impending passion (at least) three times. The first is in Mark 8:31, where Jesus states that he will suffer and die and rise again.

But immediately and essentially, Peter, in Mark 8:32, tells Jesus not to confess negatively. In short, Peter argues that since he just established that Jesus is the Christ—the Messiah— he should quit this strange talk about suffering and dying. That is not what Peter envisioned in following Jesus. In effect, Peter tells Jesus: “You may soon embarrass us with that sort of speech. Then, we will lose credibility with the people as their next government.”

Of course, Jesus rebukes Peter in the hearing of the rest of the disciples, making it clear that whoever longs to be his disciple must walk a road marked with pain (8:33-38). Otherwise, Jesus will be ashamed of those who are now ashamed of the suffering Messiah in the coming kingdom. That is, those who distance themselves from present suffering do reject the crucified Savior and thus separate themselves from future salvation.

And you may think they learnt the lesson, right? Wrong!

#2. Jesus: I Will Die. Disciples: We are Great; Aren’t We?

In Mark 9:30-32, Jesus repeats the exact prediction: Guys, I will suffer and die and rise again.

Well, after this, there is a road-trip to Capernaum that follows (9:33-37). The discussion on the road? Even the disciples are ashamed of it. The conversation was about—and you guessed right—who among them is the greatest!

As in, Jesus just told them he is going to die gruesomely. But their mind was about positions of power and pomp!

Still, Jesus reminds them that the gospel redefines power and authority, from domination to servanthood, from people’s praises to knees bent for service. While the world lives for self, power, and prestige, the disciples should be content to die in service of others.

Now we think those two lessons are enough for the followers of Jesus, no?

Well, apparently, not quite so.

#3. Jesus: I will die. James and John: Those Seats Look Comfy!

In Mark 10:32-34, Jesus insists, again, that their road to Jerusalem ends on the painful cross. He will die.

Still, James and John think this is the best time to settle this unending discussion about who is the greatest once and for all (Mark 10:35-44). “What do you think, Jesus, if I—John—sit at your right hand and my brother, James, at your left? Wouldn’t that be cool? Peter can find a chair somewhere. After all, your rebuke kind-of disqualified him from the inner circle, right?”

There, again, Jesus reminds the two brothers that suffering awaits them. When the ten heard about what James and John planned, they were furious (10:41). How dare the sons of Zebedee plan to prosper without us? But Jesus reminds them that greatness is in service (10:42-45).

Jesus Against Prosperity Gospellers

Do you begin to notice the pattern above?

Every time Jesus speaks of suffering, his disciples change the topic to how great they are and how they will change this world if they sit next to the Messiah. In their estimation, suffering is not their portion.

Their framework as followers of God excluded suffering and pain. They held to what some may term as the prosperity gospel. The Apostles planned to pursue painless discipleship. But again and again, God’s view of power and authority and triumph contradicted their thinking.

A ‘prosperity gospel’ framework escapes the cross of Christ in pursuit of painless and costless discipleship. Like Peter, it is ashamed of the real Jesus, the one who washes smelly feet and wears thorny crowns. It may theoretically confess the crucified Christ, but it practically rejects the suffering Savior as the paradigm for Christian walk and witness.

The prosperity gospel knows no wounds, no tears, no pain, no Jerusalem road, and no impending baptism of fire. It denies and double-crosses Jesus for thirty pieces of silver coins.

It is no wonder then that only two disciples remain near Jesus at the end of Mark’s Gospel: Judas, who betrayed him for material prosperity, and Peter, who denied him to stay healthy. The rest are nowhere near. They failed him big time—all of them.

Are You Cruciformed?

But let us not be too hard on Peter and James and John. We all fail Jesus. Indeed, we all need the real gospel, one shaped by the suffering Savior—a cruciformed gospel. That is the only way we become cruciformed disciples, a people starkly shaped by suffering.

To be cruci-formed disciples is to abandon earthly pursuits and journey with Jesus on a thorny and narrow road. It is to forsake costless discipleship—the alluring picture of a life that the prosperity gospel paints. It is to reject worldly standards of success, progress, or even prosperity, and to have our identity so knit with the cross that we purpose to know nothing amongst men except Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2:2).

But to be cruciformed also means letting Jesus cleanse our smelly-feet. Yes. We shy away from such a Savior because we want to wash ourselves. We think such a thing is beneath the Savior. We want to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Thus, as Jesus girds his towel around his waist and approaches us with a basin of water, we shift in our comfy seats uneasily. “You shall never wash my feet” (John 13:8).

Yet, we also recoil from such a Messiah because we fear what he may in turn ask us to be and do. Christ redefines who we are and where we find identity and joy. Cruciformed disciples are tasked to follow the crucified Christ in surrendering earthly definitions of power for the sake of serving others.

Love begins to define us as a new community that no longer cares about who among us is the greatest, because our preoccupation is service—costly and painful service.

I know how much I need the cruciformed gospel to be a cruciformed disciple. And If I am not mistaken, you too need the same.