The Gospel of the Two Crosses
Based on Mark 8–10
The Gospel of Mark reaches a turning point in chapter 8, when Peter declares, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29 NASB). It is the first clear confession of Jesus as Messiah—but it is also a partial understanding. Peter and the disciples can see, but only dimly. Jesus immediately begins to teach them what that confession truly means: that the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected, be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).
Peter’s reaction shows his blindness. He rebukes Jesus for even suggesting suffering and death. Peter’s problem was not recognizing who Jesus is—but misunderstanding what it means to follow Him. That moment reveals what we might call the gospel of the two crosses: the cross of Jesus, and the cross of the disciple.
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
— Mark 8:34 (NASB)
The first cross is Christ’s cross—the instrument of our redemption. It is the place where the Son of God bore our sins, conquered death, and reconciled us to the Father. But Jesus insists there is a second cross: our own. To follow Him means to die to ourselves daily—to surrender ambition, comfort, pride, and self-preservation.
When these two crosses are separated, the gospel becomes distorted. Jesus’ disciples, even after confessing Him as Lord, continually struggle through chapters 8–10 of Mark’s Gospel to grasp the necessity of both.
The Blind Man and the Two Touches
Before Peter’s confession, Mark records a peculiar healing. A blind man’s sight is restored in two stages—first he sees “men like trees walking,” then he sees clearly (Mark 8:22–25). This “two-touch” miracle mirrors the disciples’ partial understanding. They can identify Jesus as Messiah, but they do not yet see what that truly means. The second touch will come after the resurrection, when they understand not only His suffering but their own calling to take up the cross.
When the Second Cross Is Not Understood
Chapters 9 and 10 show what ministry looks like when the two crosses are misunderstood.
• At the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2–8), Peter wants to stay on the mountaintop. He says, “Let us make three tabernacles…” not realizing that glory cannot be separated from sacrifice. Without the cross, we prefer comfort to calling.
• When the disciples fail to cast out a demon (Mark 9:14–29), Jesus tells them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.” Power flows from dependence and self-denial, not from human effort or pride.
• As they argue about who is greatest (Mark 9:33–37), Jesus embraces a child—the least and the overlooked—and teaches that greatness in His kingdom is measured by humility and service.
• When they forbid another man casting out demons in Jesus’ name (Mark 9:38–41), their sectarian spirit reveals they still seek control and recognition.
• When they debate divorce (Mark 10:1–12), rebuke parents bringing children (10:13–16), and marvel at the rich young ruler (10:17–31), they reveal hearts still shaped by worldly values—status, strength, wealth.
• And finally, when James and John ask for the best seats in glory (Mark 10:35–45), Jesus reminds them once more: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Without understanding the two crosses, we end up with religion that prizes achievement over surrender, image over obedience, position over service.
The Second Touch
Yet by the time we meet Peter again in Acts 3, the second touch has come. The once-fearful disciple now boldly proclaims:
“The things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”
— Acts 3:18 (NASB)
Peter finally understands both crosses. In his first epistle he writes:
“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”
— 1 Peter 2:21 (NASB)
The cross of Christ is not only the means of our salvation—it is the model of our life. “Do not be surprised,” Peter adds, “at the fiery ordeal among you… but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing” (1 Peter 4:12–13).
The Upside-Down Kingdom
This gospel turns the world upside down (Acts 17:6). It reveals a kingdom whose values invert the logic of the world:
• The way to be great is to serve (Matthew 20:26–28).
• The way to be strong is to be weak (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).
• The way to be rich is to give away everything (Mark 10:21).
• The way to be wise is to become a fool for Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18–25).
• The way to be first is to be last (Mark 9:35).
• The way to win is to lose (Luke 9:25).
• The way to live is to die (Matthew 10:38–39).
Paul captured this mystery when he said, “We are always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:10). Life flows through death. Resurrection follows crucifixion.
The gospel of the two crosses calls us to join Christ’s victory parade not as triumphant conquerors, but as trophies of grace—those who were conquered by love and now live to display His mercy (see 2 Corinthians 2:14–16).
The Marks of the Cross
Jesus’ glorified body still bore His scars (John 20:27). He did not erase them; He redeemed them. Paul too could say, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Galatians 6:17). The scars of self-giving love are not signs of defeat—they are the proof of true discipleship.
Amy Carmichael captured this in her poem No Scar:
Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
…Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole. Can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?
Living Between the Two Crosses
To live in the gospel of the two crosses is to walk in continual surrender—grateful for Christ’s sacrifice, and willing to offer ourselves daily as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). It is the life of the “upside-down kingdom,” where glory is found in humility and power in weakness.
We follow a crucified King. His victory came through His wounds. Ours will too.
“Whoever wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
— Mark 8:34 (NASB)
Only when we embrace both crosses—His for our salvation and ours for His service—will we see clearly and walk in the power that turns the world upside down.