Mark emphasizes suffering, and Jesus invites the crowds to count the cost and the demands of discipleship. Mark 8:34 is the only time in the Gospel that Jesus summoned both the crowd and His disciples to Himself for an important announcement. He challenged them to deny themselves, take up their crosses (instruments of execution), and follow Him. We, too, can relate to the countercultural journey to which Jesus invited His original followers. Most of us are not familiar with physically suffering for