Mark 8:27-30

I have finished reading the OT and have started reading through the NT again. As I was reading this morning in the book of Mark I remembered having done a study in my old church on that book and so I looked for it in my files and finally found it! :) The following, then, are my notes on one of the passages I taught on. For this study I used the the commentaries written by John Gill, Albert Barnes, and Matthew Henry. I presented the lesson on June 26th, 2005.


Read Mark 8:27-30

"Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Phillippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, 'Who do men say that I am?'"

The area in which this exchange takes place was where Herod had his residence. This is important to note because in this area Herod the Great had built a temple to Emperor Augustus and he had named the city of Caesarea after Caesar, honoring and basically licking the boots (or sandals!) of his Roman masters. Why does this little fact matter? Well one of the commentators I read makes the point that this is important to note because in this place where Caesar was acclaimed and affirmed as lord by Herod...in this same place the Lord Jesus is acclaimed as the Annointed One by His disciples!

So, then, we read that somewhere along the road, Jesus turns to them and asks them the fateful question "Who do men say that I am?"

Now...many might be tempted to say of this verse that Jesus was wondering what it was the people said of him because he did not know. That he wanted to know from them what rumors were going around about him...but rest assured this is NOT the case. Remember that Jesus did not need the rumor mill to verify anything...there was never a point throughout his entire habitation in human form that Jesus gave up His divine nature! He did not lay it down in order to assume the cloak of flesh...He did not stop being God because He was born of a woman. No indeed...never forget that Jesus while a man was still God! So His question is much deeper than "hey...what are people saying about me?"

What then, was the point of his question?

Could we say that Jesus was being Jesus? By this I mean that Jesus was and is a teacher. His point, then, was to teach! For realize this: in laying out this question we will see the answer from mankind's perspective...and later, in the declaration of faith from Peter...we will see what men say under inspiration of the Holy Spirit!

As an aside, this same episode is recorded in Matthew 16:13, in which the question is rendered, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" We will look more closely at this term later, but for now I wanted you to know how Jesus has identified Himself to the disciples even in asking the question!

"So they answered, 'John the Baptist; but some say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.'"

Their immediate answer? "Some say you are Elijah!" "Other say you are John the Baptist!"

Wow...so the disciples have heard Jesus acknowledged as a prophet...as a powerful man of God...as the embodiment of some of the great men of God that have lived in years past and in recent memory! Through this, the disciples acknowledge that the people believe Jesus is more than just a normal man. Hey, he has performed miracles...He has healed people for whom no healing was possible...He has amazingly multiplied food as if from nowhere...He has even walked on water! So yes, this is not an ordinary man...and the people know this! You see, the people thought very highly of Jesus! He was a man in whom God was working!

And you know what? This would be awesome praise indeed! This is an amazing thing to say of a human being...IF it referred to anyone BUT Jesus! Do you understand this? IF this praise was for anyone other than Jesus, this would be awesome praises indeed!! To say this about Jesus, however, is to deny His true essence! He is not a mere prophet...He is not a performer interested in awing the masses! NO! He is the long awaited Messiah! God made man!

"He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered and said to Him, 'You are the Christ'"

Many people have listened to Jesus, many people have heard Him speak. But these men have walked with Him. Therefore He wants their confession! What do YOU think?

The question that Jesus asks the disciples is the most important question that anyone of that time, and anyone today, and anyone in the future will ever have to answer. Upon the answer to this question depends the eternal fate of every man and woman! How will you reply to Christ?

Peter's answer is rendered in Matthew 16:16 as "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

I love that declaration! Christ.

The word is the Greek kristos, meaning "Anointed One"...the Messiah! Peter has recognized the divine nature of Jesus, the divine appointment for which He has come. In his statement he recognized that Jesus did not come merely to heal people, or to feed them, or to merely bring them back physically from death! No...he recognizes that all of these are mere acts of declaration! They are intended to establish His authority...To declare to those with ears to listen and eyes to see that He is the Anointed One of God! Chosen and appointed for the work of redemption!

Having said this, I must add that this does not mean that Peter acknowledges Jesus as the coming Redeemer we know Him as. For remember that all along the disciples and all the other Jews of the time are expecting a Messiah who will be a Prince...who will free them from the yoke of Rome! It would not be until the resurrection of our Lord that anyone other than John the Baptist would recognize Jesus in the true role of Messiah! Recall that in John 1:29 John the Baptist, seeing Jesus, says "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

The Baptist knew Jesus as Redeemer...which makes sense considering the special relationship between this messenger and the One that he proclaimed!

Although we don't see it here, in Matthew 16:17 Jesus responds to Peter by saying, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven"

Read John 1:12-13

Note the similarity in the teaching between the two verses. Peter's confessional cry was revealed to Him by the Father and Jesus calls Peter blessed because of this! He calls him blessed because he has received a gift from the Father. A gift that all of us in this room have been given! A gift we could not earn. The flesh and blood refers to humanity and all of its works!

See 1 Corinthians 15:50

This, then, brings me back to the comment made above. The answer to the question Jesus poses is THE most important ANYONE will EVER be asked! The Christian acknowledges Jesus as Christ! If anyone claims to know Jesus and does not believe that Jesus is God...then this person must re-examine WHY they believe themselves to be Christians while rejecting the foundational Truth of our salvation!

"Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him"

Jesus has just affirmed that He is the Messiah! He has affirmed that He is God! Peter says he and the disciples believe that Jesus is this Anointed One...and Jesus accepts it as truth...you can imagine that now that it has been affirmed the disciples will want to tell everyone that they are the disciples of the Messiah! But Jesus tell them not to.

Why do you suppose Jesus does this?

The answer lies in the following verses. But first...let us recognize and affirm the following: Jesus did not caution them because He was afraid something would happen that He did not want to happen. No! He cautioned them so that things would happen the way He and the Father and the Holy Spirit had determined it should from "before the foundation of the world."

In other words, as we'll see in the next few verses, He knew that when it became common knowledge that He was declaring Himself as Messiah...then His enemies would not just consider Him a nuisance but a man worthy of death! In Mark 3:6 we see that the Pharisees want to destroy Jesus because He's always making fools of them. But destruction can mean many things, including the destruction of His authority, of His popularity, etc...Once He publicly claimed the mantle of Christ, however...it would be only a matter of time before He was officially charged with blasphemy and put to death! And while this was the purpose for which He came...it was not yet time.

Let us close in prayer