Mark 8:27-30 - Jesus Is The Christ
We all face questions and are forced to make decisions daily. Some of those are insignificant, and others can have lasting implications. However, none are more important than the question Jesus posed to the disciples: whom do you say that I am? How we respond to that question will have eternal implications. It is a question that all must answer, and one that is impossible to avoid. Those who refuse to deal with the question have in essence chosen to reject Jesus as the Christ.
A GENERAL QUESTION (Mark 8:27-28).
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He asked His disciples, Who do people say that I am? 28 And they told him, John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.
Q. Jesus asks the disciples what other people are saying about him; namely, who others think He is. What are their responses?
A SPECIFIC QUESTION (Mark 8:29).
29 And He asked them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered Him, You are the Christ.
Q. What stands out to you about Jesus specific question in verse 29?
A STRICT COMMAND (Mark 8:30).
And He strictly charged them to tell no one about Him.
Q. Why do you think Jesus forbade the disciples from telling others that He was the Christ?
The Messianic Secret is a common theme in Mark. Publicly, Jesus did not permit His identity as Messiah to be popularized, possibly because the widespread politicization, misunderstanding, and outright ignorance pertaining to the mission of the Messiah. However, privately, Jesus sought and affirmed this understanding from His disciples.
PARADOX: Jesus repeatedly told people not to spread the word of who He is and what He had done, but people went and told others anyway. Today, Jesus has a standing command for us to tell others about Him, and yet, many people never tell anyone else about who He is!
APPLICATION:
Q. Who do YOU say that Jesus is? What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ, as Peter declared?
Q. What difference does this make in how YOU live each day?
Q. What difference might it make if YOU took more seriously your confession of Jesus’ identity?
A GENERAL QUESTION (Mark 8:27-28).
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He asked His disciples, Who do people say that I am? 28 And they told him, John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.
Q. Jesus asks the disciples what other people are saying about him; namely, who others think He is. What are their responses?
- John the Baptist - There was rampant gossip that Jesus was John the Baptist, resurrected from the dead (Mark 6:14-16).
- Elijah - The Jewish people expected, according to Malachi 4:5, Elijah to return as a precursor to the Messiah.
- One of the prophets - Many thought Jesus was another in the long line of prophets, sent by God to deliver divine messages to His people.
- That Jesus was a great teacher.
- That Jesus was a good example of the human ideal.
- That Jesus is a myth, or a legend.
- That Jesus never claimed to be the Christ, or God Himself.
- That Jesus is just one incarnation of God, but no different than Buddha, Allah, or any number of other deified personalities throughout human history.
- We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting Him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with. A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who does not mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream (Platt, My Take).
A SPECIFIC QUESTION (Mark 8:29).
29 And He asked them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered Him, You are the Christ.
Q. What stands out to you about Jesus specific question in verse 29?
- Jesus transitioned from the matter of what everyone else was thinking/saying to what the disciples personal understanding of Him was.
- Jesus was emphasizing that it was their (the disciples) personal understanding that mattered, not what was popular or even commonly thought about Him.
- His question centered on their understanding of His identity, not His function.
- Peters response illuminates Jesus as Messiah, the Savior of the world, promised from the beginning (Genesis 3:15-16), and prophesied throughout history.
A STRICT COMMAND (Mark 8:30).
And He strictly charged them to tell no one about Him.
Q. Why do you think Jesus forbade the disciples from telling others that He was the Christ?
The Messianic Secret is a common theme in Mark. Publicly, Jesus did not permit His identity as Messiah to be popularized, possibly because the widespread politicization, misunderstanding, and outright ignorance pertaining to the mission of the Messiah. However, privately, Jesus sought and affirmed this understanding from His disciples.
PARADOX: Jesus repeatedly told people not to spread the word of who He is and what He had done, but people went and told others anyway. Today, Jesus has a standing command for us to tell others about Him, and yet, many people never tell anyone else about who He is!
APPLICATION:
Q. Who do YOU say that Jesus is? What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ, as Peter declared?
- He is the Christ, the Savior of the Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, male and female, barbarian and Scythian, circumcised and uncircumcised.
- He is the One anointed and appointed to atone for the sins of humans, who alone came to save the world from the impending judgment and wrath of God against all unrighteousness.
Q. What difference does this make in how YOU live each day?
Q. What difference might it make if YOU took more seriously your confession of Jesus’ identity?
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