COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 90
“ Mark 8:27 And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29 And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. 30 And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him.” (Mark 8:27-30; Matt 16:13-20)
KNOWING THE IDENTITY OF JESUS
INTRODUCTION
Again, the disciples are depicted as being with Jesus, not Jesus with the disciples. He was setting the agenda, choosing where they went, and they were following Him. This is still the manner of the Kingdom, which is completely Christ-centered. Further, Jesus is moving about in strict accord with the purpose of the Father, and the commission that has been delivered to Him – to lay down His life, and take it up again (John 10:17-18). In all of this, He is giving us an example of what it means to “live unto the Lord” (Rom 14:8). This is not merely keeping a set of rules, but involves willingness, commitment, and alertness. As Jesus nears the time appointed for laying down His life, He begins preparing His chosen twelve for what is ahead. They will have occasion to remember His words after He has left them. The Holy Spirit will bring them to their remembrance (John 14:26). Jesus often spoke in prospect of this experience, and not merely to profitably teach them at the time. He will ask them how the people have assessed Him, and how the disciples themselves see Him. These remain critical questions, and we do well to carefully consider them. It will become apparent that the clear and powerful sight of Jesus in the flesh not only lacked transforming power, it did not, of itself, lead people to a sound conclusion concerning His person. This ineptitude still exists among men, and is evidence that they do indeed “come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). That is, when men are only exposed to the visible workings of the Lord, it is not conducive to sound spiritual thought and conclusions. Yet, even though the people then gave a wholly improper assessment of Jesus, they were far ahead of the average churchman of our day.
WHOM DO MEN SAY THAT I AM?
“ Mk 8:27 And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.”
CAESAREA PHILIPPI. This town was in the northern part of the country – the general vicinity of Tyre, Sidon (East), and Damascus (West) – about ten miles North of the tip of the Sea of Galilee, and nearly 100 miles from Jerusalem. In a sense it was very remote area, situated on the borders of the inheritance of Napthtali, and at the foot of Mount Hermon. By Jesus coming here, the light would shine into Gentile regions.
HE ASKED THEM BY THE WAY. The distance from Bethsaida to Caesarea Philippi was around 25+ miles. Whatever one may think about the ministry of Jesus, it certainly was an aggressive one. Apart from traveling by way of the sea, there are no references to any mode of travel other than walking. You may remember that Jesus opened the Scriptures to Cleopas and his companion “by the way,” as they walked along (Lk 24:32). Now, in keeping with His nature and mission, Jesus directs the talk to an important area. He is going to make the disciples more aware of His person, lest they be distracted to lesser considerations of Him – something, as we will see, men are prone to do.
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE SAY? “Whom do men say that I am?” Matthew reads, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” What is the perception of the people? After beholding His many wonderful works and hearing His gracious words, what are people saying about Him? After two years of extended exposure to the Lord of glory, what kind of impression has registered upon the people. After hearing reports of mass and divers healings, the feeding of multitudes, the invasion of Satan’s kingdom, and the raising of the dead, what are the people saying about His identity? What kind of importance have they attached to Him? How relevant do they perceive Him to be? Have they made any connection between Him and God? Have they associated Him with any of the prophets? Do they see Him as the promised Messiah? Jesus does not ask what the people think about what He has done, but about who He IS. He does not ask what they think about His power, but seeks to know what they are saying about His PERSON. He is not inquiring about what the people are saying He can DO or has done: “WHO do people say that I am?” NKJV
That is a telling question that is not being pressed upon the people of our time. Today, there appears to be more said about what Jesus can do than who He IS. This is important because it is WHO Jesus is that determines what He does.
THE ASSESSMENT OF THE PEOPLE. The people, including the disciples, had said much about Jesus – mostly questions. “What manner of man is this?” (Matt 8:27). “What thing is this? What new doctrine is this?” (Mk 1:27). “If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly” (John 10:24). Some had said, “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world” (John 6:14). Nicodemus had said He was “a teacher sent from God” (John 3:2). Jesus, however, is not asking concerning immediate reactions to His presence and work. There had been many quick responses to His presence and ministry: i.e., “We have seen strange things today” (Lk 5:26), “We never saw it on this fashion” (Mk 2:12), “A great prophet is risen among us,” and “God hath visited His people” (Lk 7:16). But what did they say when Jesus was not present? What about after the impressiveness of His presence was no longer upon them? What did they say then? Who did they say He was when they reflected upon what they had seen and heard?
SOMEONE COME BACK FROM THE REGION BEYOND. “And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.” Matthew reads, “ Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matt 16:14). John the Baptist had died more than a year ago. Elijah was translated over 900 years ago. Jeremiah prophesied around 600 years before this. The last prophet before John the Baptist was Malachi, who had prophesied over 400 years ago. All of them were men of great strength, who significantly effected their generations. The people thought one of these, or some other prophet had come back from the world beyond. No one likened Jesus to Caiaphas the high priest (John 11:49), or one of the Pharisees, or scribes, or Sadducees, or lawyers. There was absolutely no contemporaries with whom He could be compared – and the people knew it.
It also is worthy to note that the Jews had not been contaminated with the philosophies of the world around them, or the doctrine of the Sadducees, who say there is no spirit (Acts 23:8). They knew there was another world in which spirits reside, and had no difficulty conceiving of a visitation from some of them. Of course, two did come from this realm when Jesus was later transfigured (Matt 17:3), and Jesus Himself had “come down from heaven” (John 3:13). They were more advanced in their thinking than the skeptics of our day.
BUT WHOM SAY YE THAT I AM
“ 29 And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ.”
It is also important to note that the disciples did know what the people were saying about Christ’s person and identity. While some are experts in what men say about politics, world conditions, entertainment, athletics, and the likes, the disciples knew what the people were saying about Jesus. How about you? Do you know who people say Jesus is?
WHAT DO YOU SAY? Jesus was really readying the disciples to give their own assessment of who He was. They had been with Him from the beginning, and had not left Him. They had seen more and heard more than the others. Also, the transfiguration had not yet taken place – a time when God confessed Jesus to be His “Beloved Son” (Mk 9:7). Up to this time, they had heard Jesus say, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35), “I came down from heaven” (John 6:38), and “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Most of the well known “I am the . . . ” statements had not yet been made (John 10:7,11,36; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). He had not yet revealed that He would suffer many things, be killed, and rise the third day (Mk 8:31; 9:31). Now, they were required to draw some conclusions from what He had said and done.
THOU ART THE CHRIST. Mark reads, “Thou art the Christ!” – that is, the Messiah, or the single God-sent man upon whom the hopes of the world would be suspended. “The Christ” was the “Man” God would give for a hiding place and refuge (Isa 32:2). Matthew reads, “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). Jesus was the One “anointed” to preach the Gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, set at liberty those who were bruised, and preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Lk 4:18-19).
Keep in mind that “Christ” denotes the primary relationship of Jesus to God, not to man. That is why He is called “the Lord’s Christ” (Lk 2:26), “the Christ of God” (Lk 9:20), and “His Christ” (Acts 4:26; Rev 11:15; 12:10). The emphasis here is not on the one we need, but the One God sent – and there is a vast difference in those views. It is true that the sick “need” a physician (Lk 5:31), but the point is the remedy that GOD provided – “His Christ.”
Matthew adds, “the Son of the living God” – not of Adam, or any other man, but “of God.” He is, in fact, “the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14) and the “only begotten Son” (John 1:18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:19). Jesus is not a Son, but THE Son. This is the very point Satan challenged in the forty-day temptation (Matt 4:3,6). It is what demons confessed (Matt 8:29). Previously, when Jesus had stilled a storm, the disciples blurted out, “Of a truth, thou art the Son of God” (Matt 14:33). However, up to this point, there had not been much said among men on this. “The Son of God” was the Man who would be charged with taking away the sins of the world, destroying the devil, reconciling the world, and who would be exalted above all for the purpose of bringing many sons to glory. In a flash of insight, Peter received a glimpse of the magnitude of Christ’s person.
BLESSED ART THOU! Matthew records Christ’s response to Peter. It is doubtless omitted from Mark’s Gospel because it was, we understand, being dictated by Peter. This being true, Peter chose not to draw attention to himself.“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven” (Matt 16:17). Jesus does not commend Peter for giving the correct answer, but rather informs him that the source of this insight did not come form men – neither Peter nor some other man. God had revealed to Peter who Jesus was! This was not an academic achievement or a studied response. This makes perfect sense for Jesus had said earlier, “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father” (Mat 11:27). No person can arrive at a proper understanding of Jesus by study and research. This ought to be apparent. Peter had been with “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim 3:16) for over two years. “The fulness of the Godhead” dwelt bodily in Christ (Col 2:9), and the one who had seen Him had “seen the Father” (John 14:9). Yet, it required a revelation from God in order for Peter to know and say that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
No person can accurately or profitably know about the things or word of God until Christ Himself is known. Knowing HIM is the objective of real spiritual quest (Phil 3:10).
There is something else of importance to be noted here. The revelation was given during a time of contemplation – when Peter was with Jesus, listening to Him, and pondering an inquiry from Him. There is a proper environment in which illumination is experienced. Permit me to refer to that environment as a state of God-consciousness – when the individual is more aware of Christ than himself, and thoughts are being wrapped around what the Lord has said. That is a blessed context in which one can be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col 1:9). Many professing Christians languish in spiritual ignorance because they are rarely in the proper environment.