Reflections — Pastor’s Blog

The trouble with mountain top experiences is that you have to descend from the mountain. The situation into which Jesus descended contrasts sharply with what he had experienced on the Mount of Transfiguration, as Mark 9:14–32 records.

You need faith! Jesus grieves over an unbelieving generation. Jesus descends into conflict. A crowd surrounds the remaining disciples and a group of teachers of the law are arguing with them. And at the center of the commotion is a man who has come to the disciples for healing for his son, who was possessed by an evil spirit, but they had been unable to do so. Jesus points out unbelief: The characterization as “unbelieving” and the rhetorical questions of verse 19 are directed towards the crowd, eager to see Jesus work a miracle, even welcoming him, but failing to recognize who he really is, and failing to trust him as the Messiah. To the extent that our society is religious, much of it might well be described similarly by Jesus. We want religion, but we want it on our own terms. We want a God on whom we can depend in times of crisis and need, but trust and commitment are a different matter. The characterization certainly is directed to the teachers of the law, who appear to be present for the purpose of disputing with the disciples. They had criticized Jesus for casting out evil spirits, and were hardly looking at the activity of the disciples in a more favorable light. The words of Jesus describe the skepticism of the desperate father, “If you can do anything….” And the anguished questions are addressed to the disciples. No they were not utterly devoid of faith, they are still followers of Jesus. But their faith is too weak to handle the challenges of the teachers of the law and the unbelief around them. Though they had been given the authority to cast out evil spirits, and had used it (Mark 6:7, 13), their efforts were futile this time. It is as though the disciples can hardly be distinguished from the unbelieving world around them. Similarly we, the people of God, can find ourselves frustrated and seemingly helpless in face of a world in opposition to God. Jesus’ words, especially the contrasting “I” and “you,” recall the Lord’s conflict with his people, their distress becoming his, Isaiah 63:8–10. His cry is one of anguish, while not regretting his messianic work, he does express frustration with the people he has come to redeem. Jesus does not soft-pedal his disappointment. Nor does he allow excuse (such as, after all, we’re only human and we’re dealing with something bigger than we are). The problem that Jesus identifies with his disciples, and often with us, is unbelief.

Jesus’ cry pushes you to ask, on what does my faith depend? The disciples, perhaps because of their earlier success, may have been looking at their own strength and abilities. Jesus was not with the body of disciples when the father came for help — they felt it was up to them, and tried to act in their own strength. They failed to recognize that the authority they had exercised was Christ’s not their own. You and I face different situations (probably none of us are going to be asked to cast out an evil spirit who is causing epileptic-like symptoms), but we face similar temptations to go it alone, to act in our own strength and wisdom. How do you respond when you tensions in your family life? What is your first reaction when a difficult situation comes up at work? What do you do when you face a challenging situation in school? Do you draw first on your experience, on the resources of the world around you? When Jesus challenged the father’s doubt (“if you can”), he recognized his own lack of faith, and asked for Christ’s help in overcoming his unbelief. At the heart of faith is looking outside of yourself to another. That is what Abram does in Genesis 15:6. Though his faith is not flawless (here he is considering making Eliezer his heir, later he and Sarai try to provide the promised child via the relationship with Hagar), ultimately he rests on God’s promise. He believes God, and that placing your trust, not in yourself, but in God, lies at the heart of your Christian faith.

“Faith is man in his weakness trusting God’s promise in his word. Only through such weakness is the strength of God seen…. Jesus’ actions pointed forward to the time when he would conquer all the powers of darkness — in the weakness of the cross and the triumph of his own resurrection.”

Sinclair B. Ferguson, Let’s Study Mark, p. 145

Turn to your faithful Savior for help. Jesus is ultimately the one who believes. In Mark 9:23 Jesus reproves the father’s skeptical “if you can.” He tells him (and us) that all things are possible for him who believes. Faith is sometimes misconstrued as something that we crank up, and when we work it up to a certain level, we receive what we pray for. I have seen the pastorally crippling effect of a faith healer blaming failed healings on lack of faith on the part of the sufferer. Notice the ambiguity in Jesus’ response. He is calling the father to greater faith, to overcome his doubt — and the father responds appropriately. Certainly Jesus is calling each of us to more faithful trust in him. But in speaking of the one who believes, Jesus appears to be speaking ultimately of himself. You and I trust in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. He never sinned, and does not need faith in that way. Yet, he is the believing One, entrusting himself to his Father in heaven, as he walks the road to Jerusalem to suffer and die. He is the believing one, who contrasts himself with the unbelieving generation. He is the sin-bearer, and he is trusting his Father in heaven to vindicate him as he faithfully does his work. Jesus is not just encouraging the father and the disciples to fan the embers of faith a bit, to raise the level of their faith thermometer a little. Rather, he is inviting, he is commanding his audience there, and you and me, to entrust ourselves to him. He is the One who believes. Nor is he simply holding out his faith as an example to motivate us. Rather, he, by faith, is providing himself as the sin-bearer, undergoing the curse for his people. Notice that God strengthens Abram’s faith in Genesis 15 by that strange vision of the burning torch passing between the cut animals. As Jeremiah 34:18 indicates, that is God taking the curse of the covenant upon himself. As Jesus goes to the cross (this incident is bracketed by references to the death and resurrection) he is the reality of what Abram was given in a vision. In his own trust in the Father, Jesus has the authority to cast out the evil spirit (notice his claim to absolute authority), commanding it never to return. The convulsing attack as the spirit departs leaves the boy appearing (though not really) dead. And in actions and words that recall his raising the daughter of Jairus, Jesus takes his hand and commands him to rise. The resurrection power of the Lord is brought to bear in this situation that anticipates his own passage through death into new power. As you entrust yourself to your faithful Savior, be assured that his power and grace are with you in whatever you face this week. Our prayers may not always be answered in exactly the way we expect and hope, but the Lord will be with you, giving you the grace and the strength to face each of those situations (family tensions, problems at work, difficulty in school).

“True faith, in short, is the great benefit of the covenant of grace by which we are incorporated into Christ and accept him with all his benefits. Just as the offer of the grace of God in Christ must be preached to all, so it may be accepted by all with a childlike faith.”

“This certainty, which relates both to the objective grace of God in Christ, and to the believer’s subjective participation in it, is not an external additive to faith but is in principle integral to it from the start. It is not obtained by looking at ourselves but by looking away from ourselves to Christ. It is grounded in the promises of God, not in changing experiences or imperfect good works. Doubts and fears do certainly arise from time to time in the believer’s heart (Matt. 8:25; 14:30; Mark 9:24), and believers must fight against them throughout their lives. However, they can only wage that struggle and only prevail in that struggle by the power of the faith that holds on to God’s promise, rests in the completed work of Christ, and is thus by nature, certain.”

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4, pages 130–132

Ask God to help your unbelief. The father of the boy gets it right in his cry to Jesus, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” He knows he is speaking to the right person. Like the Psalms, which sometimes bang on the gates of heaven, crying out for God to hear and answer, the focus is on God. Keep this father’s prayer in mind as you come to the Lord’s Table today (and other days). Self-examination is something we need to do — but it is not primarily making sure that our faith is up to a certain level at which we may safely come to the Lord’s Table. It’s not that we check things off (I haven’t gossiped all week, so I can partake). Rather, it is a matter of recognizing the body of Christ, first in the most basic sense (am I trusting in Christ, am I baptized into him, am I part of Christ’s body?), and then in the related sense, where the Corinthians seemed to fall so short (do I recognize that God’s people are his body and am I living as part of that body?). As you repent of your sins, including the sin of unbelief, as you cry, I believe, help my unbelief, Christ invites you as a repentant sinner to come to him and be fed. The disciples took advantage of the privacy of a house to ask Jesus why they had failed in casting out this evil spirit. Jesus points them to the need for prayer. (“Fasting” is missing from some of the older manuscripts, and may not have been something Jesus said here. If it is original, he means fasting as it is part of a life of prayer — not as the Pharisees made it, an effort at self-righteousness.) Prayer at its heart involves faith, turning from trusting yourself to the power and faithfulness of your Savior. Prayer is crucial to walking by faith, not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7.

Believing in Christ is not only a mountain-top experience of coming to trust him for the first time. It is also living your daily life, not only your quiet time and prayer life, but also the big and little decisions you make, not in your own strength and wisdom, but recognizing your own weakness and resting on the faithfulness and power of your Savior.

Jesus has just spoken to his disciples about some grim realities involved in following him. They include taking up your cross and giving up your life. But, in Mark 9:2–10, Jesus also shows representatives of his disciples an anticipation of his triumph.

Hear Jesus because he is the well-loved Son. The glory of God envelops the mountain of transfiguration. The setting — a mountain covered with cloud — evokes images of theophanies in the Old Testament — see Exodus 19; 24; 34; 1 Kings 19:9–18. The presence here of Elijah and Moses speaking with Jesus recalls their involvement in those theophanies, even though the mountain is different. And, like the Old Testament events, this is marked by the voice of God. The cloud, like the Shekinah glory, speaks of the very presence of God. The glory of the Lord and the sound of his voice in the Exodus created dread in the Israelites. Correspondingly, here intense fear is given in verse 6 for impetuous Peter blurting out the suggestion of making three shelters (totally missing the role of Elijah and Moses as servants of the Messiah). In an interesting parallel to the fear mentioned here just after the “hinge” is the note of fear at the close of the book in the context of the news of the resurrection.

The Father affirms his love for his Son. The voice of God is a crucial element in the transfiguration. The message here parallels the voice which Jesus heard at his baptism, Mark 1:11. In that case it was addressed directly to Jesus, in the second person. Here, with the three disciples as witnesses, it is third person. In both cases the Father’s voice (it is the Son who is addressed or spoken of) affirms his love or approval of the Son. This is particularly significant here, as Jesus has just spoken of his suffering and shameful death on the cross. Instead of being proof of God’s displeasure, the path of obedience is affirmed by the voice of the Father. And this time the emphasis is on listening to the Son.

“At the transfiguration mount, too, where the divine voice intimates that the divine favor continues to rest upon the Son as he goes to the cross, Jesus himself speaks of the new era which is in prospect through the approaching resurrection of the Son of Man (Mt. 17:9; cf. Mk. 9:9). The glory which belongs to the Son of Man will not wait to appear unto his return on the clouds of heaven; it will be manifested likewise through another stupendous supernatural event, the resurrection of the crucified one from the dead. It is through this exaltation of the Son of Man that he will first enter upon a full exercise of his sovereignty in the establishment of his rule and realm.”

Ned B. Stonehouse, The Witness of Matthew and Mark to Christ, pages 237–238

Listen to Jesus because of his messianic office. Listen to the great King. He appears in his kingdom, with power and glory, Mark 9:1. Although the coming may point to a number of events (the resurrection, Pentecost, the establishment of the church, the destruction of Jerusalem) as well as the final coming in the last day, the time indicator in Mark 9:2 takes you to the closest fulfillment. The term, Son of Man (Mark 9:1, 9, 12), points to the kingly power of the Lord. The transfiguration is a foretaste of the glory and power in which the Son would be confirmed upon his resurrection. (His thoughts are clearly on the resurrection, as verse 9 indicates.) The transfiguration assures the Savior that in selecting the path of obedient suffering he has indeed chosen the path that leads to glory. The transfiguration reminds the disciples and you that Christ’s suffering is something that he willingly and consciously undertakes. The Lord who was so spectacularly transfigured did not have to suffer and die — at least not from any outward compulsion. He laid down his life, and he rose again. Because you are united with the glorious King, the dominion of sin is broken in your life. The Lord in whom you trust, the Lord to whom you are united by faith, is victorious–and that impacts your life and the lives of all God’s people.

Hear Jesus because of his priestly work. Appearing with Jesus on the mountain were Elijah and Moses, representing the prophets and the law. Jesus is the fulfillment of both. Their presence reminds you that Jesus comes to fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies and pictures. He is the Passover lamb as well as the priest offering the sacrifice. (Luke tells you that they discussed with Jesus his “exodus.”) Jesus is reassured that his work as priest will be acceptable. Your life is acceptable to God because Christ’s priestly work is being accepted. The glory of Christ on that transfiguration day is a glory in which you share–just as you share in his sufferings.

Listen to the prophet greater than Moses. He is the beloved Son–because of that listen to him, especially as reveals the Father. He is the prophet like Moses, and even greater than Moses, Deuteronomy 18. He is the final, the definitive revelation of God. In a world that picks and chooses whom to listen to, his is the voice you must hear. His words about cross-bearing are for you to listen to — and to obey. His comforting assurance of the resurrection speaks to your conscience as it wrestles with guilt. It would have been wonderful to have been able to follow Peter, James, and John up that mountain and to hear the voice of the Father. But Peter, after reflecting on that experience (2 Peter 1:16–18), points you to the inscripturated Word of God, 2 Peter 1:19–21. Pay attention to Jesus as he comes to you clothed in the gospel.

Jesus is your Prophet, Priest, and King. Heed God’s voice, listen to Jesus, and obey his command to follow him. Listen with the assurance that the glory which Christ tasted briefly in the Transfiguration is a glory which you share with the risen Lord.

Have you heard someone say: “We’re going out. Are you coming?” In Mark 8:34 Jesus challenges you to follow him — and outlines the cost of doing so.

Come after Jesus. Follow Jesus as he travels to Jerusalem. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. Although the destination is not explicitly named until Mark 10:32–34, Mark seems to be describing a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 16 describes the three major feasts at which the Israelites were to gather at the place the Lord would choose: Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles. The feast to which Jesus is described as traveling to is the Feast of Passover. Don’t overlook the corporate aspect of the trip. The Passover was a feast looking back at God delivering his people. And it was observed by the people going up. God’s people are consistently described as going up to Jerusalem. The mountain is where God meets with his people: Eden Ezekiel 28:13–14, Ararat, Sinai, Jerusalem. Don’t overlook the corporate aspect of your life as a Christian. You need the rest of the body of Christ as you follow Jesus. Follow the Savior on this journey. He begins it with an invitation.

What makes this journey unique is that you are called to follow Jesus, the Christ. This is the Savior whom Peter has just confessed to be the Christ. Jesus is on his way to the cross. This is a Passover observance, but not just any Passover. This is the Passover to end all Passovers, the one at which the Messiah will be offered as the great Passover lamb. The speaker is the glorious Son of Man. Jesus’ self-designation looks back to the clouds of Daniel 7. You do not repeat Christ’s work, but you are united with him in his sufferings and death as well as in the glory to which he has ascended.

What do you do to accompany Jesus on this journey? Deny, take up, and follow. Deny yourself. This is not denying yourself certain things. People may give up something for Lent. Some Christians treat certain substances as evil — as though sin lies in things, rather than in our hearts. Too often this kind of denial turns into an effort at self-righteousness. Rather, Jesus calls you to deny yourself. Lose your life by saving it. Behind Jesus words lie Psalm 49, a wisdom Psalm, parallel to the Book of Proverbs. The later part of the Psalm reflects on the one who is rich — but without wisdom. (Wisdom in this kind of setting involves a right understanding of God and of your relationship with him.) Trust in self and in riches leads to destruction. The Psalm also points out the impossibility of giving a payment or a ransom for a life. Save your life by losing it! Autosoterism, efforts to save yourself, fail. Jesus invites, even commands you to surrender yourself to him. Replace the centrality of self with a willingness to submit, regardless of the cost, to God. Only in that surrender is the ultimate deliverance. Fight the tendency to serve God–with qualifications.

Jesus sharpens the point — Take up your cross! Your cross is not the trials of life, or tiresome people. You are united with Christ in his suffering and death. Grasp the powerful language Jesus uses. (Think of a noose tied to a tree or hung from a pickup truck.) But Jesus is not just using the image for shock value. And he is certainly not using it as a means of intimidation or an expression of hatred. Being subject to crucifixion in the first century meant that you were less than. Roman citizens were not subject to that form of punishment — it was reserved for barbarians and slaves. Jesus, the God-man, was willing to be less than in order to bear the penalty for your sin and be your Savior. Though the Passover journey is a corporate one, notice that here Jesus addresses the individual. There is no just coming along for the ride on this. Everyone is summoned to take up his cross. Jesus is speaking to you. You are summoned to die to sin and to self. You are involved in a radical commitment, and Jesus tells you to count the cost. In some corners of American Christianity, even some Reformed circles, that concept gets lost in the idea of the church achieving earthly dominion, sometimes regardless of the cost to biblical standards.

“Jesus announces as an absolutely requisite, ‘life-saving’ condition of discipleship: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’ (Luke 9:23–24; cf. Matt.10 :38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 14:27). Cross-bearing is a comprehensive description of kingdom-discipleship, as the qualification ‘daily’ makes explicit. In response to the disciples’ request for prominent kingdom status — kingdom ‘dominion,’ if you will — the only promise Jesus has for them (and us), this side of his return, is the ‘fellowship of sharing in his sufferings’ (cf. Phil. 3:10): ‘You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with’ (Mark 10:37, 39). John has got it just right: until Jesus comes again, the presence of the kingdom is bracketed by the realities of ‘suffering’ and ‘endurance’ (Rev. 1:9; cf. 3:11; 22:7, 12. 20).”

Richard B. Gaffin Jr, Word and Spirit, page 716

Follow Jesus. Follow Jesus in this sinful generation. You live in a world that is fallen, a world that has rebelled against its rightful Lord. And consistent following of Jesus can be very unpopular. You may met scorn from teachers, ridicule from classmates and “friends.” You may dismissed as sel-righteous or hypocritical. But be willing to confess Jesus’ name. Be willing to follow him. Follow Jesus in glory. Jesus puts the consequences in the negative. Denying him today means that he will deny you when he returns in glory. He paints the picture, not only mentioning his coming, but the presence of a heavenly army of glorious angels. In that day the saddest words will be, “I never knew you, depart from me.” But the implication, made explicit in Matthew, is that Jesus will confess, openly and publicly, before his Father in that glorious day, that we sinners belong to him. We are those for whom he died, whose forgiveness he purchased, whom he has enabled to glorify and serve him in this wicked generation. That glory was anticipated in the Transfiguration, it became true of Christ in his resurrection, but it still looks forward to its fullness in the last day.

Jesus invites you on a journey. Yes, it leads to Jerusalem, and you are called to take up your cross. But it also leads beyond the cross to glory. And the choice you make today can have implications for all eternity. Jesus summons you to trust him and to follow him.

As you look at Mark 8:31–33, think of the reactions of a family to a son who volunteers for additional rotations in a war zone. Does he need to face danger and suffering? That might help you understand part of Peter’s reason for rebuking Jesus.

Don’t be a Satan to Jesus! Understand the seriousness of Peter’s “things of men.” Jesus has just begin to describe to his disciples (they use the word “plainly” to describe his words) the rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection that he would face as Son of Man. He has just accepted Peter’s confession, a confession that is full of faith and which speaks for the disciples, that Jesus is the Christ. Part of it may be that Peter, though he has just risen to a spiritual peak, cannot wrap his mind and heart around the concept of a Messiah who suffers. But here Jesus outlines a path (using “must”) that has a cross awaiting in Jerusalem. This is the first of three similar predictions (9:31; 10:33–34), and a journey that follows the path outlined in those predictions. Part of the problem may be the parties Jesus lists as turning against him. He includes all of the religious establishment. The future is not a Messiah accepted by a portion of the people and rejected by others, but a Messiah who is universally condemned by the leaders of Israel. Part of it may be that Peter sees his own involvement in the kingdom slipping away. Here he, and the others, had left their fishing boats, their tax collector’s booths, and had thrown their lot in with Jesus. They could appreciate that early stages of the kingdom could involve deprivation and suffering. But to have Jesus say that this is what was to be the work of the Son of Man was too much to bear. Beware of shaping Jesus according to your own expectations. Peter at least has the decency to take Jesus aside before correcting him. The verb is a strong one. It describes the response of Jesus to Peter, and it is the verb that pictures Jesus triumph over the demons.

Get behind Jesus is a command addressed to Peter — and to us! Jesus in turn rebukes Peter (turning and viewing the disciples, for whom again Peter is the spokesman), addresses him as Satan, and orders him behind him. Though Satan originally means accuser, you can’t water it down to that meaning here. Mark uses the Aramaic name, not just the Greek word for accuser or adversary. Remember Mark’s brief account of the Temptation, Mark 1:12–13. Mark ends it without the note of Luke that Satan left him for a season, though even that suggests a return of tempting activity. Mark seems to be saying that the rest of the Gospel would describe such temptation. Here is a prime example. And it comes from a man, a disciple, a trusted confident. Do not grieve the Spirit, Ephesians 4:29–32. Notice that the context refers, not to apostasy, not to Peter-like denials of the Lord, but to the use of the tongue, to words that tear down, instead of building up. What you are harming, knowingly or not, is not just some other person who is harmed by gossip that tears down, but you are dealing a blow to the body of Christ. In that context, Jesus address us as well as Peter with the command to get behind him. That grieving the Spirit of the risen Lord is as offensive to Christ as was Peter’s bold effort to turn him from his path. Every act of unbelief, every failure to serve (we will look at the command to take up your cross next Lord’s Day, the Lord willing), every time we look to the fact that we have not committed “that” sin (whatever unappealing disobedience strikes us) we are not really so bad — ultimately a form of self-righteousness, each of these puts us in Peter’s sandals, and we deserve a similar check.

“As often as we fail to believe, to serve the Prophet, Priest, and King, we are satans to Him. O yes, He is no more with us as He once walked beside Simon Barjonah, but His Spirit, we know, has returned to dwell with us; and as often as we do not believe Him, as frequently as our hearts ponder some other way of redemption, we grieve that Spirit. And that familiar phrase, ‘grieving the Spirit,’ is the New Testament term for what before the day of Pentecost was called ‘being a satan to Jesus.’”

K. Schilder, Christ in His Suffering, p. 21

Instead, refocus your mind and your life as you set your mind on the things of God. Submit to the divine necessity that Jesus sets forth. The Son of Man must go. The title is full of the glory of God himself. But he “must” suffer (hear the language of our Old Testament reading), be rejected (echo of Psalm 118:22), and be killed–the ultimate rejection. This is not blind fatalism. The suffering is not for anything he might have done wrong, for he is the sinless one. Rather, must is parallel to it is written,” see Mark 9:12; 14:21. He must do this, because it is the revealed will of his Father, and he is obeying his Father–to death itself. Unpack it a bit more. This not an arbitrary action by a capricious God who enjoys watching his Son suffer. Rather, having determined to redeem you from your sin, this is the only way that your forgiveness can be purchased. This must happen, because the Father has given you to the Son, and the Son will not stop until he has redeemed you.

“Here is the marvel of grace and love. Death is the wages of sin and therefore Jesus’ death pertained to sin. Nothing is more basic or central than this little expression ‘for sin.’ ‘What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh’ (Rom. 8:3). ‘When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son’ (Gal. 4:4)”

“The Death of Christ” in Collected Writings of John Murray, Vol. 1, p. 37

Look at the whole statement and trust the Son of Man who had to suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise on the third day. Jesus uses the title, Son of Man, and now begins to fill it with the meaning that truly belongs there. Read Daniel 7, and the emphasis is on glory. But look also at the suffering passages of the Old Testament, and appreciate the necessity Jesus speaks of. Peter and the others tended to get stuck on rejection and death. Those are absolutely essential elements to your salvation. There is no forgiveness without the death of the Savior in your place. The Savior was on the way to the cross so that Peter could again be described, as his name indicated, as a rock, and not as Satan. Jesus the Christ went to the cross so that you and I, with our mouths that engage without our controlling them, whose thoughts go to places they ought not, whose action too often tear down rather than build up, we who leave undone what we should do, and find cross-bearing uncomfortably tiresome–so that we might be the forgiven people of God. One of the ways your confess your trust in the suffering and crucified Savior is by coming to his table, a meal where the element so clearly give you Christ in his suffering and death. (That is not the only way, as we will see next week in the very next verse.) But Jesus also focused on the resurrection, though no matter how often he talked about it, the twelve really didn’t seem to get it. That triumph, too, is there as you come to the Lord’s Table. You show the Lord’s death until he comes. It is the risen, ascended Lord who invites you to this meal.

“The suffering of Christ, which begins with his incarnation and is completed in his ‘great passion,’ is the will and command of he Father (Matt. 26:39, 42; John 10:17–18), proof of his absolute obedience (Phil 2:8; Heb. 5:8), an example to be followed by his disciples (1 Pet. 2:21), a ransom for their sins (Matt. 20::28; 26:28), a victory over the world (John 16:33; Co. 2:15).”

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3, p. 409

Mark’s language emphasizes the activity of Jesus in his resurrection. It is because he is the risen Lord that you can live your daily life bearing your cross, following him. And the context points you to the future, in fact to the culmination of all things. In Mark 9:1 some of those present would witness this glory and power, anticipating the glory to which the Son of Man would ascend. Three of those there would witness the transfiguration. Many others would see the risen Savior. And all of us who trust him, all of us for whom he had to suffer, die and rise again, all of us will have him acknowledge us in the day when he appears in his Father’s glory.

No, the question isn’t, Peter, how did you dare rebuke Jesus. Rather it is, how on earth could I so often grieve the Spirit, so often act like Satan towards Jesus and his body here on earth? But Mark’s Gospel doesn’t leave you to stew in that guilt. It focuses your trust on the One who died and rose in your place.

For most of us there are areas of life that are foreign enough to us that we don’t even know enough to ask the right questions. Jesus asks his disciples the most important question in the world (and Mark records the question so that you too can answer), but as recorded in Mark 8:27–30 he leads up to the crucial question with a preliminary one.

Who do men say that Jesus is? This question is pivotal to Mark’s Gospel. Mark 1:1 introduced Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, but the tile has remained unused in the Gospel to this point. Those around Jesus fail to understand fully who he is. Jesus himself avoided the term because of the political associations which had come to be associated with the title, Messiah. Although it is a proper, one might say, the proper way to address Jesus, he is carrying out his Father’s plan, and use too soon might precipitate matters before his hour has come. Notice the warning to keep silent even at the end of our text. The revelations of Jesus’ dignity, person, and work have been somewhat veiled. And they have been misunderstood by many, even to a degree, by the disciples. The Gospel leads up to this question and answer. Think of the dove and the Father’s voice at Jesus’ baptism, Jesus’ use of “Son of Man,” casting out demons, healings (note especially the two in the paired context of Mark 7 and 8), and Jesus’ teaching. The rest of the Gospel flows from this question and answer. Mark ends the account of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and shows Jesus on a journey to Jerusalem, a journey marked by repeated emphasis on the suffering, death, and resurrection which awaits him there.

The preliminary question is, who do people (men) say that I am. Men give an inadequate evaluation of who Jesus is. Although “men” can be broadly translated “people,” it can refer to those who do not (at least not yet) believe the good news: Mark 1:17; 7:7; 9:31; 10:27; and 11:30. The setting of Caesarea Philippi, near Mt. Hermon, on the source of the Jordan River, provides an interesting geographic foil to the confession. Herod the Great had built a temple there to Caesar Augustus, and the name was changed by his son Philip, who also improved the town, from Paneas (Pan) in honor of the emperor who was worshipped there. His name was added to distinguish from Caesarea, the Mediterranean port city. In this location of emperor worship, a different King will be acknowledged. The evaluation of men is inadequate. They, as reported by the disciples, variously identified Jesus as John the Baptist, Elijah, or another prophet. The suggestions have in common a role of preparation for the Messiah, recognizing power, even divine power, but something less that who Christ really is. Similarly today men may honor Jesus with dignified, religious language, but fail to recognize his deity. Or they may give lip service, even using orthodox language, but in practice ignore his sovereign claims.

“In giving him this name [Peter], Jesus undoubtedly alluded to his loyal character, which was his despite his sanguine impulsive nature, and which came out most clearly at Caesarea Philippi when, in contrast to the people who with their earthly minded expectations were disappointed in Jesus and left him, held on to and openly articulated the confession of Jesus’s messiahship on behalf of his fellow disciples (Matt. 16:13–20; Mark 8:27–29; Luke 9:18–20; John 6:66–69).”

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4, p. 339

Jesus challenges his disciples with that most important of questions. Who do you say that Jesus is? Confess that Jesus is the Christ. “Christ” means “anointed one,” and Peter uses the term against the Old Testament background of the anointing of kings and priests. But it looks beyond that to the Anointed, to the Messiah, as Isaiah 61 indicates. Peter here speaks for the rest of the Apostles. This confession grows out of what Christ has already revealed about himself. In contrast to some who speculate that Jesus’ messiahship was hidden, perhaps even from himself, Peter’s confession appears without any new revelation, without any voice from heaven. Yet it is more than simply Peter drawing logical conclusions. Mark frames this confession in the mirrored context of miracles that open ears (and tongue) and eyes. It is as the Messiah does his work overcoming the effects of the curse that the hearts of Peter and the others are enable to recognize and trust Jesus as the Messiah.

“Contrary to the usual interpretation we think that there is nothing to suggest that Peter’s apprehension of Jesus originated at that moment, through a sudden revelation as to who Jesus really was. No such revelation is recorded or even implied as taking place at that time. The account tells rather of a retirement into Caesarea Philippi where, without the benefit of new acts or new teaching on Jesus’ part, and without any dependence upon a voice from heaven, Peer for the disciples expresses faith in Jesus as the Christ. What is new is not their recognition of Jesus but an open acknowledgment which is elicited by Jesus, and the recognition is evidently thought of as the result of the disclosures of the person of Jesus during the entire preceding period of their association with him. Jesus elicits the confession at this time, accordingly, not because now for the first time the disciples had emerged from the darkness of total ignorance into the light of knowledge of and faith in Jesus but because, on the background of open avowal of his messiahship, he wishes now to set forth the consummation of his messianic ministry and what it required of his followers.”

Ned B. Stonehouse, The Witness of Matthew and Mark to Christ, pages 66–67

Mark’s Gospel is written for you. Confess Jesus as your anointed Redeemer. As we will see next week, Jesus makes explicit to the disciples what his being the Christ will involve: suffering, death, and resurrection. That is there, even in the Old Testament prophecies, for Isaiah 61 follows Isaiah 53 and the description of the suffering of the Servant. Peter found that too much, and tried to rebuke the Savior. His understanding was weak and limited. You do not need further revelation to make that confession. On the basis of what Mark has recorded of Jesus’ ministry, you, like the disciples, have what you need to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. Mark’s Gospel summons you to share in the confession of Peter and the other disciples. It is not enough to know in your heart that Jesus is Lord and Christ. That must come to outward, verbal expression. It involves being baptized into his body. You make that confession as you come to the Lord’s Table–you proclaim his death until he returns. Your faith and confession may be Peter-like, weak and characterized by inconsistency. But trust and prayer to help our unbelief are not incompatible.

Mark’s Gospel confronts you with the most important question, one with eternal consequences, and provides you with the answer. Join in that confession!