Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 8:27-30

The question as to who Jesus is gets raised repeatedly. That was so during his earthly life, and remains the case today. So, I wonder how we would answer that question? Who do we think that Jesus is? Here Jesus himself raised it directly with his disciples.

He is with them at Caesarea Philippi. In Jesus’ day Caesarea Philippi was a centre for worship of all sorts of gods. I remember being there a few years ago. Situated in the Golan Heights, close to both the Lebanese and Syrian borders, the site contains the ruins of a whole range of temples and it was fascinating to think of Jesus choosing such a context to ask this question. In this place, which has had much to say about faith and worldviews, Jesus asked his disciples what the people were saying about him. There are a number of possible answers offered, and three are mentioned. Some suggest that he is his cousin, John the Baptist. Some think that he is Elijah, one of the great figures of Israelite history. The tradition that Elijah will, some day, return is a strong one and, even today, Jewish families leave an empty chair and place setting  at the table when they are celebrating Passover in case Elijah arrives. This was thus a suggestion that might be expected. The third possibility is that Jesus is one of the prophets. Matthew’s version of this incident specifies Jeremiah as the frontrunner amongst this suggestion. It all indicates that there is plenty of speculation.

But then comes the crunch question. What most concerns Jesus is the matter of who his immediate disciples consider him to be. There has been a lot of reference to secrecy and misunderstanding in Mark’s record up to this point. What do the disciples really think? Peter, as often, is the spokesperson; and, for once, it seems as though they have understood – you are the Messiah.

As John Donahue and Daniel Harrington (The Gospel of Mark) point out – “Mark has highlighted a series of misunderstandings and rejections of Jesus by the Pharisees and Herodians (3:6). Jesus’ family (3:21), and neighbours in Nazareth (6:1-6), and his own disciples (8:14-21).” This is therefore a decisive moment. In many ways, the story Mark tells is of a journey which ends with the passion, specifically the crucifixion and the resurrection. As Donahue and Harrington note – “This serves as the starting point for the rest of the material in the journey narrative, which is designed to explain what kind of Messiah Jesus is and what implications this identity has for his followers.”

Thus, this conversation is an important turning point, but it is not the moment for an announcement. Jesus tells the disciples to keep it a secret.

I wonder what are the important questions that we need to be asking and answering. I wonder which influences of today we most need to challenge. I wonder how we better introduce God’s Kingdom values to our society, especially the communities of which we are part.

The Messiah (or Christ, which is the Greek word) is God’s anointed one, chosen for a special role. The disciples made the statement, but what they understood by it was not entirely aligned with the reality. Are we ready to be challenged by God’s perspective?