Peter Sees the Light. Mark 8:27-30.
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?”And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
Dear Royal Priesthood,
So far, Mark has painstakingly selected events in the ministry of Jesus to show who Jesus really is. It is time for a reality check.
Curiosity (vv. 27-28). Jesus wants to know what the disciples have gathered from the people about his identity. The people think Jesus is John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. The reason they could not see who Jesus was had to do with their expectations. There was great hope that the Messiah would appear soon. In fact, several false messiahs had already come and gone. At this time, everyone was fixated on the Messiah coming in the clouds (Daniel 7:13-14) and the thought of the Messiah living an ordinary carpenter’s life for thirty years before he was revealed was simply not welcome. The truth of God can be right before our eyes, but we cannot see it because we were expecting something different all along.
Confession (v. 29). The amount and weight of evidence has finally brought the disciples from incredulous bewilderment (4:41) to the realization that the only identity for Jesus is as the Messiah. Peter says simply, “You are the Christ.” Christ was Greek for Messiah, which means the anointed one. No confession is more important than this one, because in this confession is the understanding of the identity of Jesus as the Saviour of Israel, sent from heaven.
Charge (v. 30). Jesus instructs the disciples to keep mum about his identity. It was important that the disciples know who Jesus was, but to tell it to the crowds would have created chaos. The first phase of Jesus’ mission is to set people free from bondage to sin. In this phase, the Kingdom of God is established in the hearts of those who believe in him and yield to his lordship. In the second phase, will return to establish the Kingdom of God in which he will sit on the throne of David, but that is yet to come. Had the disciples told the crowds that Jesus was the Christ, they would have wanted to make him king right away, because they were looking for political liberation.
This would have scuttled plans for the spiritual liberation that needed to be accomplished in the first phase. It was not time for Jesus to be revealed fully, yet.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.