You Are the Messiah (Mark 8:27-38)

 

You Are the Messiah (Mark 8:27-38)

Who is the Christ? As the Son of God, Christ came to this earth as a suffering servant. Long ago, the Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament prophesied that the suffering Christ would come. Old Testament saints like Moses, Abraham, and David knew and believed in the suffering Christ. However, many Jews—especially the religious leaders—rejected the suffering Christ and crucified Him.

In Mark 8:27-38, Jesus taught His disciples the gospel of the cross and the resurrection, and He taught them about the suffering Christ. Peter and the disciples were greatly shocked by the word that Jesus would die. However, because this was God’s good work, Jesus taught them without hiding a single thing.

"Who Do People Say I Am?"

27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” (Mark 8:27-28)

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this earth in the incarnation. Jesus testified to the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and drove out diseases and demons. So, what did people think about Jesus? This is a very important question because it is directly linked to salvation. They thought He was a prophet of God.

It was a close answer, but not accurate. Jesus is the Christ who came as more than a prophet. A prophet is sent by God to speak His word. In this respect, Jesus is a prophet. Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2). This message is God’s invitation for people fallen in sin to enter the gate of heavenly salvation. Furthermore, He is the atoning sacrifice for the redemption of the world.

God sent the prophet Elijah when King Ahab ruled Northern Israel. Northern Israel had fallen deep into idolatry. False prophets deceived and tripped up the king and the people. God sent the prophet to turn back the people who were drifting further from Him. The prophet warned that a famine would come to the land for several years, and on Mount Carmel, he challenged the prophets of Baal to reveal the power of the living, Almighty God (1 Kings 18:20-40).

Through the prophet Elijah, God brought a famine to the land of Israel for several years (1 Kings 17). This was discipline and refinement intended to turn the hearts of the king and the people back to the Lord. To escape the severe famine, the prophet went to a brook, and when the water there dried up, he went to a widow living in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. God fed the prophet and the widow every day during the famine.

At the end of the age of the Judges, during the time of Eli the high priest, his two sons were corrupt and the word of God was rare (1 Samuel 3:1). At that time, God let the sound of heaven be heard through Samuel (1 Samuel 3:7). For four hundred years after the prophet Malachi, there was no word from God. God broke the long silence and sent John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ, who worked in the spirit of Elijah.

In this way, God pitied His people and constantly sent many prophets to awaken them so they would turn back and walk in the way of truth. And when the set time of God had fully come, He sent His Son Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures and spoke the gospel of the kingdom of heaven through Him (Hebrews 1:2).

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Peter’s Confession – "You are the Messiah"

29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:29-31)

It is very important for the disciples to know exactly who Jesus Christ is. Peter said, “You are the Christ.” This means Jesus is the Messiah, the Lord of Israel’s salvation. Peter’s answer is the correct one. However, Jesus warned them not to tell this to anyone. This was because, although Peter had confessed the Lord as Christ, he did not yet understand the complete perspective of the Messiah.

For the first time, Jesus taught Peter and the disciples that He must suffer many things, be rejected by their leaders, die, and rise again after three days. This is the complete knowledge of Christ. The suffering Christ is the Lord who saves this world, including Israel, from the power of sin and death.

This is what the Law and the Prophets testify. The Law stipulates the sacrificial system—burnt offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings—and there is no sacrifice offered without the blood of an animal (Hebrews 9:22). Seeing the blood of the animal sacrifice, God forgives the sins of His people. The animal is a sacrificial offering that substitutes for the one offering it (Leviticus 1:4). Therefore, the blood of the animal sacrifice symbolizes the blood of the Christ who was to come.

The prophets prophesied that the Lord of salvation would come. However, the Lord of salvation was not the Christ the Jews hoped for—one who would defeat enemies with mighty military power and establish an earthly kingdom—but was said to come as a child. And above all, it was prophesied that God’s Christ would die, bearing the sins of this world (Isaiah 6:13, 7:14, 9:6, 53:1-9).

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Peter Rebukes Jesus

32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Mark 8:32-33).

Peter could not agree with Jesus' words. He could not accept the fact that Jesus would die. Therefore, he did not understand the word of the resurrection—that he would rise again after three days. This is evidence that Peter did not yet fully understand the correct view of the Messiah. Like other Jews, he expected Jesus to establish a powerful earthly kingdom like King David.

In fact, there was no reason at all for Jesus to die. Therefore, it was a great shock for the disciples, including Peter, to hear that Jesus would die. Furthermore, they thought that if Jesus died, the Messianic kingdom would be out of reach. Their hearts wanted a liberated Israel that would refreshingly defeat the Gentile Roman army as soon as possible.

Accordingly, Jesus looked at his disciples and rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." It was the will of God the Father for Jesus to die in place of the sins of this world (Isaiah 53:10). By Jesus receiving the sacrifice that atones for the sins of this world, all people reach salvation (Hebrews 12:2).

The work of God is to bring the dead back to life. It is to find the lost, save them, and lead them to eternal life. It is to enable them to obtain love, joy, and peace, which are the eternal treasures of the kingdom of heaven. It is to create a new person through the blood of Christ. It is to give hope for His eternal kingdom. It is to no longer fear or be terrified by the power of sin and death, but to worship God forever in holiness and righteousness.

The things that humans plan are all things done without God. The work that Satan does is to exclude God and sit in God's place to rule as king. Anyone who denies the suffering Christ is an antichrist. He who denies Christ is a liar (1 John 2:22). Therefore, following the example of Christ, loving one's enemies is the work of God. Not doing so is the work of man.

Deny Yourself, Take Up Your Cross, and Follow Me

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34–38).

Jesus taught his disciples what it means to save one’s life. In order to give life to those who were under sin, Jesus himself became God’s sacrifice (Philippians 2:8). To follow Jesus is to walk the way of the cross together with the Lord. This is self-denial. It is to be selfless. Jesus, being in very nature God, humbled himself, took on human likeness, and became flesh (Philippians 2:6–7).

And Jesus was condemned by the Jews, suffered under Pilate, and was lifted up on the cross. To follow Christ is to carry the cross together with the Lord. At that time, the power and glory of God are revealed. God raised Jesus Christ, who died and was buried, by the power of the resurrection. When we follow the Lord’s example, deny ourselves, take up our cross, and die, God also raises us up by the power of the resurrection.

This is the way to gain life. But if a person does not follow the way of the Lord, that is, if they follow human thoughts, they lose their life. They do not receive salvation. They cannot enter eternal life. They cannot reach the glory of the resurrection with Christ. If anyone is ashamed to carry the cross with the Lord, the result is shameful eternal punishment.

To die to oneself and carry the cross with the Lord is a narrow and difficult road. Therefore, only a few find it (Matthew 7:13–14). Who would like a cross of shame and humiliation? Instead, people long for glory, recognition, and praise. But if they do not take the way of the true reward of glory given by God, that is, the way of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, the result is destruction and eternal punishment.

This world is adulterous and full of sin. Instead of God, it worships money, pleasure, career, and success. It does not know God, nor does it know his holy love, that he did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us. It has no interest in it. Though people do not know God, they do not stop speaking recklessly and rebelling against him (Jude 1:10). The cross of Christ is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23).

But those who fear God, are moved by the love with which he gave his Son, and follow the way of the cross with the Lord, obtain and enjoy eternal life. Even though in this world they suffer persecution, hardship, and are treated as fools, in the kingdom of heaven they will not be put to shame, but will stand boldly before the eternal God the Father (Romans 5:2).

Therefore, let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Amen!

May 10, 2026

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Scripture quotes are from the NIV.