Mark 8:29-31 - Who do you say that I am?

8:29,30

Having asked them who the people say He is, Jesus then asks the disciples who they think He is. Peter answered that Jesus is the Messiah. Matt 16:17 goes on to say that it was God the Father who revealed this to Peter. Mark probably omits this at Peter’s behest, as Peter is keen not to bring any undue attention to himself. Jesus warns them not to tell anyone about this. Knowing the truth and understanding the truth are different things. At this time if the people heard that Jesus was the Messiah they would think He had come to overthrow the Romans. Once He had been crucified and raised again it would be clear that He was not that sort of Messiah.

8:31

Jesus also knew that the disciples themselves would not understand what it meant for Him to be the Messiah. So Jesus “began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things”. So this was not one simple teaching, but an ongoing series of teachings, step by step helping the disciples to realise what Jesus was all about. Imagine what a shock this would be for the disciples. All their Jewish heritage taught them otherwise, seeing the miracles that Jesus did, a suffering servant did not fit in with their idea of the Messiah. We need to interpret God’s truth by the Bible, seeking to interpret the Bible by human wisdom is a potentially dangerous road to go down.