And Jesus went forth and his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea-Philippi. And by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am?
Jesus takes His disciples north to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the road He asks them what people are saying about Him — and the first answers He gets are other people's answers.
This journey marks the outer edge of the Lord's recorded travels. It also marks a turning point in His service.
The Lord Jesus went north with His disciples, towards the sources of the river Jordan. Caesarea Philippi and the country around it lay some 120 miles from Jerusalem. It was the furthest north place recorded in all the scenes of the Lord's ministry. From there the Lord turned south, first to Capernaum and then to Judea, to present Himself one last time to the "daughter of Zion" as the Anointed of Jehovah. So this visit falls at the start of the last year of His public service.
His journey has a goal beyond these villages, and the crowd on the road is larger than the twelve.
He was on His way to the mount of transfiguration. That was the goal of His journey. He entered the villages of Caesarea Philippi, under the shadow of Mount Hermon. As usual, many followed Him — not disciples only (8:34). The Lord asks the Twelve what people think of Him.
He was not gathering information. He asked so that the twelve would feel what He felt.
The Lord questioned His disciples. He did not need anyone to tell Him about man, for He knew what was in man. He asked for their own sakes. They were to share with Him the burden of love that was never returned, and to learn the secret of serving God when the work looks like failure. Notice this: the Lord knew how stubborn man's heart was, and that knowledge did not lessen His energy or His love.
The replies that come back — John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets — are a survey of guesses.
It was all uncertainty. Despite all his busy, hard work, that is all man ever reaches. When man searches painfully into things too high for him, it ends only in confusion and bitter disappointment. It leaves him far short of the one thing that matters most, and in the dark about it. Some say one thing, some another; but who of all the sons of men does or can say the right thing?
Peter's answer, when it comes, is not a better piece of reasoning. It comes from another source altogether.
The great test question then, as now, is "Who do people say that I am?" All glory for God and blessing for man turns on the Person of Christ. It becomes clear that mere human intelligence will never arrive at the truth. Many men of that day were scholars with great intellectual ability. Yet all their thoughts about Christ ended in speculation and uncertainty… In Peter we see the opposite: the result of simple faith. Measured against the intellectual leaders of this world, he was an ignorant and unlearned man. Faith does not speculate or reason, but with complete certainty arrives at the truth, for faith is the gift of God.
Just before this question, Mark records a blind man healed in two stages. The disciples were the half-seeing man.
So it was with the disciples — man was too great in their eyes. Even as they looked at the Lord Himself, it seems that His humanity hid His Deity from their eyes. They needed, like the blind man, a second touch before they saw all things clearly. The presence of the Son of God among them in flesh and blood was the first touch that reached them, and as a result they began to see. Then He died, rose again, and ascended to glory. He laid His second touch on them by sending out His Spirit, as recorded in Acts 2. Then they saw all things clearly.
Outward life and correct belief can both look right and still leave this question unanswered.
Weighty question! On the answer to this question hangs the whole moral condition and future destiny of every human being under the sun. All really depends on the heart's estimate of Christ. Like a great moral indicator, it reveals a man's true state, character, direction and aim in everything. It is not merely a question of his outward life, or of his profession of faith. His life may be blameless, and his beliefs may be orthodox. But underneath all that blameless morality and orthodox profession there may not be one true beat of the heart for Christ, and no God-given sense of what He is, who He is, and where He comes from. Then all the morality and the orthodoxy are only fine clothes that a guilty sinner puts on to look good in the eyes of others.
- Road — He asks on the way to Caesarea Philippi, the furthest north the record takes Him, at the start of His last year of public service.
- Purpose — He did not need the answer. He asked so His followers would share the weight of love that went unreturned.
- Guesses — human searching, however hard, ends in guesswork. It leaves a person in the dark about the one thing that matters most.
- Gift — Peter was unlearned beside the scholars, yet he reached certainty. Faith is God's gift, not a prize for clever reasoning.
- Sight — like the man healed in two stages, the disciples saw man too large and His Deity too small. The clear view came when He sent His Spirit (Acts 2).
And they answered him, saying, John the baptist; and others, Elias; but others, One of the prophets.
Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was. This verse is the answer they brought back: three honourable names, and not one of them right.
The answers vary because nobody knew. The disciples report a survey of guesses, and a survey is not belief.
And they answered, "John the Baptist; but some, Elijah; and others one of the prophets": different opinions, but no faith. Then He asks them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answers, "You are the Christ"; and the Lord forbids the disciples, in the strongest terms, to tell it to anyone. This is the clearest proof that the testimony among the people was entirely at an end.
People had worked hard at the question and produced nothing. That is what happens wherever people study Christ without faith.
All was uncertainty, and that is all that man ever arrives at, in spite of busy and hard-working efforts. When man searches painfully into things too high for him, it only ends in confusion and bitter disappointment. It leaves him completely short of the one thing that matters most, and in the dark about it. Some say one thing, some another; but who of all the sons of men does or can say the right thing?
These are not insults. To say a man is John the Baptist raised, or Elijah returned, is to say he is extraordinary. The problem is where the compliment stops.
They replied that some thought that He was John the Baptist. That surely showed that they were hard put to it to account for the unique personality of Jesus. They fell back on the idea that a distinguished servant of God, such as John who came before Him, had risen from the dead. That showed they recognised the greatness of Christ. Others went further back, and said He was Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But though they could not deny the greatness of Christ, they had not the faintest idea of His true greatness.
All three answers do the same thing. Each puts Jesus in a box that already existed.
Men were blinded and unable to see a distinct personal glory in this blessed Son of God. They saw unusual spiritual power in Him. Yet they wanted to reduce Him to the level of mere men who had come before.
The three answers were not random guesses. One name rested on an old promise in Scripture. Another rested on one man's own past.
Popular opinion said of the Lord that He was Elijah, the promised prophet (Mal. 4:5), or one of God's prophetic messengers. The public did not agree, as the apostles themselves said when they answered the Lord's question about current opinions. Herod, however, had personal reasons for his own theory. It was he who beheaded John. And he now believed that John lived again in the prophet of Galilee.
Nobody missed the truth for lack of intelligence. Intelligence was the wrong tool.
It becomes clear that mere human intelligence will never arrive at the truth. The men of that day included many scholars with great minds. Still, all their thoughts about Christ ended in speculation and uncertainty. Some said He was John the Baptist, others that He was Elijah, others again that He was one of the prophets. None arrived at the truth. In contrast we see in Peter the result of simple faith. Compared with the intellectual leaders of this world, he was an ignorant and unlearned man. Faith does not speculate or reason, but with the utmost certainty arrives at the truth, for faith is the gift of God.
Peter had just given the right answer. Soon after, even he needed correcting.
When our Lord was transfigured, Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus. Peter, caught up in fear and not knowing what to say, suggested they make three tents — one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. How quickly the dividing line shows itself, as God from heaven declares, "This is My beloved Son; listen to Him." Yet only a little while before, Peter had himself declared the Lord's supremacy above Elijah or one of the prophets — "You are the Christ."
- Opinion. The three answers were sincere, respectful, and wrong — "different opinions, but no faith."
- Ceiling. Each name honoured Christ's greatness but missed His true greatness. Each placed Him among men who had come before.
- Source. The guesses had roots: the Elijah promised in Malachi 4:5, and in Herod's case the man he had beheaded.
- Method. Scholars reached only speculation. An unlearned man reached certainty, because faith is the gift of God.
- Watch. Even Peter later set his Master beside Moses and Elijah. Heaven cut across him: "This is My beloved Son; listen to Him."
And he asked them, But *ye*, who do ye say that I am? And Peter answering says to him, *Thou* art the Christ.
On the road near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks what the crowds are saying about Him. Then He turns the question on His twelve disciples. Peter's answer is short. Everything that follows in Mark — the cross, the rebuke — hangs on it.
One writer weighs human cleverness against faith:
The great test question then, as now, is "Who do people say that I am?" All glory for God and blessing for man turns upon the Person of Christ. It becomes clear that mere human intelligence will never arrive at the truth. Many men of that day were scholars with great minds. Even so, all their thoughts about Christ ended in speculation and uncertainty... Faith does not speculate or reason, but with the utmost certainty arrives at the truth, for faith is the gift of God.
The names the crowd picked show what they missed in Him:
How else could they mistake the meek and lowly Saviour for Elijah, the prophet of devouring fire from heaven and famine on earth? Or for John the Baptist, who fiercely condemned the sins of Israel? In their blindness the people completely failed to see the grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ.
One writer explains the title Peter uses:
Then He drew out from Peter what the disciples held Him to be. Taught by God, Peter confesses Him to be "the Christ," or Anointed One of God.
The Lord was not asking for information. He asked the small group who had stayed with Him, and their reply met a real need in His heart.
The Lord's love had kindled the disciples' affections towards Himself. They rested in calm confidence that He was the Sent One of God. The people, in the uncertainty that unbelief produces, were pulled about by conflicting opinions. It is faith alone that gives assurance... They told the Lord so. Jonathan did the same when he came to David in the wilderness of Ziph, while Saul was trying to kill him. Jonathan said he was sure David was anointed to be the coming king in Israel (1 Sam. 23:17). That confession of loyalty, we read, strengthened David's hand in God. May we not say that He who "sought for comforters and found none" rejoiced at the confession of Peter?
Matthew records more of this confession, and more of the Lord's reply. One writer explains why:
Here we do not have, as in Matthew, the Lord saying, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah."... This is because here Peter says only, "You are the Christ." Where the account adds that he confessed the Lord to be "the Son of the living God," it also gives the special note that he was blessed... If He had been only the Christ, the Messiah of Israel, that would not have been a firm enough basis for the Church. His Messianic dignity might have been rock enough for Israel, since it was their faith and hope. But "the Son of the living God" was a revelation of His glory that went far beyond it.
Peter gets the answer right. At once the Lord tells him to say nothing about it. That silence marks a turning point.
...though here Peter only says, "You are the Christ," our Lord charges them to tell no one. He does the same in Matthew, Mark and Luke. This is a point we should take to heart... How does this come about? It was too late. He had already given full proofs. The time was past for presenting Him any longer as the Jewish Messiah. The people had heard it all; and who did they say He was?... So He drops the title of "Christ," and insists on His place as Son of man, the suffering One first.
Just before this, Mark records a blind man healed in two stages. One writer sees the same half-sight in Peter:
Peter did have some measure of spiritual sight, for he had just confessed Him as the Christ. Yet when the Lord announced His coming rejection and death, this very man protested fiercely... Peter's mind was set on "the things that are of men," and so he matched the man we have just read about, who saw men as trees walking. Though he recognised the Christ in Jesus, he still had men before him. The other disciples were no better than he was. So how could he go out as an effective witness to the Christ he recognised?
- Question — "Who do you say that I am?" is the test every reader faces. All glory for God and blessing for man turns on the Person of Christ.
- Guesswork — The crowd's answers were respectful and wrong. Human ability, however educated, ends in speculation.
- Gift — Peter's certainty came from faith, not from reasoning. Faith is God's gift, and faith alone gives assurance.
- Glory — Mark records only "You are the Christ." Matthew adds "the Son of the living God" — a glory far beyond Israel's hope, and the only basis firm enough for the Church.
- Cross — The time for presenting Him as Israel's Messiah was past. So the Lord silences the title and speaks as the Son of man who must suffer. Peter, with half-opened eyes, could not yet accept it.
And he charged them straitly, in order that they should tell no man about him.
Peter has just said who Jesus is, and at once the Lord bans the disciples from repeating it. Why silence a true confession, and what replaces it?
The command follows a test question, and the answers show two ways of thinking about Jesus. Popular opinion produced guesses; one unlearned man produced certainty.
The great test question then, as now, is "Who do people say that I am?" All glory for God and blessing for man turns upon the Person of Christ. It becomes clear that mere human intelligence will never arrive at the truth. Many scholars of that day had great intellectual power. Yet all their thoughts about Christ ended in guesswork and uncertainty... In contrast we see in Peter the result of simple faith. Measured against the intellectual leaders of this world, he was an untaught and unlearned man. Faith does not speculate or reason, but with the utmost certainty arrives at the truth, for faith is the gift of God.
The ban is not a denial of what Peter said. It is a verdict on the nation that had already heard the claim and refused it.
He binds them to tell no one about it. How does this come about? It was too late. Full proofs had been granted. The time was past for presenting Him any longer as the Jewish Messiah. It had been fully told to the people; and who did they say He was? ... That testimony was closed now. There was no use talking about it. The Jews had refused Him, and would refuse Him for good, as the Messiah. He had given them every possible form and degree of testimony, and the result was that they rejected Him — their religious leaders most of all, more and more bitterly and in unbelief.
Another writer points to how absolute the ban is. He calls it the clearest sign that the witness among the people had ended.
The Lord forbids the disciples to tell it to any man, in the most positive way. This is the clearest proof that the testimony in the midst of the people was entirely at an end. He was still the Christ, but the people rejected Him. In rejecting the wonderful grace of God they showed themselves to be their own enemy.
The title carried national weight. The nation had refused Him on the merits of His glory, so He would not let the disciples spread the name to stir their feelings.
This was the glory of Judaism and the truth of God. It was a fitting, divine and Jewish dignity, His office to the nation. But they were now no longer to tell it. They had refused Him on the merits of His glory and truth. So He was not to be put forward to excite and satisfy their passions. They were to tell no man that He was the Christ.
He drops one title and takes up a wider one. What He sets aside is rule over Israel; what He gains is rule over all things.
The nation had rejected Him, so His position as the Messiah is set aside for the time. The Lord takes the wider title of Son of Man. That title leads to greater glories than rule on earth linked with Israel, for as Son of Man He will have universal dominion over all created things. But first He must go into death, complete redemption, and break the power of Satan, death and the grave. Only then can He take His place as Son of Man with all things put under Him, and show His grace to all men.
Writers note that Mark records less of Peter's confession than Matthew does, and that the shorter version fits what follows.
Peter is represented by Mark as saying simply, "You are the Christ," while in Matthew the words are, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." So you have nothing in Mark like "on this rock I will build my church." The church is built not exactly on the Christ or Messiah as such, but on the confession of "the Son of the living God." So we may see how beautifully the omissions of Scripture hang together.
Up to here the account is all service. After this point everything moves toward the cross, and the disciples lose the message they had been carrying.
But it was too late to make Him known as such in the nation that had rejected Him. He turns away from all that belonged to Him as the living Messiah on earth. It was no longer the bright prospect of the kingdom... It is the turning point of the Gospel of Mark. How immense the change for the disciples! What a blighting of their long-cherished hopes connected with the kingdom.
- Confession — Human cleverness only guessed at who Jesus was. Peter's certainty came from faith, and faith is the gift of God.
- Closure — The silence is not secrecy for its own sake. He had given every possible proof. The nation refused it, and the public offer of Him as Messiah was over.
- Restraint — The nation had refused His glory on its merits. He would not let a rejected title stir their feelings.
- Exchange — In place of "Christ" comes "Son of Man": not a demotion but a wider glory, dominion over all created things.
- Cost — That wider glory runs through death first. At this turning point the disciples' hopes of an earthly kingdom give way to the cross.