Mark 8:27-33
You Are Christ, The Messiah
“ 27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” 28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
The apostle Matthew along with the disciple Luke also wrote of this incident. So, let us see what they had to say in order that we might find out some additional information.
Luke 9: 18 – 22, “18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” 20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” 21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”
Matthew 16:13-23 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
I love the Gospels. When you take the time to think through every Gospel to understand what exactly took place you are greatly blessed.
I find it exhilarating to see some amazing things which happened with our Precious Holy Lord and Savior as He Is guided by our Wonderful Holy Spirit into situations which displays the fulfillment of prophecy. Over and over He winds up doing something that the prophets had predicted the Messiah would do.
Now, here is a question for you do consider, ‘Have any of you any questions or concerns in what you just read?’
At first there seems to be some inconsistencies. Did you pick them up? Well, let me tell you what I noticed. In Luke’s version, he says that the Lord was alone praying and His disciples joined Him. Then He asked the question regarding Who was He thought to be.
Mark was informed by Peter that our Lord was traveling around a few towns around Caesarea Philippi and on the road He asked the disciples the question.
So, who is right?
The Word of God is perfect. So, the problem lies with us, not in the Scripture. When we slow down to the speed of life and fully examine the Scripture we will fully understand how everything occurred.
I have to say up front though, that I have an edge up on you. Not that I have this superior knowledge over you but I have been allowed the opportunity to have actually visited this exact site in Israel.
I believe the singer Willie Nelson can help us understand the situation. One of his famous songs was ‘On The Road Again’.
Peter and Matthew were with our Lord Jesus when all this transpired. In fact, as we will shortly review, Peter was a key participant in everything that happened.
Our Lord was on the ‘road’ traveling with His disciples. He had left His home base of operations which was the town of Capernaum, and went out to visit other towns which in this case were near the are of Caesarea Philippi. Situated 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and at the base of Mount Hermon, Caesarea Philippi is the location of one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River. This abundant water supply has made the area very fertile and attractive for religious worship.
This is the area where our Lord and His disciples camped out and as you hopefully we come to understand how the communication between our Lord and His apostles, especially Peter, exactly meant.
Along this roadside there is a perfect camping site. There is a fresh water spring that runs below a rocky cliff.
Once settled our Lord walked away alone from His apostles to spend some time in prayer. They didn’t give Him much time alone as they came to where He was at.
27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”
Our Gracious Lord was not upset over His guys not giving Him any time for Himself. He took this opportunity to knock up a few notches their personal training.
He asked them what was being said about Him. Answers came shooting out from the group. ‘Some say that you are John the Baptist back from the dead.’ Another chimed in, ‘Some are saying that you are Elijah.’ Then others joined in the conversation mentioning how they heard other people identifying the Lord with other prophets.
28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
Our Lord knows how to cut to the chase. He asked, ‘But who do you guys think I AM?’ Peter wasted no time in responding. He boldly declared, ‘You Are God’s Promised Holy Anointed One – The Christ.’
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
Now I need to add some comments which might cause some people some concern. We have read Luke’s, Matthew’s, and Mark’s write up regarding this event. So, let me ask you this, ‘which writer give us the Lord’s comments to Peter in more detail after he had proclaimed that our Lord Jesus Is The Messiah? The answer is Matthew.
You might now be thinking, ‘So. What’s the big deal?’
I believe that this fact is greatly significant. You see over 400 years in the future the church had grown and was guided by three bishops located in Jerusalem, Rome, and Constantinople. Many of these leaders suffered martyrdom.
The Roman Emperor Constantine changed everything. Believing that Christ Jesus our Lord had helped him win a major war, in appreciation, he declared Christianity the formal religion of the world. He called the church leaders to Rome and declared himself the title of Pontifex Maximus. ‘pontifex maximus’ means the highest priest of Roman religion and official head of the college of pontifices. As the chief administrator of religious affairs he regulated the conduct of religious ceremonies, consecrated temples and other holy places, and controlled the calendar. During the time of the empire, and until Christianity became firmly established, the emperor was designated pontifex maximus.
Ultimately Constantine decided to move his headquarters to Constantinople and left the Western section of the empire to the bishop of Rome. All of a sudden this church leader not only took over supremacy over all Christianity taking the title of Pontifex Maximus but also became a secular leader of the Western portion of the Roman Empire.
In a slight of hand move the Roman leader developed from Matthew’s write up of the Lord’s words to Peter as the official appointment of supreme ruler.
Look again at what Matthew wrote. “17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
The Roman bishop developed a term called ‘apostolic succession’. He pointed to Matthew’s verses to say that Peter was the first head of the church. He had his assistance go back to the prior list of bishops of Rome and put together a list of official successors. He named Peter the first Pope conveniently naming the bishops of Rome, his successors.
An interesting historical fact though is this. It is amazing how the Roman Catholic Church keeps this all in the dark. For one thing Peter was not the first leader of the church. When you read the book of Acts you come to find out that our Lord’s brother James was the first leader. Secondly, before Peter even visited Rome, there was already a Christian church and church leaders. Remember one of the books of the New Testament is the book of Romans. Here the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome hoping and praying that our Lord would give him the opportunity to visit Rome. Paul ultimately got there and then in later years Peter came to the city.
Another thing I find very interesting is this. If the Lord appointed Peter as the head of His church, then how come only Matthew records our Lord’s words. Wouldn’t you think that Peter who advised Mark what to write down in his Gospel would comment on his appointment by our Lord. ‘Hey Mark, don’t forget to write down that our Lord at Caesarea Philippi made me the first Pope.’ No, as we will soon read Peter wanted to distance himself from what our Lord said to him a little later on –“21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
You see when we go back to the area around the rocky cliff near Caesarea Philippi our Lord responded to Peter’s confession that our Lord Jesus was the Christ or Anointed Holy One. He told Peter and upon this rock, [Our Lord was not going to build a physical church at the rocky cliff near Caesarea Philippi] or upon Peter’s strong and bold confession of our Lord’s identity, a whole new nation of believers would be established – The Christian Church.
Our Lord didn’t say, ‘Thou art Peter.’, then look to all of His other apostles while he had his arm around Peter, and say, ‘Hey guys, upon my buddy Peter who is a rock – and upon him, I am going to build my church.’ Can you understand this important fact?
Now I also find interesting the Lord’s remarks about binding and loosing – ‘19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’
What is going on when you read about binding or loosing? Well, the first thing you think about is that ‘binding’ is when you tie someone up as a captive and ‘loosing’ is untying them. In many cases church leaders have use this verse as a weapon against people in the church. I believe that it is referring to something totally different than the way it is presently being used by church leadership.
When you share the ‘Good News’ of our Great Master and King, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you know that when a person receives the Lord Jesus he or she is ‘set free’ from their sins, or untied from sin. Would you agree?
We read in the book of Isaiah chapter 61 verse 1 this awesome verse regarding the future Messiah, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound’
But do you also realize that you also bind or seal up a person? When a person comes to the Lord they are then and forever bound to Him. How about these wonderful verses.!
Deuteronomy 6: 8, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Psalm 56: 12, “Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You.’
Psalm 147: 3, “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds
Isaiah 8: 16, “Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples’
Ezekiel 34: 16, “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”
Hosea 6: 1, “Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.’
Now that’s the kind of binding that’s really great.
30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Pride comes before a fall. Peter was high as a kite. Can you imagine his thoughts. ‘hey guys, did you just hear what our Master just said about me. Here I have my portable recorder with me. Let me play it back to you, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Did you guys catch that, our Lord Jesus is letting you all know that the Father speaks to me. Has He spoken to you guys? Huh?’
Well, now our Lord went on to tell his guys of His ultimate sacrifice. So, since Peter hears from Heaven, he has to speak out and defend our Lord, right? I will just take the Lord aside to correct Him. You know I hear from heaven also, so our Lord shouldn’t be saying those things - 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
Peter thought that he should be hearing another complement from the Lord for speaking up in defense against the Lord’s thoughts that He will be arrested.
Not quite Peter, from the Penthouse to the Outhouse –
32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Two good statements of things learned in life are;
1. There Is A God
2. I am not He
If He is our God then we need to let Him Rule, no other - including ourselves.
