Jesus
went out, with his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”
Mark 8:27
Mark 8 [25.] Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He looked intently, and was restored, and saw everyone clearly. He sent him away to his house, saying, “Don’t enter into the village, nor tell anyone in the village.”
Mark 8 [27.] Jesus went out, with his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”
Mark 8 [28.] They told him, “John the Baptizer, and others say Elijah, but others: one of the prophets.”
Meaning:
This verse marks the turning point of Mark’s Gospel. For eight chapters Mark has shown Jesus teaching, healing, casting out demons and feeding multitudes, while people keep wondering who he really is. Now Jesus takes his disciples far to the north, to the villages around Caesarea Philippi, and on the road he asks them the question directly: “Who do men say that I am?” From here the Gospel turns toward Jerusalem and the cross. Matthew records the same moment with the words “I, the Son of Man” (Matthew 16:13-15).
- The villages of Caesarea Philippi
Caesarea Philippi lay about 40 kilometres north of the Sea of Galilee, at the foot of snow-capped Mount Hermon. One of the main sources of the Jordan River gushes from a cave there, and the site had long been a sanctuary of the Greek nature god Pan; its older name was Paneas. Herod the Great built a temple to Caesar Augustus nearby, and his son Philip the tetrarch enlarged the city and named it in honour of Caesar and himself. Mark says Jesus went into “the villages” of the area, the farming settlements around the city, rather than into the pagan city itself.
The setting is striking. Surrounded by shrines to a Greek god and to a Roman emperor who was honoured as divine, Jesus asks who he is. The contrast between the false gods of the nations and the true Son of God could hardly be sharper.
- “On the way”
Mark notes that Jesus asked the question “on the way.” The word “way” (road, path) is important in Mark. The Gospel opens with the prophecy “Make ready the way of the Lord!” (Mark 1:3; Isaiah 40:3), and from this point Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem, teaching his disciples what it means to follow him. The earliest Christians were even called followers of “the Way” (Acts 9:1-2), and Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
- A question that prepares for confession
Jesus did not need to learn public opinion. His question gently prepares the disciples to move beyond what others said to their own conviction. The healing of the blind man in two stages has just illustrated their gradual sight (Mark 8:22-23). Now the moment has come for them to say what they see. First they report the opinions of others (Mark 8:28); then Jesus asks them directly, and Peter answers, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29).
- A turning point in the story
Up to this point Jesus has kept his identity somewhat veiled. After this conversation he begins to speak plainly about his suffering, rejection, death and resurrection (Mark 8:30-33), and calls his followers to take up their cross (Mark 8:34-38). The question asked on the road near Caesarea Philippi opens the second half of Mark’s Gospel, the journey to the cross.
The Significance of Mark 8:27
- The question everyone must face
People today hold many opinions about Jesus: a wise teacher, a prophet, a moral example, a legend. Jesus’ question invites each of us to move from what others say to a personal answer.
- Ready to give an answer
Believers who know who Jesus is are called to share that answer with others, “always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15), especially in a world full of competing gods and ideas.
Cross-References:
Matthew 16:13: "Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”" Matthew’s parallel adds Jesus’ title, the Son of Man.
John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." Jesus is not only walking on the way; he is the Way to the Father.
Mark 1:3: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’" Mark’s theme of “the way” begins with John preparing the way of the Lord.
1 Peter 3:15: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:" Those who answer Jesus’ question rightly are called to share that answer graciously with others.
Conclusion: On the road to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, in a region full of shrines to Pan and to Caesar, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” The question marks the turning point of Mark’s Gospel, leading to Peter’s confession and to Jesus’ journey to the cross. It is still the most important question anyone can answer, and those who know the answer are called to follow him on the way.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible