Mark 8:27 And Jesus and His disciples went out into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, Who do men say that I am? 28 And they told Him, saying, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but others, one of the prophets. 29 And He questioned them, But you, who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to Him, You are the Christ!
In verse 27 the Lord asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" As a man, Christ was a mystery not only to that generation, but also to people today. To the Lord's question the disciples replied, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but others, one of the prophets" (v. 28). This indicates that, at most, without revelation, people can realize only that Jesus is the greatest among the prophets. Without heavenly revelation, no one can know that He is truly the Christ. Verse 29 says, "And He questioned them, But you, who do you say that I am? Peter answering says to Him, You are the Christ!" Here we see that Peter took the lead to declare that Jesus is the Christ. Peter did not speak of the Lord simply in a general way as Christ, as an anointed One. Rather, he said, "You are the Christ." This term may not be as striking to us today as it was during the time of the disciples. Peter was declaring that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed One, the Messiah. When Peter made the declaration that Jesus is the Christ, he may not have been very clear concerning this point. Nevertheless, he saw that this One was not common, that He was not an ordinary person. He realized something that is very particular concerning the Lord, that He is the Christ, God's anointed One, the Messiah. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 214-215. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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