Mark 8:27-38 (17th Sunday after Pentecost) – September 15, 2024

Introduction

We have already received a portion of this text once this year (back in the second week of Lent) which was very out of context and only included verses 30-37. Now, we have a lot more of the context after having trekked through some of Mark this summer. That being said, we have still skipped over a few stories that are informative of the narrative mood of this text.

**Additionally, I should note, that I just focused on this text in particular for an entire semester, so I’m going to give you more than you need.

Narrative Context

Since last week’s text, Jesus has fed another 4,000 people with bread and fish. He has debated with more Pharisees who are asking for a sign but Jesus refuses. He sails with the disciples who only bring one piece of bread and are concerned about getting enough to eat. At which point Jesus says,

“¹⁷And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect? And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?””

And finally, Jesus is taken to heal a man who is blind. And here’s what happens: “²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” ²⁴And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

We are supposed to go into this next scene with a clear sense that misunderstanding is running rampant. The disciples are not grasping it. The Pharisees aren’t grasping it. Not even Jesus’ healings are fully getting there. Misunderstanding abounds.

Translation

Part of my work in my “Performing the Gospels” class with Mark Vitalis Hoffman, was translating this passage so that it is performable and comprehensible. And so, here is my translation (and if you would like translation commentary notes, they will be at the end of this commentary):

Then Jesus, along with his disciples, set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way, he was asking his disciples, saying to them, “Who are people saying that I am?”

So they told him, saying: “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, but others that you’re one of the prophets.”

Then he began asking them, “But, you all, who are you saying that I am?”

Peter answered and says to him, “You? You are the Messiah, the Christ.”

And Jesus insisted that they not be telling anyone about him.

And he began teaching them, “It is necessary for the Son of Humanity to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and experts in the Law and to be killed and, after three days, to rise.”

And he was speaking this openly.

Now Peter took him aside and began insisting that he stop talking like that.

But, after turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and says, “Go, get behind me, you satan! For you’re not thinking about how God does things but how humans do things.”

And he called the crowd together, along with his disciples, and he said to them,

“If anyone wants to come behind me, they’re going to have to deny themselves and pick up their cross and start following me.

For whoever should want to save their life will lose it, but whoever will lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the good news, will save it.

For what will it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

For what could a person give in exchange for their life?

For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Humanity will also be ashamed of them when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

And he began saying to them, “I’m telling you, truth is, there are some among those standing here who most certainly will not get a taste of death until they see the rule of God come in power.”

This Week

Narratively, we’ve been leading up to this big discipleship moment. Leading up to this text, Jesus has been healing and teaching (which has led to crowds growing around him). But he’s also been engaging in argument and debate with religious leaders. Just before this text, Jesus has been debating with the Pharisees and he advises his disciples to “Watch out – beware of the year of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod (8:15).” Conflict is escalating quickly. This scene illustrates the growing intensity because of this conflict. Maybe Jesus’ first question comes after he’s been lost in thought (“Who are people saying that I am? [Because it’s beginning to get more intense out here and I need you all to be prepared for what’s going to come]?”

In verse 27, we hear the phrase, “On the way” (ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ). This opening verse seems to function as a transition, as well as an indication of movement from one place to the next. Jesus could simply be on the way to the village of Caesarea Philippi. This could also be Mark’s connection to “the Way” and the early Christian movement (referred to in Acts 9:2, which would connect us to the early church disciples hearing this). This could also be a strong narrative transition. With the first Passion pronouncement coming up in a few verses, this may indicate a transition that Jesus is now “on the way” to Jerusalem and the cross. If we stress the words “The Way,” we make a clear connection to the Acts church movement. If we gesture towards a cross that is around us, we could indicate that Jesus is making a turn toward Good Friday. Truthfully, I think both of these provide useful imagery as we lead into this text. Jesus will ultimately call each of the disciples (and additional followers) to “get behind him” and to “pick up their cross” and follow him. This idea is almost exactly modeled after the healing of Bartimaeus who, immediately regained his sight and “followed him on the way (10:52).” Performatively, we can illustrate that this is an invitation from the very beginning of this pericope.

Verse 31 is the first of three predictions/announcements of Jesus’ death and resurrection within the Gospel of Mark (8:31; 9:30-31; 10:33-34). Each follow a similar pattern where Jesus announces, there is a misunderstanding by the disciples, and then Jesus gives teaching about discipleship. I think there is particular intrigue that Mark models discipleship through these negative examples. Not all the disciples’ mistakes need to be viewed sympathetically but I think that these could be viewed in that light as a lesson for our discipleship.

In verse 32, Jesus says all this “quite openly.” In connection with the understanding of parables (4:11), this information is only for the disciples (a continuation of the Messianic Secret). Jesus calls the crowd in afterwards. However, we, as listeners, have known much of this since Mark 1:1. We can reflect on how we play into this moment of the audience being the disciples, receiving this secret information. Jesus might lower his voice here, looking around first to see how close the “followers” are before he speaks.

Verses 30, 32, and 33 all contain ἐπετίμησεν. In theory, they could all be translated as “rebuked.” However, I don’t think that is helpful for our modern context and it’s not necessarily true to how Mark uses the word throughout the Gospel.

ἐπετίμησεν is used 9 times in Mark and not all in the same context. In Mark 1:25, it is used to describe Jesus rebuking a demon amid an exorcism (“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’”). In 3:12 it’s used when Jesus orders unclean spirits to now share who he is. In 4:39, he rebukes the wind and causes it to be still. In these instances, there is a clear element of this word being centered around exorcism or use of power to expel dangerous forces (demons, unclean spirits, a storm). However, that is not its only context. In Mark 10:13, the disciples “sternly order (NRSV)” the people who were bringing little children to him. And in Mark, the crowd “sternly orders (NRSV)” Bartimaeus to be quiet after he calls for “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This usage is more of a reprimanding tone. You can see how they’re related but one seems to be a more powerful usage (maybe reserved for Jesus) and one less so in Mark’s Gospel.

And so, in the Mark 8:27-9:1 pericope, these three ἐπετίμησεν are not all the same intensity. Verse 30 (although it is stated by Jesus) and verse 32 are the less intense tone. They seem to be more of a ‘reprimand,’ ‘insisting,’ or ‘strongly ordered’ tone. But verse 33, is more intense. While I don’t believe that Jesus is literally calling Peter, Satan in this verse, I do think this is more of a powerful moment with illusions of exorcism. David Schnasa Jacobsen writes,

The Greek word translated as “charged” is an odd choice. It means “rebuke” in other settings and appears in Mark also in exorcism scenes. Could it be that a Markan gospel knows that even divine revelation can be misunderstood and misapplied? The fact that the demons sometimes get it right in Mark should be a sobering thought for interpreters today.[1]

Jesus is “casting out” Peter’s human/worldly ideas and calling for him to think in heavenly/Godly terms. And so, to translate this as rebuke (a word somewhat reserved for exorcism scenes), makes sense. I think there is an escalation of intensity from verse 30 through verse 33 that needs to be captured through different word choices.

Dismissing the idea of rebuke (since Peter is not exorcizing Jesus), if Peter’s line (v32) is translated as “reprimand” or “strongly orders”, then is Peter assuming greater authority or is he challenging Jesus’ authority in front of the others? If Peter “insists that Jesus stop talking like that,” is Peter assuming a concerned friend/student tone that supports and tries to protect Jesus? I argue that it is the latter given the narrative trajectory of Gospel. This will be further examined in the next two sections.

In verse 33, we could take this to be a slight towards Peter’s character and role in leadership. However, throughout Mark, Jesus consistently corrects the disciples when they steer off course (much of which happens after this pericope).

For example, in 7:17-23, the disciples don’t understand the parable, and Jesus goes on to teach them what it means even though they’re supposed to understand. In Mark 9:38-41, John says that they (the disciples) tried to stop someone teaching in his name, but Jesus corrects them, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.” When the disciples speak sternly (ἐπετίμησεν) to those who are bringing children to Jesus, the text reads (10:14), “But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.’” And when James and John, the sons of Zebedee ask to sit at his right and his left (10:35-45), Jesus corrects them that those seats are not his to give. And when the other disciples get mad at James and John, Jesus says, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

While we may feel that Peter is getting singled out in this text, Jesus corrects each disciple who veers off course. This is not a special moment for Peter (not in Mark’s Gospel anyway). But it calls us as disciples to recognize that correction is a part of discipleship. This is an invitation for us to see that even the most famous of the disciples was human and in need of coming back to “the way.” It is a reminder that we are human, and we are not God. In our reading of the Gospel and in our preaching, I don’t think that we need to pull our punches in Jesus’ rebuke. Jesus can still be upset with Peter for misunderstanding and for his inappropriate actions of pulling Jesus off to the side. However, the tone doesn’t need to be one of sheer anger but possibly frustration. With some nuance, we can illustrate that there is no perfection in discipleship and sometimes we need to return to the true way.

Verse 34 is critical to our interpretation as Jesus instructs all the disciples and the crowd who are following to “come behind” and to “follow” him (ὀπίσω μου). This seems to be the place of discipleship in Mark. Disciples should always be following Jesus.

This starts in Mark 1:7 when he calls the disciples, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And with the sons of Zebedee, “and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him (1:20).” In 10:21, Jesus instructs the man to sell what owns and give the money to the poor and to “follow me.” And as noted above, in 10:52, Bartimaeus is healed and “followed him on the way.” Finally, at the resurrection scene, we hear that Jesus is “Going ahead of you to Galilee (16:7).” Jesus is always leading/ahead of the followers.

But it is important to note that the beginning of this verse is Jesus calling in the crowd, along with the disciples, to begin sharing this teaching. This is a great invitation. Thinking about the original audience here, this is when the performer could signal with a gesture that everyone present is invited to take heed of these words: that all disciples must ‘follow’ Jesus and take up their cross. While there could have already been believers in the room, this is when the invitation broadens. The performer could look at those who are hearing the story for the first time. For our context today, there may be those who are newer to us in the room. Is there a way that we could gently use this as an invitation toward greater discipleship?

Preaching Possibilities

Who are we in the text?

This is a scene that seems to come up frequently. We get it in the year of Matthew and twice in the year of Mark. But who do we identify with in this text? And who do we think our congregation is identifying with in the pews?

I am frequently reminded in the Wednesday text study that I’m a part of that many pastors identify with Jesus in scenes like this. We identify as being frustrated that the gospel/Good News isn’t being understood as clearly as we’d like. Don’t people get that it’s about love and grace? Don’t people get that it’s about serving and loving our neighbors? Don’t people get that it’s about giving to the poor, welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, housing the houseless?

But when that same question is asked of our congregation members, the answer is entirely different. I bet there are some people who feel like Peter. They feel like they only know half of the story. They are trying to do the right thing. They are trying to say the right things. But every time they do, the pastor or an elder member chastises them for getting it wrong.

I bet there are some who feel like one of the 12. Watching Peter stick his neck out and then be entirely grateful that they didn’t do it themselves. It’s like sitting in class and a teacher asks a question which no one did the reading for. So, one brave student tries to end the silence and guess at an answer only to clearly illustrate that they didn’t do the reading and gets lambasted for it.

And I bet there are some who feel like the distant followers. Maybe they’ve been attending for a while, but the Pastor hasn’t really offered any catechetical classes or Bible studies. Maybe this is the first Lutheran church (or insert your denomination here) they’ve been a part of and are only just starting to learn some of the lingo. Maybe this invitation in from Jesus, is just what they’ve been hoping for. Never feeling like they were allowed to get closer until now.

In preaching this text, we can’t assume that everyone is hearing it from the same place/perspective.

From a performance lens, it became clear to me from my class that this was an opportunity for the storyteller to invite new believers in. This was a moment to share what this was all about. The 4 “For” lines are the instruction of discipleship. It’s the moment where you invite people into a deeper faith journey.

Translation Commentary

8:27

[Then Jesus, along with his disciples, set out] for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.

And [on the way], he was asking his disciples, saying to them,

“Who are people saying that I am?”

The opening verb ἐξῆλθεν is singular, so it should be “Then Jesus, along with his disciples, set out…”
Most translations go with “on the way” (reference to Acts 9:2)
ἐπηρώτα is imperfect active indicative and so it should be “was asking” rather than past tense “asked.”
I prefer VH’s more colloquial phrasing of Jesus’ question “Who are people saying that I am?” rather than “Who do people say that I am?”

8:28

So they [told] him, [saying]:

“John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, [but] others that you’re one of the prophets.”

There are two “tellings,” εἶπαν (told) and λέγοντες (saying).
I like the NASB translation of “but others” to indicate that this third category is slightly different using the δὲ.

8:29

Then he began asking them,

“[But], [you all], who are you saying that I am?”

Peter answered and says to him,

“[You]? You are the Messiah, the Christ.”