Mark 8:27–30
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
Finally! After 8 chapters, we have a person declaring Jesus' true identity. Remember the previous encounter (Friday: Healing the Blind Man) Jesus heals a blind man as a picture of the disciple's blindness. He has previously accused them of having eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. He seems disappointed that they still don't understand about the multiplication of the bread and fish.
This episode marks a major turning point in the book of Mark. Up until this point Jesus has been "wandering" around the region of Galilee preaching, teaching, and healing. Now he is going to set his GPS to Jerusalem. Before he seemed to only speak cryptically to the disciples even, now he is going to tell them plainly that the Messiah must suffer, die, and be resurrected. After this the cross will come into focus.
This all takes place on the way to Caesarea Philippi. This is a strange location for the primary turning point of the whole gospel. Caesarea Philippi was primarily a Gentile territory. It was home to a sanctuary to the Greek god, Pan, who was considered to be the guardian of the flocks. It was a beautiful, large city that contained a temple to the Greek gods. It is in the midst of these pagan gods that Jesus asks the disciples who they say he his.
Jesus' question is unique among rabbis in his day. Typically the rabbi is asked questions, he doesn't ask the question. Also, he is asking them to identify him. Again, a rabbi's job was to teach the people about God, yet Jesus constantly points the disciples to himself and his identity. This has been the lingering question that we have been tracing throughout the gospel, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him." (4:41)
Note how Jesus asks this question in 2 stages. He first asks what other people think of him. We've already covered the people's options of Jesus' identity in previous devotionals. This, however, isn't far enough. It isn't enough for his disciples to know what others say, they must formulate their own opinion as to his identity. So Jesus then turns the question directly to them, "Who do you say that I am?"
People generally don't like to be confronted with direct questions, especially questions carrying this much weight. But we can always count on Peter to step up to the plate in an awkward situation. Here, he answers correctly. He declares Jesus to be the Christ (Messiah in Hebrew). Now from the rest of the events in Mark's gospel, including the ensuing conversation, we see that Peter had the correct title for Jesus but still carried the wrong concept of who the Messiah is and what he would accomplish. (see the Messiah video from the Bible Project) Jesus will work to correct this wrong concept throughout the rest of the gospel.
Jesus' response as recorded here in Mark is rather brief yet not unexpected if you're been reading the gospel all along. The messianic secret is a theme we have seen come up time and time again. At times Jesus demands his followers not tell anyone what he has done for them. In just about every instance, however, they don't listen and readily spread the news. Matthew's account (Matt. 16:13-20) records a much longer response from Jesus, one that is quite controversial, but we will not venture there today.