Mark 8:27-30
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
When Jesus asks His Disciples the question: "Who do people say that I AM?"...Peter tells Jesus and us that He is the long awaited Messiah...Peter recognized who Jesus is...So Peter's answers make us think is Jesus the Messiah...And his response leads us to more question is Jesus our Messiah, and when He was on earth, why didn't everyone accept that He is, in fact, the Messiah from Old Testament Scripture?...
As one reflects on the question God gave us a glimmer of first hope when He tells the evil one and Adam and Eve in the midst of the fall of humanity from grace...God speaks of conflict and hardship when He says to Adam cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life...Even as Jesus in a much later time tells His Disciples that in this world you will have trouble...So we are told by God and His Son that we will have conflict, hardship, and troubles on earth...Yet, God gives us hope in the eventual triumph of good over evil when He says the heel of of the evil one will be bruised, which can be interpreted as a temporary idea of hope, while the "crushing of the head" symbolizes the ultimate victory of goodness over evil...Good will triumph over evil over time, through troubles, conflicts, hardships, sufferings and pain...Jesus overcame the world and died on Calvary, which was a deathly tragedy for Him...Yet through His death on the Cross at Calvary, we can see the victory of Good over evil...We can also see the Great Victory for us, because He takes away our sins and our sin debt and will be our Mediator to God...
Moses, in the Book of Exodus, instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb on the eve of their departure from Egypt...The blood of the lamb protects them from the tenth plague, the death of their firstborn children...Christians see this as a foreshadowing of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross, which they believe atones for the sins of all humanity...Through His blood we are saved and believers in God and His Son believe this prophecy is fulfilled by Jesus, and that He is the Messiah...The act of the resurrection proves that He is the One to come, to save us...Moses also wrote about a Future Prophet...Moses prophesies in the Book of Deuteronomy that God will raise up a prophet like Him who will speak God's Words and whom the people should obey...
The Great Apostle and missionary Paul while in Athens was talking about the resurrection of Jesus and The Man He appointed to return to earth and judge the world...Paul makes the statement from one who was around in the time of Jesus and knew many of Jesus Disciples and others who knew Jesus personally...Paul's comments to me help prove Jesus is our Messiah...He said: “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill...In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent...For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed...He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”...
While the Prophet Isaiah wrote: "Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors...For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."...Dividing the spoils might be seen as military verses...These verses, are more a metaphor to me...And when Jesus sometimes is described as "fighting"...This could symbolize spiritual battles against sin and evil, and "spoils" or "dividing the spoils" could represent victories over darkness and temptation...
Scripture does not lead me to believe that the Messiah maybe a political and military leader...Many Jews envisioned the Messiah as a political and military leader who would free them from Roman rule and re-establish the Jewish kingdom...Jesus in the Old Testament said the Messiah would be in the lineage of David...This view drew inspiration from figures like King David and the promise of a descendant who would restore Israel's glory...
Others saw the Messiah a prophet and lawgiver...Another strand of Messianic expectation emphasized the role of the Messiah as a prophet and lawgiver who would guide the people back to strict adherence to God's law...This view focused on spiritual renewal and moral righteousness...
The Great Prophet Isaiah wrote about the Messiah being a Suffering Servant...Some interpretations, influenced by certain biblical passages, emphasized the Messiah as this Suffering Servant who would endure trials and tribulations to bring about redemption...This view differed from the more triumphant expectations and resonated with the experiences of persecution faced by many Jews...
The New Testament Gospels and Epistles which give us most of the information on the Son of God and the Messiah portray Jesus as divine and the Son of God...While the gospels were written decades after Jesus' death they reflect early beliefs about Jesus and this new religion of Christianity and its theology...The gospels offer some insight into how believers understood His identity...
And as written in the Gospels, Jesus is Full of Grace and Truth...He had a Divine Nature about Him...But Jesus' claims to divinity and being the Son of God challenged the traditional Jewish understandings of God's oneness and uniqueness...While some figures like the High Priest Caiaphas recognized potential blasphemy in these claims, others might have interpreted them figuratively or within specific theological frameworks...
The Messiah was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies...Discussions, debate, and controversy still exist two thousand years about whether Jesus fulfilled the specific Messianic prophecies laid out in Jewish tradition...Different interpretations existed regarding the nature and timing of these prophecies, making it difficult to reach a consensus on Jesus' Messiahship and thus who He really is...
Much of this must be taken in the context of Roman occupation...Living under Roman rule, many Jews might have prioritized immediate political liberation over theological debates about the Messiah's nature...Jesus' teachings, while offering spiritual hope, did not provide the direct political action many longed for...So the military and political discussion does not match up to how He was a Rabbi, Teacher, and One who served others...Jesus spoke of a Kingdom of God, but it is an internal and Spiritual Realm, not a political or military entity...Passages like John 18:36 clarify that His Kingdom "is not of this world."...His focus was on transforming individuals and society through love, forgiveness, hope, and truth, not through military conquest...
When Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...He tells us to trust God, but also to trust Him...He is presenting Himself as the path to God and to Spiritual Fulfillment...He isn't simply offering a set of rules or teachings, but a personal relationship and direct connection to His Father and the Divine...
Jesus embodies truth, not just in His Words but in His very being...He reveals and reflects God's nature and purpose, dispelling falsehoods and offering clarity on life's ultimate questions...
Jesus promises not just temporary existence but abundant and Eternal life, both in this world and beyond...Jesus tells us that this is Eternal Life...When He says now this is Eternal Life, that they know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent...He offers liberation from sin and death, opening the door to spiritual renewal and everlasting joy...He makes our Joy Complete...Scripture portrays Jesus as our Spiritual Leader who came to offer salvation and reconciliation, not through worldly power or violence, but through self-sacrifice, being servants to others and helping others, and through forgiveness and love...While some passages might be interpreted as alluding to a military role, they need to be understood within the larger context of His teachings and the nature of His Eternal Kingdom...
So, Jesus is telling us that knowing God and Himself is presented as the path to Eternal Life, offering hope, love, and meaning beyond our earthly existence...