Who Do You Say That I Am?

INTRODUCTION

Please take your Bible and turn to Mark 8:27-30

Today we are looking at verses 27-30

This account occurs in all 4 Gospels

So I am going to read all these accounts as one from John MacArthur’s book “One Perfect Life”

One Perfect Life: The Complete Story of the Lord Jesus 87. Peter Identifies Jesus as the Messiah

Now Jesus and His disciples came into the region of the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him. And on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they answered and said, “Some say John the Baptist, but some say, Elijah; and others say Jeremiah or that one of the old prophets has risen again.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then He strictly warned and commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Paul Washer said, "The most important question you will ever answer is this: Is Jesus who He said He is?”

Your answer to that question will determine your eternal destiny

If you believe Jesus was just another man or merely a prophet, then your destination is hell not heaven

“What you think of Christ will thoroughly determine your eternal destiny. He is too majestic a figure to be ignored or patronized. You cannot be neutral with Jesus.” — John MacArthur

So it is crucial that you listen closely as we walk through our text today

There are two questions asked by Jesus

Who do people say that I am?

Who do you say that I am?

Mark begins with giving us…

The Setting (v.27)

They leave Bethsaida

Where Jesus had just healed a blind man (vv.22-26)

They arrive in Caesarea Philippi

This location is at the foot of Mount Hermon

It’s about 25 miles north of Bethsaida

It’s near one of the main sources of the Jordan River

This made it a lush, fertile area

R.C. Sproul said, “Right there, where devils were worshiped, and emperors declared gods — it is there that Jesus declares His Church shall prevail.”

Caesarea Philippi was originally known as Paneas

It was named after the Greek god Pan (in Greek mythology Pan was half goat, half man that played a flute. This is where we get the name pan flute)

He was associated with “fear and panic”

The word “panic” comes from Pan

There is a shrine and cave dedicated to Pan

The cave was believed to be a “gateway to the underworld”

This was often referred to as the “gates of Hades” (Mat.16:18)

"When Jesus declared 'the gates of Hades shall not prevail,' He wasn’t speaking abstractly. He stood in front of those very gates—dark, feared, and pagan—and declared victory." — John MacArthur

Sacrifices occurred here at the foot of Mount Hermon where a spring once flowed

Worship included animal sacrifices (mostly goats)

They would throw them into the cave’s deep water

If the sacrifice disappeared, the gods accepted it

It blood emerged, it was rejected and another sacrifice was made

There was dancing, music, ecstatic rituals with flutes and drums, drunkenness and debauchery and bestiality with goats

"In a world that worships gods made in man’s image, Jesus came as the image of the invisible God to destroy the works of darkness.” — Paul Washer

Paneas later became Caesarea Philippi

After the region came under Roman control, Herod the Great built a temple to honor Caesar Augustus

After his death, Philip the Tetrarch, Herod’s son, inherited the region

He expanded the city and renamed it Caesarea Philippi

He chose Caesarea to honor Caesar

He also chose Philippi to distinguish it from another Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast and to name it after himself

Caesarea Philippi was a region filled with pagan worship

This was a fitting backdrop for a discussion about the true identity of Christ

It was a place known for idol worship, shrines to Caesar, and temples to false gods

Against this backdrop, Jesus asks a probing question

Now Mark says…

Jesus questions them “on the way”

Luke indicates that Jesus gave Himself to a period of prayer before examining the disciples (Luke 9:18)

The First Question (vv.27-28)

He asks “Who do people say that I am?”

To the people living in the city and involved in the worship of Pan, Jesus was no more than a demigod, a miracle worker or healer like the Greek god Asclepius or He was a reincarnation of a past religious figure who had returned

To others, the disciples said in verse 28, “John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-16); and others say Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6); but others, one of the prophets.” Matthew says some thought it was “Jeremiah” (Mat.16:14)

These opinions were the same as those mentioned in Mark 6:14-15

D. Edmond Hiebert says in light of the context that…

Mark Mark 8:29a

He might have framed His inquiry this way: “Have you seen the

"It is not enough to know what others say about Jesus. The question ultimately comes to every person: Who do you say that He is?” — Martin Luther

The Second Question (v.29) And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

Peter acted as the spokesman for the disciples

He often spoke first before others had a chance to respond

He did that in John 6:66-69 and Matthew 17:4 and in Mark 10:28

In Mark 8:29, none of the other disciples are recorded as answering—only Peter

In verse 27, Jesus used the plural “you” (hymeis), meaning He was asking all the disciples

Yet, Peter alone answered—implying the disciples were in agreement, but he was the one to voice it

At this point in the Lord’s ministry, the Twelve had been with Him for more than two years.

Their hopeful expectation from the beginning was that He was the Messiah and the Son of God.

As Andrew told Peter, after first meeting Jesus, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41);

Nathanael also said, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49).

The disciples were likewise familiar with the testimony of John the Baptist, who declared Jesus to be the Son of God (John 1:34) and the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Over the course of Jesus’ ministry, the apostles had been amazed by His authoritative teaching (cf. Mark 1:22, 27; John 6:68), awestruck by His divine power (cf. Mark 2:12; 4:41), and aware of their own sinfulness in contrast to His divine perfection (Luke 5:8; cf. Mark 2:5–7).

Only a few months earlier, after Jesus miraculously walked on water and instantly calmed a violent storm (Mark 6:45–52), they had responded by worshiping Him and saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!” (Matt. 14:33). The following day when many of Jesus’ followers deserted Him (cf. John 6:66), Peter said on behalf of his fellow apostles, “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:69).

As those examples demonstrate, the incident recounted in these verses was not the first time the Twelve had recognized the deity and messiahship of the Lord Jesus (though it is the first such confession recorded in Mark’s gospel). (MacArthur)

Peter immediately answers, “You are the Christ”

The Greek word for “Christ” is Χριστός (Christos), which means “Anointed One”

It’s the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Messiah” (מָשִׁיחַ – Mashiach)

Peter was saying, “You are the Messiah, the One God promised to send, the One foretold by the Prophets, the promised deliverer”

Matthew adds to “You are the Christ,” the phrase “the Son of the living God” (Mat.16:16)

This reveals divine insight—Jesus isn’t just the Messiah in human terms, He’s divine, the Son of God

This aligns with Matthew’s Jewish audience who needed to see that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and possessed divine authority

Jesus affirms this deeper understanding in Matthew 16:17:

“Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (v.17)

“No one will ever say ‘Jesus is Lord’ with understanding and conviction unless the Holy Spirit first opens that person's eyes." — Paul Washer

Luke says, “the Christ of God” (Luke 9:20) meaning the Messiah sent by God

"It is one thing to make theological statements, quite another to truly believe them. Peter speaks better than he knows." — John Calvin

This isn’t human insight; it’s divine illumination…

Scripture repeatedly affirms Jesus’ divinity

John 1:1

John 1:14

John 8:58

John 10:30-33

Colossians 2:9

Hebrews 1:8

Titus 2:13

Philippians 2:5-7

2 Peter 1:1

1 John 5:20

Revelation 1:17-18 (Jesus applies the “First and Last”, a title used by God in Isaiah 44:6. He claims it for Himself, declaring His eternal nature)

“Jesus did not cease to be God when He became man. He was God, is God, and will forever be God. This is foundational to Christianity.” — R.C. Sproul

Jesus gives…

The Warning (v.30)

“And He warned them to tell no one about Him.”

Why not share the truth immediately?

“Jesus had to control the message, and He had to control the timing.” — John MacArthur

The disciples had the right title, but the wrong understanding

While Peter correctly confessed Jesus as "the Christ," neither he nor the other disciples fully understood what that meant

They still expected a political Messiah, a conqueror to overthrow Rome and establish a national kingdom

They were right about the person, but wrong about the mission

Because of this incomplete and inaccurate understanding, Jesus commands them to keep quiet, to prevent spreading a distorted message

The “Messianic Secret” was about right timing

Jesus frequently told people not to publicize His identity or miracles (Mark 1:44, 5:43, etc.)

He didn’t want:

False expectations about what kind of Messiah He was

The crowds trying to make Him king by force (as in John 6)

The timing of His death to be accelerated

Public proclamation would come only after the cross

This verse connects to the very next section (Mark 8:31), where for the first time Jesus begins openly teaching about His coming suffering, death, and resurrection

Until the disciples could grasp the true nature of Jesus' mission—His atoning sacrifice—they couldn't be reliable messengers

Only after the resurrection would the disciples be equipped to proclaim Him rightly as the Savior

“Jesus didn’t want half-truths going out. He didn’t want the disciples proclaiming Him when they didn’t even understand what kind of Christ He came to be. The confession was right, but the content behind it was lacking.” (MacArthur)

“Christ came not to be crowned but to be crucified. The shadow of the cross looms over every moment of His ministry.” — R.C. Sproul

Only after the resurrection, once they grasp the cross, would the disciples be equipped to proclaim Him rightly:

"You don't truly understand the Gospel until you understand that Christ came to save you from God—God's judgment, God's wrath. And only by enduring God's wrath in our place could Jesus be our Savior." — Paul Washer

CONCLUSION

So Jesus asked two questions, and those same questions come to you today:

Who do people say that Jesus is?

Who do you say that Jesus is?

“You must answer the question for yourself: not your church, not your family, not your friends — you.” — Martin Luther

The world will offer many opinions about Christ

Some say Teacher

Others, Prophet.

Some say He's legend, Others say myth

But only one answer saves: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

“The church is not built upon Peter the man, but upon the confession that he made. That Jesus is the Christ. That is the unshakeable rock.” — John Calvin

Will your answer be fueled by tradition, hearsay... or revelation from the Father?

“A true knowledge of God only comes when God makes Himself known. Otherwise, we are all blind.” — R.C. Sproul

So… Who do YOU say Jesus is?

The answer will echo into eternity

Let’s pray