Who Do You Say That I Am?

Understanding the Gospel of Mark through the Confession of Peter

The Gospel of Mark

The gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four gospels. Many bible scholars describe Mark as a long passion narrative. This is because of its very brief and concise presentation of the ministry of Jesus that flows directly to His passion, death and resurrection.

There are many ways of understanding the gospel of Mark. One way of understanding is through its key passage - the confession of Peter at Mark 8:27-30, where Peter confessed Jesus as, "You are the Christ". If this is seen as the turning point and central axis of the gospel, then we will understand what the passages mean before this turning point, and what the passages signify after this turning point.

If we are to divide the gospel of Mark with the confession of Peter as the central passage and middle point between the first part before the confession and the second part after the confession of Peter, it will be as thus:

theme: Who Am I?
central point: You Are The Christ
theme: What Does This Imply?

From this gospel structure, we can see that before the confession of Peter, the meaning of the passages generally lead to the general thematic trend-question of who and what the identity of Christ is. In these passages, Jesus was multiplying the loaves of bread and performing healing miracles. These signs make the people aware of Jesus and are meant to make them reflect and think more deeply of who Jesus really is. And then we get to the turning point: the confession of Peter. Peter gave the right answer under the inspiration of the Spirit. And then from hereon, the answer of Peter, "You are the Christ", leads on to the general thematic trend of the succeeding passages which make the reader of the gospel of Mark find out, that being the Christ, the Messiah, means suffering and death: and so, the thematic question, "What does this imply?" threads the passages after the turning point of the confession of Peter.

The main thematic passages of the Gospel of Mark

Below is the structure of the gospel of Mark according to the themes before the turning point and the themes after the turning point.

I. Who Am I?

Mark 1:1 - "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God"
Mark 6:30-34 - First multiplication of the loaves
Mark 7:31-37 - Healing of deaf-mute
Mark 8:1-10 - Second multiplication of loaves
Mark 8:22-26 - Healing of blind man of Bethsaida

II. You Are The Christ? - Mark 8:27-30

III. What Does This Imply?

Mark 8:31 - First prediction of the passion
Mark 9:31 - Second prediction of the passion
Mark 10:32-34 - Third prediction of the passion
Mark 10:35-45 - The Sons of Zebedee
Mark 10:46-52 - Healing of blind Bartimaeus
Mark 15:39 - Confession of the centurion: "Truly this man was the Son of God."

The main message of the Gospel of Mark

From this presentation, we can see that the gospel of Mark wants to present to the readers of his gospel that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. The gospel was structured in a way that reflects this, with the confession of Peter as the central passage and the turning point of the gospel. The first part of the gospel speaks on the signs performed by Jesus during His public ministry. Many people were wondering who this Jesus was because of the great signs He was performing. And so when the apostolic group gathered at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus turned to His apostles and questioned them, "Who do people say that I Am?". The first answers were answers in line with what prophets usually do, and so some say that Jesus was Elijah, or John the Baptist who came back from the dead, or just one of the prophets. And then Jesus turned this question to the apostles and asked them, "Who do you say that I Am?" It was Peter who gave the right and inspired answer. This confession of Peter was echoed and reaffirmed by the confession of the centurion towards the end of the gospel when the centurion confessed, "Truly this man was the Son of God".

The main message of the gospel of Mark is that Jesus is the Christ who is to suffer, die and be resurrected again. The gospel of Mark makes the reader aware that the Christ is not a Messiah in the manner by which the Jewish world understands what a Messiah should be. Rather, the Christ and Messiah, must suffer and die in order to save us from all our sins. Many people are blind to this truth. They do not see that Jesus as a Messiah is called to suffer the passion and die on the cross. It is rather ironic that the physically blind whom Jesus healed "saw" Jesus as the Messiah, while those who have preconceived notions of what a Messiah is according to their concept of a glorified king, are the ones who are really spiritually blind - "they have eyes and ears, but they do not see or hear" [Isaiah 6:9-10]

What does the main message of the Gospel of Mark imply for us?

The gospel of Mark tells us that if we are to follow Jesus, then like Him, we too are to suffer and die to ourselves in living out our Christian lives. The passage in relation to the Sons of Zebedee wherein the mother of James and John wanted her sons to sit at the left and right side of Jesus when He enters into the Kingdom is a misunderstanding of what discipleship means. Jesus made it plain to his apostles that to follow Him and to be His disciple means not to aspire to greatness but rather to seek to serve and to offer his life as a ransom for many just as He did.

If we are to follow Jesus and to understand what discipleship means in what Jesus told the apostles, especially James and John, then we too must be ready to serve and to give and offer our lives even if it may mean death for us. Those of us who already take seriously the Christian life know this already by the many trials, tests, hardships, difficulties, and misunderstandings that we experience as as result of our Christian conviction. However, if Jesus led the way to the Cross and became victorious over death, we who are committed to follow Him must also faithfully face our own crosses in the life-situations, states of life, and personal callings and vocations that we lead, and eventually receive the same gift of life and resurrection that the Lord gives to those who give their lives for Him.

Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera
March 13, 2005
[revised: August 14, 2006]

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