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A fascinating quality of Jesus’ teaching style was the way in which the geographic location often added to the depth of the teaching. At the end of Mark 8, Jesus takes his disciples to Caesarea Philippi. This was an area in which idols were carved out of the rocky cliffs. It was the perfect setting to ask His question.
“If you look on a map, you will find three Caesareas. Caesarea Philippi is located to the north of the Sea of Galilee. The Lord Jesus was in the north and He was in a position from which He was going to turn and begin a movement directly toward Jerusalem and the Cross.”
J. Vernon McGee
“Who do people say that I am?” As is the case with most of Jesus’ lessons, He starts small and builds. This is an easy question for His disciples. It was an introduction that would draw them in for a deeper truth.
“In His words and His works, Jesus gave every evidence to the people that He was the Son of God, the Messiah, and yet they did not get the message. Instead of diligently seeking for the truth, the people listened to popular opinion and followed it, just as many people do today. They had opinions instead of convictions, and this is what led them astray. Elbert Hubbard defined public opinion as “the judgment of the incapable many, opposed to that of the discerning few.” Thank God for the discerning few!”
Warren Wiersbe
They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” 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.”
Mark 8:28-29 NASB
Peter answered on behalf of the disciples as he did many times. (Mat 14:28; Mat 15:15; Mat 17:4; Mat 19:27; Ma 26:33; Joh 6:68; Joh 13:36) Without hesitation, he proclaimed Jesus as “The Christ.” They believed He was the Messiah, or “the one anointed by God.” Although their answer was misguided in thinking that Jesus was the political and national superpower, they still answered correctly.
Before Jesus could reveal the plan God had for Him, his followers needed to understand and believe who He really was. Before He laid out His plan for Salvation, it was important Jesus revealed this mystery.
“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis
We must decide, is Jesus our Lord and Savior? If so, what are His expectations and what kind of responsibilities do we have as His followers? We cannot believe in Jesus as a good teacher when He challenges us and then believe in Him as our Savior when we need Him for forgiveness. He did not leave us that option. Either we believe and follow with everything or we don’t!