September 25, 2018

Jesus rebukes Peter (Mk 8:33-8:33)

“But turning

And looking

At his disciples,

Jesus rebuked Peter.

He said.

‘Get behind me!

Satan!

You are setting

Your mind

Not on divine things,

But on human things.’”

 

ὁ δὲ ἐπιστραφεὶς καὶ ἰδὼν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ ἐπετίμησεν Πέτρῳ καὶ λέγει Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ, ὅτι οὐ φρονεῖς τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

 

Jesus and Peter had a conversation that also can be found in Matthew, chapter 16:33.  Then Jesus turned against Peter (ὁ δὲ ἐπιστραφεὶς).  He looked at his disciples (καὶ ἰδὼν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ).  He then warned, rebuked, or admonished Peter (ἐπετίμησεν Πέτρῳ), just as he had done to him.  Jesus did not want an uprising among his followers.  He told him (καὶ λέγει) to get behind him (Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου) because Peter was acting like Satan (Σατανᾶ), since he was only thinking or caring (ὅτι οὐ φρονεῖς) about human things (ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων), not divine things of God (τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ).  Peter went from being a great leader to a tempting Satan trying to put obstacles in the way of a divine plan for Jesus.  Be careful when you speak out against a leader.

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September 25, 2018

Peter rebukes Jesus (Mk 8:32-8:32)

“Jesus said

All this

Quite openly.

Peter took him aside.

He began

To rebuke Jesus.”

 

καὶ παρρησίᾳ τὸν λόγον ἐλάλει. καὶ προσλαβόμενος ὁ Πέτρος αὐτὸν ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾶν αὐτῷ

 

Mark recounted that Jesus said all these things openly (καὶ παρρησίᾳ τὸν λόγον ἐλάλει).  Then Jesus and Peter had a conversation that also can be found in Matthew, chapter 16:22.  Peter, using his new authority, took Jesus aside (καὶ προσλαβόμενος).  He began to warn, rebuke, or admonish him (ὁ Πέτρος αὐτὸν ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾶν αὐτῷ).  However, there is no indication of what Peter said as there was in Matthew.  Apparently, Peter could not image a Messiah who would suffer and die.

September 25, 2018

The Son of Man must suffer (Mk 8:31-8:31)

“Then Jesus

Began to teach them

That the Son of Man

Must undergo

Great suffering.

He will be rejected

By the elders,

By the chief priests,

And by the Scribes.

He will be killed.

After three days,

He will rise again.”

 

Καὶ ἤρξατο διδάσκειν αὐτοὺς ὅτι δεῖ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πολλὰ παθεῖν, καὶ ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ τῶν ἀρχιερέων καὶ τῶν γραμματέων καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀναστῆναι

 

Jesus began to talk about his future suffering that can be found in all 3 synoptic gospels, Matthew, chapter 16:21, Luke, chapter 9:22, and here.  Notice that Mark and the other synoptics do not blame the Pharisees or the Sadducees for the suffering and death of Jesus.  There also was no mention of the Roman authorities.  Jesus began to teach them (Καὶ ἤρξατο διδάσκειν αὐτοὺς) that it was necessary that the Son of Man (ὅτι δεῖ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου) undergo many great sufferings (καὶ πολλὰ παθεῖν).  Here in Mark, Jesus used the term Son of Man to refer to himself not Jesus Christ as in Matthew.  He was going to be rejected (καὶ ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι) by the elders or presbyters (ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων), the chief priests (καὶ ἀρχιερέων), and the Scribes (καὶ γραμματέων).  Eventually, he would be killed (καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι).  There was no mention of Jesus going to Jerusalem here.  After 3 days (καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας), he would rise again (ἀναστῆναι).  Clearly, this was a prediction about the future of Jesus and his suffering, death, and resurrection.

September 25, 2018

Jesus says to tell no one (Mk 8:30-8:30)

“Jesus sternly

Ordered them

Not to tell

Anyone

About him.”

 

καὶ ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς ἵνα μηδενὶ λέγωσιν περὶ αὐτοῦ.

 

This warning about the messianic secret can be found in all 3 synoptic gospels, Matthew, chapter 16:20, Luke, chapter 9:21, and here.  However, this warning came right after Peter’s response in Mark and Luke, since they did not have the unique Matthew reward for Peter.  Jesus, in some ironic way, did not want the people to know that he was the Messiah or the Christ.  Thus, the name “Jesus Christ” did not take hold until after his death and resurrection.  Mark said that Jesus sternly ordered, instructed, or charged his disciples (καὶ ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς) that they were not to tell anyone about Jesus (ἵνα μηδενὶ λέγωσιν περὶ αὐτοῦ) that he was the Christ or the Israelite Messiah.  Only the elite followers of Jesus knew that he was the Christ messiah, much like a gnostic special knowledge.

September 25, 2018

Peter responds (Mk 8:29-8:29)

The response of Peter can be found in all four gospels, Matthew, chapter 16:16, Luke, chapter 9:20, and John, 6:69, but all slightly different.  The name of Peter is sometimes just Peter.  Are the Greek “Christ” and the Hebrew “Messiah” the same?  Matthew is the only one who had Peter say that Jesus was the son of the living God.  Matthew is also the only one that mentioned the special relationship that Peter had with his Father in heaven.  Peter gave a strong positive response in all four versions.  Mark said that Peter replied (ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Πέτρος) to the question of Jesus immediately.  He said that Jesus was the Christ (λέγει αὐτῷ Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς) or the Messiah that they were expecting in Israel.  Matthew had Jesus respond to Peter, but that was not in Mark.  Peter, as the leader of this new group of Jesus followers, asserted this important belief about Jesus.  For the first time, Jesus is called the Christ, the Messiah.  Here Peter, in the name of the nascent Christian community, proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ.

September 24, 2018

Jesus asks then point blank (Mk 8:29-8:29)

“He asked them.

‘But who do you say

That I am?’

 

καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπηρώτα αὐτούς Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;

 

This same question can be found in Matthew, chapter 16:15, and Luke, chapter 9:20.  Mark said that Jesus was questioning his disciples (καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπηρώτα αὐτούς) who was it that they thought or said that he was (Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι).  Jesus thus put them to the test.  This was not about what others said or thought, but about their understanding of Jesus.  Who did they think Jesus was?

September 24, 2018

The prophet (Mk 8:28-8:28)

“They answered him.

‘John the Baptist!’

Others say.

‘Elijah!’

Still others.

‘One of the prophets.’”

 

οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες ὅτι Ἰωάνην τὸν Βαπτιστήν, καὶ ἄλλοι Ἡλείαν, ἄλλοι δὲ ὅτι εἷς τῶν προφητῶν.

 

This same response can be found in Matthew, chapter 16:14, and Luke, chapter 9:19, but there are slight differences.  Matthew is the only one who explicitly mentioned Jeremiah, who was a Judean prophet active from 626 BCE to 587 BCE, around the time of the destruction of the Temple.  Mark and Luke only had the more generic term of one of the prophets, rather than any individual prophet.  Mark said that the disciples responded to him (οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες) that some people said he was John the Baptist (ὅτι Ἰωάνην τὸν Βαπτιστήν).  Others said Elijah (καὶ ἄλλοι δὲ Ἡλείαν).  This Elijah was a 9th century BCE northern Israel prophet whose work can be found in the Old Testament Books of 1 Kings, 2 Kings, and 1 Chronicles.  Finally, other people said that he was one of the many prophets (ἄλλοι δὲ ὅτι εἷς τῶν προφητῶν).  No one called him the Messiah or Christ.