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Mark 8 Bible study: Who do you say that I am?
In Mark, Peter is the first person in the story to call Jesus the Christ (8:29); before that only the book's first verse does. Then Jesus tells them to tell no one, and for the first time teaches them openly that the Son of Man must suffer, be killed, and after three days rise again. Then he calls the crowd too: whoever wants to come after him is to deny himself and take up his cross.
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“He called the multitude to himself with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
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“In Mark 8:29 Peter calls Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Is that in Mark 8, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"You are the Christ"
Mark's Gospel tells you who Jesus is in its first verse: "The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (1:1). Inside the story, a voice out of the sky has said, "You are my beloved Son" (1:11), an unclean spirit has cried, "I know who you are: the Holy One of God!" (1:24), and the disciples have asked one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (4:41). Now Jesus asks them himself: "Who do men say that I am?" (8:27). Their answers are what people had already said of him: "John the Baptizer, and others say Elijah, but others, one of the prophets" (8:28), the same names Mark gives in 6:14-15. Then, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ" (8:29) (tap Christ). Here is what almost everyone misses: before this verse, the WEB of Mark has the word Christ only once, in the book's first verse. Peter is the first person in Mark's story to say it.
Where it leads to Jesus
After three days, rise again
Mark 8:31leads toMark 16:6
Jesus "began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31), and "He spoke to them openly" (Mark 8:32). At the tomb, a young man sitting on the right side (Mark 16:5) says to them, "You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here." (Mark 16:6). Jesus says it again in Mark 9:31 and 10:33-34.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Mark 8
That was a taste
The rest of Mark 8 is waiting in Favor
- Told openly, for the first time
- "Don’t you understand yet?"
- Not only for his disciples
- Beside Matthew and Luke
- Lines to and from this chapter
- 15 questions as you read
- 13 more Greek words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Mark 8 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Greek word behind it
ΧριστόςChristossay khris-TOS
Strong's: "anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus". Strong's gives it as from G5548, chrio, the verb it gives in English as "anoint". "Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”" (8:29). Mark's Greek has the word seven times, in the same seven verses where the WEB has Christ (1:1, 8:29, 9:41, 12:35, 13:21, 14:61, 15:32), counted in the Byzantine text the WEB translates. Before this verse, only the book's first verse has it: "Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (1:1). Late in the book the high priest asks Jesus, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (14:61).
For your group
Mark 8 Bible study questions
- 1Jesus asked, "But who do you say that I am?" (8:29). If he asked you that this week, what would you say, and what has shaped your answer?
- 2Peter said "You are the Christ" (8:29), and a few verses later rebuked Jesus for speaking of suffering (8:32). Why do you think it can be easier to say the right words about Jesus than to accept where following him leads?
- 3"Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (8:34). What might it look like for you to follow him in an ordinary week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Mark 8 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Mark 8 straight away?
Mark is open from your first day, and its chapters open one after another, so you'll reach Mark 8 with everything before it in view. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home