Mark 8:31-38

 

•           open confrontation – When Peter hears Jesus speak of impending suffering that will come to the Son of Man, he immediately reacts.  Mark’s use of epitimao, “rebuke” has been used up to this point to describe the muzzling of demons.  Peter attempts to muzzle Jesus; such was the reaction among Jesus’ family members earlier when they too, thought Jesus crazy and in need of exorcising (3:20-21).   Jesus’ quick rebuttal, (“Get behind me, Satan”) would have been considered appropriate action in traditional society.[1]

•           titles and implications – Two titles appear in the pericope that has Peter naming Jesus as “Messiah,” and Jesus choosing the title, “Son of Man.”  The first term has a rich and evolved history in Jewish and biblical literature.  Son of Man, while also appearing throughout Jewish Scripture, is in Mark’s gospel, defined by Jesus’ words and actions: authority to forgive sin, authority over cosmic forces, and here, the divine authority to suffer.[2]

•           nib – Confronted with the necessity of suffering, most people react exactly like Peter . . . in a “pain-killer” culture, a balanced understanding of suffering is difficult to achieve . . . Jesus’ healing miracles and his compassion for the crowds at the feeding miracles make it clear that God does not delight in human suffering . . . Yet the danger lies in concluding that suffering and self-sacrifice are always undesirable.  [It is easy to] have grasped the Jesus of the miracles but have ignored the word of the cross.  Prayer is important in healing, but prayer is an opening up of ourselves to what God wills, not an exercise in forcing God to do our will.[3]

 

Peter concludes that Jesus is the “Messiah,” based not on Jesus’ self-revelation, but on current visions of Messiah.  Recall as many non-sequiturs as you can (“statements that don’t follow logically from anything previously said”) as a way to understand the disconnect between saying one thing but meaning another.

    Please refer the homily based on this passage in DPS for this week.

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[1] Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation Series: Genesis (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982), p. 154.

[2] Ibid, page 155.

[3] Ibid, page 155.