The scene of this is worth notice. It lay to the northward of Bethsaida, amongst the villages in the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi. This town, on the site of the ancient Paneas (now Bahias), was built by the tetrarch Philip in honor of Tiberius Caesar, and is to be distinguished from the Caesarea of the southern Mediterranean seaboard of Palestine. The country was magnificent (Tristram, 'Land of Israel,' p. 586); wild, wooded, and mountainous, and dominated by the royal castle of Subeibeh. Here, too, was the chief fountain-head of the Jordan (ibid., p. 585). It was a region where the utmost seclusion could be enjoyed, pending the great things which were to take place in the near future. Immediately behind the disciples were the great works which had occasioned such universal wonder and speculation concerning their Master; and they were in a position of comparative leisure and quietude duly to recall and meditate upon them. No better opportunity had hitherto presented itself for the crowning question of Jesus," Whom say ye that l am? "

I. THE IDENTIFICATION WAS DISTINGUISHED FROM SEVERAL ALREADY CURRENT. So marvellous was the career of Jesus, that all ideas of explaining on ordinary grounds had to be abandoned. In the popular mind the only personages corresponding to Jesus, save John the Baptist, were those of ancient Jewish history, the heroic ages of the theocracy. All were agreed that in him there was a revival or reappearance of the religious spirit of the best days of Israel.

1. The knowledge of these opinions rendered the judgment of the disciples highly conscious and deliberate, and therefore of great critical importance. Each of them, as it came to their ears, would doubtlessly be considered and weighed. The popular guesses would be compared with the full and complete experience of Jesus and his work, which they alone possessed, and one by one rejected. But they would serve to awaken their critical attention and their spiritual discernment - constitute, in fact, a sort of ascending scale according to which to adjust their own thoughts.

2. The certainty to which they had arrived, notwithstanding the variety of opinions of which they were aware, proves how overwhelming the evidence must have been upon which they based their conclusion. There is no hesitation in Peter's answer. And as spokesman of the twelve he utters their unanimous conviction. How much previous examination and interchange of views does that imply?

II. How was THIS CONCLUSION ARRIVED AT?

1. Not from unscientific guessing. From their peculiar circumstances this was impossible.

2. Not from information furnished by Jesus himself. There is no trace of hinting or suggesting on the part of the Master. His withdrawal from that course of policy which might have enabled him to take advantage of popular influence was against the idea of his being the Messiah of the people's dreams. It was in spite of his mysterious behavior, therefore, and in complete absence of any information furnished by himself, that they formed their opinion.

3. It was by a twofold process, viz.:

(1) Induction from their experience of his character and works. For this they were peculiarly fitted; and the searching training of the Master led them gradually but surely to make it. And they were well versed in Scripture.

(2) Inspiration of God. Elsewhere (Matthew 16:17) we read the declaration, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." These two sources of information were not mutually exclusive, but mutually supplementary and confirmatory, as in every Christian mind to-day. Indeed, in a larger view of evidence the spiritual intuition - the most truly moral evidence of the conscience - is but an element of the general moral evidence upon which the induction is based. It is the conscience which is the ultimate judge of all spiritual questions the ordinary understanding cannot completely or satisfactorily settle.

III. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ITS ATTAINMENT.

1. It was but a recognition of certain correspondences between Jesus and the Messiah spoken of in Scripture. There was certainty and intelligent perception, so far as their knowledge went. But the full conception of his personality and work was reserved for the future. They knew that it was he of whom the prophets spoke, but about himself in his deeper nature and the spirituality, etc., of his work - in short, of what he was - they were not fully aware.

2. What they did arrive at altered their entire relation to him. A new, vague authority attached henceforth to him, and the future was full of a keen expectancy and interest. It gave a new meaning to every word and action proceeding from him, and prepared them for the special training and teaching which they had to receive as his apostles; just as the principle attained by induction of many facts, when its light is turned back upon them interprets them, and we see them as we could not before. - M.

I. JESUS CHRIST THE SUBJECT OF UNIVERSAL INQUIRY. He appeals to all men.

1. By the variety of His works.

2. By the vitality of His teaching.

3. As the "Son of Man."

II. JESUS CHRIST DEMANDING SPECIAL TESTIMONY. His followers are called —

1. To knowledge.

2. To profession.

3. To individuality of testimony.

III. JESUS CHRIST IS REVEALED BY HIS WORKS RATHER THAN BY VERBAL PROFESSION.

(Dr. Parker.)

I. CHRIST PUT TO THE DISCIPLES THEMSELVES THE QUESTION, "Whom say ye that I am?"

1. Christ would turn their thoughts from others to themselves.

2. He does not take for granted that because they externally follow Him, they know Him.

3. He examines them on the most important of all points.

4. He examines them through themselves.

5. He leads them to make a confession of their faith.

6. He puts them in a different class from the multitude.

II. TO THIS QUESTION, PETER REPLIED FOR ALL THE DISCIPLES. Their answer was —

1. Prompt. They had been convinced of His Messiahship.

2. Unanimous. The creed was very short — of one article, all held it.

3. Correct.

4. The result of Divine teaching.

5. On this answer the Church was to be built.

III. CHRIST PROHIBITS THEM FROM PUBLISHING WHAT THEY KNEW OF HIM, IN PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES.

1. He would deal with them Himself.

2. The proof of His Messiahship was not complete.

3. The Jews were not prepared.

4. The apostles were not qualified.

(Expository Discourses.)

? —

I. THE OPINIONS THAT MEN ENTERTAINED RESPECTING CHRIST WERE OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.

1. According to these, they would act, and be dealt with, in this the day of their visitation.

2. Without a knowledge of Christ they could not rely on Him for their own personal salvation.

3. Their opinions respecting Christ indicated their own true state and character. What think ye of Christ?

II. CHRIST WAS CONCERNED FOR THE OPINIONS OF MEN RESPECTING HIMSELF.

1. Having sown, He now looks for the fruit.

2. If He has not been a "savour of life unto life," He has been a "savour of death unto death."

3. He has shown us that we should Hot be indifferent as to human opinion respecting ourselves.

III. CHRIST HELD MEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OPINIONS RESPECTING HIM. As man's judge, He deals with their belief.

IV. CHRIST APPLIES TO HIS DISCIPLES FOR AN ACCOUNT OF THE OPINIONS WHICH MEN HAD OF HIM.

1. Not because He was ignorant, etc.

2. But He taught the apostles that it was part of their duty to mark the state of their fellow men.

3. We ought to look on the things of others, and especially their eternal interests.

(Expository Discourses.)

The claim of Jesus to be the Messiah should be examined.

I. Such knowledge of Christ as the true Messiah CANNOT BE COMMUNICATED BY MAN TO MAN. We may have an acquaintance with ancient records of kingdoms and states that have passed away; we may acquire an intimate acquaintance with warriors, and heroes, and statesmen, and early monarchs, and yet be utterly uninfluenced and unaffected by what we learn; we may read of much. that is heroic, and noble, and heart-stirring, in the achievements of many masterminds of days that are gone by, and only have our minds influenced, as by a bright and glowing dream. And so may it be with the Scripture records. We may be delighted, not only with the detail of ancient history, as recorded in the Bible, but we may be touched with the poetry and the pathos with which the Bible abounds, and we may acquire such an appetite for the Bible, in that sense, as shall induce us to come to it, as affording the most pleasant, and delightful, and intellectual study, and yet be unacquainted with Jesus, the Son of Man and the Son of God, and the one Mediator between our sinful souls and God; and instances are to be found, and ever have been, in which the mind has been stored with the truth, and the heart untouched by it. It is because we have reason to fear that this is too common, that we press upon you the fact that a merely intellectual acquaintance with the Bible is not such an acquaintance with Christ as will meet the necessity of your case. A speculative knowledge of Christ may be acquired by the exercise of the natural faculties; systems of theology may be conceived, magnificent and striking views may be obtained; and yet the heart of a man, as a sinner, may be altogether unmoved. He may contemplate the wondrous plan of redemption, as centred in Christ, and as achieved by Christ, "in the fulness of time": but he may never feel the want of redemption. He may read, and be assured of the fact, that "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," and yet never be in fear of perishing for want of Christ. He may read, and be well assured of the fact, that "God hath given to us eternal life, and that this life is in His Son"; he may go on, and read the next verse, in which it is affirmed, "He that hath the Son hath life, but he that hath not the Son hath not life," and set remain destitute of the "life," which God has given in Christ, because he as yet knows not that he is "dead in trespasses and sins." He may know, and be ready to declare, without fearing contradiction, that Christ hath "abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel"; but he may not know (or if he does, he is not influenced by the knowledge) that he is still subject to all the consequences of sin which Jesus came to remove. He may read in another place, that "the gift of God is eternal life," and yet be ignorant that all his life he has been earning "the wages of sin," which "is death."

II. That revelation then, must be first general; and secondly, particular. "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, BUT MY FATHER, WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." It is the prerogative of the Father in heaven to reveal His Son. Angels cannot tell what Jesus is; the highest intellect in heaven would fail to reveal it. But the Father does reveal it. But as we have seen that multitudes remain ignorant, though God has opened the page of revelation, we need a particular revelation. The Bible is a revelation from God the Father to us; but we need a revelation of Christ in us. During all lives, God has revealed Christ to us; but has He revealed Christ in us. It must be the result o! an express revelation from God the Father, through His own blessed Spirit, to our inward souls; it must be the everlasting Spirit "taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to us."

III. THAT BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HAVE SUCH A KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST, AS A REVELATION FROM GOD. "Blessed art thou, Simon," etc. There is no true state that can be deemed blessed, but that which results from a saving knowledge of Christ. He who has this revelation is blessed.

1. In the certainty of his knowledge. He hath the witness in himself.

2. In the reality of the effects of the truth. "The truth has made him free." He is "an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ."

3. In the final and eternal results which follow. "Eye hath not seen," etc.

(G. Fisk, LL. B.)

? —

I. THE POPULAR IMPRESSION CONCERNING JESUS.

II. THE APOSTOLIC CONFESSION REGARDING JESUS.

III. THE ACCEPTANCE BY JESUS OF THIS CONFESSION.

1. The immense importance of the answer given to this question.

2. The utter inadequacy of any answer to this question save one.

3. The complete satisfaction which the true answer affords.

(J. R. Thomson, M. A.)

I. It is evident, from the history, that our Lord desired to awaken some sort of anxiety in the minds of His followers, and to excite their feelings of loyalty to truth and to Himself, so that they might be upon their guard against disaffection under any popular pressure, or any wild popular perversions of His character or mission.

II. This, then, was the great confession of faith, which has come down to us through the ages.

1. First, it will follow from a story like this, that it is of vast consequence what a man believes, and all the more if he be sincere in his creed.

2. We learn also that it is not enough to admit the bare record, and so simply consent to an historic Christ.

3. Again, to a human soul, struggling for its immortal life, Jesus the Saviour is everything at once, or He is nothing forever.

(C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

Elias, Elijah, Herod, Jesus, John, PeterBethsaida, Caesarea Philippi, Dalmanutha, Decapolis, Sea of GalileeBaptist, Baptizer, Elias, Elijah, Eli'jah, John, Prophets, Replied, Saying1. Jesus feeds the people miraculously;
10. refuses to give a sign to the Pharisees;
14. admonishes his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod;
22. gives a blind man his sight;
27. acknowledges that he is the Jesus who should suffer and rise again;
34. and exhorts to patience in persecution for the profession of the gospel.

Mark 8:27-28

     1432   prophecy in NT
     5098   John the Baptist

Mark 8:27-29

     5923   public opinion

Mark 8:27-30

     2363   Christ, preaching and teaching

The Religious Uses of Memory
'Do ye not remember!'--Mark viii. 18. The disciples had misunderstood our Lord's warning 'against the leaven of the Pharisees,' which they supposed to have been occasioned by their neglect to bring with them bread. Their blunder was like many others which they committed, but it seems to have singularly moved our Lord, who was usually so patient with His slow scholars. The swift rain of questions, like bullets rattling against a cuirass, of which my text is one, shows how much He was moved, if not …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Patient Teacher, and the Slow Scholars
'And when Jesus knew It, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18. Having eyes, see ye not? having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?'--Mark viii. 17,18. How different were the thoughts of Christ and of His disciples, as they sat together in the boat, making their way across the lake! He was pursuing a train of sad reflections which, the moment before their embarkation, had caused Him to sigh …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Gradual Healing of the Blind Man
'And Jesus cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. 23. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon Him, He asked him if he saw ought. 24. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25. After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.'--Mark viii. 22-25. This miracle, which is only recorded …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Cross, and Ours
'And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28. And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29. And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. 30. And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him. 31. And He began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On the Words of the Gospel, Mark viii. 34, "If any Man Would Come after Me, Let Him Deny Himself," Etc. And on the Words 1
1. Hard and grievous does that appear which the Lord hath enjoined, that "whosoever will come after Him, must deny himself." [3157] But what He enjoineth is not hard or grievous, who aideth us that what He enjoineth may be done. For both is that true which is said to Him in the Psalm, "Because of the words of Thy lips I have kept hard ways." [3158] And that is true which He said Himself, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." [3159] For whatsoever is hard in what is enjoined us, charity makes …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Mark viii. 5, Etc. , Where the Miracle of the Seven Loaves is Related.
1. In expounding to you the Holy Scriptures, I as it were break bread for you. Do ye in hunger receive it, and break [3135] forth with a fulness of phrase from the heart; and ye who are rich in your banquet, be not meagre in good works and deeds. What I deal out to you is not mine own. What ye eat, I eat; what ye live upon, I live upon. We have in heaven a common store-house; for from thence comes the Word of God. 2. The "seven loaves" [3136] signify the seven-fold operation of the Holy Spirit; the …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Profit and Loss
We shall divide our text, and consider, in the first place, the gain a man would get if he gained the whole world; in the second place, the fearful loss if a man should lose his soul; and then, afterwards, we will try to finish up by some practical lesson. 1. In the first place, WHAT IS A MAN PROFITED IF HE SHOULD GAIN THE WHOLE WORD? Many Christian people, who do not exactly talk common sense, sum this all up by saying, that to gain the whole world is to gain nothing at all. Perhaps they are right, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Measure of Sin.
7th Sunday after Trinity. S. Mark viii. 2. "I have compassion on the multitude." INTRODUCTION.--In to-day's Gospel we see the tender compassion of our Lord for those who came into the wilderness to hear Him. This is only one example out of many of His great love and mercy: and indeed "His mercy is over all His works." "Thou, O Lord," says David, "art full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering and truth." This is a verity of which we are so convinced that it is quite possible we may overlook …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

Religious Dangers
(Preached at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, 1861, for the London Diocesan Board of Education.) St. Mark viii. 4, 5, 8. And the disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? . . . How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. . . . so they did eat and were filled; and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. I think that I can take no better text for the subject on which I am about to preach, than that which the Gospel for this …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity.
How is it that ye do not understand?'--ST. MARK viii. 21. After feeding the four thousand with seven loaves and a few small fishes, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus, having crossed the lake, was met on the other side by certain Pharisees, whose attitude towards him was such that he betook himself again to the boat, and recrossed the lake. On the way the disciples bethought them that they had in the boat but a single loaf: probably while the Lord was occupied with the Pharisees, one …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

The Final Controversies in Jerusalem
177. The early Christians were greatly interested in the teachings of Jesus and in his deeds, but they thought oftenest of the victory which by his resurrection he won out of seeming defeat. This is proved by the fact that of the first two gospels over one third, of Luke over one fifth, and of the fourth gospel nearly one half are devoted to the story of the passion and resurrection. This preponderance is not strange in view of the shock which the death of Jesus caused his disciples, and the new …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Prayer --The All-Important Essence of Earthly Worship
Where the spiritual consciousness is concerned--the department which asks the question and demands the evidence--no evidence is competent or relevant except such as is spiritual. Only that which is above matter and above logic can be heard, because the very question at issue is the existence and personality of a spiritual and supernatural God. Only the Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit. This must be done in a spiritual or supernatural way, or it cannot be done at all.--C.L. Chilton The …
Edward M. Bounds—The Reality of Prayer

Eight Easter Lessons Learned at Emmaus. Luke xxiv. 13-35.
I.--When friends speak of good things, Jesus draws near. "These things" which concern Jesus. Even if men speak sorrowfully, if it is of Jesus they speak, He is nigh. If He were the subject of conversation more, His friends would have more of His company. If you are shy of Him, He will be shy of you. II.--Unbelief manufactures sorrow for the godly. Jesus said they looked "sad." It is a pity to employ unbelief; he does not know how to make a smile. When he tries it is a misfit. If the disciples …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Second Touch
"After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up."--Mark viii. 25. C. P. C. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Lo! a Hand amidst the darkness Clasped mine own-- Led me forth the blind and helpless, Led me forth alone; From the crowd and from the clamour To a silent place; Touched mine eyes--I looked upon Him-- Saw Him face to face. Saw Him, as the dawning swiftly risen O'er the valleys grey; I had passed from midnight of my prison Forth into the day. Lo! again His mighty Hand hath …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Epistle xxiii. To John, Bishop.
To John, Bishop. Gregory to John, Bishop of Prima Justiniana in Illyricum. It is clearly a manifest evidence of goodness that the consent of all should concur in the election of one person. Since, then, the account which we have received from our brethren and fellow-bishops declared that you are summoned to the position of priesthood by the unanimous consent of the whole council and the will of the most serene Prince, we have rendered thanks with great exultation to Almighty God our Creator, who …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The General Service to a Monk-Martyr.
At the Vespers, for O Lord, I have cried, the Stichera, Tone 6. Similar to: Of three days... Let us, O faithful, in dutifully praising the exploits of the wise abstainer and the pains of the soldier of Christ, cry out unto the Lord: Through his intercessions, O Christ the God, deliver us from every calamity. An abundance of the most noble peace will be given of God unto thee, O holy father (mentioned by name), that hast endured the frightful storm of torments, thou invincible warrior and intercessor …
Anonymous—The General Menaion

The Four Thousand
"In those days, when there was again a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and if I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way; and some of them are come from afar. And His disciples answered Him, Whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in a desert place? And He asked them, How many loaves …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Leaven of the Pharisees
"And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him. And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. And He left them, and again entering into the boat departed to the other side. And they forgot to take bread; and they had not in the boat with them more than one loaf. And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Men as Trees
"And they come unto Bethsaida. And they bring to Him a blind man, and beseech Him to touch him. And He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village; and when He had spit on his eyes, and laid His hands upon him, He asked him, Seest thou aught? And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold them as trees, walking. Then again He laid His hands upon his eyes; and he looked stedfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly. And He sent him away to his home, saying, …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Confession and the Warning
"And Jesus went forth, and His disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and in the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am? And they told Him, saying, John the Baptist: and others, Elijah; but others, One of the prophets. And He asked them, But Who say ye that I am? Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him. And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

the Rebuke of Peter
"And He spake the saying openly. And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him.". . . . "But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, 'Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.' And when He had called the people to Him, with His disciples also, He said to them, Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Zealous Protestants
Tuesday, May 3.--I rode to Birr, twenty miles from Atlone and, the key of the session house not being to be found, declared "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" in the street, to a dull, rude, senseless multitude. Many laughed the greater part of the time. Some went away just in the middle of a sentence. And yet when one cried out (a Carmelite friar, clerk to the priest), "You lie! You lie!" the zealous Protestants cried out, "Knock him down"; and it was not sooner said than done. I saw some bustle, …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

The Greatness of the Soul,
AND UNSPEAKABLENESS 0F THE LOSS THEREOF; WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT. FIRST PREACHED AT PINNER'S HALL and now ENLARGED AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. By JOHN BUNYAN, London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682 Faithfully reprinted from the Author's First Edition. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Our curiosity is naturally excited to discover what a poor, unlettered mechanic, whose book-learning had been limited to the contents of one volume, could by possibility know …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

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