THE LARGER CONTEXT OF THE PASSAGE
The section from 8:27 to 9:13 can be considered as a turning point in the gospel of Mark. The section records two pericopes, Peter’s great confession at Caesarea Philippi, and the Father’s great confession at the Transfiguration. After the disciples have been with Him and witnessed His works, listened to His teachings, and participated in His ministry, Jesus gives them an opportunity to voice their opinion regarding His identity. Until now, Mark has recorded the Divine Voice and even demons testifying that Jesus is the Son of God. Now Peter’s response to Jesus’ question is the first record of the disciples recognizing that Jesus is the Messiah. This crucial cognitive goal regarding identity having been achieved, Jesus then begins to teach them about the redemptive suffering the Messiah has to undergo as part of His God-ordained ministry. The notion of a suffering Messiah is so obnoxious to the Jewish sensibilities of the disciples that Peter presumes to
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Jesus commences the final teaching of the Twelve. The location seems to be the outlying villages of Caesarea Philippi , about twenty-five miles north of Bethsaida. The old name of the town was Paneas and it contained a grotto dedicated to the worship of the god Pan. A temple was later erected there by Herod the Great in honor of the Emperor Augustus. Swete notes that these new cities were predominantly gentile and were much more aggressively Hellenized than other areas. This deliberate foray into gentile territory could be Jesus’ attempt to avoid public spotlight and rather focus on teaching His disciples about the real role of the Messiah. This pagan region with strong associations with the lordship of Caesar is an unlikely venue for the maiden proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah by the disciples