Mark 8:27-30

6. Peter’s confession of faith 8:27-30 (cf. Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-21)

The healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment resulted in a confession of Jesus’ greatness that fell short of identifying Him as God (Mark 7:37). The healing of the blind man was the incident that God used to open the disciples’ eyes to the biblical messianic identity of Jesus that Peter articulated.

Mark further highlighted the cause and effect relationship between these last two events by structuring the pericopes similarly. First, he presented the circumstances (Mark 8:22; Mark 8:27). Second, he described partial sight and understanding (Mark 8:23-24; Mark 8:28). Third, he recorded the giving of sight and understanding (Mark 8:25; Mark 8:29). Fourth, he noted Jesus’ command to remain silent (Mark 8:26; Mark 8:30). [Note: Wessel, p. 692.]

"Mark has placed at the center of his narrative the recognition that Jesus is the Messiah. The pivotal importance of this moment is indicated by the fact that already in the first line of the Gospel the evangelist designates Jesus as the Messiah. Yet between Ch. Mark 1:1 and Ch. Mark 8:29 there is no recognition of this fact in spite of a remarkable sequence of events which demanded a decision concerning Jesus’ identity. . . .

"The recognition that Jesus is the Messiah is thus the point of intersection toward which all the theological currents of the first half of the Gospel converge and from which the dynamic of the second half of the Gospel derives. In no other way could Mark more sharply indicate the historical and theological significance of the conversation in the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi." [Note: Lane, pp. 288, 289.]