Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

g. Peter's Confession
THE QUESTION OF JESUS SELF-UNDERSTANDING
§15.3
The question whether Jesus was considered to be the royal Messiah during his
mission can hardly avoid Mark 8.27-30 pars.
Matt. 16.13-20
13 Now when Jesus
came into
the district of Caesarea
Philippi,
he asked his
disciples, "Who do
people say that the Son
of man is?' 14 And
they said, 'Some say
John the Baptist.
others Eliiah, and
others Jeremiah or one
of the prophets'. 15
He said to them,
'But who do you sav
that I am?' 16 Simon
Peter answered,
'You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God'.
20 Then he charged
the disciples to
tell no one that he was
the Christ.
Mark 8.27-30
27 And Jesus went on
with his disciples, to
the villages of Caesarea
Philippi; and on the
way he asked his
disciples, 'Who do
people say that I
am?' 28 And
they said to him,
'John the Baptist; and
others Elijah; and
others one
of the prophets'. 29
And he asked them,
'But who do you say
that I am?'
Peter answered him,
'You are the Christ'.
30 And he charged
them to
tell no one about him.
Luke 9.18-21
18 Now it happened
that as he was praying
alone the disciples were
with him;
and he asked them,
'Who do the
crowds say that I
am?' 19 And
they answered,
'John the Baptist; but
others Eliiah: and
others, that one of the
old prophets has risen'.
20 So he said to them,
'But who do vou sav
that I am?' And
Peter answered,
'The Christ of
God'.
21 But he charged and
commanded them to
tell no one this . . .
John 6.66-69
66 After this many of
his disciples drew back
and no longer went
about with him. 67
Jesus said to the
twelve, 'Do you also
wish to go away?' 68
Simon Peter answered
him, 'Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have
the words of eternal
life; 69 and we have
believed, and have
come to know, that you
are the Holy One of
God'.
The passage obviously plays a pivotal role in Mark's Gospel: there is a clear
before-and-after-Caesarea-Philippi structure to Mark's plot. 143 And consequently
the episode is frequently regarded as the product of early Christian, or
specifically Markan, theology, with the Wredean Markan secret (Mark 8.30)
seen as a decisive pointer in that direction. 144 Characteristic embellishments by
Matthew (16.16b-19 — the famous commission of Peter) 145 and Luke (9.18 —
Jesus praying) 146 do not affect this conclusion.
Nevertheless, there are several indications that Mark has been able to draw
on a well-rooted memory, with the variations between the Synoptists characteristic
of performance flexibility. (1) Again we note the unusual feature that Mark's
version has recalled the locale where the teaching took place 147 and the still more
143. See further below in vol. 3.
144. See particularly Räisänen, Messianic Secret 176; Funk, Acts of Jesus 103-104.
145. See above, §13.3f.
146. See above, chapter 14 n. 82.
147. Bultmann thought the whole narrative was an Easter story carried back into the
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