Mark 8:31

Mar_8:31; Mar_8:33

That the Son of Man must suffer many things.

The rebuke of love

Let us not overlook this loving rebuke; for

(1) it cures Peters presumption;

(2) sets him to learn a new lesson on the heavenliness of sacrifice;

(3) prevents the greatness of his faith being spoiled by the earthliness of his hopes.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend: but the wounds which the Saviour inflicts are kindest of all. From Peters weakness let us learn how hard it is to see all truth at once. From Christs rebuke let us learn that the heavenly thing is not to seek for glory, but for usefulness, even if we can reach it only through a cross. (R. Glover.)

Peter rebuked Christ and Christ rebuked Peter-an altercation of more than mere words

It is charged with practical truths.

1. Mans shortsightedness.

2. Mans sentiment exaggerated.

3. Mans audacity to think he can help or save Christ.

On Christs side:

1. He rebukes the oldest.

2. He rebukes the wisest-it was Peter who said, Thou art the Christ.

3. He shows that men are only worthy of Him in proportion as they enter into His spirit. (Dr. Parker.)

Christs intimation of His sufferings

I. What there is to mark the time which our blessed Saviour thus selected, for giving prominence to a new and unwelcome subject of discourse. In the third year of His public ministry. Up to this time our Lord left the great truth of His Godhead to work its way rote the minds of His apostles. Now they had arrived at the conviction that He was none other than the ever-living God. What inducement led to, and what instruction may be gathered from, the recorded fact, that when Jesus had drawn from His disciples the acknowledgment of His Divinity, then, and not before, He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Now the apostles could have had none but the most indistinct apprehensions of the office and mission of our Lord, so long as they were ignorant of the death which He had undertaken to die. This made it appear remarkable, that our Lord should so long have withheld the express mention of His sufferings, As much as to say, It will be of no avail to speak to them of My death till they are convinced of My Deity. So long as they only know Me as the Son of Man, they will not be prepared to hear of the cross; when they shall also know Me as the Son of the living God, then will be the time to tell of ignominy and death. Oh, how strange, you may exclaim, that the moment of discovering a Divine person in the form of a man should be the right moment for the being informed that this person should be crucified! To discover a Divine person is to discover what death cannot touch; and yet Christ waited till this discovery in regard of Himself, that He might then expressly mention His approaching dissolution. But do you not observe, my brethren, what a testimony our Lord hereby gives to the fact, that the truth of His Godhead alone explains-alone gives meaning or worth to-His having died on the cross? He will say nothing of His death whilst only believed to be man; He speaks continually of His death, when once acknowledged as God. Are we not taught by this, that they only who believe Christ Divine, can put the right construction on the mystery of His death, or so survey it as to draw from it what it was intended to teach? Then we perceive, that He must have died as a sacrifice; then we understand that He must have died as an atonement to be the propitiation for our sins, to reconcile the world unto God. He could not have died for such ends had He been only man; but being also God, such ends could be answered and effected by His death, though nothing less, so far as we can tell, could have sufficed. Therefore, again and again, we say, Christs Divinity is the explanation of Christs death. We seem quite justified in gathering from the text, that hence forward our Lord made very frequent mention of His cross. If you examine, you will find so many as nine instances spoken of by the evangelists; though it was a topic which He had not before introduced. And what is very observable is, that it seems to have been upon occasions when the disciples were likely to have been puffed up and exalted, that ever after our Lord took special pains to impress upon them that He must be rejected and killed. Ah! my brethren, ought we not to learn from this keeping the cross out of sight till faith had grown strong and high privilege been imparted, that it is the advanced Christian who has need of persecution; and that grace, in place of exempting us from, is to fit us for trial? The disciples must have well known that if suffering were to be their Masters lot, it would also be theirs. If, then and thence, Jesus spake of afflictions which should befall Himself, He must have been understood as likewise speaking of afflictions which would befall His apostles; and He abstained, you see, from dwelling on the tribulation which would be the path to His kingdom, till He found His followers strong in belief of His actual Divinity. And then take one more lesson from the peculiarity of the occasions on which, as we bays shown you, Christ made a special point of introducing the mention of His sufferings; occasions on which the disciples were in danger of being puffed up and exalted. Learn to expect, and be thankful for, something bitter in the cup, when faith has won the victory, and you have tasted, in no common measure, the powers of the invisible world. You may say, however, that it militates against much that we have advanced, that in point of fact, Christs mentioning His sufferings at the time when He did, produced not on the disciples the effect which our statement supposes. We have but too good proof, that though our Lord deferred so long as He did speaking of His sufferings, the apostles were still unprepared for the saying, and could neither understand it nor receive it. Even St. Peter, who had just made the noble confession which proved him ready and willing to hear tidings from Christ, no sooner hears of his Saviour being rejected and killed, than he begins presumptuously to rebuke Him; saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee. Yet let it not be thought that Christ chose an unseasonable time, or tried an unsuitable means. The medicine may be what we want; but we, alas! may reject it, as not being what we like. The ease may be precisely such, that from that time forth, it is wholesome that we be admonished of appointed tribulation. We may only the more prove how the admonition is needed, by treating it with dislike, and trying to disbelieve it. When we find that there was such repugnance in St. Peter and his brethren to the cross, though Christ had waited so patiently for the fittest time to introduce it, we ought to learn the difficulty of taking part with the suffering Saviour, and submitting ourselves meekly, and thankfully, to the scorn and the trial of sharing His afflictions. And this lesson from mans aversion to, and how much more the bearing of, the cross, should bring home to us with great force, our need of being continually disciplined by the Spirit of God. And yet it is not to pure and unmingled sorrow, that Christ would consign the more faithful in His Church. As St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. How beautiful is it in our text, that if Jesus then began to tell His disciples how He should die, He then began also to tell them how He should rise again from the dead. It is our unbelief, or our impatience, which makes us overlook the one statement in our eagerness to get rid of the other. If God lead you into the wilderness, it is, as He saith by the prophet Hosea, that there He may speak comfortably to you, giving you vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. (H. Melvill, B. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 8:31-33. And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer — The disciples being now convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and having made confession of him as such, they were prepared to receive this further and equally important discovery, which they could not have borne before, without being so offended as to forsake him; and which, perhaps, they could hardly have borne now, had they thoroughly understood, and fully believed, Christ’s words; for they certainly still expected that he would assume external pomp and power, and restore the kingdom of Israel, an expectation which they held fast, even till the day of his ascension into heaven. And he spake that saying openly — Παρρησια, plainly, namely to the apostles. Our Lord frequently after this repeated the prediction of his sufferings; for instance, Mat 17:22; Mat 20:18; Mat 26:2; Luk 22:15. But it is remarkable that on none of those occasions was the prophecy delivered to any but the twelve, and a few select women, one instance excepted, namely, Luk 17:25, when it was expressed in terms somewhat obscure. The multitude of the disciples were never let into the secret, because it might have made them desert Christ, as they had not, like the apostles, raised expectations of particular preferments in his kingdom, to bias their understandings, and hinder them from perceiving the meaning of the prediction. It is true, he foretold his resurrection from the dead more publicly; for oftener than once he appealed to it as the principal proof of his mission, even in the presence of the priests, as is evident from their mentioning it to Pilate, Mat 27:63. It seems the priests had often been our Lord’s hearers. See the notes on Mat 16:21-23.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 74. — PREDICTIONS OF HIS OWN SUFFERING, vv. AND ULTIMATE COMING TO JUDGE THE WORLD, Mar_8:31-38.

(See notes on Mat_16:21-28.)

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

HIS DEATH & RESURRECTION

Mat 16:21-23; Mar 8:31-33; Luk 9:22. Matthew: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that it behooved Him to depart to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from The elders, the chief priests, and scribes, and to be put to death, and to rise the third day. And Peter, taking Him to him, began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be to Thee. And turning, He said to Peter, Get behind Me, adversary; thou art My stumblingblock, because thou dost not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Our Lord is still up at Caesarea-Philippi, with His disciples, teaching and revealing the deeper things of His kingdom, not only to their edification, but their astonishment. It was the misfortune of the Jews so to mix up the prophecies appertaining to the first and second coming of Christ, that they ran into much bewilderment for the want of the necessary discrimination and division of God’s Word; while Isaiah and others had vividly revealed His humiliation, as a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;” as a “Root out of dry ground, without form or comeliness, and none desiring Him;” “Led as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep dumb before His shearers, opened not His mouth;” “In His humiliation, His judgment was taken away” — i.e., He had no fair trial, but was mobbed, contrary to both Jewish and Roman law. These gloomy prophecies, descriptive of His humiliation in His first advent, were by no means enjoyable themes with the Jews, who leaned the more to those grand and glorious cognomens portraying Him as “the Prince of peace,” “the government on His shoulders;” and Dan 7:14, not only describing Him as a triumphant and glorious King, but certifying positively that “to His kingdom there shall be no end, but He shall reign King of kings and Lord of lords forever.” Now, for the first time, He comes out and positively reveals to His disciples His coming arrest, condemnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Peter, robust, stout, and naturally brave as a lion, immediately conceiving the view that His enemies are going to combine against Him, take Him, and kill Him, leaps to the conclusion, That is a game at which two can play. We will fight in His defense till we die, and the thousands and myriads who have been blessed with bodily healing, demoniacal ejectruents, and the multitudes endeared to Him on account of their friends thus wonderfully saved, soul and body, will rally and help us and will make it hot for them. Consequently, both Peter takes Him by the arm, or His vesture, and pulls Him up to Him; looking Him in the face, says, “They can’t do that; we will be on hand, rally Your multitude of friends, and protect You to the last moment.” “Satan,” in the E.V., is too strong, the word not appearing here as a proper name, when it is applied to the devil, but simply in its original meaning, “adversary” or “opposer,” as Peter was innocently antagonizing the Divine economy relative to His death and resurrection, which he did not understand; and Jesus said, “Thou art My stumbling-block;” i.e., “You are throwing yourself in the way of the very work I came to do” — i.e., to suffer, die, and redeem the world from sin, death, and hell. “Thou dost not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men;” i.e., “You are not thinking on the Divine side of this great transaction, you have not yet received light and entered into it understandingly, but you are considering My Messiahship from a human standpoint.”

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:31-38 Then Jesus began to teach the disciples that he would suffer and be killed in Jerusalem and three days later . . . rise from the dead. Jesus now explicitly predicted what he had revealed in veiled form (2:19-20). In response, Peter objected, so Jesus taught him and the other disciples the nature of his mission and what it really means to follow him.

8:31 It was a divine necessity that Jesus must suffer (see also 9:11; 13:7, 10). The immediate cause for Jesus’ suffering was the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law (see 10:33; 11:18, 27; 14:1, 43, 53), but the ultimate cause was the will of God. • Jesus’ death would not be the end, for three days later he would rise from the dead. • Three days later is a synonym for on the third day (Matt 16:21; Luke 9:22) and after three days and three nights (Matt 12:40).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 8:31. Τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, the Son of Man) He calls Himself by an humble title: after the resurrection, He says, Christ ought to have suffered; Luk 24:26.—ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι, to be rejected) For they [the elders, etc.] denied that which Peter, Mar 8:29, had confessed; ch. Mar 14:63-64.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 8:31-33 . First announcement of the Passion .

Mar 8:31 . καὶ : Mt. has the more emphatic ἀπὸ τότε , indicating that then began an entirely new way of speaking as to the coming fate of Jesus. διδάσκειν , to teach , more appropriate is Mt.’s word, δεικνύειν , to show . It was a solemn intimation rather than instruction that was given. δεῖ , it must be; in all three evangelists. It points to the inevitableness of the event, not to the rationale of it. On that subject Jesus gave in the first place no instruction. πολλὰ παθεῖν : where not indicated, as in Mt. ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι : an expressive word taken from Psa 118:22 , fitly indicating the precise share of the religious authorities in the coming tragedy. Their part was solemnly to disapprove of the claimant to Messiahship. All else was the natural sequel of their act of rejection. τῶν πρ ., τῶν ἀρ ., τῶν γρ .: the article before each of the three classes named, saddling each with its separate responsibility.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ suffered all that he suffered for us, not unwillingly neither unawares, but foreknowing it, and willingly.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(31-33) And he began to teach them.—See Notes on Mat_16:21-23. The points peculiar to St. Mark are, (1) that our Lord “spake that saying openly”—the absence of any reticence in this announcement of apparent failure was what startled the disciples; and (2) the graphic touch that as He rebuked Peter, He turned and looked, not on that Apostle only, but on the whole company of the disciples.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. And he began to teach them] The question and the answer it called forth were alike preparatory to strange and mournful tidings, which He now began to reveal distinctly to the Apostles respecting Himself, for clear and full before His eyes was the whole history of His coming sufferings, the agents through whom they would be brought about, the form they would take, the place where He would undergo them, and their issue, a mysterious resurrection after three days.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he began to teach them,.... For as yet he had said nothing to them about his sufferings and death, at least in express terms; but now they being firmly established in the faith of him, as the Messiah, he thought it proper to inform them,

that the son of man must suffer many things; meaning himself, as that he should be betrayed, apprehended, and bound, should be smitten, spit upon, buffeted, and scourged; and which things must be done, and he suffer them, because it was so determined by God, and foretold in the Scriptures:

and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests and Scribes; which composed the grand sanhedrim of the nation, and are the builders that were prophesied of by whom he should be rejected, Psa 118:22,

and be killed; in a violent manner; his life be taken away by force, without law, or justice:

and after three days rise again: not after three days were ended, and on the fourth day, but after the third day was come; that is, "on the third day", as the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read; and even the Pharisees themselves thus understood Christ, Mat 27:63, so the phrase, "after eight days", is used for the eighth day, being come, or that same day a week later; see Luk 9:28 compared with Mat 17:1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Ver. 31. And after three days] That is, within three days, or on the third day.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

After our Redeemer had heard the confession of his first apostle, who spoke in the name of all, as the head, he opens out to them the grand mystery of his passion.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Our Lord is elsewhere said to have taught his disciples, according as they were able to bear, or to hear, what he spake unto them. He did not at the first teach them that he must suffer death: the doctrine of the cross of Christ was like new wine not fit to be put into old bottles; yet necessary to be taught them, lest when they saw it soon after they should have been offended, as indeed they were to some degree, notwithstanding the premonition they had of it. With the doctrine of his suffering, he joins also the doctrine of his resurrection the third day: so saith Matthew. Mark saith, after three days, meta, which seemeth to be a difference between the two evangelists, and also a difficulty, when it is certain that our Saviour did not lie three entire days in the grave. But either Mark reckons the time from his first being betrayed and apprehended, so it was after three days; and Matthew speaketh only of the time which he lay in the grave, that was but part of three days; or else it was the fault of our translators to translate μετα, after, because indeed it often so signifies, whereas it sometimes signifies in, which had better fitted this text, to make it agree with Matthew. This is Grotius’s and Beza’s observation, (see his notes on the text), and is abundantly justified by Mat 27:64, where his adversaries desired of Pilate that the sepulchre might be made fast ἕως τῆς τρίτης ἡμέρας until the third day, because he had said while he was alive, μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀναστῆναι, After three days I will arise, which if they had understood of after the third day fully spent, they would not have petitioned that the sepulchre should have been made fast only until the third day, but it is plain they understood it the third day he would rise. So after three days here is, after the third day is come, not after the third day is past, which neither agrees with Matthew nor yet with the truth. If any desire further to make out this notion, he may read the learned Beza’s larger notes on this verse.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, etc. In St. Matthew"s narrative he says, (Mat_16:21) "From that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples," etc. from the time, that is, of this great confession; from the time when he had openly acknowledged to his disciples the truth of his essential Divinity; from that time he began to instruct them as to his passion and his death. There are two great principles of faith, namely,

(1) the Divinity and the humanity of Christ, and

(2) his cross and passion, whereby he has redeemed the world.

And it was necessary that the disciples should be thus instructed in his amazing dignity as the Son of God, lest, when they saw him put to death, they might doubt as to his Godhead. And after three days rise again. St. Matthew and St. Luke say, "on the third day the day of his death counting for one, and the day of his resurrection for another, with one clear day intervening.

Vers. 31-33. The Christ foretelling his own career.

I HOW UNIQUE AND MARVELLOUS THE PREDICTION! It is a clear, consistent, even symmetrical scheme; as exquisitely balanced and progressively developed as any tragedy of Aeschylus or Euripides. A person who could ideally mark out such a future for himself could not have been mere man. The gospel challenges investigation because of the originality and Divine moral elevation of its conception. And by such statements as this it proves how closely the Old and New Testaments are interwoven, and sympathetically and ideally correspondent.

II IT DEMONSTRATED THAT HIS SUFFERING AND DEATH MUST HAVE BEEN IN THE HIGHEST SENSE VOLUNTARY. He was still at a point where the future was in great degree within his own power. That he clearly knew what lay before him in the event of his continuing steadfast proved that his will was absolutely, divinely free. There were several alternatives within easy reach: these, comprehensively, he put from him in spurning Peter"s interference. It is no fate that is blindly shaping out the destiny of a powerless victim; the necessity is a moral and spiritual one, consequent upon motives and aim deliberately preferred.

III ONLY THE HIGHEST MORAL END COULD JUSTIFY SUCH CONDUCT. To suppose that earthly aims or selfish objects could have determined such a career is a palpable absurdity. Christ is, therefore, through all time, the type of noble self-sacrifice. But it is only spiritual motives and principles that can so inspire. And conscience justifies the sacrifice upon such grounds alone. Whilst we may be incapable of it ourselves, we feel, nevertheless, that it is not madness, but the fulfillment of the great end of our being, and its highest blessedness. If it be but fairly and fully regarded, it furnishes its own justification, and constitutes a judgment bar before which all so-called religious acts and schemes must stand or fall.

IV BY MAKING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CHRIST:

1. Tested the loyalty of his disciples.

2. Vindicated and revealed his own pure, unalterable spiritual resolution.

3. Furnished them with a support for faith and enthusiastic sympathy. M.

Ver. 31-ch. Mat_16:22) "Mercy on thee, Lord (ilewv soi Kurie): this shall never be unto thee.

Vers. 32, 33. Covert temptation.

This scene has, of course, certain features connected with it which cannot be imitated by ordinary persons, or by mere men. Christ exercised a Divine insight and authority. But there are certain principles illustrated. We see

I HOW IT PRESENTS ITSELF.

1. Under the guise of friendship. The love may be real in the individuals who are the instruments of temptation, but their knowledge is not sufficient, or their moral character not so, high as it should be. Many of the most terrible moral trials of life owe their power to this circumstance.

2. With great assumption of reasonableness. In Peter there was a domineering, "superior" tone. He spoke as one who knew the world, and the impracticableness of his Master"s ideas. But even where this is absent there may be a latent contempt for religious aims, and an unconscious appeal to the utilitarian standards of conduct. With many persons the test of reasonableness in moral action is the immediate advantage of those immediately concerned, or the most directly pleasant course of procedure, or the attainment of some recognized worldly object.

II HOW IT IS TO BE DETECTED.

1. By the aid of the Divine Spirit. There are necessarily many occasions for moral decision in which it would be impossible to assign reasons for the steps taken, because these are not clearly discerned; yet there may be moral certainty. It is the Spirit of God that is to guide us in such cases.

2. By comparing spiritual things with spiritual, e.g. :

(1) In moral questions we should distrust proposals which too readily fall in with our own desire for ease, or a pleasant life, or worldly advantage. It is not usual for great duties so to approve themselves.

(2) Suggestions are to be rejected which stand in the way of personal consecration, or interfere with moral duties and Divine impulses.

III How IT IS TO BE OVERCOME.

1. By distinguishing between the agent or instrument and the inspirer. It was a painful thing for Christ to do, but he did not shrink from denouncing the spirit to which the suggestion was due, and the evil one who had used Peter as his tool. This detection, whether it be declared or not, is a great part of the victory.

2. With promptitude and decision. Christ turned his back upon the tempter. There must be no dallying or temporizing. Upon every moment that follows discovery of evil an eternity hangs.

3. By casting ones self upon the Spirit of God. In prayer: "Deliver us from the evil one." In abiding union and voluntary submission: "Not my will, but thine, be done." "Minding" the things of God, and having the whole attention and affection absorbed by them. M.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matt. xvi, 21; Luke ix, 22.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Son of man

(See Scofield "Mat 8:20") Also, Mat 16:21-28; Mar 9:31; Luk 9:22-27; Luk 24:6

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The first announcement of the Passion:

v. 31. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

v. 32. And He spake that saying openly. And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him.

v. 33. But when He had turned about and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind Me, Satan; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

Having accepted their confession and thus substantiated the same regarding His person and office, Jesus now took the opportunity to instruct them more fully in the knowledge of salvation. It was a new form of teaching which the Lord introduced at this point, no longer in parables, figures, and dark allusions and intimations, but with perfect freedom and openness. He, the Son of Man, must suffer much. That was the duty which He had taken upon Himself, the obligation which He had shouldered. This suffering is then analyzed. He would be rejected by the elders and by the high priests and by the scribes. It would finally narrow down to this: if the religious authorities would approve of Jesus as the Messiah and accept His teaching, the people would follow. But now it was a foregone conclusion that they would most emphatically disapprove of Him and His ministry. And so the result would follow very naturally: suffering, death, but also resurrection, a fact which the Jewish leaders did not take into account. All these predictions Jesus made with absolute frankness, keeping silence with regard to nothing. The word used here by the evangelist is one which is also fittingly applied to the work of the Christian ministry, 2Co 3:12. The sum and substance of Gospel-preaching is included in the statement of Christ and in the confession of the disciples. The telling of this wondrous story must be signalized and characterized by the same unwavering, un-hesitating boldness with which Jesus here spoke; it is the only way in which the message of salvation will be effective.

It was here that Peter, in his impulsive way, presumed upon a step for which he had absolutely no right. He drew Jesus aside a few steps and began to rebuke Him. The fact that He had just acknowledged Himself to be the Messiah, and that He now spoke of suffering and dying did not seem to Peter to agree. He had an altogether different idea concerning the work of a Messiah. But Jesus could brook no interference where His divine labor of love was concerned. He turned around to all the disciples, in order to draw their attention to His words and acts, since there was a lesson for them all here. He then turned to Peter and reprimanded him most severely: Away, behind Me, Satan! Peter here proved the adversary of Christ; it was Satan himself that was attempting to hinder the work of redemption through Peter. His suggestion and opinion had nothing of God’s will in it, but only that of man, weak, sinful man, that cannot understand God’s ways and works. All the disciples felt the reproof, though it was directed to Peter only. And the warning stands today for all those that would weaken the fact of Christ’s suffering and death in the interest of sinful mankind. In the suffering and death of Christ divine and human ways and methods part company. The cross of Christ is a foolishness and an offense to human ideas, but in reality divine wisdom and divine power.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXX. C. Passion Foretold].

LXX. THIRD WITHDRAWAL FROM HEROD'S TERRITORY. Subdivision C. PASSION FORETOLD. PETER REBUKED. aMATT. XVI. 21-28; bMARK VIII. 31-38; IX. 1; cLUKE IX. 22-27.

a21 From that time [i. e., from the time of Peter's confession, and about three-quarters of a year before the crucifixion] began Jesus to show unto his disciples, b31 And to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things [Since the apostles, by the mouth of Peter, had just confessed Jesus as Christ, it was necessary that their crude Messianic conceptions should be corrected and that the true Christhood--the Christhood of the atonement and the resurrection--should be revealed to them. In discourse and parable Jesus had explained the principles and the nature of the kingdom, and now, from this time forth, he taught the [414] apostles about himself, the priestly King], athat he must go up to Jerusalem, band be rejected by aand suffer many things of the elders, and bthe chief priests, and the scribes [The Jewish Sanhedrin was generally designated by thus naming the three constituent parts. See Joh_2:19-22, Joh_3:14, Mat_12:38-40), but these had not been understood by either friend or foe. Now that he thus spoke plainly, we may see by Peter's conduct that they comprehended and were deeply moved by the dark and more sorrowful portion of his revelation, and failed to grasp the accompanying promise of a resurrection.] a22 And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee. [Evidently Peter regarded Jesus as overcome by a fit of despondency, and felt that such talk would utterly dishearten the disciples if it were persisted in. His love, therefore, prompted him to lead Jesus to one side and deal plainly with him. In so doing, Peter overstepped the laws of discipleship and assumed that he knew better than the Master what course to pursue. In his feelings he was the forerunner of those modern wiseacres who confess themselves constrained to reject the doctrine of a suffering Messiah.] b33 But he turning about, and seeing his disciples. aturned, brebuked Peter, and saith, asaid unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things that be of men. [Jesus withdrew from Peter and turned back to his disciples. By the confession of the truth Simon had just won his promised name of Peter, which allied him to Christ, the [415] foundation. But when he now turned aside to speak the language of the tempter, Peter receives the name Satan, as if he were the very devil himself. Peter presented the same temptation with which the devil once called forth a similar rebuke from Christ ( Mat_4:10). He was unconsciously trying to dissuade Jesus from the death on which the salvation of the world depended, and this was working into Satan's hand. Peter did not mind or think about the Messiah's kingdom as divinely conceived and revealed in the Scriptures.] b34 And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, a24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, c23 And he said unto all [despite the efforts of Jesus to seek privacy, the people were still near enough at hand to be called and addressed], If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily [comp. Rom_8:36, 1Co_15:31] and follow me [For comment, see Luk_12:9, 2Ti_1:8, 2Ti_1:12, 2Ti_2:12] in this adulterous and sinful generation [see pp. 305, 306], the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him cwhen he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the bhis cFather, and of bwith the holy angels. [Peter had just been ashamed of the words in which Christ pictured himself as undergoing his humiliation. Jesus warns him and all others of the dangers of such shame.] a27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall render unto every man according to his deed. [The Father's glory, the angels, and the rendering of universal judgment form a threefold indication that Jesus here speaks of his final coming to judge the world.] b1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, c27 But I tell you of a truth, aThere are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. ctill they see the kingdom of God. bcome with power. [The mention of his final coming suggested one nearer at hand which was to be accomplished during the life of most of those present, since none but Jesus himself and Judas were to die previous to that time. The kingdom was to come and likewise the King. The former coming was literal, the latter spiritual. Those who refer this expression to the transfiguration certainly err, for no visible kingdom was established at that time. The expression refers to the kingdom which was organized and set in motion on the Pentecost which followed the resurrection of Jesus. It was set up with power, because three thousand souls were converted the first day, and many other gospel triumphs speedily followed.] [417]

[FFG 414-417]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

31–38. He began to teach them, etc. For the first announcement of the suffering of our Lord, the rebuke of Peter, and the lesson concerning the cross, and saving the soul, see notes on Matt. 16:21–28. Compare Luke 9:22–27. Verse 38 is peculiar to Mark in this connection, though given in Matt. 10:32, 33, on which see notes.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Son of Man

This is an important title for Jesus. (See: Translating Son and Father)

would be rejected by the elders ... and after three days rise up

This can be stated in active form. AT: "that the elders and the chief priests and the scribes would reject him, and that men would kill him, and that after three days he would rise up" (See: Active or Passive)

He said this clearly

"He said this in a way that was easy to understand"

began to rebuke him

Peter rebuked Jesus for saying the things he said would happen to the Son of Man. This can be made explicit. AT: "began to rebuke him for saying these things" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Son of Man

elder

chief priests

scribe

raise

Peter

rebuke

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

31–33. THE PASSION FORETOLD; PETER REBUKED

Mat 16:21-23. Luk 9:22

31. ὑπό ([1753][1754][1755][1756][1757][1758]) rather than ἀπό ([1759][1760]2[1761][1762][1763][1764]). μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ([1765][1766][1767][1768][1769] etc.) rather than τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ (dg Arm. Aeth.). Cf. Mar 9:31, Mar 10:34.

[1753] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[1754] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[1755] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[1756] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[1757] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[1758] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

[1759] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[1760] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[1761] Codex Purpureus. 6th cent. Full text in Texts and Studies v. No. 4, 1899. Contains Mar 5:20 to Mar 7:4; Mar 7:20 to Mar 8:32; Mar 9:1 to Mar 10:43; Mar 11:7 to Mar 12:19; Mar 14:25 to Mar 15:23; Mar 15:33-42. See below on Ψ.

[1762] Codex Monacensis. 10th cent. Contains Mar 6:47 to Mar 16:20. Many verses in 14, 15, 16 are defective.

[1763] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

[1764] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

[1765] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[1766] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[1767] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[1768] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[1769] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

31. ἤρξατο διδάσκειν. It was indeed a new beginning. Slowly, fitfully, and still very defectively, the Twelve had been brought by Him to see that He was the promised Messiah; and now He began to teach them that the King and Conqueror whom they had been expecting must suffer shame and death. All three connect this prediction with the confession of Peter, and here was another reason for silence. Peter’s ὁ Χριστός was true, but what he and the others understood by ὁ Χριστός was not true. In proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah they would have taught much that was erroneous.

Δεῖ. Must, because of the Divine decree. This δεῖ comes to the surface all through the life of Christ from His childhood onwards (Luk 2:49), and is especially evident during the later stages (Luk 4:43; Luk 9:22; Luk 13:33; Luk 17:25; Luk 19:5; Luk 22:37; Luk 24:7; Luk 24:26; Luk 24:44). The word is thus used of Christ all through the N.T., but this is the only instance in Mk. The necessity is not of man’s making, but of God’s; the cause is not man’s hostility to Christ, but God’s love to man. Man’s hostility is God’s instrument.

τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. See on Mar 2:10; Mar 2:28. In Mk the title is used eight times in passages which predict the Passion or the Resurrection. It is not so used in “Q.”

πολλὰ παθεῖν, multa pati. The expression is frequent (Mar 5:26; Mat 27:19), esp. of the Passion (Mar 9:12; Mat 16:21; Luk 9:22; Luk 17:25). Not in Jn, who neither in Gospel nor Epistles uses πάσχω. What follows forms a climax; Passion, Rejection, Death—the second causing the third. If the hierarchy had not absolutely rejected Him, Pilate would have let Him go.

ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι. Be rejected after investigation. Δοκιμασία was the scrutiny which an official elected at Athens had to undergo to see whether he was qualified to take office. The Sanhedrin held a δοκιμασία with regard to Jesus, and decided that He was not qualified to be the Messiah (Mar 12:10; 1Pe 2:4; 1Pe 2:7). The expression is probably taken from Psa 118:22. But the idea of rejection after investigation is not in the Hebrew word used there and eleven times in Jeremiah, where it is generally, but not always, rendered by ἀποδοκιμάζω. Other renderings are ἀπωθέομαι and ἐξουδενόω, and its meaning is not so much rejecting after scrutiny as rejecting with contempt. Hort on 1Pe 2:4.

ὑπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων κ.τ.λ. The Sanhedrin is mentioned in all its fulness, each of its three constituent parts having the article, which should be repeated in English; cf. Mar 11:27, Mar 14:43; Mar 14:53. It is as if each of the three classes had given a separate vote for rejection. In Mat 16:21 and Luk 9:22 the three are under one article, as forming one body. The ἀρχιερεῖς are usually placed first, as including the high-priest and (at this time) the ex-high-priests; but cf. Luk 9:22; Luk 20:19; Mat 16:21. Very rarely are the ἀρχιερεῖς omitted (Mat 26:57; Act 6:12).

μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας. So also Mar 9:31 and Mar 10:34. The expression may be colloquial, a current phrase for a short time, like our “after two or three days.” Mt. and Lk. change it to the more accurate τῇ τρίτῃ ᾑμέρᾳ, which Syr-Sin. and some other authorities read here. In Hos 6:2, “after two days” = “on the third day.”

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31-9:1.] Announcement of His approaching death and resurrection. Rebuke of Peter. Mat 16:21-28. Luk 9:22-27. Luke omits the rebuke of Peter. Mark adds, ver. 32, παῤῥησίᾳ τ. λ. ἐλάλει: and, in the rebuke of Peter, that the Lord said the words ἰδὼν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ. In vv. 34, 35, the agreement is close, except that Luke adds καθʼ ἡμέραν, . τὸν στ. αὐτοῦ, and Mark καὶ τοῦ εὐαγγ. aft. ἐμοῦ, ver. 35 (it is perhaps worthy of remark that St. Mark writes ἀκολουθεῖν in ver. 34: possibly from the information of him, to whom it was said, τί πρός σε; σύ μοι ἀκολούθει, Joh 21:22); and informs us, in ver. 34, that our Lord said these words, having called the multitude with his disciples. This Meyer calls a contradiction to Matt. and Luke,—and thinks it arose from a misunderstanding of Luke’s πάντας. Far rather should I say that our account represents every detail to the life, and that the πρὸς πάντας contains traces of it. What wonder that a crowd should here, as every where else, have collected about Him and the disciples?

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31-33. After drawing out from his disciples the confession of his Messianic claim, Jesus proceeds to tell them how that claim will be treated by the authorities. In general, it will bring him much suffering, and finally his rejection and violent death at the hands of the Sanhedrim, from which, however, he will be raised after three days. Peter, who evidently regards this as a confession of defeat, and as vacating the claim just made, takes Jesus aside, and begins to rebuke him. But Jesus, recognizing in this the very spirit of the Temptation, meets rebuke with rebuke, telling Peter that he is acting the part of the Tempter, and that he reflects the mind of men, not of God.

31. ἤρξατο διδάσκειν—he began to teach. This is a true beginning, being the first teaching of this kind.1 δεῖ—it is necessary. The necessity arises, first, from the hostility of men; secondly, from the spiritual nature of his work, which made it impossible for him to oppose force to force; and thirdly, from the providential purpose of God, who made the death of Jesus the central thing in redemption. But in order to take its place in the Divine order, his death must come in the human, natural order. That is to say, his death is the natural result of the antagonism of his holy nature to the world; it is the martyr’s death. But it has also a Divine purpose in it, and it is necessary to the accomplishment of that purpose. The Divine purpose can use, however, only the death that results from the human necessity, the martyr’s death. Jesus must be put to death by man. τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου1 πολλὰ παθεῖν—that the Son of Man suffer many things. This is the general statement, under which the rejection and death are specifications. ὑπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ τῶν ἀρχιερέων κ. τῶν γραμματέων—by the elders and the chief priests and the Scribes.

ὑπὸ, by, instead of ἀπὸ,2 Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCDGKL Π. Insert τῶν, the, before ἀρχιερέων Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCDEHMSUVX, and before γραμματέων Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCDEFHLSMUV Γ.

Elders was the general term for the members of the Sanhedrim, and when used as it is here, with the names of classes comprised in that body, it denotes, of course, the other members outside of these classes. The chief priests were members of the high-priestly class, i.e. either the high priest himself, those who had held the office, or members of the privileged families from which the high priests were taken. The three classes together constituted the Sanhedrim, or supreme council of the Jews, by which Jesus predicts that he is to be rejected and put to death.3 καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀναστῆναι—and after three days rise again. This is one of the psychological problems with which we are confronted in a history generally answering with considerable exactness to such tests. For when we come to the account of the resurrection, this prophecy plays no part. The event, when it takes place, does not recall the prophecy, and is met with a persistent unbelief which does not seem in any way consonant with the existence of such a prophecy. It would seem as if Jesus must have used language here, which the disciples did not understand, until after the resurrection itself, to refer to that event. That Jesus predicted the crucifixion and resurrection, there does not seem to be any reasonable doubt. But we find variations in the details, which suggest that these were supplied by the writers, post eventum, and that the prediction itself was general in its character. Moreover, we find in the eschatological discourse, that Jesus’ language needs a key, and we seem forced to the supposition that the utter failure of the disciples to understand the present prophecy must have been due to a like enigmatical use of language. παρῥησίᾳ—without any reserve, using entire frankness of speech. Now that the time had come for Jesus to speak about this, he spoke out frankly.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.