Jesus left the town of Magdala on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and sailed with his disciples to Bethsaida in the north. Some people in Bethsaida brought a blind man to Jesus and asked him to heal him. Jesus quietly took the man by the hand and led him outside the village.

Then Jesus did something he only did a couple of other times; he used his own spit as part of the miracle. In those days saliva was thought to have healing properties so Jesus may have used it to increase the blind man’s confidence in him as a healer. In fact, the man was only partially helped by the first touch from Jesus. Jesus touched him a second time and he was able to see everything clearly.

Jesus could only heal people when they had faith in him. This man apparently had a little faith when Jesus first touched him, but then his faith grew and Jesus was able to heal him completely.

Jesus asked the man not to go back to the village with the news of his healing. He didn’t want to draw a crowd because he was planning to travel on to another place.

People Speculate About Jesus

Jesus became pensive as he journeyed farther north. He wondered what people were saying about him so he asked his disciples,

“‘Who do people say I am?’

They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others one of the prophets.”

‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’

Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.” Mark 8:27-30

People didn’t have enough information about Jesus to really know who he was, but that didn’t stop them from speculating. In the opinion of some he was John the Baptist, even though Herod had killed John. Others thought Jesus was one of the Old Testament prophets come back to life.

The disciples were the best witnesses to who Jesus really was, and as usual it was Peter who spoke up. He believed that Jesus was the Messiah sent from God.

The Keys to the Kingdom

Jesus commended Peter for getting what the Father had revealed to him. Jesus saw the future of the Church in Peter. He and others like him were the rock on which God could build the work of the Gospel.

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

Jesus didn’t give the Church the power to decide people’s eternal destiny with this statement because only God decides eternal destiny. A better way to translate what Jesus said here is: “Whatever you on bind on earth will already have been bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will already have been loosed in heaven.”

In the Church we see repentant sinners set loose from their chains, but we also see people who are still bound up in sin. The Church’s mission is to work with God to loosen people from the chains of sin by preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death

Until now Jesus had spent his time preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, and casting out demons. At Caesarea Philippi his conversation with his disciples changed.

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many thing at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Matthew 16:21

The disciples’ obviously wanted to prevent a disaster like this, and once again Peter was the one who spoke up.

“Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’” Matthew 16:22

Peter wasn’t thinking that this was from God; he was thinking of the treachery of the Pharisees and Sadducees. There had to be a way to protect Jesus from them and Peter wanted to figure out how to thwart their plans.

Jesus saw immediately that Satan was tempting him through Peter because Peter didn’t understand this was not about saving his master’s life. Jesus knew that his Father’s plan of salvation required that he go to Jerusalem, surrender to his enemies, and give up his life.

“Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’” Matthew 16:23

The Cost of Discipleship

Peter and the other disciples had never considered all that it might cost them to follow Jesus. Until now being with him had involved a lot of hard work and a certain amount of personal sacrifice. But it also involved wonderful miracles and amazing, life-changing teaching. They had barely gotten underway with Jesus and now he was talking about dying an untimely death. They felt both protective and appalled by what Jesus said.

Jesus didn’t soften any of this for his followers. Following him meant they had to be willing to lose their earthly lives for the sake of the Gospel. If they turned back from following him they were in danger of losing their eternal life.

“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” Matthew 16:25-27

Jesus was the only way to eternal life. Anyone who rejected him would lose that life. But everyone who accepted him had to be prepared to surrender their life to God. In the end God would reward each person according to the choices they made. There was really only one choice for those who wanted eternal life.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

Jesus Reveals His Glory

At the end of this talk Jesus made an interesting statement.

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Mathew 16:28

Before long three of the disciples standing there did see Jesus in his kingdom – as they had never seen him before.

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.” Matthew 17:1-3

Peter said the first thing that came to his mind. He suggested to Jesus that he build three shelters or temporary tabernacles to house Jesus, Moses and Elijah, but he didn’t know what he was saying. He was simply overwhelmed by what he saw.

God the Father intervened at that point.

“While [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’” Matthew 17:5

The disciples were terrified and fell facedown on the ground, but Jesus came and touched them, telling them to get up and not be afraid. They looked around and no one was there but Jesus. As they started back down the mountain Jesus told the three disciples not to share what they had seen until after his resurrection.

How Was John the Baptist Like Elijah?

When Moses and Elijah met Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Law, the Prophets and the Gospel also came together. Moses, representing the Law, and Elijah, representing the Prophets, came face to face with Jesus who was the bearer of the Gospel.

Peter, James and John had heard from the teachers of the Law that Elijah had to come and introduce the Messiah. But they had just seen that Elijah was in heaven – how could he also be on earth?

Jesus cleared up the mystery. John the Baptist was called the “Elijah” that had been promised because he was a prophet like Elijah. Elijah represented all of the prophets of the Old Testament – including John the Baptist.

The disciples were just beginning to see how intense following Jesus was. Their resolve to keep following was going to be tested almost beyond their limits in the coming days.