Mark 8:33Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

From the manner, however, itself of the question, He leads them to a higher feeling, and to higher thoughts, concerning Him, that they might not agree with the multitude. But the next words shew what the head of the disciples, the mouth of the Apostles, answered; when all were asked, Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

But after the Lord had accepted the confession of the disciples, who called Him the true God, He then reveals to them the mystery of the Cross. Wherefore it goes on, 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 the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again; and he spake that saying openly, that is, concerning His future passion. But His disciples did not understand the order of the truth, neither could they comprehend His resurrection, but thought it better that He should not suffer.

Or else, Mark and Luke, as they wrote that Peter answered, Thou art the Christ, without adding what is put down in Matthew, the Son of the living God, so they omitted to relate the blessing which was conferred on this confession. It goes on, And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

Wherefore He first asks what is the opinion of men, in order to try the faith of the disciples, lest their confession should appear to be founded on the common opinion. It goes on, And they answered, saying, Some say John the Baptist, some Elias, and others, One of the prophets.

The Lord faced this temptation with the same strength and purpose with which He countered the tempter's words in the wilderness, declaring, “Get behind me, Satan. You are considering things from a human perspective,” He continued, “and not from God's perspective. You fail to recognize that all of this is anticipated and provided for by My Father, and it should be enacted without impeding anyone's freedom.”

From that time onward, Jesus began to share openly with His disciples about His impending sufferings and death. The Gospel of Mark adds that He spoke candidly about these matters, providing clarity to these statements. Prior to this, Jesus had alluded to His suffering and demise privately, but now, as the disciples grew stronger in their faith and faced the approaching culmination of His earthly mission—during which their faith would be tested—He revealed the nature of His sufferings with greater precision and intensity. This revelation saddened them and diminished their faith, allowing them to better endure the trials ahead. The weight of this upcoming trial was already manifest; the news of His suffering deeply troubled the disciples.

Peter quietly spoke to Jesus, taking Him aside so that the other disciples would not overhear. However, Jesus turned to address all the disciples and, as noted by Mark the Evangelist, looked at them and said to Peter, clearly audible to everyone: “Get behind Me, Satan; you are an obstacle to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men. Do you suggest that I should evade suffering and death? Remember, Satan approached Me with the same temptation when he offered Me the kingdoms of this world; your words echo his, and thus you are to Me like Satan, to whom I have already declared and now reiterate: Depart from Me!

This action highlighted how the foremost of the apostles was influenced by worldly perspectives, prompting Christ to express His displeasure toward him. He turned to Peter and said, “Get thee behind Me, Satan, thou art a temptation to Me, because thou thinkest not of the things of God, but of the things of men.” This echoed the same temptation that the adversary had presented to Christ in the wilderness, where Peter, perhaps unknowingly, mirrored Satan by discouraging the Savior from pursuing His redemptive mission through the fear of forthcoming suffering. Peter still envisioned Christ as a temporal ruler, believing that resisting His foes with human strength was the appropriate response. Clearly, Peter had much to learn to understand that his Lord’s kingdom would be founded upon suffering and self-denial.

Turning and gazing at the disciples, He was not silently chiding Peter in front of the others but summoning them as witnesses through His gaze. This was so they could recognize, through Peter's example, the peril of admonishing the Lord—even if done out of love and a desire to protect, without fully grasping His words and God's plan for the Messiah and His kingdom. The teaching of self-denial is presented in nearly identical terms as found in Eu. Matthew (cf. Matt. 16:24-27).

The Lord Jesus Christ, whom the apostles acknowledged as the Son of God, equipped them for the trials ahead by revealing the glory of the Resurrection that awaited Him at the conclusion of His earthly existence, as well as the sufferings and death He would endure. He did not promise His followers the earthly rewards and accolades they anticipated in the kingdom of the Messiah; instead, He indicated the sole path to salvation through self-denial and the cross. No longer using parables or indirect messages, He spoke plainly and forthrightly about the necessity for the Son of Man to undergo considerable suffering, to be rejected by the elders, the high priests, and the scribes, to be killed, and to rise on the third day.