Fr. Evan Armatas: Good morning! Nice to see all of you this morning. As we begin our class, a couple of public service announcements for you. For those of you—I know some of you are not smart phone people, but for those of you who are… But if you have an iPad or something, there’s a wonderful little app you can get for free. It’s called “Daily Readings.” It’s put out by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. If you have it, you can pay a dollar and get the updated version, but what it does have is it has the daily readings right there on your device. It also has the saints of the day, and then it tells you if it’s a fast day or not. Included are some prayers on the app. What’s nice about this is that you can pick any date in the year or go forward— No, this is the free version. It’s the free version. You can select a date, so you can say, “Boy, what’s next Sunday’s reading?” and you can just dial the date in and hit “Done,” and, whammo, it shows you the saints of the day and the readings of the day.

As you know, I’ve been encouraging all of you to be reading the Scriptures, but in particular to be starting the habit of, on Sunday evening, prior to the week, you read the upcoming gospel and epistle. That gives you an opportunity to do that. If you are struggling with doing that, this is just another little tool. You can put it on your phone.

You also have the E-100 guide that I gave to you for our adult class. If you don’t have that yet, you can also email me and I’ll send it to you, or we still have copies in the church. If you don’t have the hard copy of the Sunday Reader’s Guide, the little bookmark we put out, we did print some additional ones, so we have those available. If there’s anyone listening that wants one, I can send you an electronic version as well.

As we get going and as I’ve been really kind of emphasizing these last few weeks, the importance of Scripture, I came across this wonderful quote written some 1700 years ago by St. John Chrysostom, on reading the holy Scriptures. I found it so practical, it’s as if he wrote it yesterday, so I want to read it to you. He says, “I always entreat you”—so he’s writing to whom? His people, his parishioners.

I always entreat you and do not cease entreating you: when you are at home, to preserve continually in reading the divine Scriptures.

Some people say, “Oh, they didn’t read the Bible back then. They didn’t have Bibles.” Well, wait a minute.

When I’ve been with each of you in private (so in other words, when he meets with them one-on-one) I have not stopped giving you the same advice. Do not let anyone say to me those vain words worthy of heavy condemnation: “I cannot leave the court house. I administer the business of the city. I practice a craft. I have a wife. I am raising children. I am in charge of a household. I am a man of the world. Reading the Scriptures is not for me, but for those who have been set apart, who have settled on the mountaintops, who keep this way of life continuously.” What are you saying, man? That attending to the Scriptures is not for you, since you are surrounded by a multitude of cares? Rather, it is for you more than for them! They do not need the help of the divine Scriptures as much as those who are involved in many occupations.

What’s his point here? His point’s pretty practical, that those of us in the world need the Scriptures more than anyone else does.

Now, speaking of those who live apart from the world, the monks, who are released from the clamor of the marketplace and have fixed their huts in the wilderness, who own nothing in common with anyone but practice wisdom without fear in the calm of the quiet life, as if resting in a harbor, enjoy great security; but we, as if tossing in the midst of the sea, driven by a multitude of sins, always need continuous and ceaseless aid of the Scriptures. They rest far from the battle, and so they do not receive many wounds, but you stand continuously in the front rank, and you receive continual blows, so you need more remedies. Your wife provokes you, for example; your son grieves you; your servant angers you; your enemy plots against you; your friend envies you; your neighbor curses you; your fellow soldier trips you up; often a lawsuit threatens you; poverty troubles you; loss of your property gives you grief; and prosperity puffs you up. Misfortune depresses you, and many causes and compulsions to discouragement and grief, to conceit and desperation, surround us on all sides.

It’s interesting, because his list is not any different from the list we would write today!

And a multitude of missiles falls from everywhere. Therefore, we have a continuous need for the full armor of the Scriptures. For recognize it is written that you go through the midst of snares and walk on the ramparts of the city. For example, the designs of the flesh attack more fiercely those who live in the midst of the world: a handsome face, a splendid body strikes us in the eyes. A shameful phrase pierces our ears and troubles our mind. And often an effeminate song weakens the attention of our soul. But why am I saying this? That which often seems the slightest of all the attacks, the scent of perfume falling from a courtesan as they pass nearby, has captured and taken us away as prisoners by a mere accident.

This is a man who himself was tempted, right? You can’t write this list if you haven’t experienced these things.

And there are many things like these which besiege our souls. We need the divine medicines to heal the wounds which have received and to protect us from those which we have not yet received but will. We must thoroughly quench the darts of the devil and beat them off by continually reading the divine Scriptures, for it is not possible for anyone to be saved without continually taking advantage of spiritual reading. Actually, we must be content, if even with continual use of this therapy we are barely able to be saved, but when we are struck every day, if we do not use any medical care, what hope do we have of salvation?

Continually the Fathers always see salvation as health, so if you’re getting sick and sick and sick and sick and then you don’t take any medicine, he’s like: “Well, how can you ever get well?”

Reading the Scriptures is a great means of security against sinning. The ignorance of Scripture is a great cliff and a deep abyss. To know nothing of the divine laws is a great betrayal of salvation. This has given birth to heresies. This has introduced a corrupt way of life. This has put down the things that are above. For it is impossible for anyone to depart without benefit if he reads continually with attention.

Q1: If there was any question about him being called “Golden-mouth”…

Fr. Evan: Right!

Q1: That’s straight out.

Fr. Evan: He can do it.

Q2: What’s the date on that, three-something?

Fr. Evan: Well, yeah, St. John’s writing back there in the 300s. I wanted to just share that with you, because I thought the quote was so powerful, as we ourselves endeavor to keep this daily watch, as the prayer says, the Scripture, this daily watch.

Okay! When we were last together, we had covered the introduction of Matthew 8:22 through— Oh, Mark! What did I say, Matthew? Oh, not back in Matthew. Mark 8:22-26. The passage was that of the blind man, and we gave some introductory remarks about how the man is healed in stages and how that’s similar to our own healing. Not going to go back to that. I’m going to take up the actual event of the man’s healing.

In recalling the event, we come to verse 22, and it says, “Then he came to Bethsaida, and they brought a man to him and begged him to touch him.” Who is “they”?

Q2: The townspeople.

Fr. Evan: Yeah, the people. Just people. We don’t— They’re not identified. It’s not the disciples. What’s important about that, that they brought this man to Jesus?

Q3: They had faith that he could heal him.

Fr. Evan: Yeah! Once again, we come up against the reality, just like with the Syro-Phoenician, the Greek Syro-Phoenician woman, who had faith that Jesus could heal her daughter, and we hear nothing of the daughter’s faith; we hear nothing of the faith of the blind man. It’s the faith of his friends, and they bring him to Jesus.

Q2: So evidently the townspeople knew who he was.

Fr. Evan: Yeah, by this point in the gospel, Jesus’ fame has made its way into the hinterlands, and here we’re in a Gentile region, so it’s gone out of Israel, even. They bring him to Jesus and they have faith that he can heal him.

So then Jesus takes the man and it says, “He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything.” Now we remarked last time that Jesus, once he gets the man, once he receives the man, what does he do with him? He takes him away. Okay, go back to the feeding of the 4,000. Whom do they bring the bread to? Jesus. And what does he do? He takes it, and then what does he do? He breaks it and blesses it, or blesses and breaks it. Same thing here. They bring the man to Jesus, he takes the man, and then he’s going to bless the man. He’s going to break apart his illness, and he’s going to send him back, just like he does with the Eucharist.

You see the activity there? Jesus takes the man out of the town. He takes him out of, if you will even the realities of life, the everyday, the mundane. He removes him from that, and then, as we said last time, he does something very unusual. He spits on his eyes. [Laughter] Strange, right? It’s strange! So this kind of tells you that Mark, in recounting what Peter told him, is just giving you word for word. So Peter said, “Yeah, then he took this guy and he spit on his eyes.” It’s very earthy and direct; it’s like you’re coming right in contact with the event. “And put his hands on him. He asked him if he saw anything. He said, ‘I see men looking like trees, walking.” So we talked about how the healing only happens in stages.

Q2: It gets very sacramental.

Fr. Evan: In what sense?

Q2: An outward sign for an internal grace.

Fr. Evan: Yeah, in that sense that we have here, an outward sign of an internal grace, no doubt. And then verse 25, he put his hands on him again, and he made him look up, and he was restored of sight in front of everyone, clearly. Then the verse that ends the passage, 26: “Then he sent them away to his house, saying, ‘Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.’ ” We’re once again with the messianic secret, which is a thematic element of Mark. Everybody’s basically got to keep the word about Jesus quiet. Why? Because you can’t understand who he is until you get to the cross and experience the resurrection.

Any questions about this passage?

Q2: Are they sheltering Jesus from persecution here, or…?

Fr. Evan: Well, there’s a little bit to say about that. Certainly, the understanding of Jesus that many kept was incorrect. It was a political understanding; they thought he was going to overthrow the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel. So to some degree, there’s a worry there that maybe he’s going to be arrested prematurely or something. We’re going to get actually into that in this next section, which is—

Q1: I want to ask a quick question. We often see these references to water and baptism. Does he sort of baptize his eyes?

Fr. Evan: By spitting on them?

Q1: Yeah.

Fr. Evan: Well, careful here. We would say that probably John 9 is more of a baptism reference, because he goes and he washes in the pool called “Sent.” Here, it’s really the connection between Christ—

Q1: He put himself.

Fr. Evan: He put himself on the man, and that heals him. That Christ sanctifies—his very body is, if you will, holy. And here we would make more of a connection with the Incarnation, that, as Christ took on flesh, he sanctified it. It’s similar to if— It’s a very curious thing, because in Protestant theology, you are willing to accept that the one man, Adam, deified the whole of mankind. You following me? By his sin, by Adam’s sin, the fall of the human race occurs, and all of mankind is infected.

Q4: Do you mean defiled? You said deified.

Fr. Evan: Oh! Defiled, sorry. Thank you. So on the opposite side, by one Man, all are sanctified. So then each human being has the opportunity to participate in the divine reality and handle divine things. You have to have it both ways. You can’t have it just one way. If the gate goes this way, it also goes that way; it swings on the hinge both ways.

Q3: These events are the basis for the conviction of faith healing in some churches. I wondered what the Orthodox view of that is. I mean, frankly, you don’t go around putting your hands on heads and crippled stand up and walk.

Fr. Evan: Well, we do, actually, put our hands on people and pray.

Q3: Oh, yeah, pray, but—

Fr. Evan: Faith healings. And there are accounts of those things occurring in the Church, charismatic, yeah.

Q3: So there’s no official perspective.

Fr. Evan: There’s no official perspective, because the Church would say, “How could we confine or direct the Holy Spirit?”

Q3: Okay.

Fr. Evan: The prayer is interesting, because as the prayer of healing goes it first prays for the healing of the soul, and that takes its lead from the healing of the paralytic, who was let down by his friends. Remember, the Lord doesn’t heal the man, but he says, “Your sins are forgiven.” So the Church’s perspective is that the healing of the soul is primary, whether the body recovers—well, maybe it will. And those signs, those miraculous signs of faith healing that occur, from time to time in the Church— I mean, I’ve heard and to some degree have experienced that reality. Those faith healings that occur are not for the Church primary sources of faith; they are for those who need it. So in other words, the Church is fairly quiet about faith healing, because that type of understanding is almost emotional or tangential or even temporary. The type of faith that will lead to hanging on a cross is a lot deeper.

The Lord at one point, remember, says to the Jews who say, in Mark 8—it’s very interesting that this occurs here:

When the Pharisees came to dispute with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, testing him, but he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”

The faith healing that we often recognize and witness on TV is for that purpose: to demonstrate some miraculous reality, and it seems that the Lord of glory was rather circumspect and quiet about his power. In fact, he’s telling people, “Don’t say anything. This isn’t my lead card.”

Q3: “Don’t tell the people.”

Fr. Evan: Yeah, don’t tell the people. In a sense, if this is where your faith is based— For some it’s needed, but doesn’t he say another place, in John’s gospel, “Blessed rather are those who do not see and yet believe.” That’s what he says in John after the resurrection. There’s a special place for those of us who can believe without seeing signs and wonders.

Q3: So it’s a bit complicated.

Fr. Evan: It is a bit complicated, no doubt! And yet we can allow for that faith that heals. We can allow for the charismatic experience. But in the order of the Church—everything has its place—we don’t put that on a pedestal. We sort of set it over here. It would be like a weeping icon. They exist, and people go and see them, but the Church doesn’t have to have those. We can still abide in our faith in this man.

All right. 27-30: this is the next section, Peter’s confession. Elaine, you’re right next to me, so would you read Mark 8:27-30?

Elaine: Now Jesus and his disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi, and on the road he asked his disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say I am?” So they answered, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others one of the prophets.”

Fr. Evan: Keep going.

Elaine: He said to them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter answered and said to him, “You are the Christ.” Then he strictly warned them that they should tell no one about him.

Fr. Evan: Okay. So, very simple passage, but there’s a lot to say here. The only thing that I would note is that in the text, the original text, odo is translated as “road”; it can also be translated as “way”: “on the way.”

Q1: Where are you reading?

Fr. Evan: That’s in verse 27, right at the beginning. Yeah, it opens up: “Now Jesus and his disciples went out [to] the town[s of] Caesarea Philippi, and on the road”—on the way. On the way: that’s very fitting, isn’t it? And the disciples are called “the disciples of the way,” so: the way or the road, which we know is emblematic of this entire gospel. If you have not picked it up, how many chapters are there in Mark? 16. There’s 16 chapters. So where are we? Middle. In the middle, how do you balance something? By finding the middle, finding the fulcrum. Is this passage appearing in the middle? Yeah! That’s not a hard question! [Laughter] There’s eight chapters to half of 16. In the middle—and this story about Peter’s confession is right in the middle, so it’s a fulcrum. Where’s the question asked? On the way. And what is the question?

Q1: “Who do you say I am?”

Fr. Evan: It starts off with “Who do men say that I am?” In other words, take the disciples out of it; put yourself in it. “Trish, who do people say that I am?” He’s asking you. And you say, “Well, some people think you’re a prophet. Some people think you’re a righteous dude, a moral man.” He says, “Okay, fine. Who do you say I am?” See, Mark is putting you in the story, and he’s saying, “Okay, you’re halfway in. You got an answer yet? You’re on the road. We know where we’re going. What’s your answer?”

So it’s a powerful passage. If you’re not catching this, that’s when I’ve got to stop you and say: Wait a minute. This isn’t just a story about Peter. Peter is the chief of the—apostles. Okay, what are you?

Q1: An apostle.

Fr. Evan: Yeah! You’re an apostle; you’re a disciple. You’re one sent out; you’re one who’s learning. So if the chief, Peter, is asked and answers this question, he’s doing it on behalf of us. If I answer for my family—I’m the head of the house—and I say, “We’re going to dinner with the Bouzarelis family.” Whom have I answered for? Me, Stacy, Alexia, Eleni, Maria, and Spyridon: we’re all going. Erroneously—we’re not going to get into this, but the West eventually said, “No, no, Peter’s answering for himself, and this is Peter’s declaration of faith,” and so then everything gets founded on Peter. Well, that doesn’t make any sense. No, that’s not how it works and not how any of the Scriptures work. All these are archetypes. So Peter is answering for all of us: all of us who believe, all of us who are willing to follow. This is our answer.

Okay, now what’s interesting is not only is it on the way, but they’re in a Gentile region; they’re outside of the kingdom. How does that relate to us. We are, too! We’re not in the kingdom—are you in the kingdom? I’m not. And that’s where I’ve got to make my answer. See, if they’re in Israel, if they’re in the Temple grounds and they declare: the King! Big deal. He’s right there! He’s set up. We see all the stuff arrayed, you know, the smoke and the incense. That’s not where they make this declaration. They make it on the way, in some exiled, bumpkin place; that’s where they make it.

So where we make the confession of the faith, it is often made outside of the glory, all of the pomp and circumstance, in exile, outside of the kingdom—but also in our life. We make it in this life, which is not necessarily in the kingdom.

Now, where are they going from? You remember in our map? They’re up here, and they’re going up to Jerusalem. There’s an arduous journey and an ascent that’s made. That shouldn’t be lost on you.

Let’s get into their responses now. We know that the first question is: “Who do men say that I am?” So by saying “men,” he’s talking about those outside of the company. And the answers they give— There’s three answers. What are the three answers? Don’t look; just remember. John the Baptist, Elijah, some other prophet. Okay. Is that a new set of answers? No. Where do we find those answers before? Let’s go back. Mark 6. Go into verse 14. Yes. “Now King Herod heard of him, and his name had become well-known.” Earlier you were saying they knew him. “And he said, ‘John the Baptist is risen from the dead!’ ” So we know that a story had begun to circulate in and around the towns and regions that Jesus was actually just John the Baptist, back from the dead, resuscitated; his head’s back on his body. Remember, there’s not pictures of people. And they’re kinsmen; they look alike. So that’s a conclusion some people reached. “Others said it is Elijah, and others said it is the prophet or like one of the prophets.”

So the answers that the disciples give are simply the answers that are circulating at the time. These are already answers; they didn’t have to think about this one. So you can imagine that in the towns and regions, people were discussing, “Who do you think this guy is?”

Now, we already spoke about John the Baptist in the sense that Jesus and his mission— We’ve covered this several times. Let’s talk a little bit about Elijah. Why would they think he’s Elijah? What was held amongst the Jews about Elijah? He didn’t die. Still alive. He healed people. He would come again before the Christ. So maybe that’s who this guy is. And in fact, if you just flip your page and go to chapter nine, verse nine, this is the experience of the disciples now after the Transfiguration. So you can imagine that, prior to that, Peter, James, and John still—they’re still struggling with identity, even after Peter said, “You’re the Christ.” “Now they came down from the mountain. He commanded them that they should tell no one of the things they had seen”—messianic secret again—“till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” So you’ve kind of experienced what’s going to happen. “So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.” They weren’t sure yet.

“And they asked him, saying, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ ” So what’s the idea in Israel? The idea is that Elijah’s return was seen as a preparation for the coming of the Messiah. “Then he answered and told them, ‘Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things’ ”—in other words, the scribes aren’t wrong—” ‘And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that he must suffer many things and be treated with contempt, but I say to you that Elijah has also come. And they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.’ ” Who was the Elijah? John the Baptist. The messenger has come.

So that’s one of them, and then the last one is a prophet. I would posit that probably they are thinking of Moses here. Why would I say that? Greatest of prophets. He led Israel out of captivity, he delivered the Law, the whole bit. He got them to the land of promise. So they’re probably thinking of Moses here, the Prophet. And we know that when the Lord appears on the mountaintop, he appears with Elijah and Moses. And Moses is seen as a representative of the Law, but he’s also understood in the Church as the Prophet.

So those are the responses they give. Now, Jesus then says, “Okay, fine. Those are the answers everybody else gives, but who do you say that I am?” “Peter answered and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ ” All right. Mark is writing to whom? Gentiles. Suffering Christians in Rome. So he uses the word, “You are the Christ.” Right, that is a Greek term; it’s not a Hebrew term. When Mark uses that term, he’s— Again, you’re learning a little bit about Mark’s audience and where he’s going. He gives them an answer, or Peter gives an answer that he wouldn’t have given. He’s Jewish! But Christos is the Greek word for Messiah.

Q1: But we heard earlier that Peter was for us. He’s answering for us.

Fr. Evan: Yeah, so he’s answering for everybody here. The title Christ, Anointed One, let’s get into this a little bit. It means Messiah; that was the Hebrew title. In the Old Testament, when did you use the title Messiah or Anointed One? It was used. When was it used? Who got that title? King, yeah, because a king would get anointed. He would be a messiah; he would be a deliverer. So King, Saul: those are messiahs.

Q2: Wasn’t David referred to?

Fr. Evan: Yes, David is. Who else? Prophets, right? Aren’t prophets? And who else? You had a third one. Priests, high priests. Is Jesus all three? He’s King, he’s Prophet, and he’s Priest. Now, in the Old Testament, sometimes people would combine roles, but not always. I know I’m making a mistake here, because I just can’t bring it all to mind, but I can’t think of someone who was all three. Can anyone think of anyone who was a prophet, a priest, and a king?

Q3: You have to ask Katherine Markunas.

Fr. Evan: Yeah, she might have that one down. [Laughter]

Q4: That confuses me a bit, because if all three of those were messiahs, who was the Messiah that they were waiting for?

Fr. Evan: They were all archetypes. They were all prefigurements. They were all foreshadowings of the One who would be. See, I mean, in all those instances—whether it was a king, whether it was a prophet, whether it was a priest—they all had, in a sense, a sense within themselves, that they weren’t The Messiah, capital-T, and that there was an anticipation within Israel: “The Messiah is coming. It’s not David. We thought it was David, and then we saw what David did. But he’ll be like David; he’ll be in the lineage of David. It’s not Samuel… It’s not Isaiah…” It’s none of them. There was always a memory: it’s going to be somebody…

Q1: They would set an empty place at the seder…

Q4: So they were aware of the difference between a messiah and the Messiah?

Fr. Evan: Yeah. Oh, yes. But by the time we get to the New Testament, the fact is that there’s confusion. There are competing ideas. Now, let me finish something out. In the Old Testament, if you were a messiah—not the Messiah, a messiah—it meant that God had chosen you for a specific role and purpose in the history of Israel. So that role might have been priestly, that role might have been prophetic, and that role might have been kingly.

In the New Testament, those things collapse on the personage of Jesus, and then in the Church they are continued in the body, so that the role of priesthood, which we share in since we’re all part of the royal priesthood, also contains the role of the king; it also contains the role of the prophet, that those realities continue, but now they do so underneath the example of the King, of the Prophet, of the Priest. You following me? Before it’s in shadow; now it’s in truth.

Q5: Father, can I just ask for a clarification? The word “anointed,” that word is christos in Greek, and it is “messiah” in Hebrew? I never actually thought about that. I thought the anointed one, the anointings of those people, but I never thought that they were actually called a messiah.

Fr. Evan: Yeah. I mean, if you define the word, that’s what they are: an anointed one. It’s interesting, because we are a Christianos, which is the diminutive; we are a little christ. Then you would say, “Well, okay, you’re anointed.” You are! But we often forget our anointing. We often let it collect dust and get covered up. The process of repentance, the process of askesis, the process of the reception of the sacraments: all of that is to recover the indelible reality.

We were talking this past Sunday about [how] God creates mankind in his image and likeness, and the Fathers interpret that to say: Well, the image is indelible; it can’t be broken. You can never lose the image of God, because you are always a reflection. You’re always a reflection of God, but you can disfigure, mar, cover up that, and that’s the likeness. Well, how does that apply to this anointing? Well, when we say in the Church, “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit,” you can’t take that seal away. How can it be taken away? It can’t! When God makes a promise, it cannot be revoked, so he gives it. But we can refuse to live out our great baptismal reality, and therefore the seal is rather hard to find.

It’s collecting dust, in all sorts of ways. An item can be misused. I had a grandfather who was very particular about how you use things. I learned a lot from him in the restaurant. “You don’t use a spatula that way.” “Why?” “It’s going to bend and break.” “Well, I’ll buy another.” That’s not how they viewed things. You used it properly, and it would last! We don’t have that any more, do we? [Laughter] It’s disposable. So an item can be misused.

But in a restaurant, you collect a lot of things over time, and you have old stuff that’s in the storeroom that you don’t use very often, and what does it do? Collects dust. Then you have things that are broken and have not been repaired. Equate all of those to your own anointing. Your anointing can be just simply unused and it’s just collecting dust; it’s just sitting there. There’s lots of Christians sitting in the pews who literally have not used their anointing, so they’re just dusty. I mean, that’s what it is, right? Unused. Then there are those who misuse their anointing; they misuse it willfully. And there are those who are broken.

None of those categories are okay, but they all exist. We often just pay attention to the broken ones or the ones misusing, but we forget the dusty ones, and that’s the greater majority! In my pastoral experience, the dusty ones are the majority.

Okay, so by the time we get to the New Testament, this idea of messiah is no longer a single concept for Jews, and a popular understanding—and this is alluding to what you were talking about, Fr. Kenney—was that the messiah was a descendant of David, who would serve the people as a warrior, a political leader, and a judge, and who would restore the fortunes of Israel and its nation. This was an understanding that the disciples probably had, and many have speculated this was probably the understanding that Judas carried most deeply. We should highlight the fact that this kind of understanding would be problematic on many levels. It would be problematic theologically, because it would be to misunderstand the whole purpose and reason for Jesus. But it would be problematic politically, because if Jesus was to declare himself as a political leader, he’s going to receive the opposition of the Roman oppressors. And in fact that’s the dialogue that he goes through with Pilate, isn’t it? “Look, if my kingdom was of this world, my people would fight. You think I can’t beat you? I’ve got legions of angels. I can call them down. But that’s not my fight.”

So variants, though: let’s get into some variations of this Christos. We would have “son of David” or “Son of Man.” Aren’t those variants? If you hear the title “son of David,” that’s a messianic title. If you hear “Son of Man,” that’s a messianic title. And they’re used in this gospel. In fact, we’re going to come to it in a little bit, in verse 31 of chapter eight, Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man— Well, where is the Son of Man? The “Son of Man” is from Daniel 7:13. That’s a messianic title. And he uses these often interchangeably. “Son of David” is going to come to us in chapter ten, verse 47. “And when he had heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth”—this is the blind man, Bartimaeus—“he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ” So Christos, Son of Man, Son of David, Messiah, these are all these titles.

Let’s finish out one little more tidbit about this term, christos. Go to chapter one, verse one.

Q4: I thought you might mean Genesis…

Fr. Evan: [Laughter] Yeah, Mark 1:1. What do you read, Elaine? You’re there. Go back one page. Mark 1:1, what do you read right there?

Q1: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—”

Fr. Evan: Stop. Okay. How does Genesis begin?

All: “In the beginning.”

Fr. Evan: Yeah, what is Mark doing? The beginning, not “in the beginning,” “the beginning—of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” He’s using the term Christos, though, and the beginning of all things is in him.

Now go to chapter nine, verse 41. “For whoever gives you a cup of water, drink in my name, because you belong to Christ. Assuredly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” So there’s a connection here with this person Christ and believers. And I’m going to give you a couple others—you don’t have to keep going—12:35-37; 13:21.

Now, the most important and significant uses, though, of the word christos are always in connection with Jesus’ suffering and dying. That’s really where Mark hinges this title of Messiah, and we see it here in 8:29; we just read it. “ ‘Who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ ” And what’s going to happen in verse 31? “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders.” So in Mark when you hear the term christos, the most significant times are when they’re connected with Jesus’ suffering and death.

Go to 14:61, chapter 14, verse 61. “And he kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, saying to him, ‘Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed?’ ” What’s going on here? Well, this is the trial; he’s going to go die. And go to 15:32.

Q5: “Son of the blessed.” I don’t think I remember hearing that one before. Is that referring to the Father?

Fr. Evan: Yeah. “Blessed be the name of our God.” “Blessed is… Evlogitos ei…” 32: “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross.” There he’s put it all together. I mean, that’s his final statement about Christ. “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” They’re jeering, but how does Mark now cast that last phrase? It’s a statement of faith. “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross.” What is he saying? He’s making a statement! It’s going to happen! “That we may see and believe.”

Q6: So is there a play on the word “descend”?

Fr. Evan: Yeah, of course. It’s all there, that in a sense Mark now, his last use of that term is going to be: Here’s my theology. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. [How] they said it was: “We don’t buy it,” because it says, “Likewise, the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, ‘He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel…’ ” It’s a mocking—but how does Mark now use it? It’s a statement of faith: that’s what’s going to happen. Pretty powerful how he does this.

All right, we’re going to say one last thing, and then we’re going to close out about five minutes early, because this next section I don’t want to get into.

Q4: The whole first half of Mark showed the disciples not getting it. Is this the first time that they finally realize what was in their midst?

Fr. Evan: At the crucifixion?

Q4: No.

Fr. Evan: Oh, here in eight—

Q4: Peter’s confession.

Fr. Evan: Yeah, but it’s tough, because right afterwards he bumbles it. He fumbles the ball immediately after the hand-off. [Laughter] Because he goes into telling him what’s what about not having to go and suffer and die. So, yeah, in a sense, but you remember there’s a constant process in the gospel of getting it, not getting it; getting it, not getting it; inside, outside; inside, outside.

Q1: “Like trees, walking.” And we don’t get it immediately either.

Fr. Evan: Right. There’s a process. We’re constantly in this thing. Even when you’re far into your faith, you still lose it. I remember this quote. I don’t have it off the top of my head, but it was St. Gregory of Nyssa talking about the theology of the Trinity, and he at one point says, “I grasp for a moment the greater part of it, and then when I think I have it, I lose it all again.” So there’s just this constant kind of in-and-out with it.

But the last thing that I want to say is that notice, obviously, in this passage it differs greatly from Matthew’s recounting of the same event in Matthew 16. Remember, in Matthew’s passage, there was this very laudatory verbage that comes after the confession. And he says to him:

Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

That’s Matthew. Mark doesn’t have any of that. It doesn’t recount any of that sort of dialogue and laudatory praise given to Peter.

We’re going to stop here. When we come together next time, we’ll spend a little bit of time, if you remind me, talking about why the difference, and what’s so important about the words Jesus gives to Peter in Matthew 16, and then we’ll finish out the eighth chapter.