“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
- KJV And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
- NKJV He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
- NASB And He continued questioning them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and *said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
- NLT Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks the disciples directly, and Peter confesses, 'You are the Christ.' This is the Gospel's pivotal confession of Jesus' identity.
Overview
Peter rightly identifies Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, marking the turning point of Mark's narrative. Yet, as the following verses show, his understanding of what 'Christ' means is still flawed, expecting glory without suffering. The confession invites every reader to answer the same question and to learn that the Christ is the crucified and risen Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Jn 4:15If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
- Matt 16:15–16“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
- 1 Jn 5:1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.
- John 11:27“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
- Luke 9:20“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
- John 4:42They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”
- Acts 9:20Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
- John 6:69We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”
- John 1:41–49He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).
- 1 Pet 2:7To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Mark 4:11He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,
- Acts 8:36As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 8:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.