And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
- BSB “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are 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 4:15Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
- Matt 16:15–16He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
- 1 Jn 5:1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
- John 11:27She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
- Luke 9:20He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
- John 4:42And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
- Acts 9:20And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
- John 6:69And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
- John 1:41–49He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
- 1 Pet 2:7Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
- Mark 4:11And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
- Acts 8:36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.