January 21, 2026
You are the Christ - Part 3
Mark 8:29,31-32a
01/21/2026
29 And he asked them, ``But who do you say that I
am?'' Peter answered him, ``You are the Christ.''
...
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man
must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders and the chief priests and the scribes and
be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 And he said this plainly. (ESV)
On January 18, the Church celebrated the Confession of Saint
Peter. We prayed:
Heavenly Father, You revealed to the apostle Peter the
blessed truth that Your Son Jesus is the Christ.
Strengthen us by the proclamation of this truth that we
too may joyfully confess that there is salvation in no
one else.
What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ? How did Jesus
define the work of the Messiah?
And he asked them, ``But who do you say that I am?''
Peter answered him, ``You are the Christ.'' ... And he
began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer
many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief
priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three
days rise again. And he said this plainly.
The word ``Christ'' is Greek which means ``the anointed
one.'' It is used to translate the Hebrew word ``Messiah.''
Therefore, Jesus' answer to Peter is very important.
There are two views of the Messiah or the Christ in the Old
Testament. The popular one is that of the Victor, the Conqueror,
who brings peace and prosperity. This is the political Messiah,
the Messiah expected by the Jews at the time of Jesus, the Christ
proclaimed by many today. With this view of Christ, we overcome
the world even while we are in the world. This will happen on
the last day, but not yet.
Jesus speaks of the Suffering Servant, the sinless Son of
God who bears the cross and dies for the sins of all people. He
defeated death, proving that we, on the last day, will rise
again. We find the Christ, not in victory, but in the cross as
He pays the price of our transgressions.
May our Lord grant that we trust in Jesus, not for temporal
blessings, but as our eternal Savior. Amen.