“And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.”
But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am? Peter answered, you are the Messiah — the question shifts from the crowd (who do people say) to the disciples (who do you say). The you is emphatic — you, who have been with me, who have received the private explanations, who have watched the miracles. Peter's answer is the Gospel's first human confession: you are the Messiah (the Christ, the Anointed One). The correct answer is given — but as the next verse will show, the correct title without the correct understanding of what the Messiah is and does is only partial sight.
Church Fathers on Mark 8:29
After taking His disciples afar from the Jews, He then asks them concerning Himself, that they might speak the truth without fear of the Jews.
Philip was that brother of Herod, of whom we spoke above, who in honour of Tiberius Caesar called that town, which is now called Paneas, Caesarea Philippi.
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.
Read all 11 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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