Peter's Confession

The difference about Peter’s confession compared with others is that he had given Jesus His own “nickname.” Before his confession, others have been calling Him “the Son of God” meaning that these people believe that Jesus performs wonders that only God can do. They probably think that He inherits the power of God since only God can perform miracles before the times of Jesus. Additionally, after Peter’s confession, He begins to teach His disciples about His resurrection, servanthood, and what the future holds. Dr. Nichols calls this the second half of the Gospel of Mark. So, before his confession, Jesus is performing miracles like driving out demons and healing blind people among other things. After Peter’s confession, He starts to teach by showing his power even during resurrection, etc. Powell describes this as “a prelude to what happens at the end (Powell, p.134).” During the first half, only the insiders have been given the “secret of the kingdom of God” and for the outsiders it would
They show their faith lack thereof thru fear i.e. Jesus calls them “faithless generation” (Mark 9:19). Jesus is very well aware of this and He even says to them: “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:21). Clearly, no matter how many demons He drives out, how many blind people He heals, and the people He feeds, His disciples and families still don’t believe Him during the first half. When they finally grasp the idea that Jesus is the Messiah (Peter confesses), they still don’t understand what it means and continues to question Jesus’ identity. On the other hand, the outsiders realize right away that He is the “son of God” mostly after when He performs His miracles. Most of them have faith in Him that Jesus would help them especially those who are in need. One of the examples is Bartmaeus who had recovered because of his faith (Mark