Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 8:31

"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." — Mark 8:31 (ASV)

Having accepted Peter’s ascription of his being “the Christ,” Jesus now began to teach his disciples what messiahship really meant. Yet he did not refer to himself as Messiah but as the Son of Man, a theologically important title.

“Son of Man” occurs eighty-one times in the Gospels and, with the possible exceptions of Mk 2:10 and 28—where the title “Son of Man” seems to be part of Mark’s editorial comments—only Jesus uses it about himself. Notice how in 8:38, Jesus parallels “of me” with “the Son of Man.” Son of Man was the title Jesus preferred in referring to himself because, unlike “Messiah,” it was not freighted with connotations that might prove harmful to his God-appointed mission .

“Son of Man” occurs in the OT. In the Psalms it simply meant “human being” (cf. Pss 8:4; 80:17); and in Ezekiel, God addressed the prophet by this phrase. The most helpful text, however, is Da 7:13–14, which depicts the Son of Man as a heavenly figure who at the end time brings the kingdom to the oppressed on earth. This passage is especially reflected in the sayings of Jesus in Mark’s gospel that speak of the coming of the Son of Man (8:38; 13:26; 14:62). The title has, however, been infused with additional meaning, especially in those passages that associate the Son of Man with suffering and death (8:31; 9:9; 12, 31; 10:33, 45; 14:21, 41). The combining of the motif of eschatological glory with that of suffering and death is what characterizes the Son-of-Man idea in the Synoptics.

The Son of Man “must” suffer. This necessity arises because of hostility from his enemies, because of the spiritual nature of Jesus’ work (which did not allow him to use force), and because of God’s revealed plan of redemption that required Jesus’ death (see Isa 52:13–53:12).

Jesus predicted that the rejection of the Messiah would be by three groups: the elders (members of the Sanhedrin), the chief priests (members of the high priestly families), and the teachers of the law (professional scribes).

The death of the Son of Man would be followed by his vindication: after three days he would be raised from the dead. “After three days” occurs also in 9:31; 10:34. In Mt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Lk 9:22; 18:33, however, “on the third day” is used. The two expressions are identical in meaning. Contrary to English usage, in a Jewish context “after three days” can mean a period of less than seventy-two hours, as long as parts of three days are included.

Verse 31 is particularly important because it is the only explanation in Mark’s gospel of “the messianic secret.” Jesus did not want his messiahship to be disclosed because it involved suffering, rejection, and death. Popular expectations of messiahship would have hindered the accomplishment of his messianic mission.