What is the meaning of Mark 8:28?

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist”

• Herod Antipas had already voiced this rumor (Mark 6:14–16; Matthew 14:1–2).

• John had been executed, so the notion that Jesus was John resurrected shows how deeply John’s ministry had impacted Israel.

• The crowd acknowledged Jesus’ holiness and bold preaching, but stopped short of recognizing Him as Messiah (Luke 7:24–28).

• Their error warns us that admiration for Jesus’ morality is not the same as saving faith.

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Others say Elijah

• Malachi 4:5 promised Elijah would precede “the great and terrible day of the LORD,” so many expected Elijah’s literal return.

• Because Elijah never died but was taken up alive (2 Kings 2:11), people found it plausible that he could reappear.

• Jesus’ miraculous power—raising the dead (Mark 5:41–42) and commanding nature (Mark 4:39)—echoed Elijah’s ministry (1 Kings 17:22; 18:36–38), feeding this speculation.

• Yet Jesus affirmed that John the Baptist already came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17; Matthew 11:14). Missing this, the crowd also missed the identity of the One Elijah was meant to announce.

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And still others, one of the prophets

• Some thought of Jeremiah, Isaiah, or another prophetic voice (Matthew 16:14; Luke 9:8).

• They sensed divine authority in Jesus’ teaching (Mark 1:22) and compassion in His works (Isaiah 61:1–2) but limited Him to merely another prophet in a long line.

• This respectful yet inadequate view mirrored Israel’s history of honoring prophets after rejecting them (Matthew 23:29–32).

• Accepting Jesus as “a prophet” while denying His unique Sonship still leaves a person outside the saving truth (John 5:22–24).

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summary

The verse captures the range of public opinion: honoring Jesus as extraordinary yet refusing to embrace His full identity. Whether likening Him to John resurrected, Elijah returned, or another prophet, the crowd’s answers fell short of recognizing the living Christ, the Son of God. Mark records these misconceptions to prepare us for Peter’s confession in the next verse (Mark 8:29). In every age, the crucial issue remains the same: move beyond respectful guesses about Jesus and bow to the truth Scripture proclaims—He is the promised Messiah and Lord.