Mark 8:31–38 contains a section that functions as a watershed. All that has gone before has been leading up to it. All that follows will flow from it. The incident at Caesarea Philippi stands at the center of the Gospel of Mark, at a midpoint of the chapters. It represents Jesus’ furthest journey away from Jerusalem and Galilee. After this confrontation in the northeast part of Israel’s territory and his transfiguration on the slopes of a nearby mountain,
Mark 8:27–9:8