In Mark's central section, Jesus embarks upon a journey ‘on the way’ (8.27; 9.33, 34; 10.17, 32, 52), which will eventually take him to his life's end in Jerusalem. Each of its three sub-sections begins with a prediction of Jesus' death and the resurrection to follow. The reader is caught up in the momentum of this journey towards the narrative's goal.

Prediction 1: the Son of Man must die (8.27–9.29)

The first sub-section opens by reissuing the Christological question (cf. 1.27; 4.41; 6.2), as Jesus asks what people were saying about him (8.27–30). After reporting the opinions of others (cf. 6.14–16), Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ. This finally aligns the disciples with the opinion the narrator shared with the readers at the beginning (1.1), although the following events will show that further progress is required.

Jesus then announces that the Son of Man must die to rise again after three days (v.31). The necessity (cf. δεῖ) no doubt arises from his divine commissioning as the Servant (1.11) and his commitment to continue in the will of God (3.31–35). He announces that his death will come from Israel's leadership. This is no surprise to the readers (3.6), but Peter takes exception (v.32). Peter's rebuke has often been explained in terms of a supposed Christological misunderstanding, i.e., that he could not cope with a Christ who suffered. Cranfield suggests he takes offence at the idea of suffering after being rejected by Israel's religious authorities.