Like most of the chapters of the Gospel of Mark, there are a number of different themes that we could pursue as we follow the thread of Christ's ministry and life through chapter eight. We could focus on the effects of Jesus no longer fully manifesting love, which causes him to grow impatient with the people as "He sighed deeply" (Mark 8:12) when they ask Him for a miraculous sign, changes the focus of His preaching from love and servitude to legalism and sacrifice (Mark 8:34 - 9:1) and which will eventually lead to His possible death (which Jesus predicts in Mark 8:31.)
But let's instead look at a little understood passage and often overlooked passage.
In Mark 8:27, Jesus asks His disciples, "Who do people say I am?" According to Mark 8:28, "They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.'" Matthew 16:14 takes this a step farther, "They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'" The Gospel of Luke states, "They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.'" (Luke 9:19)
The first assumption by the people was simply a case of mistaken identity. John the Baptist had only recently been executed. Given the prominence of both Jesus and John the Baptist, the distance involved and more primitive forms of communication in ancient times, it's easy to see how the average person could confuse John the Baptist and Jesus or even accidentally combine them into the same person. Both men preached a message that was contrary to the religious establishment of the time. Both men frequented the wilderness and lonely places.
The answers "Elijah," "Jeremiah" and "one of the prophets of long ago" that has "come back to life" require us to radically change our way of thinking about religion and spirituality - especially where Christianity is concerned.
Why?
Because the only two ways that this could happen would be for Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets of long ago to be resurrected or reincarnated. And this was clearly a possibility that was not only believed in by the vast majority of the populace, but one which Jesus did not choose to contradict.
To begin to answer this question, let's look at John the Baptist who is also associated with Elijah at several points throughout the Gospels.
We know that John the Baptist is not the resurrection of Elijah. It's made clear in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:13) that John the Baptist was born to mortal parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and not raised from the dead. The same angel that spoke to Zechariah, foretelling him of the birth of his son also told him, "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah." (Luke 1:17) The Greek word "spirit" in this passage is "pneu'ma" which literally means "soul." In other words, "John will be born with the soul of Elijah."
Those who believe in reincarnation also hold that there should be similarities between two lifetimes when there is a strong connection drawn between the two. In 2 Kings 1:6-8 we see a conversation between King Ahaziah and some messengers that he had sent to seek out Elijah. The passage opens with the messengers describing the prophet. "They replied, 'He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.' The king said, '"That was Elijah the Tishbite.'" In both Matthew 3:4 and Mark 1:6 (referenced here) we see that John dressed in the same manner as Elijah had. "John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist."
Jesus Himself states in Matthew 11:11-15, "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear." The King James Version is even clearer on Matthew 11:14, removing the "the" before Elijah, stating, "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias [Elijah], which was for to come." This concept is further reinforced in Matthew 17:12-13 when Jesus says, "'But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist."
While there is a great deal of discussion regarding whether or not the concept of reincarnation is reflected in the Gospels, John 9:1-2 sheds some interesting light on the concept. "As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'"
At first glance this may not seem like much, especially when Jesus replies in John 9:3, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." But let's look at the world view behind the original question.
It is clearly established that the man was blind from birth. In other words, he was born without sight. How then, could the disciples believe that the man's own sins be responsible for his blindness? The only way this would be possible, considering that he was born blind, is for the sin to have been committed before the man was born. As it is safe to make the assumption that the man could not have sinned in the womb, the only other possibility for the disciples' question to make any sense is for the man to have sinned before he entered this lifetime.
While Christ rebutted that it was not sin but the will of God that had made the man blind, Jesus did not refute the philosophy behind the question.
One of my spiritual teachers once asked a Rabbi about this passage of scripture, specifically asking him why Jesus didn't address the issue of reincarnation at this point in His ministry instead of reinforcing it with His silence.
The Rabbi responded, "Jesus didn't address reincarnation because the Israelites knew that it existed. He didn't need to teach them what they already knew." To confirm this I turned to Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum College, a yeshiva founded in Jerusalem in 1972 with international branches in the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman pointed out, "Reincarnation is an ancient, mainstream belief in Judaism."
The National Assembly of Hebrew Students holds that, "Reincarnation is a fundamental belief in Jewish tradition. In Hebrew, reincarnation is called 'gilgul ha'ne'shamot,' literally the recycling or transmigration of souls."
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman or Project Genesis writes, "Many don't realize that reincarnation is a factor in the Jewish Tradition, but it certainly is. It's not cited as frequently or as openly as the belief in the vital role each one of us has in life, or the belief in the Afterlife. Nonetheless reincarnation is certainly a part of our Tradition. We grant you Judaism doesn't tout reincarnation as much as other religions do, which leads others to assume we don't believe in it. But not a lot is made of reincarnation because there's the concern that if we depend on it, we won't extend ourselves in our efforts for spiritual growth right here and now, since we can always 'come back and try again.'"
There are references to reincarnation scattered throughout the scriptures. For instance, Job 1:21 in the New International Version quotes Job as saying, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked will I depart." However, if you pay attention to the alternate version of the verse included in the footnote for the NIV translation (or read any of a number of other translations, including the King James Version and the New American Standard Bible, referenced here) the verse reads, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return there." Job does not say, "Naked was I born and naked will I die." He unequivocally states, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I be the next time I'm in my mother's womb." In other words, "I did not have any of my material possessions when I was incarnated nor shall I have them the next time I incarnate."
"In His great love for us, G-d saw to it that we be given as much hope and chance for spiritual growth as possible," Rabbi Feldman explains. "As such, He provided us with the ultimate "second chance" - reincarnation. We're granted other lives in which to advance our souls and rectify past mistakes."
Rabbi Feldman continues, stating, "The implications of living several lives are astounding. Among other things, it indicates that our ultimate spiritual station will be a product of what we were and what we did in the course of a full range of lives. Not just this one. Yet despite all the factors that impinge upon our spiritual struggles life, after life, after life, our standing in the World to Come will depend on our own efforts to achieve what G-d expects of us."
If the Jewish people were mistaken to follow this doctrine, then why does God say of Job, who clearly believed in this concept of reincarnation as reflected in his statement in Job 1:21, "Have you considered My servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Job 1:8)
If we are to consider that this philosophy has spiritual relevance, how does the concept of reincarnation fit with the message that Christ brought to us?
The majority of modern Christian salvation doctrine comes from a single passage, John 3:1-21. In that passage Jesus is approached at night by a "Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council" (John 3:1) who addresses Christ, saying, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." (John 3:2)
What most Christians fail to realize is that Jesus illustrates a progressive process to Nicodemus, a method by which one first sees the kingdom of God and then enters the kingdom of God. Christ first states in John 3:3, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and then in John 3:5, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." For the first step in the process, gaining the ability to "see the kingdom of God" a person must be "born again." For the second step, to "enter the kingdom of God" a person must be "born of water and the Spirit."
Even at this point, the passage would be wide-open to interpretation if it weren't for a statement that Christ makes to Nicodemus. Nicodemus is looking for new wisdom from Christ. He has stepped away from his fellow Pharisees, coming to Jesus at night and clearly stating, "You are a teacher who has come from God." (John 3:2) If we keep in mind that the Jewish people, and especially the Pharisees who studied the intricacies of Jewish spiritual concepts and laws, believed in the concept of reincarnation, then when Jesus asks Nicodemus, "You are Israel's teacher and you do not understand these things?" (John 3:10) we understand that Christ was clearly stating, "Look at what I am saying from the perspective of the spiritual concepts that you believe in."
In other words, "Do not think of birth in the sense of a single mortal lifetime, but in the scope of multiple lifetimes."
This is made more clear in John 3:6, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit." The same Greek word (pneu'ma) is used for the word "spirit" in this verse that is used to describe John the Baptist having the soul of Elijah. Jesus is describing a process. As one life (a parent) gives birth to their descendent (child) to continue a physical lineage, so one soul's incarnation continues from lifetime to lifetime to continue a spiritual lineage.
The work that awaits each of us is described in John 3:19-21, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
The King James Version uses the word "condemnation" in replace of the word "verdict." The Greek word in this situation is the word "krisis" which is the root word for the English word "crisis." If you look at the bias of the early church and the translators of this passage, the definition of "judgment" has been chosen in this passage, but that would be inaccurate as that would imply a conclusion to a trial or a state that could not be altered. But Christ is clearly speaking of a process by which someone can enter the kingdom of God, implying that the verdict has not yet been reached. This would indicate that the more common definition of word, "separation," would be more accurate.
If we read the passage in this light, we see a very simple process outlined. Light (love) has come into the world, causing a separation between those who choose to live in love and those who choose to live for themselves. Only by living by truth, one of the key steps in learning to love, does one begin to live in love, the very nature of God.
When Christ states, "'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17) Jesus is clearly speaking of love and eternal life, not judgment and condemnation. If we understand that love is the very nature of God and that eternal life would negate the need to be reborn, it becomes apparent that Christ was speaking of ending the process of reincarnation. If one reached the point where it was no longer necessary to be reborn into the mortal realm, it would also end the need to die, creating eternal life for the soul as there would no longer be any death.
The modern church holds to the position that simply accepting Christ as our Savior and believing in Him is enough to end this process. But if the concept of reincarnation holds, that only brings about the first rebirth, allowing us to see the kingdom of God. We still need to be "born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:5)
Being born of water (the Greek word for water is "hudor" in this passage) not only represents a purification process (such as that preached and practiced through water baptism by John the Baptist) but also represents water as the primary element that existed when the world was created. ("Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Genesis 1:2) In other words, it's not enough to simply turn away from the darkness, but we must achieve an unencumbered state of being where we live totally in love. Otherwise, we'll be reborn as we still have work to do.
Jesus states in Matthew 18:3, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." And when a teacher of the law told Jesus, "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices," (Mark 12:32-33) Jesus told him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:12 to, "continue to work out your salvation" we see that this isn't a static process, but one through which we must continue working and growing to achieve the state that Christ speaks of. While there is scripture that would seem to imply that we focus wholeheartedly on this lifetime, it's because the early church believed that the return of Christ was immanent. Jesus Himself stated in Mark 9:1, "And he said to them, 'I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.'" Why would Peter, Paul or any of the leaders of the early church teach about a process of multiple lifetimes, when they believed that the apocalypse would happen within their lives and render the concept a moot point? Instead, they taught about what they considered to be most relevant, given their belief that Christ would return at any moment.
The other thing that reincarnation does is fulfill the words of Jesus in John 3:16. Christ begins by saying, "For God so loved the world." If we are truly relegated to a single lifetime and, as the Christian church professes, our only method of redemption is to accept Christ as our savior, then literally billions of people have been condemned to eternal suffering because they were born in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we continue to hold to the single lifetime model then, as these people have no choice in where and when they were born, God intentionally created billions of people with the foreknowledge that they would eternally suffer. And through the words of the Christian church, God has specifically and knowingly condemned the vast majority of humanity throughout history to this fate. The only way to rectify this situation is to give the people who were born in a situation that didn't allow them to spiritually evolve and step into the light another chance. To allow them to be reborn in a situation that would allow them the opportunity at salvation. This would also fulfill Christ's statement that for someone to "see the kingdom of God" they must be born again."