Mark's gospel begins by focusing on Jesus' power and authority. It is full of wonder-working displays of God's vital presence in the midst of Jesus' early "hometown" work in Galilee. This week's gospel text changes both the direction and the message of Mark's record. Jesus turns himself and his disciples away from Galilee and faces them towards Jerusalem. As the first leg of their travels takes them to Caesarea Philippi, Mark's portrayal of Jesus also shifts. Three different times on this trip (recorded in Mark 8:31-38; 9:31; and 10:32-34) Mark has Jesus lecture his disciples on the impending events awaiting him in Jerusalem. No longer is Jesus' messiahship to be proved through a ministry of miracles. The way open to Jesus now is one of suffering and rejection and death. Jesus' journey wit…