In the story of Peter's confession, there is a detail that is worth noting. Just before Jesus responds to Peter's objection to his prediction of the passion, he looked at his disciples.
The look of Jesus has a special significance for discipleship. If we consider the story of the call of the first disciples (Mark 1:16-20; Mark 2:13-14), we see that discipleship as a response to the call of Jesus begins with a glance from Jesus himself. That glance ("He saw") becomes an invitation ("Come follow me") which in turn becomes a promise that transforms ("I will make you fishers of men").
The look of Jesus does not stop after the disciples begin to follow him. It continues to accompany them even in difficult moments. In Mark 6:48, Jesus sees them tossed to and fro by the waves of a turbulent lake and he walks towards them on the waters, taking his place in their midst and quieting the winds and the waves (see Mark 6:45-52).
In the episode of the dialogue with a rich young man (Mark 10:17-22), Jesus looks into the prospective disciple and loved him. But here, the look does not become an invitation, for the young man had no space in his heart for the one thing that is still lacking. In the ensuing conversation (Mark 10:23-27) about how anyone can be saved, Jesus looks at his disciples once more and reassures them that with God, everything is possible (Mark 10:27).
The look of Jesus is the glance of love, a reassurance of support and source of strength when the cross of discipleship seems unbearable. When Jesus looked at his disciples (Mark 8:33) after Peter objected to his talk of rejection, suffering and death, it was to reassure them and to re-establish them in the way of life to which he has called them.
A Note For Meditation. Luke uses the verb emblepo -- the same verb that Mark employs in Mark 10:21.27 -- in Luke 22:61 to designate the glance that Jesus throws in Peter's direction after this latter has disowned.
