It is generally held that this part of Mark has a peculiar character of its own, as a solemn preparation for the Passion (cf. Rawlinson, p. 108). That the section gives this impression need not be disputed; but it remains a question whether this is due to deliberate editing by Mark or to the nature of the sources at his disposal. It has already been noted that several pericopae appear to have been taken over bodily or with slight adjustment from the Twelve-source (ix. 33—5, x. 32—45; cf. above, pp. 24 and 25). Apart from these sections Mark has done so much arrangement of his material that it is difficult to isolate particular sections as coming from different sources; but there are certain indications which suggest that such sources existed. Thus the ‘after six days’ of Mark ix. 2 is quite pointless as a pendant to ix. I. On the other hand it would be entirely in place as a pendant to Peter's confession. Mark would seem to have found the confession and the Transfiguration linked together in his source by the note of time; he has separated them in order to introduce the rebuke of Peter. Naturally our view of the historical value of the story of the confession depends on our view of Jesus' ‘Messianic self-consciousness’.

It would seem that the section viii. 31—ix.