Luke 9:20

Luke 9:20, in plain English

Then Jesus asked the question that mattered most: 'But who do you say I am?' Peter answered, 'The Christ of God.' The right answer from the right person at the right time.

Why it's here

This is the turning point of the Gospel. It is easy to know what others think about Jesus. The real question is what you believe. Peter's answer changed everything.

Who's speaking

Jesus asks the personal question, and Peter gives the defining answer.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus looked them in the eyes and asked: but who do you say I am? Peter spoke up: You are the Christ, God's chosen one. In that moment, everything crystallized.

The scholarly reading

Jesus' direct question hymeis de tina me legete einai ('but who do you say I am?') shifts from public opinion to personal conviction. Peter's declaration ton Christon tou theou ('the Christ of God') identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed one of God.

Language and setting

The emphatic hymeis ('you') and the adversative de ('but') create a sharp contrast between crowd speculation and disciple conviction. Peter's confession uses the uniquely Lukan formulation 'the Christ of God,' emphasizing divine anointing and commission.

Voice

Jesus directly challenges the disciples, and Peter responds with his confession.

Significance

Jesus cut through the crowd noise with a direct challenge: but what about you? Peter answered with the defining confession: You are the Christ of God, the long-awaited Messiah sent by God.

18One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

19They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

20“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”

21Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Read all of Luke 9 — Peter confesses, the Transfiguration blazes, and Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Everything from here moves toward the cross.