Matthew 16:13

Matthew 16:13, in plain English

In the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks His disciples a crucial question: 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?' He's about to make this very personal.

Why it's here

This question eventually comes to every person. It's not enough to know what others think about Jesus. You have to decide for yourself.

Who's speaking

Jesus poses the defining question of His ministry to His disciples.

Where it sits in the story

This is the turning point of the Gospel. Everything has been building to this moment: the miracles, the teachings, the conflicts. Now comes the question.

The scholarly reading

Caesarea Philippi, located at the base of Mount Hermon near a grotto dedicated to Pan, provided a dramatically pagan backdrop for Jesus' question about His identity. The phrase tina legousin hoi anthrōpoi ('who do people say') initiates the pivotal christological dialogue.

Language and setting

Caesarea Philippi was rebuilt by Herod Philip and named after Caesar Augustus and himself. The setting amid pagan worship makes the confession of Jesus' messiahship particularly striking.

Voice

Jesus initiates the conversation with a question about public opinion.

Significance

At the farthest point from Jerusalem, in the shadow of pagan temples, Jesus asks the most important question in the Gospels: who do people say He is?

11How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

12Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

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

Read all of Matthew 16 — Peter makes the greatest confession in history — then immediately tries to talk Jesus out of the cross. Both responses are profoundly human.