Matthew 16:13

My Notes

What Does Matthew 16:13 Mean?

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" Jesus initiates the most important conversation in the Gospels at a geographically significant location: Caesarea Philippi, where a temple to Pan stood beside a massive rock face with a cave the ancients called the "gates of Hades." Against this backdrop of pagan worship and underworld mythology, Jesus asks: who do people say I am? The question isn't for information (Jesus knows what people think). It's pedagogical — leading to the follow-up question (v. 15): "But whom say ye that I am?"

The public opinion survey (v. 14: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets) establishes that the crowd has high opinions but wrong answers. The question that matters is the one aimed at the disciples.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What's YOUR answer to 'who do you say that I am' — not what you've been taught, but what you've concluded?
• 2.Why does Jesus ask this question at the gates of Hades — and how does the location add meaning?
• 3.How does the shift from 'whom do men say' to 'whom say ye' make the question personal?
• 4.What rival claims about Jesus' identity does your culture offer — and how does your answer differ?

Devotional

Who do people say I am? Jesus asks the question in front of the gates of Hades. Literally. Caesarea Philippi had a massive rock face with a cave that pagans associated with the underworld entrance. A temple to Pan stood there. Greek mythology said the cave was where the realm of the dead began. And in front of that backdrop, Jesus asks: who do you think I am?

The location is the theology. Jesus asks the identity question at the place where false gods are worshipped and the gates of death stand open. The answer he's about to receive from Peter — "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16) — is declared in the shadow of everything that opposes it: pagan worship, death's domain, the rival claims of every other deity.

Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? The public opinion comes back: a prophet. Maybe John the Baptist resurrected. Maybe Elijah returned. Maybe Jeremiah. The crowd has Jesus in the right general category (prophet) but the wrong specific identity (one of many). They see the surface. They miss the person.

But whom say ye? That's the question. Not what everyone else says. What do YOU say? The shift from third person (what do people think?) to second person (what do YOU think?) is the most important pronoun change in the Bible. Theology becomes confession. Observation becomes declaration. And Peter answers: Thou art the Christ.

Every person faces this question eventually. Not what the culture says about Jesus. Not what your parents believed. Not what your denomination teaches. What do YOU say? The answer doesn't change who Jesus is. It changes who you are. Peter's answer — against the backdrop of false gods and open graves — changed everything for Peter, for the church, and for history.

The question is still in the air. The gates of Hades are still in the background. And Jesus is still asking: who do YOU say that I am?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture