“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.'” – Matthew 16:13-17 (ESV)
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” What a profound question! Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man” often during His earthly ministry, and that title referred to his human nature. As the Son of God, Jesus already knew the answer to this question because of His equally divine nature. Jesus’ question was posed for the benefit of His disciples and for those who would come after His resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven. His question was posed for people like you and me to answer.
The people of Jesus day recalled other men of faith from Israel’s past. Prophets such as Elijah, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist came to the minds of people as they considered Jesus’ works among them. All three men conveyed God’s command for Israel to repent of their sinful ways in light of God’s coming day of judgment, and Jesus certainly conveyed that same urgent message during His earthly ministry. Given Jesus’ miracles of healing and raising the dead, the idea that the murdered John the Baptist had returned from the dead was a thought among the people, as well. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Indeed, Jesus’ question was a good one based on His ministry’s impact on the people.
“‘But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic—’Rise, pick up your bed and go home.’ And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” – Matthew 9:6-8 (ESV)
The people were awestruck by Jesus’ words and His works. Looking to Israel’s history for someone like Jesus was all the people could do, but they found nobody else to whom “God had given such authority.” Jesus Christ demonstrated and claimed authority over demonic spirits, over illness, over paralysis, over sins, and even over death. The best explanation the people of Israel could come up with were great men of faith of their past, but such an explanation did not match the glory and magnitude of Jesus’ works and words, especially His eventual resurrection from the dead.
When Jesus then asks His own followers the same question, Peter provided a far more fitting and accurate answer. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God“, was Peter’s answer. From the mouth of a working class fisherman came the correct answer. Jesus of Nazareth is the God of Eternity and Creation who became human and dwelt among His creatures. The titles of, “Messiah” (Hebrew) and “Christ” (Greek), mean the same thing…”anointed one”. The Messiah was the long predicted king of Israel foretold by prophets such as Elijah, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist who would rescue Israel and rule in righteousness forever.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” – Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)
However, Jesus’ reply to Peter’s confession is as important as Peter’s confession itself. Jesus did not rebuke Peter for giving Him such a lofty and grand title. Jesus did not reject Peter’s clear confession of Jesus’ identity. Rather, Jesus not only accepted Peter’s proclamation of Him as the Christ, but Jesus fully approved of Peter’s identification of Him as God’s Son and the Christ. Jesus went so far as to inform Peter and His other followers that such a revelation was given to Peter directly by God Himself.
This all begs a very serious question. Dear reader, do you see yourself in this narrative at all? Jesus asked His followers who the people said He was, and Jesus asked his followers directly. Do you find yourself searching your own heart and mind for the same answer to Jesus’ question? Perhaps you view Him as a wise teacher, a miracle worker, or a radical defender of the oppressed. Those descriptions are true, but they are clearly insufficient labels. Jesus is named by revelation from God as the Messiah…He is King, He is Lord, and He is God the Son from eternity past to eternity future as we have studied in this post. Jesus does not allow us to make Him into something we want Him to be. He does not allow us to minimize His right place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. These claims about Jesus and His work require a response from us. Some choose to ignore the claims of Jesus. Some choose to reject the truth about Him as baseless and manipulated. If you are honest with yourself, you will find that you tend to believe other claims from history with far less eyewitness support than the Bible contains (more on this in a future blog post).
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you…” – Luke 1:1-3 (ESV)
Please know, dear reader, that our response to the Gospel message defines our eternity. Either we embrace Jesus Christ in loving faith as our substitute on the cross of Calvary for our sins and who rose again from the dead, or we reject Him and stand alone to answer God for our sins on our own. The Bible’s great claim based on eyewitnesses of the events they saw and the truths they heard is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and God’s appointed means of saving sinners like you and me. My prayer and hope for you is that you take Peter’s confession and claim of Jesus being the Messiah seriously and make the good confession about Jesus Christ yourself.
May Your Eyes Be Opened To Your Need of Christ,
Eric Conner
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