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13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." ~ Matthew 16:13-16
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 16 where the Lord Jesus has dealt with the deceptive attack that came from the Jewish religious leaders who had come to Galilee from Jerusalem. They came due to the fact that the Lord Jesus popularity was rising so quickly that they were threatened by it. So, they traveled 95 miles in order to try to find a way to discredit the Lord Jesus in the eyes of the people. Although the Jewish religious leaders continuously tried to discredit the Lord Jesus, they were never successful. This underscores the fact that the Lord Jesus is the sinless Son of God who came to take away the penalty for our sin.
In v.13 of today's passage we read, "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?'"
After their encounter with the Jewish religious leaders, the Lord Jesus and His disciples traveled twenty-five miles to Caesarea Philippi where there were fourteen temples to different false gods. These temples were dedicated to the likes of Caesar and Baal among other false gods. There was even a temple dedicated to the god Pan, a false Greek god who was half man and half goat. Pan played a little flute called a pan flute. All of the dedicated temples reflect the fact that Caesarea Philippi, which stood in a lush area near the foot of Mount Hermon, was a city dominated by pagan worship and immorality.
The Lord Jesus deliberately took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi in order to draw the contrast between the false gods and the one true God. It was in that context that the Lord Jesus asked the disciples the most important question that we could ever entertain: "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The Lord Jesus didn't ask that question because He did not know what people said about Him. No, He wanted to hear the disciples verbalize whom they knew Him to be. Verbalization, the act of putting thoughts and feelings into words, holds significant power for emotional regulation, improved communication, and enhanced cognitive processing. By verbalizing the fact that the Lord Jesus was God, enabled the disciples to gain clarity on whom they believed Him to be.
The Lord Jesus used the term "Son of Man" to communicate the idea that He was God. In Daniel 7 the prophet used this term in his nighttime vision of "The Ancient of Days" a description of God Himself. The "Son of Man," according to Daniel was ushered into the presence of the Ancient of Days, and was given dominion, glory, and power. As a result, everyone served and will serve Him, and His kingdom will never end. In other words, the Son of Man is God.
In v.14 of today's passage we read, "So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'"
The people knew the Lord Jesus had to be from out of this world and they believed He was at least the forerunner of the Messiah. They had not finalized on the fact that He was the promised Messiah. They couldn’t deny that He was at least a prophet, and they couldn’t deny that He had marvelous supernatural power, but they had not definitively accepted that He was the Messiah. They got as close as they could without getting to the truth. Like Judas they kissed the door to heaven and yet they missed their eternity with God in heaven.
In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' 16 Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"
Simon Peter spoke on the behalf of the twelve when He identified the Lord Jesus as "The Christ the Son of the Living God." The name Simon Peter carries significant meaning, reflecting a transformation in the apostle's identity. Simon was too emotional and impulsive to be worthy of such a name as "Peter". When the Lord Jesus tried to wash his feet, Peter refused to allow his Master to stoop before him and to do so. But then the Lord Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you have no share with me," Peter suddenly wanted a full-body bath. When soldiers came to arrest the Lord Jesus, Simon drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus the servant of the High Priest. But then, after the arrest of the Lord Jesus, all of Simon's ear-cutting bravado vanished. To avoid being arrested himself, he denied even knowing the Lord Jesus, not once, but three times. And, on the third time be said a curse word trying to disguise himself before his accusers.
Before Simon became a follower of the Lord Jesus, he was a brash fisherman whose mouth and choices got him into a lot of trouble. After Simon became a follower of the Lord Jesus, he indeed became Peter, a bedrock believer because the Lord Jesus is still in the business of making us what we are not. It is from this posture of humility and dependence that we conclude accurately about the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus called Himself "The Son of Man" so that people would trust Him no less than they trust God the Father, indicating thus to His equality with the Father.
