WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16
Caesarea Philippi, Israel’s “red light” district – the centre of Pan-worship, the goat-god whose devotees practised public sexual orgies with goats, and the temple built by Herod the Great to Caesar Augustus – was a place of terrible human wickedness to which no self-respecting rabbi would ever take his disciples…but Jesus did!
Against this backdrop, He asked His disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, and we think, “Yeah, Peter! Good answer.” Jesus applauded him for his insight but, in the next breath, rebuked him for his utter misunderstanding of who this Christ, Son of the living God, really was. Peter got the confession right but the content of that confession dead wrong.
The disciples were continually squabbling about who would be the greatest in this kingdom Jesus had come to establish. It seems that they were expecting Him to drive out the Roman oppressors and restore the glory of the ancient kingdom of David. Moments before He ascended to the Father, they were still asking, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). They were still desperately clinging to the hope that He would set up David’s kingdom and rule over Israel.
When Jesus began to introduce them to the coming ordeal He was to suffer at the hands of the religious rulers, and the miracle of His resurrection, Peter pounced on Him with a vehement rebuke. How could He talk like that when He was destined to be king of the Jews? It is Peter’s rebuke (according to Matthew 16:22), “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you,” that gives us a clue to his misunderstanding of his confession. He thought that Messiahship meant political rule over a restored Israel where Jesus meant establishing His kingdom in the hearts of people through His death and resurrection.
In the verses that follow, Jesus gave them a clear picture of what He meant by His kingdom, not the glorious kingdom over which David ruled, but an inward kingdom of allegiance to Jesus as Lord, following Him, imitating Him, living a life of submission and loyalty to Him, and denying self in order to serve others. This is the heart of who Jesus is and what He came to do on earth.
But His disciples just didn’t get it. Time and again Jesus caught them arguing over the same issue – who would get the prime minister’s position in His government. James and John were even bold enough to ask Jesus Himself for the highest positions, much to the annoyance of the other disciples.
And what of us today? If Jesus were to ask you and me, “Who do you say I am?” would we be able to answer with the sincerity of full understanding, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”?