13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
The watershed of Jesus’ training of the disciples had come. Until this point He had been teaching and doing many things that were clues to His identity, but He had not said it in concrete terms. Being the Master teacher, His aim was to bring them to the point of discovery rather to use didactic assertion.
The setting for this lesson was appropriate. Caesarea Philippi, about 150 miles north of Jerusalem at the northern extremity of Palestine, was so named by Herod’s son, Philip, in honor of the reigning Caesar. Also, located there was a shrine to the Greek god Pan. It was at this place, designed to honor both a pagan god and a deified Roman emperor, that the Lord Jesus asked the poignant question of His identity.
He began by asking, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” That was His favorite designation for Himself, using it 31 times in this gospel account. To be sure, He was not searching to “discover Himself,” as though He were having an identity crisis, despite the popular nonsense presented by some in the media today. Nor was He checking the opinion polls like a politician, so as to adjust His message for a greater following. Rather, as He had done in the feeding of the multitude, He was engaging the twelve disciples in the process of discovery.
The response of the disciples is instructive to us today, both in terms of understanding the impact of Jesus’ teaching then, as well as reflecting on similar responses to the life of Jesus today. Some thought He was possibly John the Baptist resurfacing, possibly having escaped jail or even raised from the dead (Matt 14). The Jews generally did not believe in someone coming back from the dead, but many strange things had been happening since Jesus had begun preaching. For many that was a more palatable explanation of Jesus’ miracles than the belief that the disciples were about to verbalize. Indeed, there was some support for that identification, for both Jesus and John preached, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and both preached a deeper level of morality.
Others thought of Elijah, that prophet of God’s warning the people to return the Him. After all, it was prophesied that Elijah would return (Malachi 4:6). Still others thought of Him as Jeremiah. Many religions today are comfortable calling Jesus a prophet. True, He was a prophet. But He was more, and that is precisely the conclusion He was bringing His disciples to.
Lord, help me to openly discuss Jesus with others and listen to what they believe about Jesus, so that I can then share with them what I believe about Jesus.
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