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?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Please bear with me here…
The King James Version (Textus Receptus) is easy. Τίνα με λέγουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἰναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. In other words, “who do men say that I, the Son of Man am?”
Alternatively, most of our modern translations derive from a combination of Greek texts (primarily Westcott-Hort), which says τίνα λέγουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, or, “Who do men say the Son of Man is?”
A little more ambiguous…as though he may not be referring to himself.
I’m tempted to go with the Textus Receptus because in verse 15 Jesus asks λέγει αὐτοῖς Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι, or, “who do you say that I am?” Both versions are the same.
So, KJV allows for this parallel structure:
1. Who do people say I am? (v. 13) “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets”.
2. Who do you say I am? (v.15) “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,”
Given Peter’s answer, I’d say he either understood the conversation as presented in the KJV. (You know, “if it’s good enough for the Apostle Peter…)
I bring this up because many scholars say nobody regarded the term “Son of Man” to have either Messianic or apocalyptic overtones until the Christian era. Generally true.
Except, of course, Jesus did…
Which brings us to the point of today’s passage: the “Son of Man” (at least in this context) and the “Son of God” are one in the same.
I realize this isn’t new thinking for us, but it’s important in that it confirms the important doctrinal tenet that Jesus was man…and God.
So…Jesus took this opportunity to confirm what his disciples already suspected: He was God.
Though, it’s nice to hear it “from the horse’s mouth” so to speak.
After dealing with the Pharisees yesterday, do we need any more proof?
Live boldly out there today…
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