Matthew 16:13

Jesus came. [Withdrawal to Caesarea Philippi: The Great Confession, Matt. 16:13—28=Mark 8:27 to 9:1=Luke 9:18-27. Major comment: Matthew. See Retirement from Public Ministry; The Ministry of Our Lord.] The withdrawal to Caesarea Philippi probably occurred during the mid-summer of A.D. 30, during the half year of retirement from public ministry which Jesus devoted primarily to instructing His disciples. This phase of Christ’s ministry continued from His rejection at Capernaum, about the time of the Passover (see on John 6:66) in the spring, to the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall (see on John 7:2). To avoid conflict with the Jewish leaders and the spies assigned to follow Him (see on Mark 7:1), Jesus had already spent several weeks beyond the borders of Galilee, in Phoenicia and Decapolis (see on Matt. 15:21, 22; Mark 7:31). But immediately upon His return to Galilee the spies commissioned by the Sanhedrin again challenged Him (see on Matt. 16:1), and He left Galilee for Bethsaida Julias, in the territory of Herod Philip (see p. 65; see on Mark 8:22; see Palestine During the Ministry of Jesus). The spies did not follow.

Coasts. See on eh. 15:21.

Caesarea Philippi. Leaving Bethsaida Julias, Jesus and His disciples journeyed about another 25 mi. (40 km.) northward to the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, the chief city of Ituraea, which was under the administration of Philip, a brother of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee (see p. 65; see Palestine During the Ministry of Jesus). Caesarea Philippi, originally known as Paneas, has been identified with the modern village of Baniyds. Paneas was named after Pan, the Greek god of flocks, pastures, forests, and wildlife, and patron god of shepherds and hunters. From a grotto, formerly dedicated to Pan, in a lofty cliff in the vicinity of Paneas (Caesarea Philippi), springs forth a perennial stream, the Baniyds, one of the chief sources of the Jordan River. Philip rebuilt and beautified the city of Paneas and named it Caesarea Philippi, after himself and Tiberius Caesar (Josephus Antiquities xviii. 2. 1; War n. 9. 1 [168]).

Asked. Or, “began to question,” implying protracted discussion. Christ’s retirement to this Gentile region was partly to escape from the spies, who gave Him no respite so long as He remained in Galilee, and also to have opportunity to instruct His disciples and prepare them for the hour of crisis that would soon bring His brief ministry to a close (DA 411). The following discussion evidently took place during the course of the travels of Jesus and His disciples (see Mark 8:27), at the close of one of His seasons of prayer (see Luke 9:18). These incidental details of the narrative suggest the possibility that Jesus and the disciples had spent the night in the open, somewhere in the foothills of Mt. Hernion, and that He had either devoted the night to prayer or had risen early and gone apart from the disciples for a season of prayer in some quiet, secluded place. He was about to begin instruction with respect to the closing scenes of His earthly ministry. Accordingly He sought guidance in opening to them these unwelcome thoughts, and prayed that they might be prepared to receive what He had to impart (see DA 411).

Whom do men say? Jesus opened the discussion of His coming passion by directing the thoughts of His disciples to Himself as the Messiah, a subject He seems never to have approached directly before. It was essential that they recognize Him as the Messiah before they could in any way appreciate the meaning of His vicarious sacrifice on Calvary. If He were recognized only as a “teacher come from God” (see on John 3:2), or as one of the ancient prophets risen from the dead (see on Matt. 16:14), His death could have no more significance than that of any other great and good man. It would have been exemplary rather than vicarious. It would have no atoning power. He who would find salvation in the cross of Calvary must first recognize that the One who hung upon the cross was none other than the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, the Messiah, the Christ. It is only on the basis of the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth that the cross can be understood and appreciated in its true perspective. Jesus, of course, knew well what the people thought of Him. He knew also of their mistaken concept of the nature of the kingdom He had come to establish (see on Luke 4:19). His reason for asking the disciples this question was to prepare their minds for the next question — what they themselves had come to think of Him (Matt. 16:15). The faith of the disciples was all the more remarkable in contrast with the unbelief or the half belief of the rest of their fellow countrymen. To be sure they had been closely associated with the Master for some time.

Son of man. See on Mark 2:10.