MATTHEW 16:13-20 WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THE SON OF MAN IS?
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
REFLECTION:
Jesus is always bringing God and His kingdom into the secular, the pagan, and the unchatechized. In this Gospel He brings his disciples to a historic shrine to pagan Gods to announce He is God above all other gods, listen to me, follow me, don’t be misled.. Jesus as a great teacher does not directly say these words but asks questions of His disciples so they can figure it out for themselves, a great way to evangelize Who do people say that the Son of Man is….
Jesus, the Word made Flesh, affirms his humanity…on the one hand, he is the Son of Mary thus the title Son of Man…but Jesus is seeking more insight…inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter answers, you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God….Do we listen to those moments of inspiration or is there too much noise, too many distractions in our lives…
Jesus tells Peter that he is blessed by the gift of faith from the Heavenly Father…because of this blessing…Jesus renames Cephas, Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, Jesus’ CHURCH!…it is not unusual for God to change the name of a person when they are given a new identity and mission, Abram to Abraham; Saul to Paul….reminds me of how we are given a baptismal name when we become a child of God and call Him Abba, Father!
Pray for gift of faith that I may know Jesus the Son of the living God as Peter affirmed…Jesus built a church on Peter’s faith…from the time of the apostles, the Church has preached the Good News…am I listening…am I embracing the Word made flesh…what stands in my way…Who do you say Jesus is!
SILENT PRAYER
NOTES
CAESAREA PHILIPPI
Caesarea Philippi was an ancient Roman City and the location of the Cave of Pan, the place of the pagan Gate of Hades. It was in this area that the first king of Israel (Jeroboam) led the northern kingdom of Israel into idolatry. King Herod the Great built a magnificent white temple at the site. Following Herod’s death his son Herod Phillip established Panias as his capital city and called it Caesarea-Phillipi to distinguish it from Caesarea on the coast. The city had been known as Banias, an Arabic pronunciation of Panias. This name honored the Greek god Pan — a half-man, half-goat deity often depicted playing a flute — who was worshipped here. Here the cult of Pan flourished. East of a large cave are the remains of shrines to Pan and inscriptions, from the 2nd century, bearing his name
CAESAREA PHILLIPI TODAY
SON OF MAN
SON OF MAN is used to designate Jesus Christ no fewer than eighty-one times — thirty times in St. Matthew, fourteen times in St. Mark, twenty-five times in St. Luke, and twelve times in St. John.
The Son is Lifted Up (John 12:23, 34). Now the “hour” has arrived. It is the moment when the Son of Man is to be lifted up—and this involves both glorification (John 12:23) and death (John 12:32-34). When the Son of Man is lifted up, the name of the Father is glorified (John 12:28).
The glory of the Son of Man is to glorify the Father through his death, and in response God will glorify the Son.
“Son of Man” is a reference to Jesus’ humanity, it is not a denial of His deity. “Son of Man” reference makes clear that Jesus in one of us and therefore able to be our Redeemer. Jesus has two natures (divine and human) conjoined in one person.
I AM WHO I AM
It is interesting that this scripture passage Jesus asks who do people say I AM? Jesus is I AM! Just as God gave His name to Moses, I Am Who Am. Jesus is God and is often in trouble with his religious enemies who accuse him of taking Yahweh title I AM.
OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCES
Genesis 15:7, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”1 And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 29:34, “And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.”
GOD (I AM) IS NOT ANOTHER BEING BUT EXISTENCE ITSELF HE IS! EXISTENCE IS HIS ESSENCE THE NAME OF GOD IS FATHER SON AND HOLY SPIRIT; ONE GOD THREE PERSONS)
NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES
JOHN 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
JOHN 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
JOHN 10:36 Do you say of Him, whom the Father sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
MESSIAH
The mashiach ( Messiah) will be a great political leader descended from King David (Jeremiah 23:5). The mashiach is often referred to as “son of David). He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11:2-5).
He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example. He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel. He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15). But above all, he will be a human being, not a god, demi-god or other supernatural being.
When Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, he challenges the customary expectation of the Jewish community. Rather than a great military leader who will liberate Israel from its occupiers, Jesus is the Messiah who will liberate us from sin and death.