Anchor My Faith

You Are the Christ, the Son of the Living God

Scripture: Matthew 16:15-16; Mark 8:27; Luke 9:18-19

Lesson h329 covered the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida as told in Mark 8:22 – 26. The gospel narrative then went to the gospel of John where we covered chapters 7 through 10. With this lesson, lesson h384, the narrative returns to Mark and picks up where we left off at Mark 8:27. When we left the gospel of John, Jesus and the disciples had relocated to the area across the Jordan River where John used to baptize to get away from the growing hostility from the Jews. Jesus and his disciples are now ready to move again.

^{Mk 8:27} “[Then] Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way, ^{Lk 9:18} as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”’

In a parallel passage, Matthew speaks of the district of Caesarea Philippi. A footnote for Matthew 16:13, found in the ESV Study Bible, Copyright 2008 by Crossway Bibles, describes this area: “Caesarea Philippi, some 25 miles (40 km) north of the Sea of Galilee, had been a center of the worship of (1) Baal, then of (2) the Greek god Pan, and then of (3) Caesar. At this time it was an important Greco-Roman city, with a primarily pagan Syrian and Greek population. In fact, its name had recently been changed from Paneas to Caesarea Philippi by Philip the Tetrarch (one of Herod the Great’s sons), in honor of himself and Augustus Caesar. Excavations at the site have revealed coins mined to depict the temple built to honor Augustus Caesar, and a pagan cave dedicated to Pan, with shrines and cult riches that are still visible today.”

As Jesus and the disciples traveled to Caesarea Philippi, they traveled without being surrounded by crowds. It was a time when Jesus spent time alone in prayer and a time to be alone with his disciples. It must have been a time of much conversation about things that had happened and maybe about things to happen. Part of that conversation was about what the crowds thought about Jesus. “Who do the crowds say that I am” Jesus asks his disciples.

^{Lk 9:19} “And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”’ As we can see the crowds were divided in their opinion of who Jesus was. ^{Mt 16:15} “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”’ Jesus is now interested in what the disciples think about him. ¹⁶ “Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”’

Peter responds first and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This statement sets Jesus apart from others by being the Son of the living God as all other pagan gods are dead. Jesus is God’s unique Son. For example, in Matthew 1:21 – 23 ESV: 21 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

Conclusion

Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but to what extent does he believe that? Before we find out we should spend a lesson looking at the uniqueness of Jesus and then another lesson on the meaning of “on this rock I will build my church.”