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The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible
Matthew 16:13
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When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
When Iesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom doe men say, that I, the sonne of man, am?
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his followers, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Nowe when Iesus came into the coastes of Cesarea Philippi, hee asked his disciples, saying, Whome doe men say that I, the sonne of man am?
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?"
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, "What do people say about the Son of Man?"
When Yeshua came into the territory around Caesarea Philippi, he asked his talmidim, "Who are people saying the Son of Man is?"
But when Jesus was come into the parts of Caesarea-Philippi, he demanded of his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am?
Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, "Who do people say I am?"
When Jesus came to the country of Caesarea of Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, What do the men say concerning me, that I am merely a son of man?
Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
Now when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he began asking his disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
And coming into the parts of Caesarea of Philip, Jesus questioned His disciples, saying, Whom do men say Me the Son of Man to be?
Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is?
Now when Jesus had come into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he said, questioning his disciples, Who do men say that the Son of man is?
Now when Yeshua came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his talmidim, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
When Jesus had come to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"Mark 8:27; Luke 9:18;">[xr]
NOW when Jeshu had come to the place of Cesarea of Philipos, he questioned his disciples, saying, What do men say concerning me who am the Son of man ?
And when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he questioned his disciples, and said: What do men say concerning me, that I the Son of man, am?
When Iesus came into the coastes of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that I the sonne of man am?
Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is?
Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
And Jesus coming into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, asked his disciples saying, Whom do men say that I am?
When He arrived in the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus questioned His disciples. "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" He asked.
And Jhesus cam in to the parties of Cesarie of Filip, and axide hise disciplis, and seide, Whom seien men to be mannus sone?
Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is?
When Jesus came into the borders of Cesarea Phillippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am?
When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-20">[xr] When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Jesus came into the country of Caesarea Philippi. He asked His followers, "Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
And, Jesus coming into the parts of Caesarea of Philip, began questioning his disciples, saying - Who are men saying that, the Son of Man, is?
And Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"
When Iesus cam in to the costes of the cite which is called Cesarea Philippi he axed his disciples sayinge: whom do men saye yt I the sonne of ma am?
And Jesus, having come to the parts of Cesarea Philippi, was asking his disciples, saying, `Who do men say me to be -- the Son of Man?'
Then came Iesus into the coastes of the cite Cesarea Philippi, & axed his disciples & saide: Who do me saie, yt ye sonne of ma is?
As Jesus was going to the district of Cesarea-Philippi, he asked his disciples, what do people say of me? that I am a common man?
When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?"
When Jesus and his crew were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, "So what do people say about the Son of the Boss?"
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
came: Matthew 15:21, Acts 10:38
Caesarea Philippi: Cesarea Philippi was anciently called Paneas, from the mountain of Panium, or Hermon, at the foot of which it was situated, near the springs of Jordan; but Philip the tetrarch, the son of Herod the Great, having rebuilt it, gave it the name of Cesarea in honour of Tiberius, the reigning emperor, and he added his own name to it, to distinguish it from another Cesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean. It was afterwards named Neronias by the young Agrippa, in honour of Nero; and in the time of William of Tyre, it was called Belinas. It was, according to Josephus, a day's journey from Sidon, and 120 stadia from the lake of Phiala; and, according to Abulfeda, a journey of a day and a half from Damascus. Many have confounded it with Dan, or Leshem; but Eusebius and Jerome expressly affirm that Dan was four miles from Paneas, on the road to Tyre. It is now called Banias, and is described, by Seetzen, as a hamlet of about twenty miserable huts, inhabited by Mohammedans; but Burckhardt says it contains about 150 houses, inhabited by Turks, Greeks, etc. Mark 8:27
Whom: Luke 9:18-20
I the: Matthew 8:20, Matthew 9:6, Matthew 12:8, Matthew 12:32, Matthew 12:40, Matthew 13:37, Matthew 13:41, Matthew 25:31, Daniel 7:13, Mark 8:38, Mark 10:45, John 1:51, John 3:14, John 5:27, John 12:34, Acts 7:56, Hebrews 2:14-18
Reciprocal: Song of Solomon 5:9 - What is Ezekiel 2:1 - Son Matthew 20:17 - took Matthew 21:11 - This Matthew 22:42 - What Mark 2:10 - General Luke 5:24 - that the John 7:12 - some Acts 9:30 - Caesarea
Cross-References
Now Abram's wife Sarai had not borne a child to him, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
Then Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me."
Now the Angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert-the spring along the road to Shur.
So the Angel of the LORD told her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority."
Then the Angel added, "I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count."
He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!"
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the One Feared by Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment."
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi,.... The towns that were in the neighbourhood of this city; which city went by several names before, as Leshem, Joshua 19:47 which being taken by the Danites, they called it Dan; hence we read of ××§×סר×××
××, "Dan, which is Caesarea" b. It was also called Paneas, from the name of the fountain of Jordan, by which it was situated; and which Pliny says c gave the surname to Caesarea; and hence it is called by Ptolomy d Caesarea Paniae; and by the name of Paneas it went, when Philip the e tetrarch rebuilt it, and called it Caesarea, in honour of Tiberius Caesar; and from his own name, Philippi, to distinguish it from another Caesarea, of which mention is made in the Acts of the Apostles, built by his father Herod, and so called in honour of Augustus Caesar; which before bore the name of Strato's tower. The Misnic doctors speak of two Caesareas f, the one they call the eastern, the other the western Caesarea. Now, as Mark says, whilst Christ and his disciples were in the way to these parts; and, as Luke, when he had been praying alone with them,
he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I the Son of man am? He calls himself "the son of man", because he was truly and really man; and because of his low estate, and the infirmities of human nature, with which he was encompassed: he may have some respect to the first intimation of him, as the seed of woman, and the rather make use of this phrase, because the Messiah was sometimes designed by it in the Old Testament, Psalms 80:17 or Christ speaks here of himself, according to his outward appearance, and the prevailing opinion of men concerning him; that he looked to be only a mere man, born as other men were; was properly a son of man, and no more: and therefore the question is, not what sort of man he was, whether a holy, good man, or not, or whether the Messiah, or not; but the question is, what men in general, whether high or low, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, under the notion they had of him as a mere man, said of him; or since they took him to be but a man, what man they thought he was; and to this the answer is very appropriate. This question Christ put to his disciples, they being more conversant with the people than he, and heard the different opinions men had of him, and who were more free to speak their minds of him to them, than to himself; not that he was ignorant of what passed among men, and the different sentiments they had of him, but he was willing to hear the account from his disciples; and his view in putting this question to them, was to make way for another, in order to bring them to an ingenuous confession of their faith in him.
b Targum Hieros. in Gen. xiv. 17. c Hist. l. 5. c. 15, 18. d Geograph. l. 5. c. 15. e Joseph. Antiqu. l. 18. c. & de Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 13. f Misn. Oholot, c. 18. sect. 9.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See also Mark 8:27-29, and Luke 9:18-20.
Cesarea Philippi - There were two cities in Judea called Caesarea. One was situated on the borders of the Mediterranean (See the notes at Acts 8:40), and the other was the one mentioned here. This city was greatly enlarged and ornamented by Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod, and called Caesarea in honor of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar. To distinguish it from the other Caesarea the name of Philip was added to it, and it was called Caesarea Philippi, or Caesarea of Philippi. It was situated in the boundaries of the tribe of Naphtali, at the foot of Mount Hermon. It is now called Panias or Banias, and contains (circa 1880âs) about 200 houses, and is inhabited chiefly by Turks. The word âcoastsâ here now usually applied to land in the vicinity of the sea - means âbordersâ or âregions.â He came into the part of the country which appertained to Cesarea Philippi. He was passing northward from the region of Bethsaida, on the coasts of Magdala Matthew 15:39, where the transactions recorded in the previous verses had occurred.
When Jesus came - The original is, âwhen Jesus was coming.â Mark says Mark 8:27 that this conversation took place when they were in the way, and this idea should have been retained in translating Matthew. While in the way, Jesus took occasion to call their attention âto the truth that he was the Messiah.â This truth it was of much consequence that they should fully believe and understand; and it was important, therefore, that he should often learn their views, to establish them if right, and correct them if wrong. He began, therefore, by inquiring what was the common report respecting him.
Whom do men say ... - This passage has been variously rendered. Some have translated it, âWhom do men say that I am? the Son of man?â Others, âWhom do men say that I am - I, who am the Son of man - i. e., the Messiah?â The meaning is nearly the same. He wished to obtain the sentiments of the people respecting himself.
Matthew 16:14
And they said ... - See the notes at Matthew 11:14. They supposed that he might be John the Baptist, as Herod did, risen from the dead. See Matthew 14:2. He performed many miracles, and strongly resembled John in his manner of life, and in the doctrines which he taught.
Matthew 16:16
And Simon Peter answered ... - Peter, expressing the views of the apostles, with characteristic forwardness answered the question proposed to them by Jesus: âThou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.â
The Christ - The Messiah, the âAnointedâ of God. See the notes at Matthew 1:1.
The Son - That is, the Son by way of eminence - in a special sense. See the notes at Matthew 1:17. This appellation was understood as implying divinity, John 10:29-36.
Of the living God - The term âlivingâ was given to the true God to distinguish him from idols, that are dead, or lifeless blocks and stones. He is also the Source of life, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. The word âlivingâ is often given to him in the Old Testament, Joshua 3:10; 1Sa 17:26, 1 Samuel 17:36; Jeremiah 10:9-10, etc. In this noble confession Peter expressed the full belief of himself and of his brethren that he was the long-expected Messiah. Other people had very different opinions of him, but they were satisfied, and were not ashamed to confess it.
Matthew 16:17
And Jesus answered, Blessed art thou ... - Simon Bar-jona is the same as Simon son of Jona. Bar is a Syriac word signifying son. The father of Peter, therefore, was Jona, or Jonas, John 1:42; John 21:16-17.
Blessed - That is, happy, honored, evincing a proper spirit, and entitled to the approbation of God.
For flesh and blood - This phrase usually signifies man (see Galatians 1:16; Ephesians 6:12), and it has been commonly supposed that Jesus meant to say that man had not revealed it, but he seems rather to have referred to himself. âThis truth you have not learned from my lowly appearance, from my human nature, from my apparent rank and standing in the world. You, Jews, were expecting to know the Messiah by his external splendor; his pomp and power as a man; but you have not learned me in this manner. I have shown no such indication of my Messiahship. Flesh and blood have not shown it. In spite of my appearance, my lowly state - my lack of resemblance to what you have expected, you have learned it as from God.â They had been taught this by Jesusâ miracles, his instructions, and by the direct teachings of God upon their minds. To ârevealâ is to make known, or communicate something that was unknown or secret.
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter - The word âPeter,â in Greek, means âa rock.â It was given to Simon by Christ when he called him to be a disciple, John 1:42
Cephas is a Syriac word, meaning the same as Peter - a rock, or stone. The meaning of this phrase may be thus expressed: âThou, in saying that I am the Son of God, hast called me by a name expressive of my true character. I, also, have given to thee a name expressive of your character. I have called you Peter, a rock, denoting firmness, solidity, stability, and your confession has shown that the name is appropriate. I see that you are worthy of the name, and will be a distinguished support of my religion.â
And upon this rock ... - This passage has given rise to many different interpretations. Some have supposed that the word ârockâ refers to Peterâs confession, and that Jesus meant to say, upon this rock, this truth that thou hast confessed, that I am the Messiah and upon confessions of this from all believers, I will build my church. Confessions like this shall be the test of piety, and in such confessions shall my church stand amid the flames of persecution, the fury of the gates of hell. Others have thought that Jesus referred to himself. Christ is called a rock, Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:8. And it has been thought that he turned from Peter to himself, and said, âUpon this rock, this truth that I am the Messiah - upon myself as the Messiah, I will build my church.â Both these interpretations, though plausible, seem forced upon the passage to avoid the main difficulty in it. Another interpretation is, that the word ârockâ refers to Peter himself.
This is the obvious meaning of the passage; and had it not been that the Church of Rome has abused it, and applied it to what was never intended, no other interpretation would have been sought for. âThou art a rock. Thou hast shown thyself firm, and suitable for the work of laying the foundation of the church. Upon thee will I build it. Thou shalt be highly honored; thou shalt be first in making known the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles.â This was accomplished. See Acts 2:14-36, where he first preached to the Jews, and Acts 10:0, where he preached the gospel to Cornelius and his neighbors, who were Gentiles. Peter had thus the honor of laying the foundation of the church among the Jews and Gentiles; and this is the plain meaning of this passage. See also Galatians 2:9. But Christ did not mean, as the Roman Catholics say he did, to exalt Peter to supreme authority above all the other apostles, or to say that he was the only one upon whom he would rear his church. See Acts 15:0, where the advice of James, and not that of Peter, was followed. See also Galatians 2:11, where Paul withstood Peter to his face, because he was to be blamed - a thing which could not have happened if Christ (as the Roman Catholics say) meant that Peter was absolute and infallible. More than all, it is not said here, or anywhere else in the Bible, that Peter would have infallible successors who would be the vicegerents of Christ and the head of the church. The whole meaning of the passage is this: âI will make you the honored instrument of making known my gospel first to Jews and Gentiles, and I will make you a firm and distinguished preacher in building my church.â
Will build my church - This refers to the custom of building in Judea upon a rock or other very firm foundation. See the notes at Matthew 7:24. The word âchurchâ literally means âthose called out,â and often means an assembly or congregation. See Acts 19:32, Greek; Acts 7:38. It is applied to Christians as being âcalled outâ from the world. It means sometimes the whole body of believers, Ephesians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 10:32. This is its meaning in this place. It means, also, a particular society of believers worshipping in one place, Acts 8:1; Acts 9:31; 1 Corinthians 1:2, etc.; sometimes, also, a society in a single house, as Romans 16:5. In common language it means the church visible - i. e., all who profess religion; or invisible, i. e., all who are real Christians, professors or not.
And the gates of hell ... - Ancient cities were surrounded by walls. In the gates by which they were entered were the principal places for holding courts, transacting business, and deliberating on public matters. See the notes at Matthew 7:13. Compare the notes at Job 29:7. See also Deuteronomy 22:4; 1 Samuel 4:18; Jeremiah 36:10; Genesis 19:1; Psalms 69:12; Psalms 9:14; Proverbs 1:21. The word âgates,â therefore, is used for counsels, designs, machinations, evil purposes.
âHellâ means, here, the place of departed spirits, particularly evil spirits; and the meaning of the passage is, that all the plots, stratagems, and machinations of the enemies of the church would not be able to overcome it a promise that has been remarkably fulfilled.
Matthew 16:19
And I will give unto thee ... - A key is an instrument for opening a door.
He that is in possession of it has the power of access, and has a general care of a house. Hence, in the Bible, a key is used as a symbol of superintendence an emblem of power and authority. See the Isaiah 22:22 note; Revelation 1:18; Revelation 3:7 notes. The kingdom of heaven here means, doubtless, the church on earth. See the notes at Matthew 3:2. When the Saviour says, therefore, he will give to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, he means that he will make him the instrument of opening the door of faith to the world the first to preach the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. This was done, Acts 2:14-36; Acts 10:0. The âpower of the keysâ was given, on this occasion, to Peter alone, solely for this reason; the power of âbinding and loosingâ on earth was given to the other apostles with him. See Matthew 18:18. The only pre-eminence, then, that Peter had was the honor of first opening the doors of the gospel to the world.
Whatsoever thou shalt bind ... - The phrase âto bindâ and âto looseâ was often used by the Jews. It meant to prohibit and to permit. To bind a thing was to forbid it; to loose it, to allow it to be done. Thus, they said about gathering wood on the Sabbath day, âThe school of Shammei binds itâ - i. e., forbids it; âthe school of Hillel looses itâ - i. e., allows it. When Jesus gave this power to the apostles, he meant that whatsoever they forbade in the church should have divine authority; whatever they permitted, or commanded, should also have divine authority - that is, should be bound or loosed in heaven, or meet the approbation of God. They were to be guided infallibly in the organization of the church:
1.By the teaching of Christ, and,
2.By the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
This does not refer to persons, but to things - âwhatsoever,â not whosoever. It refers to rites and ceremonies in the church. Such of the Jewish customs as they should forbid were to be forbidden, and such as they thought proper to permit were to be allowed. Such rites as they should appoint in the church were to have the force of divine authority. Accordingly, they commanded the Gentile converts to âabstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from bloodâ Acts 15:20; and, in general, they organized the church, and directed what was to be observed and what was to be avoided. The rules laid down by them in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, in connection with the teachings of the Saviour as recorded in the evangelists, constitute the only law binding on Christians in regard to the order of the church, and the rites and ceremonies to be observed in it.
Matthew 16:20
Then charged ... - That is, he commanded them.
Mark 8:30 and Luke Luke 9:21 say (in Greek) that he strictly or severely charged them. He laid emphasis on it, as a matter of much importance. The reason of this seems to be that his time had not fully come; that he was not willing to rouse the Jewish malice, and to endanger his life, by having it proclaimed that he was the Messiah. The word âJesusâ is wanting in many manuscripts, and should probably be omitted: âThen he charged them strictly to tell no man that he was the Christ or Messiah.â
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 16:13. Casarea Philippi — A city, in the tribe of Naphtali, near to Mount Libanus, in the province of Iturea. Its ancient name was Dan, Genesis 14:14; afterwards it was called Lais, Judges 18:7. But Philip the tetrarch, having rebuilt and beautified it, gave it the name of Cesarea, in honour of Tiberius Caesar, the reigning emperor: but to distinguish it from another Caesarea, which was on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and to perpetuate the fame of him who rebuilt it, it was called Caesarea Philippi, or Caesarea of Philip.
When Jesus came — ÎλθÏν δε ο ÎηÏÎ¿Ï Ï - when Jesus was coming. Not, when Jesus came, or was come, for Mark expressly mentions that it happened εν Ïη οδÏ, in the way to Caesarea Philippi, Mark 8:27, and he is Matthew's best interpreter.-WAKEFIELD.
Whom do men say — He asked his disciples this question, not because he was ignorant what the people thought and spoke of him; but to have the opportunity, in getting an express declaration of their faith from themselves, to confirm and strengthen them in it: but see on Luke 9:20. Some, John the Baptist, c. By this and other passages we learn, that the Pharisaic doctrine of the Metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, was pretty general for it was upon this ground that they believed that the soul of the Baptist, or of Elijah, Jeremiah, or some of the prophets, had come to a new life in the body of Jesus.