WHO DO YOU SAY THE SON OF MAN IS?

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

In today’s gospel taken from the gospel of Matthew 16: 13-20, we have the story of another withdrawal of Jesus from the public view. Jesus withdrew from the crowd in order to spend some time with his apostles. His earthly end was nearing and coming too fast, so he needed all the time to be alone with his disciples. Jesus has so much to say to them; he has so much to teach them. After preaching and teaching the crowd, Jesus needed some private time to drill and drive into the being of his disciples the core tenets of his religion. Under Jesus, the disciples were undergoing some kind of formation and training, so that when Jesus goes back to his Father, they will continue what he has started.
Today, he withdrew to the districts of Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was outside the domain of Herod Antipas, who was the ruler of Galilee at that time. The population here was non-Jewish, and here Jesus wanted some peace and serenity in order to teach the Twelve. The Lord knew his earthly existence was short; he knew his days in the flesh were numbered. He wanted to know whether there is anybody who understood who he was, his mission and ministry. He wanted to know whether there is anybody who will recall his mission statement “The Spirit of Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, restoration of sight to the blind and to set the prisoners free” (Luke 4: 18). The Lord wants to know whether there is anyone to carry on his work, his labor for his kingdom when he is gone. If there was none who had grasped the truth of his message, then his mission on earth will face the danger of rootlessness. So Jesus was determined to find out from the Twelve who people think he is- “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” He was also determined to quiz them who they believed him to be- “But who do you say that I am?”
Caesarea Philippi was a place scattered with temples of the ancient Syrian Baal worship. It was a religious city littered with temples of Syrian gods. It was a place where the ancient Greek gods looked down; it was a place where the history of Israel filled the minds of people; it was a place where a great temple of white marble was built for the godhead of Caesar. It is in this historic and dramatic place that Jesus chose to be with his disciples. In this historic place is a homeless, penniless Galilean carpenter, with twelve very ordinary men around him. At a time when his enemies were actually planning and plotting to destroy him as a dangerous heretic, he stands in an area littered with the temples of the Syrian gods. The choice of Caesarea Philippi may not be accidental. The Lord was simply setting himself against those gods and religions and demanded to be compared with them. Surely, all those gods are false gods. Jesus is the way, the truth and life.
So at Caesarea Philippi Jesus wanted to know what his disciples thought of him before he set out from Jerusalem and the Cross. “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Some said that he was John Baptist. Herod Antipas who ordered for the beheading of John Baptist was not the only one who held John Baptist as a great figure. People considered him a great prophet, so they easily concluded that he has come back in the person of Jesus.
Others said he was Elijah. By saying so, they are saying two things about Jesus. They were saying that he was as great as the greatest of the prophets- Elijah was seen as the summit and the prince of the prophetic line. They were also saying that Jesus was the forerunner of the Messiah. Malachi 4: 5 says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” To this day the Jews are still expecting the return of Elijah before the coming of the Messiah; to this day, the Jews still leave a chair vacant for Elijah when they celebrate the Passover, for when Elijah comes, the Messiah will not be too far away. So the people looked at Jesus as the herald of the Messiah and the forerunner of the direct intervention of God.
Some said that Jesus was Jeremiah. Jeremiah had a curious place in the expectations of the people of Israel. The people believed that before Israel went into exile, he had taken the ark and the altar of incense out of the temple, and hidden them away in a lonely cave on Mount Nebo; and that, before the coming of the Messiah, he would return and produce them, and the glory of God would come to the people again.
So by identifying Jesus with John the Baptist, with Elijah, and with Jeremiah, the people were paying him a great deal of respect, giving him a great compliment and setting him in a high place. The people saw in Jesus some of the things they saw in those prophets. It is worthy to note that no one identified Jesus with a public criminal. Everyone saw him as a holy man, a man of credibility.
After hearing the verdict of the multitude, Jesus demanded from his disciples when they think of him “And you, who do you say I am?” I want to believe that there must have been some silence when Jesus dropped that question. But the silence was broken when Peter spoke up, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. With his answer, Jesus must have been relieved, for there is, at least, someone who had recognized him as the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, and the Son of living God. The word Messiah and the word Christ mean the same thing. Messiah is Hebrew, and Christ is the Greek for The Anointed One.
Peter’s confession of Jesus placed Jesus higher than what the people described him to be. He is simply saying that human categories of Jesus were inadequate to describe him. When the people described Jesus as Elijah or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets, they thought they were setting him in the highest category they could find. They were saying that for hundred years, the voice of prophecy was silent. But in Jesus, men and women heard again the direct and authentic voice of God.
This passage teaches us that no one discovery of Jesus is enough. No one expression or confession of Jesus is adequate. The people say that Jesus is John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Peter says He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. What about you? Who do you say Jesus is? This gospel passage teaches us that our discovery of Jesus Christ must be a personal discovery.
Our knowledge of Jesus must not be at second hand. One might know every thing said about Jesus; he might know every Christology that the human mind had ever thought out; he might be able to give a competent summary of the teaching about Jesus of every great thinker and theologian- still not be a Christian. One can study Trinity, Christology, Pneumatology, Eucharist, Ecclesiology etc, and still not be a Christian. What knowledge do you have about Jesus? Who do you say Jesus is to you? Your knowledge of Jesus determines the way you relate with him. Effective Christian evangelism really begins when we speak to others based on our personal experience of Jesus. Without prejudice to intellectual knowledge of Christ, the best knowledge of Jesus is experiential knowledge. From the gospel, we know of the blind man named Bartimaeus. Ask Bartimaeus who Jesus is- he will say “I know him, he is the holy man who restored my sight.” Ask the woman who suffered for hemorrhage for twelve years, and she will say, “I know him, he is the man who healed me of my sickness when all medical applications failed.” The widow whose son was raised to life by Jesus will say, “I know him, he is the one who brought back my son from death to life.” Lazarus will say, “I know him, apart from being my friend, he is the man who raised me to life and brought joy and happiness to my family.” The five thousand people he fed will say about him, “We know him; he is the man who offered us salvation. He fed us with the Word of God, he spoke to us in a way no one has ever done; he proclaimed the good news to us.” The centurion whose son was raised to life by Jesus will say of Jesus “I know him; he is the one who gave life to my son when death took him away from me.” The ten lepers he cured will say of him, “he is the man who had pity and compassion on us, he cured us, he did not discriminate against us like the rest of the society.” Thousands who listened to his message of salvation will say of him, “he is the one who has come to bring us relief.” The woman caught in the act of adultery will say of Jesus, “he is the one who forgave me my sins; he pardoned me and offered me salvation and new life”. One of the thieves on the cross will say of him, “he offered me salvation and kingdom even though I don’t deserve it. He is a forgiving God.”
Doctors call him, the author of life.
Sick people call him, the healer and Jehovah Jireh.
Kings call him, the King of kings.
Soldiers call him, the mighty in battle.
Those seeking for peace will call him, the Prince of peace.
Strangers and immigrants will call him, our refuge and strength.
Professors will call him, the all-knowing One.
Leaders will call him, the Master of the universe.
Bakers will call him, the Bread of life.
Carpenters will call him, the Door of life.
Swimmers and oceanographers will call him, the Water of life.
Those of us who cook will call him, the salt of the earth, and the bread of angels.
Electrical Engineers will call him, the Light of the world.
Widows will call him, the Husband of the widow.
Horticulturists will call him, the Rose of Sharon.
Jobless people will call him, Jehovah Jireh.
Priests will call him, the Sacrificial Lamb.
Judges and lawyers will call him, the Truth to life.
Zoologists will call him, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

As for you, who do you say the Son of Man is?

Holy Names Catholic Church
Memphis Tennessee
USA