Matthew 16: “Who Do You Say I Am?”

Matthew 16 includes the most important question a person could consider. After asking his followers, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Jesus makes it personal, asking, “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15).

Peter’s response? “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew’s Gospel is all about Jesus as the Messiah. We find here the driving force of Matthew’s message–Jesus Messiah (Also a great song by Chris Tomlin!).

Though Matthew was certainly originally intended for a Jewish audience, his writing has probed souls for centuries among those of every background.

As you consider his question, how would do you answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” The answer can change your life today and for eternity.

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OTHER THOUGHTS: After nearly a month of handwriting the Bible, I’m finding the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) share a lot of similar material. I knew this already, but something about writing down the same account two or three different times brings these parallels to the front of my mind.

Certainly there were a lot of oral and written teachings about Jesus already in circulation by the time these three authors wrote their gospels (by at least the 70s AD; I would at least Mark and Luke are pre-70). These Pre-Synoptic traditions are extremely interesting. We’ll likely never know for sure what written sources existed before these three gospels, but it’s intriguing to wonder whether Matthew took notes of Jesus’ parables or if Mark jotted down key points from early teachings by the apostles in Jerusalem.

The key point is that these teachings go right back to the time Jesus lived and breathed in a human body. It is fascinating that we have records of those who walked and talked with Jesus when he lived on earth.

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Dillon Burroughs has written, co-written, or edited over 60 books, including the upcoming devotional work Thirst No More (October 2011). He served as an associate editor for The Apologetics Study Bible for Students and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. Find out more at DillonBurroughs.org.