Most of us have had a DTR moment. A time when a relationship shifted from vague to defined. Whether it was a conversation or a specific moment, something happened that clarified where things stood. In Matthew 16, Jesus has a DTR with His disciples. It is a moment that not only defined their relationship with Him, but also revealed the most important question any of us will ever answer.
Jesus brings the disciples to a place called Caesarea Philippi, a city located about 25 to 30 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. This place wasn’t just any ordinary backdrop. Caesarea Philippi was built near a shrine dedicated to the god Pan. At the base of Mount Hermon, a cave with a natural spring that served as the center of pagan worship. Even though the Romans had rebuilt the city and renamed it, the presence of false gods remained deeply rooted in its culture.
It’s in this spiritually charged setting, surrounded by shrines, idols, and counterfeit gods, that Jesus has a heart-to-heart with His disciples. This wasn’t a casual chat. It was a moment where Jesus metaphorically pulls up a chair, invites His disciples to sit down, and asks the questions that matter most. And through Scripture, He wasn’t just talking to them. He’s talking to you.
“Who Do People Say the Son of Man Is?”
Jesus begins with a question that feels easy: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples respond with what they’ve heard: “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
These weren’t negative responses. In fact, people were associating Jesus with revered figures in Israel’s history. The weeping prophet. The one who prepares the way. A voice crying out in the wilderness. But none of those identities captured who Jesus truly is.
It is striking that people were more willing to believe Jesus was a resurrected prophet than the actual Messiah. They saw His power, His wisdom, His compassion, and still couldn’t bring themselves to declare Him as the Son of God. They would call Him a good man, a powerful teacher, or a prophet, but not Lord.
C.S. Lewis famously addressed this tension in Mere Christianity:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Lewis makes it clear. Jesus did not leave room for a neutral opinion. Either He was telling the truth about who He is, or He was dangerously deluded, or worse. But calling Him merely a good teacher is not an option.
“But What About You?”
After listening to the disciples share what others were saying, Jesus shifts the focus: “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
This is no longer a theoretical discussion. This is personal. It always comes back to this question.
Many of us are comfortable sharing what our pastor says about Jesus, or what our parents taught us, or what our church believes. But Jesus isn’t asking what others think. He’s looking each of us in the eye and asking, “What about you?”
Too many people live their lives reciting secondhand faith. We echo the right phrases and attend the right services, but never truly answer the question from our own heart. Nominal Christians know what the Bible says. They know the songs and the sermons. But when it comes to a personal declaration of faith—Who do you say Jesus is?—there’s silence.
Jesus is not looking for borrowed convictions. He is looking for a personal response.
Peter’s Confession: A Declaration of Identity
As often happens in the Gospels, it is Peter who steps forward. And this time, he gets it right: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
This was not just a bold statement. It was the clearest and most powerful profession of who Jesus is found in Scripture. In the midst of pagan temples, in a city saturated with false worship, Peter declares the truth. Jesus is the Messiah. The Christ. The Son of the living God.
What Jesus does next is powerful. He blesses Peter for his confession: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”
Then Jesus gives him a new identity and purpose: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Peter’s new name and calling come after his confession of faith. This is a critical order. Identity and purpose flow from faith. Jesus did not give Peter his name or mission before Peter confessed who Jesus is. Only after Peter acknowledged Jesus as Lord did Jesus speak blessing, identity, and calling over him.
Confession Comes Before Calling
Many of us are searching for identity. We want purpose. We want impact. We want our lives to matter. But we are looking in the wrong places—our careers, relationships, bank accounts, or achievements.
Jesus shows us that identity and calling are not found in external pursuits. They begin with one confession: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
If your marriage feels off, if your relationship with your children is strained, if your influence in your community is falling short, look here first. Have you answered this question? Not just in words, but in your life? Have you personally and fully declared Jesus as Lord?
Until we answer this question for ourselves, everything else is unstable. The foundation has to be the truth of who Jesus is. That confession changes everything.
So, Who Do You Say He Is?
It is not enough to know what others say. It is not enough to repeat church doctrine. At some point, you must answer the question for yourself. Not just once, but daily.
Who do you say Jesus is?
Is He your Lord? Your Savior? The Son of the living God?
Or is He still someone you only know about secondhand?
This is not just the most important question of your faith. It is the most important question of your life. Your answer defines who you are and who you will become.
If you haven’t yet answered Jesus’ question with your whole heart, now is the time. He’s pulled up a chair. He’s asking you directly. Who do you say that I am?
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