Who do you say that I am? Matthew 16
Well, good morning, and welcome to The Well Community Church! How are you doing today? I trust you had a wonderful Christmas.
If you are new to The Well, or if you joined us last week for our Christmas service and are returning for the second time, we are absolutely thrilled that you’re here. We had a great Christmas service, but that was a little bit out of the norm for us. Normally, what we do is journey verse-by-verse through God’s Word in a teaching series. Right now, we are quite literally right in the middle of the Gospel of Matthew.
I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16. For those of you joining us over at the campus at Stripe—a special welcome to you as well. Josh, Joe, and the crew over there are taking good care of you.
We have been journeying through this gospel, which is all about the nature and person of Jesus Christ. It was written by one of the twelve disciples, a tax collector named Matthew, or Levi. From the very get-go, Matthew has been showing us why Jesus is the promised Old Testament Messiah—the One we have been waiting for.
The Storylines Coming Together
By way of introduction, I don’t know what your family Christmas traditions look like, but in the Slaton household, for the last several years, we’ve made a tradition of watching Star Wars on Christmas Day. Wherever that falls on the spectrum of godliness, it’s what we do in our home!
When The Rise of Skywalker came out, I realized my old-man brain and old-man eyes—which all seemed to hit at forty—couldn’t remember all the details from the previous films. I thought, I probably need to rewatch all eight movies to refresh my memory. In that nine-part saga spanning decades since 1977, the filmmakers were trying to tie a bow on literally a bazillion storylines. If you don’t remember what has been happening up to that point, you’re going to miss all the critical details and what the story is ultimately building toward.
Where we find ourselves in Matthew 16 is very much like that. There are dozens of narrative threads being tied together. If you look at the Book of Matthew like a mountain range, chapter 16 is one of the highest peaks in the entire gospel. If you miss the details, you will miss the forest for the trees.
So, let’s pull up to a 30,000-foot view to see what Jesus has been doing. In our mini-series, Made Ready, which spans chapters 14 through 18, the crux of everything is Jesus preparing His twelve disciples. He is helping them understand clearly who He is and His claim to be the Messiah. Two weeks ago, Brad taught on the feeding of the 4,000. Brad described how Jesus has been laying down “breadcrumbs” along the path for His disciples to show them His true identity.
I want to propose to you this morning that in Matthew 16, Christ is going to ask the Twelve the single most important question of their entire lives. It is the most critical question in all the gospels. If they get this question wrong, you and I are not sitting in these seats today. It is absolutely fundamental that they get this right.
The Danger of Overexposure
Consider what the disciples have witnessed so far in Matthew. We have seen at least nineteen distinct miracle sessions. Jesus has healed diseases, cleansed lepers, calmed raging seas, cast out legions of demons, healed paralytics, and restored a hemorrhaging woman. The disciples had front-row seats to every single one.
Just recently, they witnessed the feeding of the 5,000, followed immediately by Jesus and Peter walking on the water. Yet Mark’s gospel tells us that when Jesus got into the boat after calming the wind and waves, the disciples were utterly astonished because they had gained no insight from the loaves—their hearts were hardened.
They saw miracle after miracle, yet it was like a fastball sailing right over their heads. They saw a Canaanite woman’s daughter delivered, showing that God’s heart of mercy extends to the Gentiles. In total, they have seen over 10,000 people directly impacted by the supernatural power of Christ, yet they still don’t grasp who He is.
The great danger for the disciples was overexposure. They saw, but they didn’t truly see.
I grew up in Texas, hours away from any coast. The very first time I ever saw the Pacific Ocean, I was an adult. We were driving our three young kids—a five-year-old, a three-year-old, and a newborn—in our little Mazda minivan to Carmel, where some dear friends let us use their home. As we rolled through Los Banos, over Pacheco Pass, through the eucalyptus grove on Highway 156, and finally hit Highway 1 just south of Moss Landing, the vast blue ocean suddenly came into view.
My kids were screaming in the backseat, completely losing their minds with wonder! Before we even went to the house, we had to drive down to the shore. We told them, “Don’t get in the water!” And what did they do? They ran straight into the Pacific Ocean fully clothed because they were completely enamored by the wonder of it.
Much to my shame, as I’ve grown older and that sight has become normal rather than an exception, the awe it once inspired has worn off. Now I think, Yeah, the ocean. It’s pretty, but the sand is a pain to get out of your shoes. The wonder has faded.
That was the exact condition of the Twelve. They were suffering from spiritual overexposure. Oh, another demon cast out? Another blind man given sight? Ho-hum, we’ve seen this before. But in Matthew 16, Jesus brings this issue of seeing-without-seeing directly to a head.
Demanding Signs with Hardened Hearts
The chapter opens with the religious leaders approaching Jesus once again.
Matthew 16:1 (NASB)
The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
If this feels like Groundhog Day, it is. Back in Matthew chapter 12, the exact same confrontation happened. They demand a sign from heaven, and Jesus tells them no. They don’t need more signs; they need eyes to correctly interpret the signs already given.
Matthew 16:2-3 (NASB)
But He replied to them, ’When it is evening, you say, ‘[It will be] fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ’And in the morning, ‘[There will be] a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot [discern] the signs of the times?
Jesus tells them, “You are brilliant meteorologists. You look at the sky in the evening and say, ‘Red sky at night, sailors’ delight—it’s going to be fair weather.’ You look at the morning sky and say, ‘Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning—a storm is coming.’ You can discern physical signs in the sky, yet when the spiritual signs of the Messiah are unfolding right before your eyes, you can’t connect the dots.”
The problem wasn’t a lack of evidence; the problem was the hardness of their hearts.
Matthew 16:4 (NASB)
‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.’ And He left them and went away.
Jesus tells them the only sign they will receive is the sign of Jonah—His impending death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. And with that, He turns and walks away.
The Leaven of Unbelief
Next, Jesus turns His attention to the Twelve to warn them that their hearts are drifting in that exact same dangerous direction.
Matthew 16:5-6 (NASB)
And the disciples came to the other side [of the sea], but they had forgotten to bring [any] bread. And Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’
Think about the timing here. They have just witnessed Jesus feed 5,000 Jewish men—likely over 10,000 people total—with five loaves and two fish. Then they saw Him feed 4,000 Gentiles with seven loaves. They cross the Sea of Galilee, step out of the boat, check their pockets, and say, “Oh no! Who forgot to pack lunch? How are we going to eat?”
You can almost imagine Jesus putting His hand to His forehead.
Matthew 16:7 (NASB)
They began to discuss [this] among themselves, saying, ‘[He said that] because we did not bring [any] bread.’
It is a tragic case study in missing the point entirely.
In Scripture, leaven is frequently used as a metaphor for sin—a small amount that quietly permeates and corrupts the whole batch of dough. What is the leaven of the Pharisees? It is their stubborn, willful refusal to believe that Jesus is the Messiah despite all the overwhelming evidence. Jesus is warning the Twelve, “Watch out! You are walking down the exact same road of unbelief as the Pharisees.”
Jesus graciously, but firmly, exposes their spiritual blindness.
Matthew 16:8-11 (NASB)
But Jesus, aware of this, said, ’You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? ’Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets [full] you picked up? ’Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets [full] you picked up? ‘How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’
Jesus addresses them with a phrase Matthew records three different times in his gospel: “You of little faith.”
In the original language, that is a single word encompassing the idea of an insufficient faith. He used it during the storm on the Sea of Galilee when they panicked in Matthew 8. He used it when Peter began sinking beneath the waves in Matthew 14. And He uses it here.
Jesus is telling them, “Your faith is insufficient for where we are going. If you don’t understand the lesson of who I am, you have failed the course, and you cannot move forward.”
We all know the sinking feeling of having our insufficiencies exposed. I remember being a broke college student standing at the ATM, hoping to get cash for lunch, only to see that dreaded screen: Insufficient Funds. I remember riding to Dallas with my brother-in-law, Scott, looking at his gas gauge pinned past “E” with the warning light glowing, telling him, “Scott, we have an insufficient amount of gas!”
To have your spiritual insufficiency laid bare before the Son of God is a sobering reality. Thankfully, the disciples finally grasp what He means.
Matthew 16:12 (NASB)
Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Finally, the light bulb flickers on. They realize Jesus isn’t talking about bakeries and sandwich bread; He is warning them against the soul-corrupting doctrine of unbelief modeled by the religious elite.
The Ultimate Question at Caesarea Philippi
With that groundwork laid, Jesus leads the Twelve on a journey northward to a specific location for an intentional conversation.
Matthew 16:13 (NASB)
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?’
If you look at a map of ancient Israel, north of the Sea of Galilee and past the headwaters of the Jordan River sits Caesarea Philippi, located near the modern border of Syria. It was completely outside the normal Jewish territory.
Why would Jesus take them there? Caesarea Philippi was a deeply pagan, wicked city. Before the service, Mark Snead and I were talking about our trip to Israel, standing in that very place. Mark described it as worse than modern-day Las Vegas.
Caesarea Philippi was the center of worship for the Greek and Roman god Pan—depicted as a grotesque half-man, half-goat figure. The rituals associated with Pan involved perverse, sexually debased fertility rites. At the base of a massive cliff was a spring emerging from a deep, dark cave that the pagans referred to as “the gates of Hades”—the entrance to the underworld.
Right in the shadow of this pagan stronghold, surrounded by idolatry and spiritual darkness, Jesus asks His disciples two questions.
First, He asks: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Matthew 16:14 (NASB)
And they said, ‘Some [say] John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’
The disciples give the popular opinions of the culture: “Some say John the Baptist returned from the dead. Others say Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the great Old Testament prophets.”
Those were flattering human compliments. To be compared to Elijah or Jeremiah was high praise. But high human praise still falls infinitely short of the truth.
Then Jesus makes it deeply personal.
Matthew 16:15 (NASB)
He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’
“Disciples, what about you? Have my virgin birth, my fulfillment of prophecy, my miracles, my authority, and my compassion shown you nothing more than a prophet? Who do you say that I am?”
Peter steps forward and speaks for the Twelve.
Matthew 16:16 (NASB)
Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’
Peter boldly proclaims: “You are not merely a prophet. You are not a reincarnation of Elijah. You are the Christ—the long-awaited Messiah—the Son of the living God!”
For the first time in Matthew’s gospel, the disciples openly, unequivocally declare the truth: Jesus is God in human flesh.
Matthew 16:17 (NASB)
And Jesus said to him, ’Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal [this] to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Jesus tells Peter, “You didn’t figure this out on your own through human intellect. My Father in heaven revealed this reality to you.”
The Rock and the Church
Jesus then makes a monumental declaration about the future of His kingdom.
Matthew 16:18 (NASB)
’I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Standing right in front of the pagan “gates of Hades” at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus declares that the dark forces of hell will not prevail against His kingdom. His gospel will advance into the darkest, most broken corners of the world to redeem sinners and establish His people.
Allow me to take a brief theological detour here, because verse 18 has been the subject of significant debate throughout church history. When Jesus says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church,” what does He mean?
In Roman Catholic theology, this verse is interpreted to mean that Peter is named the first pope, establishing an unbroken line of papal apostolic succession. However, from a Protestant understanding—which we hold here at The Well—the language points to a different reality.
In the original Greek, Jesus uses a wordplay. He says, “You are Petros” (a masculine noun meaning a stone or small rock), “and on this petra” (a feminine noun meaning a massive foundation or bedrock), “I will build My church.”
Jesus does not say, “Upon you, Peter, I will build My church.” The bedrock foundation of the church is not a fallible human being; it is the truth of Peter’s confession: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God alone—and Christ specifically—is called the Rock of our salvation. Peter is instrumental as an apostle, but Jesus Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone and unshakeable bedrock of the church.
Jesus then speaks of kingdom authority.
Matthew 16:19 (NASB)
‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.’
In Isaiah 22, the steward of the royal household held the master’s keys, possessing the authority to open and shut doors. Jesus is declaring that the corrupt religious leaders who rejected Him are being stripped of their stewardship. The authority to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom—which opens heaven to those who believe and closes it to those who persist in unbelief—is now entrusted to His apostles and His church.
Then comes a surprising command.
Matthew 16:20 (NASB)
Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
Why would Jesus tell them to keep quiet after they finally got the answer right? Because the Jewish crowds were expecting a political, military Messiah to overthrow Rome. Jesus had to redefine messiahship for them. His path to glory was not a military conquest, but the cross. In the very next verses, Jesus begins to explain for the first time that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer, die as a ransom for sinners, and be raised on the third day.
Who Do You Say He Is?
This brings us right back to the ultimate question Jesus posed to His disciples, a question echoing down to each of us today: Who do you say that I am?
Just as it was for the Twelve, how you answer that question determines everything.
For many years of my life, my story was one of spiritual overexposure. I grew up going to church because my parents faithfully dragged me there. I went through confirmation, memorized the Apostles’ Creed, ate the donuts in the fellowship hall, sat through the services, opened my Bible, and closed it without a thought. I saw, but I never truly saw.
My heart remained completely unaffected. I had no awareness of my desperate spiritual insufficiency before a holy God.
It wasn’t until college, while living in a fraternity house, that a friend had the courage to sit down with me and ask, “Mike, who do you think Jesus is? If you died tonight and stood before God, why should He let you into heaven?”
I started rattling off my personal résumé—how I was a decent guy, how I had won a state championship in soccer the year before. My friend looked at me and gently shared what the Scriptures say: our self-righteous efforts are like filthy rags before a holy God. We cannot earn our way into heaven on human merit. We are spiritually bankrupt.
Then he shared the good news: God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. Jesus took the weight of our sin upon His back on the cross, endured the wrath of God in our place, and offers His perfect righteousness in exchange to all who place their faith in Him.
For the first time in my life, the dots connected. The lights came on. I saw my insufficiency and I saw the all-sufficient Savior.
Many of you have spent years around religious things. You have sat through dozens of Christmas and Easter services. But Jesus is asking you directly: Who do you say that I am?
He is not merely a good moral teacher. He is not just an inspiring historical figure or an ancient prophet. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, who laid down His life on a cross to save you from your sins.
Do not leave today without settling that question in your heart. Talk about it over lunch with your family and friends. Place your faith in Jesus Christ, the only Rock that will never fail.
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray together.
Father, we are so grateful for Your Word. We are grateful that You have recorded the disciples’ struggles and shortcomings, because we resonate with their slow hearts and their doubts. Thank You for Your profound patience with them, and Your patience with us.
Lord, as the lights begin to turn on in our hearts, give us the grace to abandon every false hope of self-righteousness. Help us place our full trust and faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who died on a cross and rose again to give us eternal life.
May we boldly confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Rock upon which we build our lives.
In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, Amen.