By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President
Two and one-half years into His public ministry, Jesus took His apostles on a northern retreat to Caesarea Philippi, at the base of the nearly-10,000-foot-high Mount Hermon (Matthew 16:13ff.). Surprisingly, that late in His ministry the question was still, “Who is this Son of Man” (John 12:34). Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples’ answer revealed that people were still confused about Jesus’ identity (Matthew 16:14).
To avoid the popular, Jewish, firm commitment to a political and nationalistic Messianic hope, Jesus avoided wide-spread use of the title of “Messiah” (or Christ) and “Son of David.” These titles would tend to stoke insurrection against Rome by the masses, as illustrated by their response at the feeding of the 5,000: “This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world… they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king…” (John 6:14-15).
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