Sermon Central
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Who Am I? Series
Contributed by Jeffery Anselmi on Feb 13, 2026 (message contributor)
Summary: Jesus’s words about how people identify him are critical to understanding both the purpose he came for and what followers are to do with it.
INTRODUCTION
OPENING SLIDE
• The question that Jesus asks the disciples is one of the most important questions in life we will ever answer.
• To me, what's interesting about this all-important question Jesus would ask His disciples is that Jesus did not ask it in Jerusalem.
• He did not ask it in the temple.
• He did not ask it in Galilee among Jewish crowds.
• He asked it in Caesarea Philippi, and that matters.
• Caesarea Philippi sat about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, at the base of Mount Hermon.
• It was one of the headwaters of the Jordan River.
• Massive rock cliffs towered over the city.
• But what made it significant was not geography.
• It was idolatry.
• For centuries, this site had been associated with pagan worship.
• In Old Testament times, the area was linked to Baal worship.
• Under Greek influence, it became known as Paneas, named after the god Pan.
• Pan was the god of nature, fertility, and fear. (The word “panic” comes from his name.)
• There was a massive cave at the base of the rock cliff. Water flowed from it into what seemed like a bottomless abyss.
• Pagans believed this cave was the entrance to the underworld—the “gates of Hades.”
• Animal sacrifices were thrown into the cave.
• If the blood disappeared, it meant the god accepted the offering.
• If it surfaced, it meant rejection.
• This was a place people feared.
• Then Rome came.
• Herod the Great built a temple there to honor Caesar Augustus.
• Later, his son Philip renamed the city Caesarea Philippi—to honor Caesar and himself.
• So in this one location you had:
• Baal worship.
• Greek paganism.
• Roman emperor worship.
• Political power.
• Religious confusion.
• Temples carved into rock.
• Shrines lining the cliff face.
• Statues to false gods.
• A city celebrating human power and spiritual chaos.
• And in that setting—surrounded by idols—Jesus asks:
“Who do people say that I am?
• Do you feel the weight of that?
• He is not asking in neutral territory.
• He is asking in enemy territory.
• He is standing in front of what people believed was the gate of Hades…
• And He asks about His identity.
• This is not a casual question.
• It is a declaration of war.
• Because how you identify Jesus determines everything.
• If you misidentify Jesus, you will misunderstand His purpose, and if you misunderstand His purpose, you will miss your calling.
• Caesarea Philippi was full of confused identities.
• And so is our world.
• And so are many hearts.
Matthew 16:13–14 NET 2nd ed.
13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
SERMON
MAIN POINT 1 SLIDE
I. A Confused Identity
• Jesus begins the query of the disciples by asking them, Who do people say the Son of Man is?
• Notice what He is doing.
• He is not asking because He doesn’t know.
• He is asking because they don’t understand.
• The disciples respond:
• “Some say John the Baptist.”
• “Others say Elijah.”
• Others suggest the names of Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
• Now think about the answers the disciples offer to Jesus; every one of those answers is respectful.
• No one says:
• “A fraud.”
• “A liar.”
• “A madman.”
• They are not insulting Him.
• They are honoring Him.
• But they are still wrong.
• And here’s the danger: you can speak well of Jesus and still misunderstand Him completely.
• Think about the answers the disciples gave to Jesus.
• Let’s start with the first response, John the Baptist?
• That means they saw boldness and confrontation.
• Elijah? That means they saw power and prophetic authority.
• Jeremiah? That means they saw sorrow and suffering.
• One of the prophets? That means they saw someone sent by God.
• They recognized something divine.
• But they stopped short of Messiah.
• They saw influence.
• They did not see identity.
Why Confusion Matters
• If Jesus is only a prophet, then His purpose was only to speak truth.
• If Jesus is only a teacher, then His purpose was only to instruct.
• If Jesus is only a reformer, then His purpose was only to improve religion.
• But if He is not the Christ, then the cross is unnecessary.
• If He is not the Son of God, then resurrection is irrelevant.
