Luke 9:18

18 It happened, as he was praying alone, the talmidim were with him, and he asked them, "Who do the multitudes say that I am?"

Luke 9:18 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:18

And it came to pass, as he was alone praying
To his God and Father, for himself as man, and mediator; for the success of his Gospel, and the increase of his interest; and for his disciples, that they might have a clearer revelation of him; and which they had, as appears in their after confession of him by Peter, as the mouth of them all. The place where he now retired for private devotion, was somewhere in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi; for he was now gone from the desert of Bethsaida, as appears from ( Matthew 16:13 ) and when he is said to be alone, the meaning is, that he was retired from the multitude, but not from his disciples; for it follows,

his disciples were with him,
in this solitary place:

and he asked them,
being with them alone;

saying, Whom say the people that I am?
what are the sentiments of the common people, or of the people in general concerning me? The Alexandrian copy, and the Arabic version read, "men", as in ( Matthew 16:13 ) . (See Gill on Matthew 16:13).

Luke 9:18 In-Context

16 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, and broke them, and gave them to the talmidim to set before the multitude.

17 They ate, and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.

18 It happened, as he was praying alone, the talmidim were with him, and he asked them, "Who do the multitudes say that I am?"

19 They answered, "'Yochanan the immerser,' but others say, 'Eliyah,' and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again."

20 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Kefa answered, "The Messiah of God."