Luke 9:18

Peter’s Confession of Christ

18 One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?” ¹

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 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

18 One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

20 “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 16:13–20; Mark 8:27–30; John 6:67–71)