When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
All Commentaries on Matthew 16:13 Go To Matthew 16
Theophylact of Ochrid
AD 1107
The evangelist mentions the founder of the city, Philip, because there is another Caesarea, of Strato, and it was not in the latter, but in the former, that Christ asked them the question. He leads the disciples far away from the Jews so that they could speak boldly without fear of anyone. First He asks for the opinion of the multitude so that the disciples would be directed upwards to a greater understanding and not fall into the same lowliness of understanding as that of the people. He does not ask them, "Who do the Pharisees say that I am?" but "Who do men say?" referring to the guileless multitude.
