Luke 9:18

18 ¹And it happened that while He was ²praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people 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 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people.

17 And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.

18 And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people say that I am?"

19 They answered and said, "John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again."

20 And He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

Cross References

• 1. Luke 9:18-20: {Matthew 16:13-16; Mark 8:27-29}
• 2. Matthew 14:23; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:28

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "crowds"