Matthew 16:15 Meaning and Explanation

With a single emphatic word, 'ye,' Jesus turns from the crowd to those closest to him. The opinions of others are set aside; now he asks the disciples themselves. The question is short, direct, and unavoidable, demanding a personal answer rather than a report.

This is the hinge of the whole chapter. It is not enough to know what people say; each follower must come to his own conviction. The Lord still asks it of every heart. Borrowed faith, secondhand belief, the assumptions of family or culture, none of these can stand in for one's own answer. 'Whom say ye that I am?' is perhaps the most important question a person will ever face.