“Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” — Matthew 16:13
The Textus Receptus includes the pronoun me: “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” The critical text usually omits it: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Both questions plainly concern Jesus. The received form makes the identification explicit before Peter makes it glorious.
A pronoun with company
The word με appears in different positions in some witnesses. It also stands firmly in the parallels at Mark 8:27 and Luke 9:18. Critics read that pattern as an addition: copyists imported the pronoun from the other Gospels, and its moving position betrays its secondary place.
Moving words can point to a marginal addition. They can also point to restoration after an omission. Greek word order is flexible, so a remembered or marginal me can return at more than one place. The main received position is grammatical and emphatic: “Who do men say me, the Son of man, to be?”
The title “Son of man” is not a detached third person. Jesus regularly uses it of himself. The pronoun prevents even a momentary reading in which he asks about someone else bearing the title.
The question turns
Popular answers place Jesus among the prophets: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another. Then he narrows the field: “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answers, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The two questions hinge on pronouns—men, ye, I. The received me in verse 13 belongs to that personal exchange. Public report is not enough. The disciples must confess the person before them.
No Christological doctrine disappears from the shorter reading. “The Son of man” still refers to Jesus, and Peter’s confession remains. That fact should keep the discussion honest. Yet doctrinal stability is not proof that a word was never there.
The pronoun has broad support, explains the syntax directly, and strengthens Matthew’s contrast without adding foreign content. Its occurrence in Mark and Luke may reflect the Lord’s actual question, not three rounds of harmonizing. The received text should be read: “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” The right answer still comes only by the Father’s revelation.
The construction also binds Jesus’ favorite self-designation to the confession that follows. The Son of man is not a lesser figure whom Peter replaces with “Son of the living God.” The same person bears both titles: the human and eschatological figure of Daniel’s vision is the divine Messiah standing before the disciples.
Popular answers are honorable but insufficient. John, Elijah, and Jeremiah were servants of God. Calling Jesus one of them can sound reverent while refusing his unique identity. The pronoun keeps the question from becoming an academic survey of titles; men are deciding who this speaker is.
Textual harmonization remains possible because the parallels are close. Yet the moving positions of me may mark attempts to restore a tiny omitted word within flexible Greek syntax. Instability around placement is not equivalent to absence from the original.
Sources and further reading
- Matthew 16:13–20; Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–21.
- Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, note on Matthew 16:13.
- Frederick H. A. Scrivener, The New Testament in the Original Greek according to the Text Followed in the Authorised Version.