Bible Lesson 18

¿Quién Es el Hijo del Hombre? – Who Is the Son of Man?

After all that the disciples have seen and heard, Jesus asks them a very plain – but very challenging – question. Who do you say I am?

The answer to this changes everything. Jesus clearly claimed to be the Son of God, who will return in glory with his angels to reward and punish the people of earth.

If he was lying, then there is no reason to believe a single thing he said.

If he was telling the truth, then his words, his kingdom, his holiness, his commands… these things should be our absolute, highest priority. If he was telling the truth, then he is the one worth giving everything for, and we should pick up our cross and follow him.

Who do you say I am?

How to Use This Page:

1. Listen to the audio as you read along with the Spanish on the left.

2. Open the English translation, and read the two side-by-side, making sure you understand the Spanish.

3. Close the English, and listen to the audio again, reading along in Spanish.

4. Close the Spanish, and listen once more. Maybe shut your eyes, and just try to catch as much as you can.


Cuando llegó a la región de Cesarea de Filipo, Jesús preguntó a sus discípulos:

—¿Quién dice la gente que es el Hijo del hombre?

Le respondieron:

—Unos dicen que es Juan el Bautista, otros que Elías, y otros que Jeremías o uno de los profetas.

—Y ustedes, ¿quién dicen que soy yo?

—Tú eres el Cristo, el Hijo del Dios viviente —afirmó Simón Pedro.

—Dichoso tú, Simón, hijo de Jonás —le dijo Jesús—, porque eso no te lo reveló ningún mortal, sino mi Padre que está en el cielo. Yo te digo que tú eres Pedro, y sobre esta piedra edificaré mi iglesia, y las puertas del reino de la muerte no prevalecerán contra ella. Te daré las llaves del reino de los cielos; todo lo que ates en la tierra quedará atado en el cielo, y todo lo que desates en la tierra quedará desatado en el cielo.

Luego les ordenó a sus discípulos que no dijeran a nadie que él era el Cristo.

Desde entonces comenzó Jesús a advertir a sus discípulos que tenía que ir a Jerusalén y sufrir muchas cosas a manos de los ancianos, de los jefes de los sacerdotes y de los maestros de la ley, y que era necesario que lo mataran y que al tercer día resucitara. Pedro lo llevó aparte y comenzó a reprenderlo:

—¡De ninguna manera, Señor! ¡Esto no te sucederá jamás!

Jesús se volvió y le dijo a Pedro:

—¡Aléjate de mí, Satanás! Quieres hacerme tropezar; no piensas en las cosas de Dios sino en las de los hombres.

Luego dijo Jesús a sus discípulos:

—Si alguien quiere ser mi discípulo, tiene que negarse a sí mismo, tomar su cruz y seguirme. Porque el que quiera salvar su vida, la perderá; pero el que pierda su vida por mi causa, la encontrará. ¿De qué sirve ganar el mundo entero si se pierde la vida? ¿O qué se puede dar a cambio de la vida? Porque el Hijo del hombre ha de venir en la gloria de su Padre con sus ángeles, y entonces recompensará a cada persona según lo que haya hecho. Les aseguro que algunos de los aquí presentes no sufrirán la muerte sin antes haber visto al Hijo del hombre llegar en su reino.

When he arrived in the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples:

“Who do the people say the Son of Man is?”

They responded:

“Some say he is John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“And you all, who do you say I am?”

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” declared Simon Peter.

“Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah,” Jesus told him, “because no mortal revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. I tell you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the kingdom of death will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; everything you tie on earth will be tied in heaven, and whatever you untie on earth will be untied in heaven.”

Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

From then on Jesus began to warn his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that it was necessary that they kill him and on the third day he rise. Peter took him apart and began to rebuke him:

“By no means, Lord! This will never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter:

“Get away from me, Satan!” You want to make me stumble; you don’t think of the things of God but of those of men.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples:

“If someone wants to be my disciple, he has to deny himself, take his cross and follow me. Because he that wants to save his life will lose it; but he that loses his life for my cause will find it. What good does it do to gain the whole world if you lose your life? Or what can you give in exchange for your life? Because the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and he will reward each person according to what he has done. I assure you that some of those here present will not suffer death without first having seen the Son of Man arrive in his kingdom.”

Peter's Confession of Christ, in stained glass. Trinity Lutheran Church, Pasadena CA.

Peter’s Confession of Christ, in stained glass. Trinity Lutheran Church, Pasadena CA.

Get Thee Behind Me Satan, by James Tissot, c. 1890.

Get Thee Behind Me Satan, by James Tissot, c. 1890.

Crucifixion of Saint Peter, by Caravaggio, 1601. Peter eventually did take up his cross, just as Jesus had said.

Crucifixion of Saint Peter, by Caravaggio, 1601. Peter eventually did take up his cross, just as Jesus had said.