Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, JEREMIAH

[tonychanyt]

Matthew 16:

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Why was Jeremiah mentioned here at all? Is there OT justification for connecting the Son of Man with Jeremiah?

2 Esdras 2:

18 I will send my servants Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel to help you. It was on their advice that I have made you holy. I will prepare twelve trees with various kinds of fruit for you.

Pulpit explained:

Some opined that he was Jeremiah, who was expected to come as a precursor of Messiah (2 Esdras 2:18), and reveal the tabernacle, ark, and the altar of incense, which, according to the legend of 2 Macc. 2:4-7, he had hidden in Mount Nebo, "until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy."

On the other hand, Mark 6:

15 Others were saying, "He is Elijah," and still others, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old."

Luke 9:

8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen.

Neither Mark nor Luke mentioned "Jeremiah" in their parallel accounts.

In any case, Jeremiah wept over the coming destruction of Jerusalem, Jer 9:

10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away. 11 And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

Like Jeremiah, Jesus also wept over the coming destruction of Jerusalem, Luke 19:

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.