Caesarea Philippi
March 22, 2008 by Neil
Caesarea Philippi was the capital of the Tetrarch Philip at the time that Jesus visited the city with his disciples about nine months before his crucifixion. It was a beautiful spot. Over a thousand feet above sea level, it nestled on a terrace in the folds of Mount Hermon — a place of cascades, torrents, fountains, vines, fig trees, mulberries, birds. Today, it goes by the name of Banias, but its significance lies in its ancient name of Paneas — the place of Pan. Here was the sanctuary of the Greek god of flocks and shepherds, in a vast cavern from which gushed the waters that become the Jordan; and above the cavern towered an enormous rock wall on which had been built a castle.
Given the conversation between Jesus and his disciples in Matthew 16, I suggest in this morning’s blog (22 March 2008) that the little group must have been standing close by this cavern and the rock above it. Peter refers to Jesus as being the Christ, the Son of “the Living God” — a term used in the Old Testament to contrast the God of Israel with pagan deities — and upon hearing Peter make that confession, Jesus — with an upward glance at the castle high above him perhaps? — says, “Upon this rock — the rock of such faith and the confession it has given rise to — I will build my church.”
