Israel 2022 - Reflection #16 - Caesarea Philippi Part 3

 

As a former school teacher and now speaker, I appreciate the value of a great "visual" or the use of a "prop" to drive home a key concept. Jesus took his disciples, near the end of his ministry, to Caesarea Philippi to share THE central concept of his purpose on earth. The physical backdrop of this small scripture passage reinforces his message in a powerful way and I am saddened by the thought that I missed the power of this scripture by not understanding where this encounter took place, not understanding the Greek language, and not letting the power of this message fill my heart. 

Yesterday, I shared the background of Caesarea Philippi as a Pagan worship center. However, I did not mention the name given to this cave was known as "The Gates of Hades."

So, now go back and re-read the scripture:

'When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He

asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the

Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist,

some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon

Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of

the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed

are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not

revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

And I also say to you that you are Peter (petros), and on this

rock (petra) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall

not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom

of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound

in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed

in heaven.”'Matthew 16:13-19 https://my.bible.com/bible/114/MAT.16.13-19

I can just see Jesus pointing up to the literal "gates of hades" while he is sharing this message with Peter. 

BUT, there is more. 

I had the privilege of studying Greek this past term at IWU and if there is one thing I learned about Biblical Greek, it is a complicated language. In English, I can pick up a small stone and call it a rock while at the same time looking up at the "Dome of the Rock" in Yosemite calling it a rock using the exact same word.  In this passage, Simon is referred to as a "rock" and Jesus says he will build his church upon this "rock." In English, the words are the same. In Greek the words are different. Peter or petros in Greek, refers to a small stone. The rock in which Jesus is going to build his church is petra which refers to a big rock, rock face, or cliff. The words sound the same but have very different meanings.

In all due respect to my Catholic friends, this passage is referring to Peter as a pebble or a stone. Yes, he is a key part of the coming church. Paul, Timothy, Philip, James, and John are also stones that helped build the church. Peter is "A" key to building the early church, but certainly not the ONLY key. The foundation of the church is not built upon Peter. The foundation of the church is built upon JESUS, the Son of the Living God. He is the rock, the massive rock, that is the foundation of the modern church. AND the church of Jesus Christ will endure long after any pagan religion. Jesus said, "and on this rock I will build my church." THIS ROCK is not Peter. THIS ROCK is the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God! My good friend Ramona pointed out that the key message here is that Jesus is the Son of the LIVING GOD. We don't serve some dead Roman leader. We don't serve some fake god that is half man and half goat. We serve a REAL, LIVING, POWERFUL God who promised us nothing would prevail against us. 

If there is anything I learned while on my trip to Israel, "Don't just read scripture. STUDY IT, RESEARCH IT, REFLECT ON IT, PRAY OVER IT, and let the HOLY SPIRIT speak to you. DON'T HURRY THROUGH YOUR TIME IN THE WORD. 

It is not a race. I admit I use to be so proud of reading the entire Bible in a year. I think I did this at least five years in a row. I wore this as a badge of honor. When your goal is to "get through" God's word, it is so easy to breeze right through and entirely miss the message God intended. By not really studying what was written, the context it was written, and letting the Holy Spirit lead you to its application in your life, you are missing the true value of this powerful book!