Good weekend to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Have you ever found yourself caught in a case of mistaken identity? Those moments can be embarrassing or even frightening, can’t they? It seems Jesus was often the victim of mistaken identity and today let’s look closely at that. Let’s join Matthew and the other disciples with Jesus way up in the extreme north of Israel, a place called Caesarea Philippi. (Matt. 16:13)
As far as I know this is the only story we have in the Gospels of Jesus visiting this remarkable place. Now, don’t confuse it with the major coastal city of Caesarea where the apostle Peter brought the Gospel of Jesus to Roman Centurion Cornelius and his household, remember? (Acts 10:22-48) Caesarea Philippi was straight north of the Sea of Galilee at the foothills of Mount Hermon. It was famous for several things:
* A major freshwater spring gushed out of a cave forming a rushing river which flowed south to the Sea of Galilee. Mythology claimed that water came from the core of the earth and that spring became a place for worship of the Greek false god ‘Pan’.
* A wide-open area with lush pastureland on both sides of the river made this a perfect place for trading caravans to stop and do business while resting and nourishing their animals. These traders came from all directions, bringing their products for sale from far away. On any given day this area was something like a huge modern day farmer’s market with hundreds of traders.
* A sheer cliff adjacent to the Banias spring provided a place for these traders to bring their idols and religious practices. They cut niches for their idols in the cliff and built altars for incense and even sacrifice in front of those niches. Travelers who came here could find many different religions and worshipers from far and wide.
Because traders came from all directions this was a gathering place which seemed to represent much of the Gentile world. As Jesus and His disciples came here that day, they looked out over a wide diversity of people buying and selling. As they turned to look at the cliff, I’m sure they saw many people at those niches lighting incense, bowing and praying to many different man made idols, and perhaps some even sacrificing animals in their worship. It was the perfect place for Jesus to ask this central question: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13) Perhaps Jesus even swept his hand over the vast area as He asked the question.
These 12 disciples were all Jewish men, and their response indicates to me they normally had little interaction with Gentiles, like all these gathered at Caesarea Philippi. Matthew tells us the disciples responded: “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matt. 16:14)
That seemed like a safe religious answer. While each of those men were dead, some of them for centuries, they were all famous in Israel’s history and thus to be in any way compared to any of them would be a great compliment. Clearly the issue of Jesus’ identity was a source of major debate and confusion. No one could figure out how a very normal looking man from Nazareth could do such a wide variety of miracles, the type of miracles only God can do!
Furthermore, Jesus frequently referred to Almighty God as His Father, declaring that God the Father had sent Him to earth and the words He spoke were given to Him from God, and the miracles Jesus did were done with God’s power. The disciples had no idea but this day at Caesarea Philippi would go down in history as a defining moment, for them, for Israel and for every human being, Gentile or Jew!
Jesus turned the question to His disciples, the 12 men He had personally selected to spend these months with Jesus learning from Him. Jesus said: “But what about you? Who do YOU say I am?” (Matt. 16:15) Suddenly time stood still. In the future, each of them would be asked this question many, many times. WHO is Jesus? Ultimately, they would each die defending their conviction and certainty about the identity of Jesus.
But on this day at Caesarea Philippi, it appears only one man answered with bold conviction. Matthew records that Simon Peter declared: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16) Underline that in your Bible my friends. I have no doubt many of those disciples were stunned, eyes wide, mouths open! Jesus’ response is very significant and powerful: “Blessed are you, Simon son of John, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but by My Father in heaven.” (Matt. 16:17) Jesus referred to Simon by his original name and his family identity, just as Peter had identified Jesus by His family identity, the Son of God.
Jesus boldly stated that Simon Peter could ONLY know this truth if God in heaven had revealed it to Simon! It was a truth all the religious elite refused to believe yet this fisherman understood correctly only because God Himself had made it known to Peter. Yes, Jesus is the God sent, long awaited Messiah for all Jews of all time. But Jesus is also the Son of God, the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles for all time! In a very few words Peter had destroyed the confusion about Jesus and His mistaken identity.
We need to pause right here with Jesus and His disciples as they look out over the crowds at Caesarea Philippi. God, the creator of the world and each human being, was standing there incarnate, yet only one man declared it. While some of the other disciples may have believed it at that moment, no one of the vast crowds noticed God was there in the person of Jesus!
This weekend, once again, you and I will have ample opportunity to choose how, where and when we worship. More importantly, we will each choose WHO we worship! How will you answer the question Jesus asked this weekend: “What about you? Who do YOU say Jesus is?” And what has led you to your answer about Jesus’ identity?
Some really important “lessons learned” notes are below and of course a great worship song and on Monday we’ll come back to Caesarea Philippi because what happened next is vital to experiencing Jesus!
Today’s Scripture: Matt. 16:13-17.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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