“Which one?” said one response, “the brown Jesus or the Republican version?” You can sense a certain political spin there. “What the guy from those misogynistic stone age ‘reimagined’ supernatural texts?” Many people have tried to quantify who exactly Jesus is. In the passage this week (Mark 8:27-38) Jesus asks this question of the disciples, and gets some responses – were they all recorded I wonder? What if we were asked “Who do you say that I am?” what might be our response?
Importantly what language might you use? Would you quote Scripture or try to phrase it in a way that many might resonate with, understand?
Where are we?
Jesus is at Caesarea Philippi and is making his way back to Jerusalem. If we were in Luke’s Gospel he is on the fast track there; with Mark we have a bit of a trek ahead of us. Caesarea Philippi was originally called Baal-Gad, a site of pagan worship. The Emperor Caesar Augustus gave the development over to Herod the Great who renamed it Caesarea, building within it a Caesarium – a place to worship Augustus. When Philip took over the place he renamed it as Caesarea Philippi – Philip’s town in homage to Caesar. In the 2nd C AD the town was renamed Panias after the goat-footed Greek god Pan. It has quite a good pagan lineage, you can see!
The Cave
There was a great white marble Temple constructed, above a cave. The cave was the main attraction for Hellenistic pagan worship. Animal sacrifices were thrown into the bottomless pool inside. If the sacrifices sank, the gods were appeased. Next to the Pan cave are five niches with indented scalloped areas cut into the face of the cliff for their idols. These niches had elaborate temples attached to worship Pan, Zeus, Nemesis, and a sanctuary to the cult of the “dancing goats.” Pan was the god of the goats and his pipe music would entice the goats to dance, and make their fertility assured (also linked to sex, lust, and bestiality). It was so wicked that rabbis forbade a good Jew to come here – but Jesus did purposefully arrive there.
Turning Point
So this is where Jesus started the journey back to Jerusalem. Here is where the disciples within Mark’s Gospel started to see the flickering lightbulb, and see the ‘light’.
What a place to make such a transformational speech!
On the web you may read articles citing Caesarea Philippi as the Gate of Hell, or alluding the place as akin to Las Vegas and Sin City. But Jesus went there. Not to worship but to be with his disciples. It can be so easy not to frequent certain areas that a not ‘church-centric’.
We leave those people to themselves, do we?
Questions Questions!!
Jesus (Mark 8:27) asks the disciples on the way but later (Mark 8:29) asks Peter the direct question “Who do you say that I am?” This isn’t a discussion but a direct question – perhaps it is asking us directly to reveal our thoughts.
We might not want to state unequivocally what we think – this could be a good time to talk to God, imagining ourselves in that scene. There are four aspects of prayer discussed here.
The Human One?
In Mark 8:31 we may read (depends upon your translation) of the Human One. The author of Mark’s Gospel is linking back to the Hebrew Scriptures and Daniel (Daniel 7:14) when a ruler called Antiochus Epiphanes IV suffered a Jewish political resistance to the imperial oppression by Hellenistic rulers. Recall that Caesarea Philippi was significantly influenced by Hellenistic philosophies. Jesus will come onto conflict wither elders, chief priests and scribes.
“Who do you say that I am?” : What might Peter have said?
“You are the one who found me in a fishing boat and gave me a new vocation. You’re the one who healed my mother-in-law.
Journey with Jesus
You’re the one who said, “Yes, walk on water.”
You’re the one who caught me before I drowned.
You’re the one who glowed on a mountaintop while I babbled nonsense. You’re the one who washed my feet while I squirmed in shame.
You’re the one who told me — accurately — that I’d be a coward on the very night you needed me to be brave.
You’re the one I denied three times to save my skin.
You’re the one who looked into my eyes with pain and pity when the cock crowed.”
In today’s language: how might we say who Jesus is to us – in less than 300 characters (Twitter)?
Importantly what language might you use? Would you quote Scripture or try to phrase it in a way that many might resonate with, understand?
Cover Photo: Temple to Pan at Caesarea Philippi
I found it interesting