13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
A couple of weeks ago I was at the Hermon Stream Natural Reserve (Banias) in Israel where the ruins of Caesarea Philippi are located. I was standing on the area where it's most likely Jesus spoke these words to His disciples. I was amazed of how this passage comes alive by looking around the visual context. This city was an interesting place of pluralistic worship. Several temples of different deities were standing here in the days of Jesus, one right next to each other.
The Temple of Pan had it's back wall toward a huge cave that it was called "the gates of hell." In Pan's worship, people would bring their babies and smash them against the rocks of the cave.
But the most amazing thing is that there is a huge rock above all this temples that completely overwhelms everything around it. This rock is massive! Maybe 400 feet wide and 80 feet tall. Jesus was using this rock to illustrate how our faith in Him can overcome anything else and that even the so called "gates of hell" cannot overcome our faith.
APPLICATION
What Jesus said in Caesarea Philippi meant a lot to His disciples. Like 2000 years ago, we are surrounded by a pluralistic society that worships so many idols (celebrities, humanism, other religions, tolerance, possessions, power, etc). And when asked, many people say that Jesus was a good moral teacher, a compassionate prophet, or a champion for the poor and outcast. But above all these, there are many poeple like Peter who recognize Jesus as the Son of the Living God. In our culture, this may not seem very significant because people of a genuine Christian faith are looked down as ignorant, intolerant, and even arrogant. In a certain way, we may be threaten by the way other faiths are growing in popularity. But we should not fear, because our faith stands on the rock, on solid ground, and nothing, not even the gates of hell will prevail.
Very often I feel that my faith goes against the grind and that there is little hope to see the kingdom of God advancing in my oen life and in the lives of those who I shepherd. That's why this passage is so meaningful now to me. My rock, it's way more greater and powerful, and solid, and everlasting, than any other force around me. The great testimony of what Jesus said is confirmed today, 2000 years later. All these other temples are in ruins, but The Rock is still firm and strong.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, thank you so much for the opportunity to see the context of what this message means for us. Give us the confidence to continue advancing your kingdom in our culture and society today. Not even the gates of hell can prevail. You are greater than anything else and we will not be overwhelmed by anything in this world. Our faith has been solid, is solid, and will remain solid for eternity. You are the Christ, the Son of God, My Solid Rock! And in the midst of all kinds of pagan worship around me, my faith is in you. Amen!
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