Lessons From the Land: The GospelsSample

In the northern part of modern-day Israel sits the ruins of Caesarea Philippi. This town was a big city and the crossroads of travel and trade in northern Israel during the time of Jesus. There was also a very big temple, built to the god Pan in the city. Jesus used this city as the backdrop for the question that he poses to the disciples in Matthew 16. Who do people say that I am? 

To put this into perspective Caesarea Philippi sat about 36 miles from the sea of Galilee, the area where Jesus spent most of his time teaching. That would have been a two to three-day walk from home for Jesus and the disciple all so he can teach a lesson and ask a simple question? It seems a little inefficient until you understand the context. 

The temple to the god Pan represented everything that Christ was not. It was an idol, a false god and this massive structure showcased how much dark the world is. Jesus asks the disciples who they thought he was and Peter quickly responds with “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” How starkly different was that reply from what the world deemed to be “god”? 

The evidence is clear today. The Lord’s church still stands over 2,000 years later meanwhile the walls of this once magnificent temple are gone, the pillars have toppled over and the shelves where idols once stood are empty. No one is going to Caesarea Philippi to worship Pan, but every Sunday millions of Christians around the world worship the living God. We can learn a lot from archeology and geography in the Bible, we just have to know where to look.