Seeing is believing?

 

The picture above was taken at Caesarea Philippi! This is the location where Peter says, “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!” This was the one spot when I visited Israel that the scriptures really came to life. Jesus took the disciples here and asked the question, who do you say I am? Then Peter gave his famous reply. 

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah of one of the other prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But, who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’” (Matthew 16:13-18)

There is a lot of debate about much of the meaning of this passage. In all due respect to my Catholic friends, I do not believe this passage is an endorsement of Peter as our first Pope. Don’t get me wrong, Peter was singled out here. Peter was a great man of God who was used to spread the Gospel with the power of the Holy Spirit. HE was the one chosen to reveal exactly who Jesus was. But traveling to this part of Israel, looking at the ruins, understanding the significance of the landscape and exactly what this place was, greatly influences my viewpoint. 

First, I believe the ROCK that Jesus is building the church upon is NOT Peter. I believe Jesus is building the church upon himself, the statement verbalized by Peter. JESUS IS THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD! THAT is the ROCK, the HUGE ROCK that the church is built upon. The huge rock face that stood before them was a symbol of the size and importance of Peter’s statement and exactly who Jesus was. Peter was just a vessel used by God to share it with the world. 

The next thing significant is the comment about the Gates of Hell not prevailing. This place Ceasarea Philippi was a place used to sacrifice to the Greek Gods. The place of the sacrifices was known as the GATES TO HADES. Jesus was saying that these pagan beliefs would not be able to stand against the TRUTH of the Gospel message. They would all fade away, even this sight, which is now filled with ruins, is proof he was right. 

Jesus sacrifice on the Cross, the message of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the rest of the New Testament speak to the truth of Jesus message here at CP. The church is built upon THAT truth and no person, or any thing else of this earth. 

When I saw the backdrop, the same the disciples would have seen, the more confident of the proper interpretation of this scripture. So, when people say Seeing is Believing, that is not a slight on faith, it is an endorsement to the power of the truth of scripture!