Chuck Larsen

Caesarea Philippi has a long and exalted history. It was the center of pagan religions and offered a pantheon of gods to appease the interests of any possible worshipper. It was so infiltrated with various pagan gods that the huge cave, or hole in the ground, near the pantheon became known as the “gates of hell.” (See the picture at www.chucklarsen.com) It’s no wonder that it was at this spot Jesus asked his disciples the most important question. Matthew 16:13-18 tells us about this conversation: “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 or one of the 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 has 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.”

What is “the rock” upon which Christ will build His church? Is it Peter himself as taught by the Roman Catholic church? Because of the Greek vocabulary in this verse, this view is indefensible. I used to think “the rock” referred to Peter’s profession of faith, and it was with each profession that another stone was laid as a living stone in Christ’s church. This is true, but each living stone today must be laid upon a foundational stone. I believe the right interpretation is that Jesus, Himself, is “the rock.” Peter’s profession was that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. The Messiah was frequently identified as a building or corner stone. Isaiah 28:16 says, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.” 1 Peter 2:4-5 gives us further New Testament evidence. It says, “As you come to him (Jesus) , a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.” Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Chuck
“That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” John 8:24

Today we will visit Capernaum and Bethsaida. Jesus concentrated His ministry along the north shore of the Sea of Galilee near these two cities, both of which appear frequently in the Gospels. Matthew refers to Capernaum as Jesus’ “own city” (Matt. 9:1). Jesus lived in Capernaum for a time and called His first disciples from the villagers and fishermen nearby (Matt. 4:12–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11). Located on the north end of the Sea of Galilee about three miles east of Capernaum, Bethsaida played a key role in Jesus’ Galilean ministry. Three of Jesus’ disciples—Peter, Andrew, and Philip—came from Bethsaida (John 1:44; 12:21). Jesus performed a healing miracle in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22–26) and fed the hungry multitude of five thousand nearby (Luke 9:10).

The stubborn, prideful hearts of the citizens rejected His teaching. Matthew 11:21-23 gives us Jesus response to these two cities. It says, “Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the Day of Judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.”

All that remains at both sites are ruins. They remind me of Shelley’s poem, “Ozymandias.” It reads as follows: I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: `My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away”.

Chuck
“And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.” Luke 4:31-32

30 of us will leave tomorrow for Israel. We have a strange route from Omaha to Phoenix to Philadelphia to Tel Aviv. When we land at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, we’ll make our way up the Highway by the Sea to the Dan Caesarea Hotel for the night. We’ll pass by Bene Berak, one of the more interesting suburbs of Tel Aviv. It’s the only large city (150,000) whose inhabitants are mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews. It’s small area & large population make it one of the most densely populated city in Israel. It’s birthrate is one of the highest in the Country as well. Since the establishment of Israel as a state, many of the “Grand Rabbis” moved their courts to Bene Barak. The city’s religious character gives it a special charm. It has no modish fashion shops, yuppie coffee houses, or posh restaurants, but it has an extraordinary simplicity, modesty and uniqueness. It sounds like an exceptionally large Amish community.

There are many Yeshivas, Institutes for learning Sacred Jewish Texts. There are a number of “schools of interpretation” in the community, one of which is the school associated with Rabbi Akiba who lived between 50 and 150 CE. He’s been a towering figure in the history of Jewish interpretation. Christian Scholars attribute an entire hermeneutical system to him. We owe a great debt to him with respect to the preservation of the Hebrew Scriptures. After the destruction of the temple in AD 70, Jews focused more than ever on the study of Scripture. A school arose that focused on the smallest details of the Hebrew manuscripts, and enforced a strict adherence by the scribes to the approved texts. It was Akiba who became the principal spokesman of this concern for textual minutiae. For him the sanctity of Scripture meant that each letter, syllable, and word of the Torah was important. Even the tittle was the inspiration for a multiplicity of interpretative rules.

Many more modern scholars suggest that Akiba is responsible for establishing one standard text from which all other Hebrew texts were copied. I’m not certain the evidence supports all that, but it’s undeniable that the focus on the details of Old Testament Texts that he maintained greatly contributed to the standardization and stabilization of the Old Testament that we hold in our hands today.

Chuck
“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Matthew 5:18