This week and last week we are tackling two very important issues brought up in the new movie ‘The Da Vinci Code’.
They are:
1. Can we trust the Bible?
2. Who is Jesus?
Last week we addressed whether or not we could trust the Bible and we investigated some history and archeology to demonstrate the accuracy of the Bible. Based off of what we learned last week, I think it is clear that the Bible is truly God’s un-compromised Word to humankind. Having this understanding, today we are going to address who Jesus was/is according to what we find in the Bible. We are going to have somewhat of a history lesson. I am going to give you information you’ve probably never heard about two stories you may have heard many times. Let’s dive right in.
The Bible refers to a city by the name of Caesarea Philippi. see map
Caesarea Philippi stood only twenty-five miles from the religious communities of Galilee, but the city’s religious practices were vastly different from those of the nearby Jewish towns. The city stood in a lush area near the foot of Mount Hermon. and was the religious center of worship of the Greek god,
Pan. Pan was a fertility God. Originally, the city was actually named Panias in Pan’s honor. In the city there was tall cliff where local people built shrines and temples to Pan.
These shrines, as you see, are still present in the hillside to this day. If you were to travel in this region you could tour the area and actually visit this particular location.
Prior to the time of Christ, the Romans conquered this Greek territory, Pan. The city was quite damaged during it’s capture by the Romans and consequently needed rebuilding. Herod Philip, son to Herod the Great, actually oversaw the rebuilding of the city and at that time named it after himself, which is where we got Caesarea Philippi. Even though the city was then ruled by the Romans, it continued to focus on worship of the Greek gods.
Caesarea Philippi’s location was especially unique because it stood at the base of a cliff where spring water flowed.
Now that is important because at one time, the water ran directly from the mouth of a cave set in the bottom of the cliff. The spring has since stopped flowing, but again, if you tour the cliffside, you can actually explore the cave where the river once flowed from.
The pagans of Jesus’ day commonly believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld during the winter and returned to earth each spring. They saw water as a symbol of the underworld and thought that their gods traveled to and from that world through caves.
To the pagan mind, then, the cave and spring water at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld. They believed that their city was literally at the gates of the underworld—the gates of hell. In order to entice the return of their god, Pan, each year, the people of Caesarea Philippi engaged in horrible deeds, including prostitution and sexual interaction between humans and goats.
Interestingly, Jesus chose to take His disciples to this pagan setting. It was toward the end of His time, not long before His arrest when He took his disciples on a trip to Caesarea Philippi. You have to imagine that his disciples were probably pretty shocked that Jesus was taking them to such a place. Any good Jew didn’t travel to this region if at all possible. And here they were, with their Rabbi, following him to a despicable place. Jesus, however, chose this location to challenge His disciples to answer the very question we are asking today.
Matthew 16:13-14
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."
The disciples were up on societies ‘buzz’ about Jesus. They were able to answer his question about what people were saying about him. The ‘Da Vinci Code’ has a lot to say about Jesus.
pg 232 - Nothing in Christianity is original
pg 233 - referring to the council of Nicea, the character Teabing states: Until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet....a great powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.
pg 233 - It’s all about power, Teabing continued. Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning of the Church and state. Many scholars claim that the early church literally stole Jesus from his early followers, hijacking his human message, shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity, and using it to expand their own power.
pg 234 - The twist is this, Teabing sais, talking faster now. “....Constantine upgraded Jesus’ status almost four centuries after his death.
pg 235 - ‘What I mean’, Teabing countered, ‘is that almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.’
So with this book and movie having so much to say about Christ, the question remains the same as it was when Christ himself uttered it. It is a two part question:
1. Who do people say that I am?
You must be familiar with what current culture says about Christ if you want to be a voice of truth to that culture.
2. (and most important) Who do you say that I am?
Matthew 16:15-16
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[a] the Son of the living God."
Based on Peter’s confession, Jesus’ responded with a statement that has great significance. He said ‘on this rock I will build my church’. That has always been understood as on the rock or foundation of Peter’s confession. On his faith and proclamation of Christ as Messiah, on that foundation, Christ would build his church. But look at where they were as Christ spoke these words. They were at a place known for it’s shrines, cut into the rock wall at the side of the cliff.
There is great significance in the fact that they were at Caesarea Phillipi when Jesus made this statement. Ray Vander Laan, a Christian Jewish Historian, contends that Jesus was also saying, ‘on this rock, the place that reveres all sorts of evil, even at this place, where humanity is at it’s worst, I won’t turn my back, instead I will build my church and the gates of hell (where the pagan mind believed they were standing) will not prevail against it.’ See Christ didn’t come just for those hanging out in the synagogues and following the appropriate codes of conduct, Christ came for the sinners.
Mark 2:16-18 (The Message)
15-16 ...Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: "What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?"
17Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I'm here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit."
Jesus came for those represented at the rock and proclaimed, ‘on this rock I will build my church.’
So, in response to the question, ‘who is Jesus?’ I must answer he is the lover of my soul, the One who loves my just as I am. But there is more to that answer. The correct response demands that we have one more quick history lesson.
Just before Jesus’ crucifixion, he rode into Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. This trip into Jerusalem is referred to as his triumphal entry. People laid their own clothes and palm branches on the ground and shouted,
Matthew 21:9
"Hosanna[a] to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"[b]
"Hosanna[c] in the highest!
Hosanna simply meaning highest adoration. Also, Jesus rode in on a donkey, a symbol at that time, of royalty. So already, symbolically, the stage is being set to receive Jesus as the Messiah/Savior to the Jews during the Feast of the Passover. What you may not know about the timing of his triumphal entry is that he actually rode into town on the traditional day that the priests were choosing the lamb (picture of lamb) to be sacrificed for the atonement of their sins during passover. Lastly, this very lamb was to be sacrificed at the appointed hour, which for more than a millennium, had been at exactly three in the afternoon. Scripture tells us that Jesus hung on his cross for 6 hours before he finally died. His time of death is noted in three of the four Gospels as being three in the afternoon. So at the same moment that the priests were sacrificing the lamb for the forgiveness of sins of the people, Christ was being sacrificed for the forgiveness of the sins of the world. Coincidence? Not a chance. God did not want there to be a doubt who Jesus was. So now, in response to the question, who is Jesus? I must answer he is the lover of my soul, the One who loves me just as I am, the forgiver of my sins. He is my redeemer, my hope, my joy, my eternal God who grants me the opportunity of eternal life with Him. He is my everything.
John 1:3-5 (The Message)
Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.
He is life to me. Absolute life. Who is he to you? Is this Jesus the Jesus that you know? The Jesus who is your all, your very source of life itself? It’s who he wants to be for you. It’s who he died to be for you. Your everything. Your answers, your peace, your purpose, your greatest love. That’s who Jesus is to me.
Matthew 16:15-16
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
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