Matthew
Understanding Matthew 16:13-28
To understand a story or an event it is very helpful
To have been at the place, the story took place
Jesus took His disciples to Caesarea Phillippi for a reason
He could have revealed that He was the Christ, the Messiah, anywhere
He could have announced His plans to build His church out of rocks, anywhere
He could have spoken of the Gates of Hades, anywhere
But He chose a remote place called Caesarea Phillippi
What do you know about Caesarea Phillippi?
Wise people research to know what they are talking about
Fools have no supporting facts
Understanding Matthew 16:13-28
To understand a story, or an event…
It is very helpful to have been at
the place, the story took place.
Hurricane Ian was a Category 4 Hurricane
that hit Cuba and the United States.
Naples, Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, and the Barrier
Islands suffered the greatest damage.
North Port, Florida, is just north of these cities.
Every year, Sandy and I go to this area
because Sandy’s mom lives in
a mobile home in North Port.
As the stories of Ian’s attack on Florida were coming…
I could identify the places.
I would picture in my mind the beaches,
restaurants, homes, and beautiful landscapes.
My mother-in-law was safe
and her mobile home protected.
But in the community,
many of the other mobile homes
were totally destroyed.
Because I had been there…
I have a better understanding of the story
than those who have not been there.
This is true for those of us who read the Bible.
To take a deeper dive
than just reading the pages of our Bible…
We need to research the towns and villages,
primitive ways of living.
As one who has studied
the Word of God all my life…
I have hoped to go to Israel.
I know it would help me to see
the Word of God more clearly.
Just a note…
If your pastor has not been to Israel,
make it the churches’ goal to send him.
To understand Matthew 16:13-24…
You must take a deeper dive
than just reading the words.
Most of us would read over
the location, Caesarea Phillippi.
Herod the Great is known for his colossal building projects
and building a temple at Caesarea Phillippi.
Herod the Great was a Roman, Jewish client
king of Judea referred to as the Herodian Kingdom.
A “Client” state or kings was
economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate
to another more powerful state.
In this case, Rome under Caesar Augustus,
the first Roman emperor.
After Herod died…
The region was passed to Phillip, the tetrarch.
Phillip seeking to honor Augustus
renamed the site…
Caesarea to Caesarea Phillippi….
To differentiate it from the other cities called Caesarea.
Politically, this area was controlled by two kingdoms…
The Roman Kingdom and Jewish Kingdom being subservient.
Herod the Great’s son, Phillip,
established Caesarea Phillippi
as the capital of his territory.
The land before the Romans’ rule
belonged to the Greeks and was called
Panion or Panias, after the Greek god, Pan.
Geography, Caesarea Phillippi, at Jesus’ time
was located in the foot hills of Mount Hermon
about 15 miles north of the Sea of Galilee.
Mount Hermon is the largest rock
formation in Israel.
At the base of Mount Hermon
is a large grotto or cave.
In the time of the Greeks,
it was very deep and full of water.
Josephus writes of an earthquake that
changed the flow of the water to a natural spring
with water falls that formed the Jordan River.
Caesarea Phillippi…
Mount Hermon is at the northern point
of Galilee and was not highly populated.
Now the Story.
Matthew 4:23-25…
Jesus went about all Galilee preaching the Gospel.
Most of the places Jesus went were highly populated.
Jesus took His disciples to the remote northern
part of Galilee, the place of Caesarea Phillippi.
Here in Matthew 16:13-24
and in Caesarea Phillippi…
Jesus’ ministry took a major shift.
Jesus declared He is the Messiah.
He will build on a Rock, His Church
and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
We have taken a deeper dive by looking at
the political, geographical, and historical background.
In our next devotionals…
We will start to put the piece together.
Today, ask God to help you stand where
Peter, James and the rest of the disciples stood.
To see what they saw
and how they would have seen
the geographical location of
the largest rock formation in Israel…
Living in the political and historical
meaning to everyday life.
As you read God’s Word…
Put yourself in the place of those who were there.
Be willing to go deeper into the Word of God.
Read Matthew 16:13-24…
As if you were there in that moment,
Scripture Reading
Matthew 16:13-28 NIV
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14 They 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?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
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