What's Your Answer?

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.”

Matthew 16:13–18 (ESV)

Matthew 16 finds Jesus and His disciples at the foot of Mount Hermon, roughly 25 miles North of the Sea of Galilee, in Caesarea Philippi. This would have been a very uncomfortable place for Peter, Andrew, John, and the boys to be. Why? Let me paint you a picture of the spot where this monumental exchange between Jesus and His disciples, particularly Peter, took place.

Before Alexander the Great, this area that would become known as Caesarea Philippi had no name. However, since before the conquest of Canaan, it had been “covered up” with the worship of false gods, particularly Baal, the storm god responsible for crop fertility. In fact, the towns of Baal-Gad and Baal-Hermon were located in this area.

God’s people constantly struggled with the worship of false gods, and this area was a hotbed of it. Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern kingdom of Israel (922-902 BC), set up a golden calf near here and ordered all the people to worship it.

The scene in ancient Caesarea Philippi.

By the fourth century BC, a shrine was dedicated to the half-man/half-goat Greek god Pan. It was directly in front of the opening of a cave/spring that was a source for the Jordan River.

By the time Jesus shows up, the Temple of Augustus had been built on that spot. The cave opening was considered “the gates of hell” (Matthew 16:18) as the entrance into the underworld. In horrid ceremonies, children were thrown into the cave alive as sacrificial offerings to the god Pan. The Courtyard of Pan was just to the right. Next to it was a temple dedicated to Zeus. On the far right, built in the second or third century, was the Temple of the Sacred Goats. It was home to the cult of the dancing goats. In twisted, evil “fertility” acts, men would engage in detestable acts with goats.

For hundreds of years before Jesus and a few hundred years after Jesus, this area embodied all that was evil, filthy, and disgusting.

This is the spot where the Savior of the world chose to ask the most important question ever asked of anyone: “Who do you say that I am?” The narrative in Matthew feels almost like it was their “graduation ceremony,” and answering Jesus’ question was THE requirement for a diploma.

I had the privilege of teaching on this very spot in the Spring of 2023. The thing I remember most was thinking that Jesus brought His guys into the middle of this fray of paganism and disgust and, did He ask them, “Who am I?” No, He did not. He asked them, “Who do you say that I am?”

These are two very different questions.  One says, “Identify Me,” and one says, “Identify me and tell everyone you can.” When I was standing there teaching Matthew 16, I could see, in my head, Jesus pointing at the Temple of Augustus just feet away and saying, “Guys, do y’all see all this wickedness behind me? Do you? This is the world that I’m sending you into. Peter, you tracking with me? Nathaniel? Little James, how bout you? John, I love you, but are you getting this? These people are so lost . . . they’re throwing babies into the gates of hell back there. You guys have got to love them enough to tell them about Me.”

Overcome with emotion, Peter interrupts his Lord and says, “You are the Christ. The Mashiach (Hebrew for Messiah). That’s who we say You are.”

As a Christ-follower today in America, look around. Our world is in chaos. People try to justify murdering a baby at 40 weeks. The deception of dozens of different genders, when God clearly and simply created two, is being crammed down the throats of first graders. Murderous terrorist organizations are celebrated on college campuses and cities all over the US. And on and on.

And this is the culture that you and I are sent into to proclaim Jesus as Messiah!

I say to you, “These people are so lost.” You and I should be weeping for them. When was the last time that you wept for the lost? When was the last time that you seriously considered the fact that people really die lost every day and really begin their eternity of torment that very second? 170,000 people die every day on our planet. How many of them die without Jesus?

We should kneel next to our beds every morning and every evening, praying that the Lord would give us His heart for the lost, cross our paths with one or two people every day with whom we can share the Gospel, and give us His words to speak. In this very moment, I’m begging you to love them enough.

Lord, today I ask You to cross my path with two or three people with whom I can share You. Jesus, give me Your words to speak. Give me Your love to love them with. Give me Your heart for people. Let them see and hear You in me. Give me Your mixture of boldness and compassion. In Your precious and holy name, Amen.