In Matthew 16, we read that Jesus took his disciples north of Galilee to a place called Caesarea Philippi. Here, Christ asked them an important pair of questions: “Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” When Peter answered with, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus replied, ““Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 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.” (Matt 16:17-18)
Caesarea Philippi has a pagan worship complex that is still visible today at the foot of the cliffs that are the southern end of Mount Hermon. This is the area that we visit on the pilgrimages that make that northern excursion while we are in Galilee. The temples, shrines, and other edifices that once stood there are gone, but their foundations and the platforms that hosted those who worshiped the ancient Greek and Roman gods and goddesses remain. Likewise, in the rock face behind, we can see the niches where statues and idols once sat ready to receive the adoration of the people.
The most remarkable feature of this religious complex, however, is the grotto of Pan. It is a dark cave that once housed a deep spring that gushed water from underground with such volume and force that it frightened those who saw it. (Seismic activity has since shifted that flow of water elsewhere.) Because they were unable to see and understand where such a violent upsurge of water came from, it was believed that the cave contained a gateway to the underworld. Ancient mythology held that the god Pan was able to travel to and from the underworld (Hades, or the realm of the dead). One of the ways he did this was through the “gate” believed to be in the grotto: the gates of Hades.
It makes sense that Jesus would use this reference in his words about the Church he would build. Caesarea Philippi stood on the edge of the Promised Land and had a long history as a center of idolatrous worship. The Church built on Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, would not only challenge wayward Israel but would also assail the idols and false worship of the Gentile world with that truth. If Pan’s grotto was indeed understood locally to be a powerful, churning stronghold of the underworld, then the revelation of Jesus’ identity and his prophetic word about the coming Church in that very place certainly gives us a new perspective on the enormous implications of his conversation with the disciples.
Header image “Caesarea Philippi” by Bill Rice is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
