Who do people say that I am?

This morning started with scenic drive from our hotel on the shores of Galilee up to the source of one of the springs that becomes the Jordan River at Banias, the location of what once was Caesarea Philippi. Our journey took us through the very fertile HaHula Valley where crops of all kinds can be seen growing along the roadsides. It is strange to see trees loaded with oranges and banana plantations alongside fields of wheat and barley, and all of this in early March! For many of us, back home is still very cold with snow lingering as spring is yet to fully appear. We were also fortunate to get views of snow-capped Mount Hermon in the distance.

Banias is site to the former Temple of Pan and this is where Jesus was to bring his disciples and ask them “who do people say that I am?” Here standing at the “Gates of Hades”, as this place was known as, and a place of child sacrifices, Jesus challenges them and in the place of horrific evil confirms Peter’s answer and this is where he states He will build His Church and the Gates of Hades will not prevail against it. One can almost imagine the evil hordes in the supernatural realm looking down from the surrounding cliffs and sneering, whilst at the same time shaking in fear, realizing who they were listening to.
Dr. Frey pointed out that you would be hard pressed to find a Temple of Pan today, whereas the Church is everywhere.

From Benias we moved from a beautiful, yet place of evil, to the hilltop location of the Church of the Beatitudes. This is a very pretty location with lovely gardens and a view overlooking the lake that is very scenic. It is very easy to imagine why Jesus would want to pick this spot to come and pray. The valley below we learned is a natural theater for sound travel, one of the few location around the lake, that Jesus took full advantage of, as he gave the sermon on the mount, His voice being able to travel a great distance, to be heard by up to 20,000 persons. (As it was Jesus who created all things, (Colossians 1:16), we should not be surprised that He would have a full grasp of nature and physics, being the author of science.) Dr. Noel challenged us with his teaching from the beatitudes and we are called to live our lives by this new way of living. This new standard or norm that Jesus presents in His teaching cannot be deviated from.

After lunch, our last stop of the day was Kursi, around the lake from our hotel. This is the site of the healing of demoniac man in the area we know as the Gadarenes. Today it is the location of the ruins of what once was the largest Byzantine monastery in the Middle East. With fragments of the beautiful mosaic floors in evidence we also see that this was the location of the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 from the Decapolis and our leaders all gave valuable insight into the history and story related to this area.

As we returned to the hotel and as Israel started to slow down in preparation for the Sabbath, knowing that this begins at sundown, it was good to have a few hours of relaxation and reflection on what we had seen today and what we do with the lessons taught us.