Who do you say that I am?

The rain did not stop us today from learning more about the biblical context surrounding Jesus’ time and that of 1st century Jewish life. It was insightful to  experience the olive press and the preparation of bread in a traditional format. We squeezed into a first century style home and read the passage from Mark 2 where the paralytic is lowered into the home where Jesus was teaching and Jesus heals him of both physical and spiritual need. It was striking to imagine the commotion that would have occured as the paralytic’s friends scratched and clawed away at the mud roof.

We also traveled today to nearby Caesarea Philippi (about 25 miles north of Galilee, at the base of Mount Hermon) and looked at the passage in Matthew 16 where Jesus asks His disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” The context of this question by Jesus buttesses the importance and magnitude of Peter’s response proclaiming “thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Here, a confluence of Roman religion and worldview serve as the backdrop to Peter’s declaration of the deity of Christ. It was sobering to think that Jesus, who was “the Son of the living God” had walked the very hills that we traveled through today.