Simon Peter answers Christ and tells Him, “Thou art the Christ” in this scene from the Bible Videos.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Editor’s note: This was previously published on the author’s blog.
During his Galilean ministry, Jesus had this compelling and instructive exchange with his disciples.
• Seeking context: Where was Caesarea Philippi?
Caesarea Philippi was a mixed pagan city of Greeks, Romans and Jews, sitting at the crossroad of a major road about 40 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, at the foot of Mount Hermon, the largest mountain in any direction for some 500 miles. At the base of Mount Hermon was a temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus who had brought peace to the Roman Empire, and he was therefore called “The Prince of Peace.”
The back of the temple opened to a famous spring of water, believed to be controlled by the god Pan (another name for the area was Panias / Banias). Worshippers would bring a sacrifice to the temple of Augustus and ask a question of the gods (“Will the harvest be good this year?” “Should I make this business deal?” “Should I get married to so-and-so?”). They would then throw the sacrifice into the spring of water. If the sacrifice sunk, the gods had answered “yes.” If the sacrifice did not sink, the gods had rejected the sacrifice and the answer was “no.”
• Why did Jesus ask “Whom do men say that I am?” in this location?
Why didn’t Jesus ask his disciples this question when they were on the shores of the Galilee just a few verses earlier at the beginning of Matthew 16?
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