The Author Standing Near the Banias (Israel) Waterfall
Today and Tomorrow all over this country people are going to be celebrating in parades, picnics, family gatherings, and community gatherings; and many of these 4th of July gatherings will include fireworks. Why? Because … it is the anniversary of our declared independence from Great Britain.
The 4th of July is a uniquely United States Holiday, which other countries don’t observe. One of my daughters, who is a French Major at Miami University, is studying abroad this summer in France and she will be taking Finals tomorrow, because France doesn’t celebrate the 4th of July … and I can guarantee you that Great Britain doesn’t either. Although we celebrate the 4th of July with Fireworks, it didn’t mark the end of the war for Independence, but instead the beginning of it. And although there were many battles to be fought after July 4, 1776, it was a huge milestone to mark the beginning of our nation, the declaration of our independence … our freedom. It is not surprising that the claim of freedom resonates in the heart of Americans, because it is in the very fabric of who we are as a nation of people.
And yet almost 1750 years before our freedom as a nation, Jesus of Nazareth walked and talked on this earth to bring true freedom for those who would believe in him and entrust their lives to him. On one occasion Jesus taught …
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32-32 NLT
What is the truth that we are to believe about Jesus? We are to believe the truth that was first declared by one of Jesus closest friends in Caesarea Philippi in Matthew 16. If you have your Bibles with you, please turn to Matthew (which) is the first book of the NT portion of the Bible.
Declaration at Caesarea Philippi: Caesarea Philippi is one of the locations that we visited during my recent pilgrimage to Israel. Caesarea Philippi was a city built in Northern Israel as a tribute to Caesar (the Emperor of Rome), by Herod the Great’s Son named Philip. So it was Philip’s Caesarea or Caesarea Philippi. It was an amazing site to visit.
In fact Caesarea Philippi is located near Mount Hermon and in a state park of Israel called Banyas, which is 30 to 40 miles north of Galilee. It is a beautiful park with an incredible water fall that marks one of the origins of the Jordan River. This was one of the most beautiful natural sites that we saw during our travels in Israel.
It was no doubt a great location for a retreat for Jesus and his closest friends to get away from the heat, the crowds, and the demands of his ministry. Actually it was a great location for us to get a break from the heat as well and of course our group from OHIO couldn’t resist another opportunity to show where we were from!
And it waas in this general location that Jesus chose to ask the most important question still to this day … let’s read about it …
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:13-15 NIV
I am curious this morning, if we worked our way through the crowd today and asked every person here … Who do you say Jesus of Nazareth is? What would you say? Would you answer the same way that one of his best friends, Simon Peter answered?
Let’s read Simon’s response …
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16 NIV
This was the first time that one of Jesus followers declared him to be the long awaited Jewish Messiah, the Son of the Living God!! It was a powerful declaration. It is more profound than the declaration made 235 years by the founders of this nation. This faith declaration by Peter, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God is a declaration that needs to be made over and over again by every person and by every generation!
It is a faith declaration that transforms our understanding of this world, our purpose in it, and our focus for living! Peter and every person who follows in this faith confession will find eternal blessings! And let’s read what Jesus had to say to Peter in response to his declaration.
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. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:17-19 NIV
Now some have taken this Bible passage to say that the church is built on Peter, but I believe that the church is not built on Peter, who was undoubtedly an influential living stone within the early church, but that the church is built upon the faith confession that Peter was the first to declare. And that bedrock foundational faith of the church is that Jesus is the Christ, or the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”
And what is the promise that Jesus made to Peter? In addition to telling Peter that he would give him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven … and by the way it is evident that Peter was very influential in the first century of opening the doors into the Kingdom of Heaven by being the first to declare the good news of who Jesus was not only to his fellow Jews in Acts 2, but also to non Jewish people in Acts 10. And by the way, I don’t think that this means that Peter is the one standing at the pearly gates of heaven to let people in as is often stated in Jokes. For example …
But the other promise made to Peter here by Jesus is that the Gates of Hades will not overcome it. Now I had always assumed that this meant that Satan or the powers of Hell could not stop the church. And yet after being in Caesarea Philippi, I recognized another powerful application.
Caesarea Philippi was a modest size city, originally called Paneas, because it was the center of worship of the Greek god Pan. Today Paneas is pronounced Banias by the Arabs and the city, which was known as Caesarea Philippi (in Jesus’ day) was built on the Streams of Banyas, near a cave that during the 1st Century had a spring flowing from that cave.
And in this Northern Israel City, Herod built a temple to Augustus (the emperor of Rome), he also built a temple to the pagan gods Zeus, Pan, the Nymphs, and also a temple to the dancing goats. This was a pagan place that no respectable Jewish boy would have visited and yet it is in this location that Jesus retreated with his friends.
Possibly Jesus chose this location to help them see a striking contrast between these false gods worshipped here and the One and only Living God that Jesus was representing!
In fact the cave that the Temple of Augustus was built in front of was actually called the Gates of Hell or Gates of Hades. And as we visited these remains and reflected on all the pagan temples that were standing in the days of Jesus, it was a powerful moment to reflect on the lasting power and strength of the church that Jesus built. Although these popular religions and cult practices no longer exist, the church of Jesus Christ still remains and is growing in its influence 2000 years later! Truly the Gates of Hell will not overcome the Church of Jesus Christ!
Following this declaration of faith by Peter in Caesarea Philippi, the Bible records that six days later Jesus climbs what we call today the Mount of Transfiguration. We don’t know for sure which mountain Jesus climbed. Some believe that it is Mount Hermon near Caesarea Philippi and yet tradition says that it is Mount Tabor, which is in lower Galilee.
On our last day in Galilee, prior to traveling to Jerusalem, we were given a day of rest. And I am sure many of the younger guys needed a day of rest , but I thought to myself I can rest in Ohio, and I am probably only going to have one chance to see Northern Israel, so along with 3 other guys, we rented a car and drove to Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the site of the Mount of Transfiguration. We learned that the church building on top of the Mountain Tabor closed for lunch at 11:30 am, so we drove our rental car to the very top of the Mountain.
After viewing the amazing church building that was built in this desolate area at the top of Mount Tabor and the amazing view from the mountain, we drove back down the mountain to a rest station.
And then we got the bright idea of climbing the mountain. That experience brought new meaning to the first verse of Matthew 17:1 …
Climbing the Mountain
Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. Matthew 17:1 NLT
This mountain was incredibly steep. In fact as we started climbing the mountain and recognized how steep it was, we started rethinking this Bible Passage. I had always thought what an honor it would have been to have been selected to climb this mountain with Jesus. As we got about ¼ of the way, we wondered if Peter, James, and John were wondering to themselves … Why didn’t Jesus pick Andrew, Nathaniel and Phillip? And we wondered if the remaining 9 apostles were thinking … boy I am glad Jesus picked those three.
As we got about half of the way up the mountain I was out of breath and it felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. After asking the three guys were 15 to 20 years younger than me to stop about three times and they had to help me get over huge wall embankments, I thought that it was probably the better part of wisdom to let them continue the hike without me. I didn’t think it was a good idea to have a heart attack on the Mount of Transfiguration. While sitting on a rock on the side of the mountain, I had an extended period of time to reflect on this important scene in Jesus life that is recorded in the Bible in Matthew 17.
Let’s return to our reading and see what happened once they got to the top of this mountain that I couldn’t climb …
As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Matthew 17:2-3 NLT
Can you imagine this scene in your mind? Peter, James and John are tired from their walk up the mountain and one of the gospel writers even records that they were sleeping and upon waking up, they see Jesus transfigured “so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.”
Interesting enough while I was on top of my mountain my green shirt was “transfigured” into a white shirt with lettering on it. (Smile) And all joking aside, the web site listed on my shirt is my personal blog that I am posting these messages and many of the pictures that I am showing during this message series. So if you would like to get a closer view of these pictures and/or you have missed one of these messages you can check it out on line.
Can you imagine what it was like to wake up and see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah? As you can see in the artwork displayed in the church building on top of Mount Tabor, the disciples would have shuddered in fear as they saw Jesus talking with Moses, the one who delivered the Law and Elijah, the one who personified the spirit of the prophets. So in one moment, these followers of Jesus could see that Jesus was the fulfillment of both the law and the prophets. It is understandable that they wanted to grasp the moment and possibly build some monument to it.
Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:4 NLT
And yet that wasn’t the purpose for Peter, James, and John to accompany Jesus. Instead they were to recognize that they were in the midst of the Son of God. And that although the law and prophets pointed to Jesus, He stands alone and supreme as God’s Son! In many ways this event is described in a similar manner as the scene that happened centuries earlier when Moses climbed up Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments and the Law of God. But there are some striking differences between this mountain top experience and Moses experience on top of Mt. Sinai. Listen to one author’s description of this scene …
“Moses had reflected the glory of God as the moon reflects the light of the sun. But Jesus produces the unsurpassable glory of God; it emanates from him. Jesus does not point to the glory of God as Elijah, Moses, and every other prophet has done; Jesus is the glory of God in human form.” -- Kings Cross by Timothy Keller
Let’s keep reading …
But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.
Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. Matthew 17:5-8 NLT
This was truly a mountain top experience, and while on that mountain they recognized that they were in the presence of someone greater than anyone who had ever walked this earth! They were in the presence of God’s Son and they were called to listen to Him!!
I believe that this story is told not just so that we can know this historical event, but for us to recognize in our own lives the glory of Christ and the supremacy that he holds in history and that we too should be humbly acknowledge his greatness and his glory and that we too are called to listen to his authoritative voice and apply his teachings in our life!
How are you doing in this area? Is Jesus the focus of your heart? Or do you get distracted by competing voices and competing focuses? Honestly, where is the focus of your heart? Is it on work? Is it on school? Is it on family? Is it on some hobby or interest? … Or is your heart focused on Jesus’ life and teaching?
This is why we need times of worship together like this morning to help us refocus our hearts on the one who is truly worthy of our worship. In many ways you become what you worship … If you worship that which is decaying and will not last, you too will wither away, decay and not last. And yet if we worship the One who is still alive and glorious, then you will not only become more and more like him in this life, but you will spend eternity with him in glory!
Peter, James, and John got a glimpse of that glory while on the mountain, and my hunch is that this glimpse helped sustain them through some tough times ahead. Likewise, in our lives we get glimpses of God’s glory on earth, we experience great times of worship and we are encouraged to refocus our hearts and minds on Jesus and his teachings. In my life, the time in Israel was truly a mountain top experience. And yet unfortunately like Peter, James, and John, we have to come off the mountain. And the challenge is to maintain our focus on the glory of Christ when we come off the mountain …
Coming Off the Mountain
At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. … Matthew 17:14 NLT
We won’t take time this morning to read what happened after they came off the mountain, but a quick overview is that Jesus found the remaining 9 apostles being unsuccessful in healing someone in need. And Jesus points out that they were focusing too much on their own ability and their own strength, instead of the power that is available in Him and His father. Jesus points out that it is a faith issue …
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20 NLT
And in the NASB, we read the following verse …
“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21 NASB
Jesus is pointing out to them and us that to sustain our calling to follow him after we come off the mountain top experiences it is going to take a dependence upon God’s power through the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting! How are you doing in your dependence upon God’s power in our daily life? As much as we love the mountain top experiences, most of life is spent in the valleys!
I wanted to close with sharing something very personal from my heart. While I was in Israel, I had all of you praying for me every day. It was wonderful, I felt strong, focused, and energized! Honestly, I didn’t want my pilgrimage to end! Yet eventually our time in Israel came to an end.
And I came home with a determination to be a different person, to be a better husband, better dad, and a more effective teacher and leader for this church family!
And yet, after coming off the mountain, I found myself facing some intense temptations and tests to my resolve. Now on one hand that fires me up, because that means we must be on the verge of some pretty cool stuff as a church family! But I also was frustrated that I was struggling and even falling on my face in some areas that I had felt much stronger prior to my pilgrimage.
Could it be that this mountain top experience was not just possibly because of the land that I was visiting, but also because so many of you were praying for me? In fact, I had one person share with me, “I prayed for you every day that you were gone.” Now I was encouraged by that statement, but I also thought to myself does that mean you aren’t praying for me now.
You see we not only need prayers from others so that we can have mountain top experiences, but also so that we can face the challenges when we come off the mountain. I need your prayers so that I can be the person has called me to be. You need the prayers of others so that you can be the person you need to be …not just on the mountain-tops of life, but also during the challenges of the valleys.
Is there something in your life that needs to be driven out of your life? Are you depending upon God in prayer and fasting for that deliverance? And are you willing to humble yourself to ask for prayers from others? If so, then why not decide on this Independence Weekend, that you will claim freedom in your life … a freedom that only Christ can bring. And maybe the first step is to ask for help and prayers from others who are also on that journey of following the One who brings true freedom! Let’s Pray!
No comments:
Post a Comment