BSFL: :13-19

WHY AT ?

Cliff face at Caesarea Philippi. The large cave opening at the far end was the place where water came gushing forth from what was called “the Gates of Hades.”

SPRING 2012 / BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR 35 By Bradford S. Hummel The Place was believed to dwell among the During the time of , Caesarea mountains in caves. was a NE OF THE MOST Philippi was a relatively new city, nature and fertility god depicted important moments in having been founded by Herod as half human and half goat, often OJesus’ life for establish- the Great’s son Philip in 3 b.c. playing the syrinx flute and sexual- ing His identity as the Messiah Because its spring gushed forth ly pursuing nymphs, maidens, and occurred at Caesarea Philippi, in from a cave to form the headwa- even animals. Mythology taught response to His question, “Who ters of the River, it was he possessed individuals and sent do people say the Son of Man is?” likely an ancient Canaanite cultic them into fits. However, he could (Matt. 16:13, NIV). Jesus was not site long before it was a city.2 The also cause “pan-ic” in enemies.4 just a prophet or even preparing Greek historian, Polyibus, was the The Battle of Paneas “confirmed” the way for the Messiah; Jesus was first to mention the site by name this as Pan’s dwelling place because the Messiah, the Son of the living as he described the great battle Ptolemy’s forces fled in “pan-ic.” God. One would have expected between the Seleucid (Syrian) king Little more than the sanctuary this conversation to have occurred Antiochus III and the Ptolemaic of Pan existed there until Caesar along the shores of the Sea of (Egyptian) king Ptolemy V in gave the territory around where Jesus spent the bulk 200 b.c. Polyibus called the site Paneas to in 20 b.c. of His ministry or in , “Panium” because it was the site of In response Herod built a white the city of David. Instead, this the sanctuary honoring the Greek marble temple in honor of Caesar, revelation of Jesus Christ’s identity god Pan.3 This was the perfect where people worshiped Augustus occurred at Caesarea Philippi, a place for Pan worship because Pan and the goddess Roma. The addition place He visited only once. Why did Jesus leave Galilee and walk Right: Votive relief in the shape of 25 miles north into the territory of a cave. Inside a Iturea to have this crucial conver- cave, three deities dance as the god sation? Did Jesus choose Caesarea Pan (right) plays Philippi because He merely wanted a flute. Artists to retreat to a beautiful area with typically depicted Pan as being half lush vegetation and a command- human and half ing view of the valley below and goat, with hooves above?1 Or, did He and horns. He also typically played a choose this specific place because syrinx (also known it, better than anywhere else, pro- as a Pan flute). Likely from Sparta, vided a dramatic backdrop for the Greece; dated

confession of Jesus’ messiahship? about 330-320 B.C. ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM (35/4/71) PHOTO/ G.B. HOWELL/ ATHENS ILLUSTRATOR

Left: Looking north from Caesarea Philippi, the mountains of the Hermon Range in ; the full range measures 28 x 15 miles.

Right: The waterfall is fed by water from the spring near the cave of Pan. It and the River are two of the major sources for the

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ JAMES MCLEMORE (13/28/16) ILLUSTRATOR .

36 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / SPRING 2012 of the imperial cult greatly enhanced city remained loyal to the Romans the status of Paneas. When Philip through the First Jewish Revolt Mt Hermon inherited the territory from Herod, (a.d. 66-70). In fact, Agrippa II Caesarea Philippi he built his new capital there and hosted general ’s troops • changed the name to Caesarea in during the war. Following the war, honor of Caesar Augustus. The city thousands of Jewish captives were Lake was soon called Caesarea Philippi killed in gladiatorial games held at Hulah to distinguish it from the Caesarea Caesarea Philippi. Following the on the Mediterranean coast. Jesus death of Agrippa II, the Romans visited Caesarea Philippi during ruled Caesarea Philippi direct- the reign of Philip (4 b.c.–a.d. 41). ly through the province of . Later, Herod Agrippa II (a.d. 53‑93) During the second and third • • enlarged the city further and centuries a.d., Caesarea Philippi Sea of briefly changed the city’s name to experienced its golden age of pros- Galilee

ILLUSTRATOR MAP/ LINDEN ARTISTS/ LONDON ILLUSTRATOR Neronias in honor of . The perity and construction. Its name •

was changed to Caesarea Paneas and then simply back to Paneas. The current name of the site, Banias, reflects its ancient origins and connection to Pan.

The Significance For Jesus to go to a place associ- ated with Pan and emperor worship may at first seem odd. The geo- graphical and religious background of Caesarea Philippi broaden, how- ever, the context of Jesus’ messi- ahship and dramatically accentuate His message. Jesus led His disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13) and the villages around the outskirts of the city (:27) where a sig- nificant Jewish community lived.5 The sacred area of Caesarea Philippi with its numerous religious sites stood alongside the massive cliff and cave. The sacred area gave way to the governmental and business district, which then gave way to wealthier dwellings.6 The bulk of the population, however, lived in the “villages around” Caesarea Philippi with its Greek, Syrian, and Jewish 7

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ JAMES MCLEMORE (13/38/3) ILLUSTRATOR communities.

SPRING 2012 / BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR 37 Here, in response to Jesus’ ques- and on this rock I will build my earth. If Jesus’ statement about the tion about His identity, Peter relat- church” (Matt. 16:18). In Greek, “Gates of Hades” were to be under- ed how others identified Jesus; he the play on words is obvious, with stood to mean that not even death then confessed that Jesus is “the Petros (Peter) and (rock). In could defeat the church,12 then His Christ, the Son of the living God” , which Jesus spoke here, pronouncement could not have been (Matt. 16:16). The contrast between the words are identical, Kepha (Peter more dramatic with the “Gates of “the living God” and the dead, or Cephas) and kepha (rock). This Hades” nearby. false gods at the heart of Caesarea was made all the more dramatic Peter confessed Jesus’ true identity Philippi could not have been any with the rock of Caesarea Philippi as the Messiah, not just a prophet or a starker.8 Ironically, nearby in the in view. Ultimately, neither the forerunner, but the Christ. The very Temple of Augustus that Herod the rock nor the cliff brought Jesus to surroundings of Caesarea Philippi Great had built, Caesar Augustus Caesarea Philippi; Jesus did not proclaimed Jesus’ superiority over was worshiped as “the son of god.”9 have to leave Capernaum to see the paganism, Caesar, and death. Jesus When Jesus commended Peter for huge Cliff of Arbel overlooking the was not just a Jewish messiah but the his confession, He called him Simon . Christ for the whole world. i “Bar-Jonah,” which is Aramaic for Unlike the Cliff of Arbel, the cliff 10 1. Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, vol. 33B in Word “son of Jonah” (Matt 16:17). This of Caesarea Philippi was marked Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word Books, 1995), 466, may be a subtle allusion and com- by a large cave at its base. The argues for the location merely as a retreat, but concedes the place prompted some of the imagery use. parison with the prophet Jonah Greeks believed Pan lived in the 2. -gad (Josh. 11:17; 12:7; 13:5) may be associated who preached to the pagans and cave. described the cave as with this site. Since numerous similarities exist between Pan and Aliyan, son of Baal, who was also a god wor- bemoaned that “those who cling to a “horrible precipice, that descends shiped at springs, the Greeks made Pan the successor of worthless idols forfeit the grace that abruptly to a vast depth; it con- this Semitic god. John Kutsko, “Caesarea Philippi,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. in chief David Noel Freedman could be theirs. . . . Salvation comes tains a mighty quantity of water, (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1:803; John Francis Wilson, ord Caesarea Philippi: Banias, the Lost City of Pan (London: from the L ” (Jonah 2:8-9, NIV). which is immovable; and when any- I. B. Tauris, 2004), 2. In contrast to the philosophy and one lets down anything to measure 3. Polyibus, Histories 16.18-19. 4. People credited Pan with causing the Persians to reasoning of the Greeks, Peter’s the depth of the earth beneath the flee in panic at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. Walter knowledge of Jesus’ identity was water, no length of cord is sufficient Burkert, Greek Religion, trans. John Raffan (Cambridge, 11 MA: Harvard University Press, 1985), 172; Maria revealed to him by God in heaven, to reach it.” This was not just any Mavromataki, Greek Mythology and Religion (Athens: not by flesh and blood (Matt. 16:17). cave; people believed it reached into Haitalis, 1997), 120-22; Wilson, Lost City of Pan, 2, 57. The Homeric Hymn 19.1-45 and Plato’s Phaedrus describe Pan. With the famous and massive the underworld, that it was one of 5. Wilson, Lost City of Pan, 20-21, 29. cliff of Caesarea Philippi as a back- the “Gates of Hades.” According 6. For descriptions of the excavations at Caesarea Philippi see Zvi Uri Ma’oz, “Banias,” in The New drop, Jesus said, “you are Peter, to Greek mythology, Pan’s father, Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, ed. Ephraim Stern (New York: Simon & Schuster, Hermes, guided dead souls across 1993), 1:136-43 ; and John F. Wilson and Vassilios Tzaferis, the river and into a chasm in the “Banias Dig Reveals King’s Palace,” Biblical Archaeology Review 24 (January-February 1998), 54-61. 7. Wilson, Lost City of Pan, 20-21. 8. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, 469. 9. Calvin J. Roetzel, The World That Shaped the New Testament, rev. ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002), 73. 10. In John 1:42; 21:15-16, Peter is called “son of John.” 11. Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 1.21.3 in The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, trans. William Whiston (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987), 575; see Antiquities 15.10.3. 12. F. F. Bruce, The Hard Sayings of Jesus (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983), 143; Hagner, “Matthew 14-28”, 472; Frank Stagg, “Matthew” in The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 8 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1969), 174.

Bradford S. Hummel is profes- Ruins of a Byzantine church sor of religion and vice president at Caesarea for advancement and church rela- Philippi. tions at William Carey University,

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ (10/22/6) PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ ILLUSTRATOR Hattiesburg, Mississippi. (10/2/6) PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ ILLUSTRATOR

38 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / SPRING 2012