Kings Throughout History
All throughout history, there have been some pretty impressive kings. I’m not sure who you think about when you think about some of the most famous kings historically, but I think about King David. I think about King Solomon. These biblical kings played an important role in Israel and in the story of God.
But I also think about other kings down through history. Kings like Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world by age 32. Or King Tutankhamun of Egypt, who is famous mainly because his tomb was found intact in 1922. Or King Ramses the Great, the builder of temples, who was a powerful military ruler. Then there was King James, who sponsored the King James Bible! There are several other kings we could mention, but you get the idea.
Then there are the kings that we all know and love. Kings like King Triton from The Little Mermaid! Or King Arthur of Camelot. Or how about King Mufasa! And then there is King Julien!
Kings have played an important role in history and in our imaginations down through time.
We live in a world of kings and kingdoms. And truth be told, we all want to be the kings or queens of our own little kingdoms. We all want power. What we really want is control. And we spend our lives building our own little kingdoms, protecting what we have, and wondering if our names will be remembered like the great kings that have gone before us.
That’s what most people do.
Then there are others who have figured out that building your own little kingdom is just too small a thing to live for. Spending our lives accumulating all we can and fighting to have control and power is too small a thing to live for. Trying to manipulate outcomes and be in charge, it’s just too small a thing to live for.
There are others who have come to know that there is a King who is unlike any other. Whose Kingdom will never end.
The Most Important Question
Jesus was called a king by his enemies and by his friends. Some mocked Him with this title, while others worshiped Him. But the question of His true identity is a question everyone has to answer. And the way you answer this question is of paramount importance.
Jesus Himself knew that His disciples, His closest friends and followers, would need to answer this question. How they answered the question in the moment was important. But how they answered that question in the days ahead would change everything.
At this point in the story, Jesus and His disciples have been in Galilee, where Jesus has been preaching, teaching, healing, and feeding some 4000 people. People are in awe of His words and His miraculous power. But then, Jesus does something that seems a little curious. He takes His disciples on a field trip to Caesarea Philippi.
The Field Trip to Caesarea Philippi
Jesus spent a lot of time during His ministry in Galilee. But here, Jesus takes the disciples on a 25-mile trip north of the Sea of Galilee. They didn’t drive, take an Uber, or a train, and Jesus didn’t have a private jet. They walked. 25 miles was quite the hike, a little more than a marathon. But unlike a modern day marathon along a mapped out road, they had to traverse the Galilean terrain to make this trip.
Caesarea Philippi was a city that sat at the base of Mt. Hermon on the far northern edge of Israel. It’s filled with pagan shrines and symbols.
Before this moment, Jesus and his disciples were at Magdala (Matt 15:39). That’s on the coast of the Sea of Galilee — in the area where Jesus did a lot of his ministry. But then they crossed the Sea of Galilee and went to the other side, probably to Bethsaida (Matt 16:5). Again, not too surprising. Jesus did a lot of his ministry in this area as well.
But now they’re in Caesarea Philippi — 25 miles north of Bethsaida. There’s nothing really up here in the northern part of Israel. Nothing that they would want any part of, at least! Jesus has just led his disciples 25 miles north to a city largely filled with Gentiles, which, by the way, is the center of worship for numerous different gods. It was the ancient version of “Sin City.” No God-honoring, Yahweh-worshiping Jew would be comfortable there or even caught dead there. In fact, many Rabbis forbid people to even go there! It was not a place that people like Jesus and his disciples went to. It was the center of pagan worship. It was the place where unspeakable things were done by people in the worship of other gods.
Jesus and his disciples have traveled 25 miles to get here. 25 miles may not sound far to some of you. Some of you may commute that far on a daily basis just to get to work. But they walked. If they averaged a pace of 20 minutes per mile without stopping, it would have taken them over 8 hours to walk there!
WHY did Jesus bring them here?
A City of Idols
They’re standing in this city of mostly Gentiles where the worship of idols, prostitution, and who knows what else is happening all around them — at the foot of a large mountain where there is a temple built for the worship of Caesar Augustus. This is just one of three temples built for the worship of Caesar Augustus in Israel, built by Herod the Great for his worship as the “son of God.”
At the back of this temple is a cave. A cave with water at the very bottom. But the cave is so deep that, according to one ancient historian by the name of Josephus, there is no rope long enough to measure how deep it is! It is a great abyss at the back of the temple where this cave resides, which is known as “The Grotto of the God Pan.” This was the “holy of holies” in this temple.
Among all the gods that are worshiped in Caesarea Philippi, this was the center for the worship of the god Pan. Pan was the Greek god known as the “Guardian of the flocks.” He was half man and half goat.
On the walls of the rock face of this mountain beside this temple where Caesar and Pan were worshiped, were statues to countless other gods who were also worshiped in this place.
Peter’s Great Confession
Standing here in this center of worship for so many other gods, Jesus asked his disciples:
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13)
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” (Matthew 16:14)
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15)
Remember where they’re standing. They can see the temple for Caesar, a mortal man worshiped as “the son of god.”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)
This was a BOLD declaration for Peter to make in this moment.
You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One.
In the Old Testament, three kinds of people were anointed: Priests. Sometimes prophets. And kings.
When Peter declared in this place that Jesus was Messiah, that word Messiah carried weight. It meant that Jesus was the Anointed King, the Son of God. Not just any god. The only God who is alive. The Living God. The only God who was, is, and is to come.
The Hope of Israel Fulfilled
This was a declaration of the hope of Israel centered on God’s promise to King David:
“Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16)
This fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah:
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen! (Isaiah 9:6–7)
And of the prophet Jeremiah who said:
“For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.” (Jeremiah 23:5)
Upon This Rock
When Jesus heard this, listen to what he said:
“You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:17–18)
Now people have understood what Jesus says here in many different ways throughout the centuries.
When Jesus said, “…upon this rock I will build my church…” was Jesus talking about Peter? That’s the way that many people understand what Jesus says here. And they may be right. God obviously used Peter in some pretty amazing ways to build up his church.
Other people, looking at where Jesus said these words, think that Jesus is saying he would build his church on or “against” this mountain that was a center for idol worship. In other words, in this place where Satan reigns I’m going to build my church here where I will reign and my kingdom will never end! That could be a possibility as well.
But I tend to think that what Jesus was referring to, the “rock” that Jesus was going to build his church on wasn’t Peter, and it wasn’t the rock they were looking at beside them — it was the bedrock of the foundational truth that Peter himself had just proclaimed. The truth that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
It is this truth that the church has been built on for some 2000 years. And it’s this truth that we build our lives on today. That Jesus is exactly who He says He is. And that foundational truth radically changes our lives. This is the truth Jesus wanted His disciples to see in this place! This is why He brought them here!
And I think that’s what Peter thought too! Later on, Peter would write these words to the church:
“You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.” (1 Peter 2:4)
Peter calls Jesus the “LIVING CORNERSTONE.” Peter never once refers to himself as some kind of rock the church was built on. But over and over again he points to Jesus as the Cornerstone of our faith and of God’s church!
The Gates of Hades Will Not Prevail
But that’s not all Jesus says. Did you hear what Jesus said at the end?
“…upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
Literally: “The gates of hades will not overpower it or prevail against it.”
From as early as 3BC, people would come here to Caesarea Philippi to worship. They would come into this temple, to this cave, and as an act of worship to the god Pan, they would throw a goat into the abyss. This abyss, by the way, was also known as hades. The cave was believed to be a gate to the underworld. And Hades, the god of the underworld, had one job: to keep the dead, dead.
So the people believed that if you threw a goat into the abyss, into hades, and then blood appeared in the nearby springs, your offering was not accepted. But, if your sacrifice disappeared in the water, then your offering was accepted by the gods. Either way, whatever entered hades through this gate in this cave did not return alive. Because Hades had one job: to keep the dead, dead!
Jesus says that the gates of hades would not prevail against his church. What is Jesus saying? The job of Hades is to keep the dead, dead. To keep anyone from escaping. No one could leave once they entered Hades.
But the church of Jesus Christ has nothing to fear. The people who confess Jesus as Messiah, the Son of the Living God have nothing to fear. Why?
The disciples didn’t know it yet. They were still living on the other side of the cross. But you know the rest of the story. What happened after Jesus was crucified? What happened after He went down into the abyss? Down into hades? What happened on Easter morning? Jesus defeated death. Jesus conquered the grave! The gates of hades could not contain the Son of the Living God!
And as people who believe that Jesus is who He says He is, that Jesus defeated death and rose up from the grave, we have that same power!
The church has resurrection power! We have nothing to fear! Even if we die, when we die, the gates of Hades will not be able to keep us in the grave because we have resurrection power.
- If Jesus is Lord, and HE IS LORD! — He alone is Lord!
- If Jesus is Lord, and HE IS LORD! — death has been defeated!
- If Jesus is Lord, and HE IS LORD! — our lives are built on a firm foundation — SOLID ROCK!
- If Jesus is Lord, and HE IS LORD! — we follow Him come what may!
Who Do You Say I Am?
If Jesus were standing here today, with you, and He asked you this same question, “Who do you say I am?” — how would you answer? What would you say?
Peter’s Denial
Not long after this moment, Jesus is in Jerusalem with His disciples. He’s been arrested and He’s being put on trial in the middle of the night. Peter is staying close by. But over the course of the night he’s asked three different times if he knows Jesus.
Just a few days before, in Caesarea Philippi, Peter made the great confession: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
But that was a while ago in a city more than a hundred miles away. Instead of making this great confession, Peter denies even knowing Jesus. Not once, not twice, but three times. (John 18:15–27)
Yet, when Christ was crucified there would be a sign posted above His head on the cross. A declaration about His identity was made not by Peter, but by Pilate, the Roman governor who ordered His crucifixion.
Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19)
That was on Friday. John tells us that the sign posted above Jesus’ head “was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.” (John 19:20)
Jesus was lifted up on a cross for the world to see. Behold, the King.
The Only King Who Wears This Title
All throughout history, there have been some pretty impressive kings. But there is only One who wears the title: King of kings. His name is Jesus.
That question is still being asked by Him, and everyone has to give an answer.
Who do you say I am?
Jesus is the Messiah, the King of kings, the Son of the Living God.
Making the Confession Every Day
We don’t live in Caesarea Philippi, but we live in a world that’s not too different. There are idols all around us that people worship. There is sin lurking in every corner. There is constant opportunity for evil. The trip to sin city is less than 25 miles. It’s only a few clicks away.
Like Peter, we have an opportunity to make the great confession of faith in Jesus as Messiah and King. And like Peter, it’s a confession that we have to make every day. Not just one day. Not just in one place. Not just one time. But every day, in every place, all the time.
Every day, we behold the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And we follow Him! The one who died for our sins, defeated death, who came and who is coming again! By the power of the Holy Spirit, we follow Him where He leads and we worship Him.
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