Day 9: Thu. 22nd February, Mark 8.31-38

I don't know why the designers of the Revised Common Lectionary included Mark 8.31-38 but excluded, at least at this point in the 3 year cycle, the preceding verses 27-30. In theological college 30 plus years ago we just called this whole incident "Caesarea Philippi". At least in Mark's rendition it was depicted as the turning point in the Jesus' public ministry. The villages of Caesarea Philippi lay about 60km north-east of Nazareth, so a long way north in Galilee. Until this point things had been going pretty well for Jesus. Far from prying Jewish religious or Roman military eyes he was having great success healing the sick and preaching His peculiar message that sounded like but simultaneously unlike what people were used to hearing, and feeding his crowds of listeners. But from this point on more and more of Jesus' focus was on Jerusalem in the far south. The key question of the gospel, "Who is Jesus?" was becoming more and more urgent.

I've speculated recently that perhaps it was the place name, "Caesarea Philippi", that persuaded Jesus  to ask the vital couple question, "Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?" The answer that Peter blurted out here, "You are the Messiah!" was a wonderful insight, but it was only part of the distance people needed to travel to identify Him. "The Messiah", meaning "the Anointed One", was likely to arouse the interest, alarm and ire of the Jewish religious leaders before the Romans paid much attention. Although, once the Romans realised that in Jewish religious thinking the Messiah was the one anointed by God to drive out Israel's oppressors, aka the Romans, they would and did start to pay more attention to the young, itinerant preacher, teacher and healer.

But the name "Caesarea Philippi" puts us, and perhaps it put Jesus, in mind of "Caesar", the Roman Emperor, ruler of most of the known world, and focus of a growing worship cult. Caesar wanted to be called "Lord". but to the Jews only God was worthy of that title. Indeed, so holy was God to the Jews that they substituted the word "Adonai", meaning "Lord", for their word for God.

And so, it was at Caesarea Philippi that Jesus asked the great questions, Peter started on the road to an adequate answer, and Jesus immediately told them not to tell anybody - this was just too explosive. And Jesus, who did nothing without God the Father's say so, realised that it wasn't yet nearly time for the revelation of His Messiahship, let alone His Lordship. Jesus also told them immediately that this was not at all going to be as cool as they hoped. Instead, it would involve his terrible suffering, death AND his resurrection. And there would be suffering for His followers too. In fact, to follow Jesus in this enemy-held territory we call planet earth would necessarily involve suffering.

Sorry folks. But where else would we go. For Jesus has the words of life.

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