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IN SEARCH OF THE MESSIANIC SECRET -
CAESARA PHILIPPPI/PANEAS/TEL DAN

An Independent Source of News & Views

Jesus at Caesarea Philippi

Jesus went on with his disciples to the
villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way
he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say
that I am?’   And they answered him, ‘John the
Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others,
one of the prophets.’   He asked them, ‘But
who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered
him, ‘You are the Messiah.’* And he sternly
ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Mark 8:27-30.

Now when Jesus came into the district of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’
And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but
others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one
of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do
you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered,
‘You are the Messiah,* the Son of the living
God.’   And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are
you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you, but my Father in
heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter,* and on
this rock I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will
be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered
the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the
Messiah.

Matthew 16:13-20.

Once when Jesus* was praying alone, with
only the disciples near him, he asked them,
‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They
answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others,
Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient
prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But
who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered,
‘The Messiah* of God.’ He sternly ordered and
commanded them not to tell anyone, saying,
‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering,
and be rejected by the elders, chief priests,
and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day
be raised.’

Luke 9:18-22

The Messianic Secret

The admonishment of Jesus to his disciples to
keep secret his identity secret until it is time is
known as the "Messianic Secret."   Modern
scholars have discerned other examples of
the Messianic Secret in the Synoptic Gospels,
especially in the Gospel of Mark. (See. e.g.
(Mark 1.43–45; see also, Mark 3:2, 6:1–6,
Matthew 13:10–12, and Luke 8:10).   The
Fourth Gospel is quite to the opposite in that
John the Evangelists presents Jesus'
personality as divine, as can be noted from the
"I am" proclamations.

Caeserea Philippi of the Gospels

The primary locus for the Messianic Secret is
Caesarea Philippi which Shirley, Arthur, and I
visited on April 20, 2010.    Thousands of year
ago, the place was associated with Ba'al-gad
or Ba'al-hermon. After a battle in 198 BCE, the
Hellenized Seleucid kings maintained a cult
center for the worship of the pantheon god
Pan (a goat-legged god who served a role as a
deity of victory in battle and sower of panic in
the enemy, ofdesolate places, music and goat
herds),    Accordingly, the place was known as
Paneas (Tel Dan), especially at the gushing
spring of water. Today, water no longer
gushes forth to any height but merely flows
gently in streams out of the bedrock, but the
area continues to form the headwaters of the
River Jordan which flows south into the Dead
Sea.

After 20 BCE, the area passed into the hands
of the Herodian dynasty, Idumeans who made
a claim to rule as Jewish kings. Herod the
Great dedicated the site to his Roman patrons
by erecting a temple of white marble. After his
death, one of his sons, Philip the Tetrarch
(issue of his fifth wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem)
made the city his administrative capital, and
gave it his own name. After his death, the
Tetrarchy was annexed into the Roman
province of Syria, although in 61 CE, Herod
Agrippa II, the last of the Herodian dynasty
reclaimed it as his own city but had call in
Neronia, in honor of the Roman emperor.
During the First Jewish War (67-70CE), the
Roman General Vespasian in this advance
from Syria towards Jerusalem rested his army
here before going on to defeat the Galileans.

Caeserea Philippi Today

Today, the district lies on the edge of the
militarized Golan Heights (of northern Israel) at
the southwestern foot of Mount Hermon (Har
Hermon or Arabic Jebel esh-Sheikh). and
mostly serves as a historical site.    Traveling
around the area, one can drive along some of
the roads of the rocky plateau which from the
strategic Golan Height which from the borders
of Israel and Syria.   Below the hills are the
headwaters of the River Jordan with its lakes
and reservoirs which are carefully monitored
to maintain the water level.

A pilgrim presently can visit the Pan caves, the
flowing streams at the foot of the caves and
recall the Confession of Peter and ponder on
the meaning of the Messianic Secret.

At the risk of oversimplification, the Messianic
Secret can be viewed as a cornerstone for the
humanity of Jesus Christ and is an vital part of
his Christiology.

Charleston Wang, 5/2/2011.

To read "The
Wilderness of
Abraham, Jesus &
Israel- Palestine,"
click here.

"They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace. " Jeremiah 6:14.

TELEPHOTO VIEW OF
THE EXCAVATION SITE
OF HEROD'S TOMB

IDF SHO'T BATTLETANKS (VARIANT OF THE BRITISH CENTURION) STATIONED IN THE GOLAN HEIGHTS

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR LARGER VIEW