(Mat 16:13-19) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”ġ4 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist others say Elijah and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”ġ5 “But what about you?” he asked. Before going to Jerusalem, Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, a place famous for its paganism - and place so evil that the rabbis taught that the Messiah would overthrow its power. To the south some 20+ miles, Jesus had ministered near the Sea of Galilee. Fertility rites were practiced to encourage the gods to come out and begin spring. The pagan idea was the gods would spend winter underground, that is, in Hades, and return in the spring to return fertility to the land and the animals. The source of the spring was known to the Greeks as the “gates of Hades,” that is, they believed the streams flowed from underground, the location of Hades. At the time, a spring flowed from a cave, where Pan was worshipped through orgies and bestiality with goats.
The Greeks had stopped infant sacrifice, but the locals continued to practice fertility rites, worshipping Pan, a Greek fertility god. The “high place” where the calf was located is still there.ĭan was a religious center because of all the water coming out of the ground, as they worshipped fertility gods and the springs symbolized fertility. This is where Jeroboam built the golden calf. So they moved to this area and built the city of Dan. But even earlier, the tribe of Dan relocated in the area from their original inheritance, the Philistines being too tough to root out. In 2 BC, Herod Philip became tetrarch of this area and built Caesarea Philippi. The Jordan River begins with three springs at the foot of Mt. The lesson is taught at Caesarea Philippi, a city that was notorious for its evil.
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