Today we went back to Caesarea Philippi, which is where Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (Mark 16:13). They answer, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets" (14). Then he says, "Who do you say I am?" (15) Peter answers, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (16). Then Jesus goes on to say, "I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (18).

Caesarea Philippi is the site of cultic worship for the god Pan. This was a Hellenistic deity. There was also a temple for Augustus found here, a ruler who deified himself. This creates an interesting backdrop for Jesus' questions, because Jesus is asking the disciples to confirm his identity as the one true God against the worship of these false gods. In addition, this site has huge cliffs. The rock the cliffs are made out of is "jurassic," which is the best in terms of water, soil, shelter, strength, and building material. This creates a really nice metaphor for what the church is to built on. The word "church" is only used twice in the gospels, and in this instance Jesus is the farthest distance he ever gets from Jerusalem. This also creates a powerful image of what the church is meant to be...its out in the world, reaching to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

After this we went to Gamla, another site from the Jewish Revolt. We did a hike to a waterfall that was really pretty. In order to get there we walked through wheat fields, and my friend from Illinois kept saying it looked just like home! I keep running into the most unexpected terrain here in Israel. This site itself is a big hill with a city built on top of it. Josephus describes it as a camel.

We ended the day in Jericho. Every time the gospel writers talk about Jesus going to Jerusalem it's always through Jericho (interesting fact I learned today). We visited the New Testament site this time, whereas last time we saw the Old Testament site.

I love driving back into Jerusalem after being gone. First you drive through the desert for a long stretch, then go under the Mount of Olives (literally, you drive through a tunnel that cuts through the mountain), then you shoot out into a full skyline view of the city. The first thing that catches your eye is the gold Dome of the Rock. It takes my breath away every time.