All posts by Luella Campbell

7 BY THE WAY…THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CAESAREA PHILIPPI

Bible Study, ,

Jesus’ trip to Caesarea Philippi with His disciples had a second spinoff…and here’s where the context changes our understanding of another important facet of the Christian life.

Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah, the Son of the living God, was dead right but… his understanding of what he said or meant was dead wrong!

From the same place, the rock near Caesarea Philippi, and from then on, Jesus kept explaining to His disciples that being the Messiah meant and included His pathway through death. 

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This notion clashed with the disciples’ expectation that the Messiah would get rid of the Romans and restore David’s glorious reign in Israel. Although Messiah’s suffering was in their Scriptures, the truth was eclipsed by the notion of His role as the coming victorious king. 

The idea of the death and resurrection of their Messiah was unthinkable to the disciples…and Peter would make sure that this was not going to happen to Jesus!

“Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Then follows Jesus’ rebuke…

“Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What was Jesus really saying to Peter! Was He calling Peter the devil? Let’s look at what Jesus said in the original language. 

“Get behind me…” Peter was to follow, not to lead. This is significant. Peter was trying to lead Jesus away from what He was saying…death and resurrection. Jesus made it clear that It was not Peter’s role to dictate to Him but to follow Him

“Satan…” not the name…not the devil…but the role…accuser. Peter was accusing Jesus of saying the wrong thing! Jesus retorted, “Don’t lead! Don’t accuse! Get behind  me! Follow me!”

“…A stumbling-block…the Greek word is “skandalon”, a scandal. What is a scandal?

“In the Bible, a “scandal” does not mean a public disgrace or juicy gossip. It is the translation of the Greek word skandalon, which means a trap, a snare, or a stumbling block that causes someone to trip, fall, or turn away from God…”

“…Peter Rebuked: When Peter tries to stop Jesus from facing death, Jesus tells Peter in Matthew 16:23 that he is a “stumbling block” (skandalon) to Him because Peter’s mind is set on human things rather than God’s.” (Source: Google AI)

…and Jesus’ explanation of true discipleship…and here, again, the context is crucial!

If these men were to be true disciples of Jesus…they must to get one thing straight…

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must DENY themselves and take up THEIR CROSS and FOLLOW ME. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

in response to Peter’s trying to impose his will on Jesus, Jesus gives Peter and, by association, all the other disciples, the correct “chain of command”. “Denying self” is not about giving up all the nice things because of your faith in Christ…a sort of self-imposed discipline for being a Christian. It’s about not permitting the self to be in charge. It’s about who is Lord in one’s life!

Taking up one’s cross is not about bearing one’s troubles and inconveniences with resignation as one’s “cross” in life. It’s about daily reckoning the self dead and submitting to Jesus as Lord, the control centre of one’s entire life. 

“Follow me…” is not about keeping company with Jesus. It’s about becoming His replica in nature, attitude, thoughts, and behaviour. It’s about becoming a mirror image of Jesus. 

Paul said it like this…

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is the way of a true follower…who accompanies Jesus wherever He leads…and a true disciple…one who learns and copies the one who leads.  

Peter would need to go through all the phases of this process, including his ignominious denial, before he could truly understand who Jesus was…the Christ, the Son of the living God…and duke Him as closely as a disciple. 

6 BY THE WAY…CONTEXT MATTERS

Christian Life, ,

It’s amazing what we can make the Bible say when we pull a text out of context. I’ve written about some of these things before but let me highlight some of them again to illustrate what I mean. 

My first observation relates to Jesus’ trip with His disciples to Caesarea Philippi. Granted, the average reader may not understand the background to this region or the significance of what Jesus said to them there…so here goes!

Caesarea Philippi and its surrounds, a region in the north of Israel at the foot of Mount Hermon and near the source of the Jordan River, was the centre both of Caesar worship and the worship of the pagan god, Pan, right there in the land of Israel. 

“Caesarea Philippi is an ancient site at the base of Mount Hermon in northern Israel, famous for a massive natural spring that feeds the Jordan River. In the New Testament, it is the backdrop for Jesus’ conversation with Peter where he made his famous declaration about building his church. 

History and Geography

  • Located about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee.
  • Known originally as Paneas for the Greek god Pan, whose shrine sat by a cave once viewed as a gateway to the underworld.
  • Renamed Caesarea Philippi by Herod Philip to honor Caesar and himself.
  • Filled with pagan temples, including shrines to Zeus and Augustus. 

Biblical Significance

  • Recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
  • The setting where Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?”
  • The location of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ.
  • The site of Jesus’ promise: “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”.(Source: Google AI)

Why did Jesus take His disciples to the site of such disgusting and depraved human behaviour? He wanted to make a very important point. 

At the base of the huge rock near the city was a temple to Pan. Statues of Pan and other gods, worshiped by pagans, were placed in niches carved into the rock. A grotto a the base of this massive rock face was the source  of a major spring that fed the Jordan river…which pagans called “the gate of hell” because they believed that it was the gateway to the netherworld. 

In sight of the sexual orgies of pagan worship carried out in this region, Jesus asked His disciples…

…“Who do you say I am?””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

At that moment, the disciples were forced to make the distinction between what they were seeing and what they were learning about the rabbi they were following. As usual, Peter responded on their behalf…

“Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is huge significance in Peter’s reply because, in his words, he got it right but, in his understanding, he got it wrong. (This will be my next observation). 

Jesus’ question and His reply to Peter’s answer give us the clue to His purpose for taking them there. It was a “hands on” lesson about who He was and what His mission was to accomplish. Against the backdrop of pagan debauchery, and in the very places where this behaviour was visibly practised, He would build His church. On this rock! Which rock? 

Could it be that Jesus meant…not Peter, as so many believe and nor even Peter’s confession…that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of  God…but on the very rock, and  places like this all over the world where idolatry was the religion of the people, Jesus would establish His rule and His kingdom in the hearts of those who were once pagans like these in places like these. 

Take Ephesus as a case in point. Ephesus was the centre of the worship of Diana…Artemis…another fertility goddess with all its disgusting behaviour.  After Paul had  preached the gospel there, something amazing happened…

“While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus….Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God….God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬, ‭8‬, ‭11‬-‭12‬, ‭17‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is exactly what Jesus meant when He said, “On this rock I will build my church…!” On the very sites where pagan worship happened, His truth would transform lives and become places where His body, the church, would live and grow, and be His witnesses. 

Jesus’ question to His disciples was the crux of their relationship with Him. The realisation of who He really was…and especially after His death and resurrection…would be the driving force of their mission to tell the world that Jesus is Lord. They had to see the power of who he was against the backdrop of the worst of pagan idolatry…and be convinced that it was His yoke…His yoke? His yoke…

“In Jewish culture of that time, a teacher’s “yoke” meant his specific interpretation of God’s law and how to live it out.” Google AI 

…that would change hearts and transform lives …from false beliefs and pagan idolatry to humble believers and followers of Jesus. 

5 BY THE WAY…TO WHO DOES THE FRUIT BELONG?

Christian Life, ,

The Bible says a lot of things about a lot of things…like fruit, for example, but… I don’t plan to do an exhaustive study on fruit. Let me rather tell you a story. 

Many years ago, during the days of my tempestuous marriage, I was on a roller coaster ride between anger and resentment and misery and repentance for my bad attitude when life got rough at home. One morning, in my utter despair, I fell on my knees before the Lord and cried out to Him for deliverance. 

He showed me a picture. 

I was walking in a beautiful walled  garden, full of flowers and fruit but…there was a wild beast in the garden, trampling the flowers and knocking the fruit off the trees as he raged through the flowers beds and orchards. I cried out to the Lord “Who will save my garden from this beast?”

“Turn around,” the Lord said. The scene changed. I was in a tomb. I turned around…the beast was lying dead on the floor of the tomb. The old beast of myself, my sin nature with all its wicked responses, was dead. I did need to destroy the flowers and fruit in my “garden” any more. 

Then the scene changed again. I was back in the garden but, this time, the garden was flourishing…no beast to destroy its beauty. As I walked along the paths, smelling the flowers and enjoying the scenes, the Lord said to me, “You may enjoy the garden but you may not eat its fruit. The fruit belongs to me.”

I’ve often thought about that vision You and are to bear fruit…the fruit of union with Jesus…abiding in the vine. Jesus spoke of this union with His disciples before He left them…fruit that grew from His life in us…the life of the vine flowing into the branches. That life, the “sap” of the vine, is His life-giving word abiding in us. 

Paul spoke of the “fruit of the Spirit”…the character of Jesus being formed in us as we walk in and live by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. However, we must ask…”To whom does this fruit belong, and who gets to enjoy the fruit?” Is it our fruit? 

It cannot be our fruit because the best fruit we can produce is the fruit of the old sinful life at work in us. The fruit that the Holy Spirit forms in us belongs to Jesus and it is His to enjoy as He watches how we live, how we think and act as His children and the citizens of His kingdom. 

What is this fruit that grows on the branches of the vine?  His fruit grows from our three-way relationships…

First…our relationship with God…Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You see, everything we are, do, and become must have its source in God. We must have roots that grow deep into the soil of God’s love. (When I speak of God, I speak of the Godhead who is the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). 

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In fellowship with God, we flourish in the fragrant air of His presence…love…joy…and peace and…slowly…we become like the whose air we breathe. 

Second…we begin to carry the atmosphere of heaven as we relate to the people around us. Patience, kindness, goodness are the fruit of the love, joy, and peace that we breathe in the presence of God. The fruit is slowly growing on the branches. 

Third…the patience, kindness, and goodness we show to others seeps into our own souls…forming the fruit of our inner life…faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…

…a beautiful nine-flavoured fruit that delights the heart of God. 

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If we try to enjoy this fruit, it will spoil in us but…through pride and self-effort but… to Jesus, our fruit is delicious and full of flavour because it is the evidence of the nature of the tree from which it grows…the Lord Himself. 

So, don’t eat your own fruit. It belongs to Jesus. Let Him delight in who and whose you are. Our fruit is for His honour and the Father’s glory. 

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

4 BY THE WAY…STAY IN YOUR LANE

Christian Life, ,

In the Christian life, there are two things that are not in our job description…judging and controlling others. How often we hear, in the many discussions about the goings-on in our country…the investigations about political interference…that police and politicians must “stay in their lane”…that is…they must only operate within their legitimate structures. 

This is also true of our lives as God’s children. 

At the beginning of creation, God gave humans the mandate to rule over the earth as His authorised representatives…to manage the earth and its creatures but…never to rule over one another. He gave the woman to the man as an equal partner. Together, they would populate the earth…fill it with people who would work together to organise a functional planet. 

What went wrong?

The pair changed allegiance…from God’s rule to self-rule…and, under Satanic influence, and with the change, came chaos. One of the first changes was a shift in the original authority structure…from equal partnership to unequal dominance. This shift was not God’s plan. It was a consequence. 

Why? Was it because Eve did something “outside of her lane”? She took the initiative to mislead her husband. The instruction not to eat from the “tree of good and evil” was given to Adam. The temptation to defy God’s instruction came to Eve. 

Eve did not refer the serpent’s alluring offer to her husband as her partner. She acted independently. Did God change the chain of command… enforce Adam’s authority over Eve by placing her under him instead beside him because she stepped outside of her lane?

“To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

However we view this consequence, God changed the architecture of this relationship in the context of marriage as a result of their defection. From the Hebrew words, it seems that God purposefully put the woman under the thumb of her husband. However, it was not God’s deliberate purpose but sin’s consequence that caused this rupture in the marriage relationship. 

“In Genesis 3:16, the phrase “your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” describes a fractured relational dynamic resulting from the human fall into sin. The Hebrew word for desire (teshuqa) and the word for rule (mashal) point to an internal power struggle and an adversarial dynamic within marriage.” (Source: Google AI)

God’s blueprint for marriage was clearly stated when He made Eve out of Adam. He took the woman out of the man physically and gave her back to him emotionally, psychologically, and sexually to become one…a new one, “echad”…as God is “echad”…one. 

“The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Hebrew word “basar”, translated “flesh”, has the idea of a fresh kind or species.  Adam was one…single, alone. Then God took Eve out of Adam, gave her back to him, and made them “one…echad” a “fresh kind”. Their inseparable, unified life together was a picture of God.

What sin broke, Jesus restored. With renewed hearts and spirits, He calls us back to what God made this partnership to be in the beginning. 

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭28‬, ‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God also introduced a new dynamic into this marriage partnership…The oneness in marriage has a new foundation…a new motivation…a new model… and a new meaning… the relationship between Jesus Christ and His church. 

In this interaction, the “lanes” are very clear. The wife is both an equal partner under the headship of her husband but only as the second-in-command.  She honours (gives him weight), and respects his person and his role…

“In the Bible, respect means giving honor, high value, and deep recognition to the worth of God and other people. It is tied to love and humility. The Bible commands believers to respect all humans because God made everyone in His image.”

In turn, the husband sacrificially serves his wife as Jesus served and gave His life for His church. 

Within the boundaries of the New Covenant, the lanes are clearly defined and…when they are honoured and adhered to…order in the home and in society are restored. 

Giving weight to, that is, honour and respect, to one another’s person and role in the marriage relationship has spinoffs in the home and in society. “Staying in one’s lane” also means giving one another the right to make choices and decisions without intrusion, coercion, or manipulation. 

Control is a leftover from the brokenness of Eden. Jesus removed that impulse to control by giving us back our place and privilege in His kingdom. Each of us is a free agent living under God’s authority and accountable to Him, not primarily to one another. 

“For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If these “lanes” were truly and faithfully honoured (given “weight”) in our relationships, we would be going a long way towards a more peaceful and harmonious society. 

Let’s begin in our homes and in our church family. 

3 BY THE WAY…WHERE WILL IT END?

Christian life, ,

This is one of those “by the way” posts in which I try to set the record straight. You see, many Christians simplify their understanding of salvation to mean “accepting Jesus so that I can go to heaven when I die,” …like faith in Jesus is their passport to heaven, however they live now and wherever heaven might be then. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.   

There are many hints and many passages of Scripture that tell a very different story.  First, where is heaven? You may say, in reply, “Heaven is where God is,” as though God lives far away, in some place from where He reigns and to where we will go when we die. What does the Bible say?

Solomon said, in his dedication prayer…

“But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!”

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David realised…

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, where is God? God is everywhere. He cannot be contained or limited to a space. 

Second, God chose Israel to be His people and…He chose to live with them. His dwelling place would be a tent pitched in the centre of the camp where His visible presence would be with them in the wilderness, and later, in the temple in Jerusalem. 

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭25‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This was the beginning of where God was going, not His presence in a geographical place but in the hearts of His people. 

“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God’s goal is to live in intimate union with His holy people forever. 

Where will this be? In heaven?

Amazingly enough, not “heaven” as some place far away but on the earth where God began the processes and…where He plans to complete it in a union between heaven and earth. 

The earth was corrupted by sin when Adam chose to go it alone. Jesus came to redeem…not only broken humanity but the broken earth on which humanity lives. 

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Creation shares the pain of our brokenness and awaits the restoration of all things when Jesus returns. God made a perfect earth for human habitation. Therefore, a restored and renewed earth will be the place where God lives with His people forever but…and this is the marvel of His redemption plan…heaven and earth…the unseen realm of God’s dwelling right now…and the earth in its restored perfection…will be united into one. 

John saw the final result in his vision of the new Jerusalem…

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal… The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-‭3‬, ‭9‬-‭11‬, ‭23‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul said that God’s people will reign with Jesus on the earth…

“if we endure, we will also reign with him…

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬a NIV‬‬

“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It was always God’s desire to live among and in His people. He is moving His redemption plan, slowly, meticulously, towards His goal…a perfect people…a perfect earth…a reunited heaven and earth…under His management…His people ruling with Him…order and harmony… forever! The circle of creation and history will be complete when Jesus returns to see up His kingdom on a perfect earth.