Jesus often used typical rabbinic methods when teaching his talmidim. It was not uncommon for a first-century rabbi to shock his followers so that they would not soon forget his lessons.On one such shocking occasion, Jesus took his young disciples to the fresh water spring of Caesarea Philippi.

This fresh water spring has a different appearance today; it no longer flows from the mouth of the cave in which the water pours upwards from the bowels of the earth. It appears little more than a large puddle, as you can see from the picture above.         

What was so shocking about this spring? In Jesus’ day, it was considered to be the place where Pan, the goat-god, would travel to Hades each Fall and re-enter the world each Spring. To entice Pan, his pagan worshipers would have intercourse with goats on the platform outside of this cave, hoping to have him appear and give them all they had hoped for.

This spring, and others like it, was thought to be a gateway to the underworld, to which no man could travel and live to tell about it. All around the outside of the cave were niches cut into the cliff which were used to place ceramic idols of pan, and another large niche on the ground level was used to tie up the goats in preparation for worship.Here at the Gates of Hades, among many dead gods, Jesus asks his disciples to tell him who they believe he is. To which Peter responds, “You are the Son of the ‘Living’ God.”

The Gates of Hades represented one of those places where sin abounded, even beyond the imagination of the most profane. And yet Jesus assures his talmidim that, “…on this rock I will build my assembly and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Even those whom a Jew would never come within ten feet can enter the Kingdom!

The gateway to the underworld, with all of its appeal and lure of mystery and perversion cannot keep the Kingdom of Heaven from invading and surviving to tell about it.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
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