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The Gospels | Episode 11

Drive Thru History: The Gospels

February 15, 2016

27:30

Drive Thru History: The Gospels

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The Gospels | Episode 11

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Dave Stotts: In our prior episode of "Drive Thru History:
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The Gospels," Jesus continued to teach and perform miracles
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around the Sea of Galilee.
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Jesus chose 12 of his closest followers as apostles,
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men who were sent out to the surrounding villages to share
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the good news about the kingdom of God.
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Although Jesus started his ministry by specifically
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addressing the Jewish people, we ended our last episode with
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Jesus broadening his message to the Gentiles.
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The gospel would now be available for everyone.
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Jesus was near the end of his ministry.
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He was about to reconvene his apostles for a special trip to
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the northern end of the Galilee region.
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[music]
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[music]
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[music]
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[music]
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[music]
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Dave: In today's "Drive Thru History" excursion,
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we turn our faces North and make the approximately 25-mile
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drive from the Sea of Galilee to Caesarea Philippi,
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an ancient Roman city at the base of Mount Hermon in a
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region of Israel known as the Golan Heights.
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It's pretty much uphill all the way from the Sea of Galilee
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which is almost 700 feet below sea level to Caesarea Philippi
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which is about 1150 feet above sea level.
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The landscape changes as you go,
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from dry and golden to more lush and green.
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Knowing Jesus and his disciples spent time here made this road
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trip all the more exciting to me.
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And I was again impressed with the amazing realization that I
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was very much following the footsteps of the most
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influential and consequential man who ever walked the earth.
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Dave: Well, I finally made it to the North of Israel,
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near Dan, and a place called Caesarea Philippi.
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Now this is a large archeological site containing
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elaborate building projects by Herod Philip and Herod the
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Great's grandson, Agrippa II.
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Heard it's supposed to rain today.
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[thunder crashing]
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Dave: In addition to magnificent Roman structures,
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Caesarea Philippi is also known for Banias,
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a collection of springs and pagan worship sites
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linked to the cult of Pan.
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Pan, also called the Goat God, was the Greco-Roman God of
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nature, livestock, and hunting, all things related to wild
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times, party music, and, of course, fertility.
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Pan was the crazy-looking guy with the hind quarters,
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legs, and horns of a goat.
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[horn sounding]
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Dave: The centerpiece of this ancient worship site is
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this huge cliff and grotto, containing the remains of
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numerous altars, caves, temples, and courtyards.
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This whole area was teeming with Roman mythology and idolatry.
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[music]
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Dave: It was right here where Jesus,
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nearing the end of his ministry,
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asked his disciples one profound question,
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"Who do you say that I am?"
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[music]
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Dave: Simon Peter answered,
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"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
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Jesus replied, "Blessed are you,
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Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man,
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but by my Father in heaven.
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And I tell you that you are Peter,
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and on this rock I will build my church,
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and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
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Matthew 16:13 through 18.
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Dave: This dramatic scene in the gospels is
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commonly referred to as Peter's confession.
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Now the disciples had walked with Jesus for about 3 years.
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They had listened to his teachings.
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They had witnessed his miracles.
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They had come to know Jesus as a man.
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But Simon Peter had come to understand that Jesus was the
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long-awaited Jewish Messiah.
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Jesus responded by blessing Simon.
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He changed Simon's name to Peter,
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the Rock, and declared that he would build a church on this
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rock, a church so solid that not even Hades
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itself would overcome it.
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Dave: That huge cave adjacent to the Temple of Pan
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was considered to be the gateway to Hades.
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In Greek mythology, Hades was the God of the Underworld.
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By the time of the Romans, Hades was considered to pretty
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much be the Underworld itself.
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Cult worshipers believed that this open pit provided some
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kind of a gateway, access to the abode of the dead.
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Sacrifices were made here to appease the guardians
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of the Underworld.
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[music]
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Dave: To the Jew, Hades represented the present pit in
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the heart of the earth, a place where the souls of the dead
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were confined and awaiting judgment.
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In the context of this ancient occult location,
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the power of Jesus' statement really comes through.
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The gates of Hades will not overcome the church that will
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be built in his name.
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Okay, so what about Jesus' use of the word "rock,
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here at Caesarea Philippi?
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The debate rages on as to whether or not the rock that
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Jesus will build his church is referring to Peter or to
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Jesus himself.
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The first view is that Jesus was declaring that Peter would
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be the rock on which he would build his church.
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In that case, Jesus was using a play on words.
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"You are Peter, petros, and on this bedrock,
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petra, I will build my church."
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Since Peter's name means rock and since Jesus was going to
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build his church on bedrock, one school of thought is that
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Jesus was linking the two together.
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Later in history, Peter does become a primary foundation of
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the church.
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It is Peter who first proclaims the gospel on the Day of
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Pentecost and was the first to take the gospel
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to the Gentiles.
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And later we can see from the testimony of the early church
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that Peter was widely considered as the leader of the church.
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In a sense, Peter was the rock foundation of the church.
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Another interpretation is that the rock Jesus spoke of wasn't
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Peter but Peter's confession and proclamation
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of Jesus as Messiah.
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In this sense, it's the gospel message that Jesus is Lord that
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serves as the church's foundation.
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In the eyes of many, this view is another way of saying Jesus
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himself is the foundation.
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Dave: Peter's declaration of faith,
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"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,
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led Jesus to declare that he was the rock,
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the bedrock, the cornerstone, the foundation upon which he
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would build his own church.
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Jesus' identity as the Christ, the Messiah,
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was the bedrock that would support everything else.
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But what came next must have truly baffled his disciples.
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In Matthew 16:20, Jesus orders them,
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"Do not tell anyone that I am the Messiah."
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Now put yourself in the disciples' sandals
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for just a minute.
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Over the course of their time with Jesus,
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they'd seen him control the weather,
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heal people, cast out demons, baffle the experts,
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and mesmerize crowds of thousands, walk on water.
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And they now finally believed him to be the long-awaited
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Jewish Messiah who would cast off Roman oppression and usher
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in the new Jewish kingdom.
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And they were his best friends.
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Now I know what I'd be thinking: let the good times roll.
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Dave: Except that's not how the Scripture reads.
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According to the Bible, that little party lasted
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for about 8 seconds.
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[music]
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Dave: From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his
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disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many
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things at the hands of the elders,
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the chief priests, and the teachers of the law.
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And that he must be killed and on the third
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day be raised to life.
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Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
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"'Never, Lord,' he said, 'this shall never happen to you.'
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Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind thee,
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Satan, for you are a stumbling block to me,
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"Matthew 16:22 and 23.
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[music]
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Dave: And so here for the first time Jesus revealed
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his plan to his disciples.
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And it's clear by Peter's reaction that they weren't
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exactly prepared for this new revelation that Jesus,
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their leader, their friend, who did all those amazing things,
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was now going to suffer and die.
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Dave: Now Jesus did say that he would be
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raised from the dead.
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But I think it's possible that they might have missed that
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part with the words "suffer and die" still
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ringing in their ears.
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Peter just simply couldn't understand it all,
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and the gospels record that he began to rebuke Jesus.
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Jesus' response was pretty interesting.
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Well, interesting to us 2000 years later.
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I don't think interesting is the word Peter would choose to
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describe it, though, especially right after Jesus told him,
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"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church."
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"Get behind me, Satan," Jesus said.
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As incomprehensible as it may have seemed to his disciples,
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Jesus knew he was going to suffer.
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And apparently, it was his plan to allow it to happen.
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And he wasn't going to allow anyone,
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not even one of his closest friends, to get in the way.
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[music]
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[music]
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[music]
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Dave: "About 8 days after Jesus said this,
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he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up
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onto a mountain to pray.
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As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed
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and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
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Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor,
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talking with Jesus.
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They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to
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fulfillment at Jerusalem.
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Peter and his companions were very sleepy but when they
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became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men
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standing with him.
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As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him,
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'Master, it is good for us to be here.
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Let us put up three shelters, one for you,
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one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'
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While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them
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and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
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A voice came from the cloud, saying,
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'This is my Son, whom I have chosen;
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listen to him.'
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When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone."
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Luke 9:28 through 36.
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"As they were coming down the mountain,
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Jesus instructed them, 'Do not tell anyone what you have seen
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until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead,'"
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Matthew 17:9.
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Dave: This event in the gospels is called the
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Transfiguration.
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Now according to Miriam Webster's dictionary,
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a transfiguration is a change of form or appearance,
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especially one that glorifies, beautifies,
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and makes more spiritual.
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Now this event of the Transfiguration was the
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capstone of Jesus' public life.
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While his baptism was the starting point of his public
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ministry, the Transfiguration was the peak,
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the culmination of his public ministry.
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Now the experience of the Transfiguration gave Peter,
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James, and John a glimpse of heaven in order for them to be
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strengthened for the terrible suffering that was to come.
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[music]
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Dave: And we can only imagine what this experience
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would have been like for the disciples but it must have been
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pretty astonishing because it's written that the disciples were
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very afraid.
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Now, here's another question.
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Of all the significant figures available in the Hebrew
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Scriptures, why was it particularly Moses
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and Elijah that showed up?
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Well, one popular theory is that Moses represented the law
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and Elijah represented the prophets.
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So when God's voice from heaven said about Jesus,
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"Listen to him," that indicated that the law and the prophets
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must now give way to Jesus who will replace the old way with
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the new way.
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He is the completion of the law and the fulfillment of the
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prophecies of the Old Testament.
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Dave: A theory as to the whole purpose of this entire
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event was that it gave the inner circle of Jesus'
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followers a greater understanding of
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who Jesus really was.
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The apostles, who had only known Jesus in his human body,
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now had a greater understanding of his deity.
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This also gave them the reassurance they needed after
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the shocking revelation of his coming death.
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[music]
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Dave: It's also interesting to note the
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symbolism that exists in this event.
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As Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah,
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it's recorded that they spoke of his departure.
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Moses had led his own departure or exodus out of
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Egypt almost 15 centuries earlier.
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Also, 2 Kings records that Elijah departed this earth in a
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flaming chariot.
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Jesus had miraculously provided bread for the multitudes in the
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story of loaves and fishes we covered in our last episode,
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just as Moses provided bread or manna in the
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wilderness to the Israelites.
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And when Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten
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Commandments, you may remember that his face was shining with
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the glory of God, just as Jesus' face was now shining
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with the same glory.
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To one familiar with the Hebrew Bible,
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these parallels would have been extraordinarily meaningful.
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Dave: The disciples, they never forgot what happened
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on the mountain that day.
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This was no doubt intended.
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John wrote in his gospel, "We have seen his glory,
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the glory of the one and only."
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"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told
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you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but we
00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:49.090
were eye witnesses of his majesty,
00:15:49.100 --> 00:15:52.040
for he received honor and glory from God the Father when the
00:15:52.050 --> 00:15:55.220
voice came to him from the Majestic Glory,
00:15:55.230 --> 00:15:58.180
saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love;
00:15:58.190 --> 00:16:01.220
with him I am well pleased.'
00:16:01.230 --> 00:16:04.030
We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven
00:16:04.040 --> 00:16:07.080
when we were with him on the sacred mountain,"
00:16:07.090 --> 00:16:09.290
2 Peter 1:16 through 17.
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.290
[music]
00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:17.100
Dave: Now the gospel accounts are silent as to the
00:16:17.230 --> 00:16:19.040
exact identification of the mountain where Jesus underwent
00:16:19.050 --> 00:16:22.260
the Transfiguration but there are two sites that have
00:16:22.270 --> 00:16:26.110
historically been considered strong possibilities.
00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.260
Mount Tabor, the top of which I'm standing right now,
00:16:29.270 --> 00:16:32.180
is the earliest traditional site for the Mount of
00:16:32.190 --> 00:16:35.150
Transfiguration, a tradition established by a 3rd century
00:16:35.160 --> 00:16:39.050
Christian scholar named Origen.
00:16:39.060 --> 00:16:41.230
The site was later confirmed by a Latin priest and historian
00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:46.200
named Jerome, along with a theologian named Cyril of
00:16:46.210 --> 00:16:50.140
Jerusalem in the 4th century AD.
00:16:50.150 --> 00:16:53.080
By the 5th century, Christian structures were being built up
00:16:53.090 --> 00:16:56.260
here to commemorate the site.
00:16:56.270 --> 00:17:00.200
Dave: Mount Tabor isn't a very big mountain, at 1886 feet.
00:17:00.210 --> 00:17:05.110
However, it stands alone in the area and was considered very
00:17:05.120 --> 00:17:09.000
strategic high ground throughout the centuries.
00:17:09.010 --> 00:17:12.070
The mountain is located at the eastern end of the Jezreel
00:17:12.080 --> 00:17:15.010
Valley, 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee.
00:17:15.020 --> 00:17:18.220
During the time of Jesus, Mount Tabor was the landmark for an
00:17:18.230 --> 00:17:22.090
important junction on the Roman highway known
00:17:22.100 --> 00:17:24.280
as the Way of the Sea.
00:17:24.290 --> 00:17:26.230
It marked the connector road up to Damascus.
00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:31.020
The other main possibility for the location of the
00:17:31.030 --> 00:17:33.190
Transfiguration is Mount Hermon.
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:36.160
At 9232 feet, this mountain is the highest in the area.
00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:41.180
It is also near Caesarea Philippi where the previous
00:17:41.190 --> 00:17:44.160
events recorded in the gospels took place.
00:17:44.170 --> 00:17:47.190
Some scholars believe that Mount Hermon better conforms to
00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:51.050
the record than the traditional sites on Mount Tabor, but
00:17:51.060 --> 00:17:54.220
we just don't know.
00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:57.040
[music]
00:17:57.210 --> 00:18:00.220
Dave: My time investigating the gospel
00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:04.190
accounts of the Transfiguration was powerful.
00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:07.210
Now it's time to drive down the mountain and return to Jesus'
00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:11.030
home base of Capernaum on the northwestern shore of
00:18:11.040 --> 00:18:14.100
the Sea of Galilee.
00:18:14.110 --> 00:18:16.080
[music]
00:18:16.230 --> 00:18:21.120
Dave: So a little review is in order.
00:18:21.260 --> 00:18:24.110
You will recall that Jesus and his disciples had just been in
00:18:24.120 --> 00:18:27.180
the region of Caesarea Philippi where Jesus had told them that
00:18:27.190 --> 00:18:31.060
he must, quote, "Go to Jerusalem and suffer many
00:18:31.070 --> 00:18:34.130
things at the hands of the elders,
00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:36.230
the chief priests, and the teachers of the law."
00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:40.040
They then had their mountaintop transfiguration experience and
00:18:40.050 --> 00:18:43.240
then, shortly thereafter, returned here to Capernaum.
00:18:43.250 --> 00:18:46.210
[music]
00:18:47.170 --> 00:18:49.020
Dave: After Jesus and his disciples arrived in
00:18:49.030 --> 00:18:52.160
Capernaum, the collectors of the 2 drachma temple tax came
00:18:52.170 --> 00:18:55.230
to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher
00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:58.200
pay the temple tax?"
00:18:58.210 --> 00:19:00.150
Matthew 17:24.
00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:02.250
The annual temple tax was collected each spring from
00:19:02.260 --> 00:19:06.070
Israelite males aged 20 and older.
00:19:06.080 --> 00:19:10.000
The practice at Jesus' time had been going on for over 1400
00:19:10.010 --> 00:19:14.150
years, starting with Moses, where he collected money for
00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:17.120
the tent of meeting.
00:19:17.130 --> 00:19:19.060
By the 8th century BC, this money was now considered an
00:19:19.070 --> 00:19:23.000
annual tax levied to support the temple built
00:19:23.010 --> 00:19:26.100
by Solomon in Jerusalem.
00:19:26.110 --> 00:19:28.180
According to the Jewish Mishnah,
00:19:28.190 --> 00:19:30.250
this temple tax continued throughout the temple's history
00:19:30.260 --> 00:19:34.180
to support daily operations, repairs, and improvements.
00:19:34.190 --> 00:19:38.230
No matter where an Israelite man was living in the world,
00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:41.290
he was responsible for the annual tax to support the
00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.000
temple in Jerusalem.
00:19:45.010 --> 00:19:48.260
Dave: In an earlier part of the gospel story,
00:19:48.270 --> 00:19:51.080
Jesus proclaimed authority over the temple by
00:19:51.090 --> 00:19:54.200
driving out the money changers.
00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:57.130
That's probably what prompted the local tax collectors to
00:19:57.140 --> 00:20:00.150
ask Peter whether or not Jesus pays the tax himself.
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:04.140
What better way to test Jesus' teaching on the temple in
00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:07.220
Jerusalem than to challenge his disciples on their
00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:10.170
home turf here at Capernaum.
00:20:10.180 --> 00:20:13.240
Peter answered, "Yes, Jesus pays the tax."
00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:17.030
And then quickly searched out Jesus in order to
00:20:17.040 --> 00:20:19.190
find out what to do.
00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:21.240
[music]
00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:23.100
Dave: In order to prevent the temple tax from
00:20:23.110 --> 00:20:25.090
becoming an issue, Jesus instructed Peter to pay the tax
00:20:25.100 --> 00:20:28.200
on behalf of both of them.
00:20:28.210 --> 00:20:30.160
Rather than taking the money from,
00:20:30.170 --> 00:20:32.080
say, the disciples' petty cash fund,
00:20:32.090 --> 00:20:34.250
Jesus had more unconventional instructions for Peter.
00:20:34.260 --> 00:20:40.050
"So that we may not cause offense,
00:20:40.060 --> 00:20:42.090
go to the lake and throw out your line.
00:20:42.100 --> 00:20:44.270
Take the first fish you catch.
00:20:44.280 --> 00:20:47.060
Open its mouth and you will find a 4 drachma coin.
00:20:47.070 --> 00:20:51.090
Take it and give it to them for my tax and
00:20:51.100 --> 00:20:54.210
yours, Matthew 17:27.
00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:59.040
Dave: You know, I have to wonder if the disciples at
00:20:59.050 --> 00:21:00.220
this point sometimes just had to shake their heads and say,
00:21:00.230 --> 00:21:04.230
"All right, Jesus, if you say so."
00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:07.240
And so wouldn't you know it, Peter went to the lake,
00:21:07.250 --> 00:21:10.230
dropped in a line, and they caught a fish with the exact
00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:14.100
amount in its mouth needed for the temple tax.
00:21:14.110 --> 00:21:18.190
I also wonder if Peter, after all he had seen,
00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.200
following Jesus, was even surprised or not.
00:21:21.210 --> 00:21:25.230
Dave: Historically, the best known fish in the Sea of
00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:28.070
Galilee is the tilapia galilaea.
00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:31.210
Locals refer to this tilapia as either amnon in Hebrew
00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:36.010
or musht in Arabic.
00:21:36.020 --> 00:21:38.050
Amnon appears to be derived from two Aramaic words meaning
00:21:38.060 --> 00:21:42.040
mother fish because it cares for its young in its mouth.
00:21:42.050 --> 00:21:46.140
Dave: Not that it makes Peter's story any less amazing,
00:21:46.150 --> 00:21:49.220
but even today, in the Sea of Galilee,
00:21:49.230 --> 00:21:52.110
you can find that fish with small pebbles or
00:21:52.120 --> 00:21:55.110
bottle caps in its mouth.
00:21:55.120 --> 00:21:57.280
Yummy.
00:21:57.290 --> 00:21:59.220
Dave: During the springtime,
00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:01.070
in the shallow waters near Capernaum,
00:22:01.080 --> 00:22:03.170
these fish congregate to spawn.
00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:06.140
Once the eggs have been fertilized,
00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:08.070
they grab up the eggs in their mouths and carry them around
00:22:08.080 --> 00:22:11.090
for weeks until they hatch.
00:22:11.100 --> 00:22:13.250
This fish is known locally as St. Peter's fish because of
00:22:13.260 --> 00:22:17.190
this story in the gospels.
00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:20.080
[music]
00:22:20.090 --> 00:22:25.140
Dave: Speaking of local coinage,
00:22:25.150 --> 00:22:27.120
a number of historical figures mentioned in the gospels minted
00:22:27.130 --> 00:22:31.010
their own coins, many of which survive to this day.
00:22:31.020 --> 00:22:36.170
Political officials minted coins with a variety of designs
00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:40.100
and inscriptions usually referring to themselves or to
00:22:40.110 --> 00:22:44.090
the Roman Emperor of the time.
00:22:44.100 --> 00:22:47.150
Caesar Augustus is mentioned in
00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:49.190
Luke chapter 2, verse 1.
00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:51.290
Emperor Augustus minted many coins in
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:54.220
many different designs.
00:22:54.230 --> 00:22:56.230
This coin shows a profile of him with the phrase,
00:22:56.240 --> 00:23:00.020
"Divine Augustus."
00:23:00.030 --> 00:23:03.270
Tiberius Caesar is mentioned in Luke chapter 3,
00:23:03.280 --> 00:23:06.280
verse 1, and also appears on quite a few coins.
00:23:06.290 --> 00:23:10.170
This silver denarius, commonly called the tribute penny,
00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:14.260
depicts Tiberius in profile with the surrounding
00:23:14.270 --> 00:23:18.010
inscription, "Caesar Augustus Tiberius,
00:23:18.020 --> 00:23:21.070
Son of the Divine Augustus."
00:23:21.080 --> 00:23:25.250
Because Tiberius was the Roman Emperor at the time of Jesus,
00:23:25.260 --> 00:23:29.170
this is the coin many believe Jesus was holding when the
00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:32.230
Pharisees tried to trap him into saying something
00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:35.170
incriminating about Rome's tax system.
00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:38.210
His famous response was this, "'You hypocrites,
00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:42.070
why are you trying to trap me?
00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:44.130
Show me the coin used for paying the tax.'
00:23:44.140 --> 00:23:47.190
They brought him a denarius, and he asked them,
00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:49.260
'Whose image is this?
00:23:49.270 --> 00:23:52.020
And whose inscription?' 'Caesar's, they replied.
00:23:52.030 --> 00:23:55.100
Then he said to them, 'So give back to Caesar what is
00:23:55.110 --> 00:23:58.190
Caesar's, and to God what is God's.'"
00:23:58.200 --> 00:24:03.070
Herod the Great who is first mentioned in Matthew chapter 2,
00:24:03.080 --> 00:24:06.290
verse 1, also issued his own coins.
00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.270
This bronze prutah shows a ceremonial
00:24:09.280 --> 00:24:12.250
ball sitting on a tripod.
00:24:12.260 --> 00:24:15.060
It also has a Greek inscription that reads,
00:24:15.070 --> 00:24:17.270
"Of King Herod."
00:24:17.280 --> 00:24:19.100
Herod also displayed other objects,
00:24:19.110 --> 00:24:21.140
such as this helmet, palm branches, and star.
00:24:21.150 --> 00:24:25.190
Herod Antipas, tetrarch of the Galilee region,
00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:28.260
is mentioned throughout the ministry of Jesus.
00:24:28.270 --> 00:24:31.290
This is the Herod mentioned during the trial of Jesus.
00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:35.150
The front of this coin shows a palm branch surrounded by the
00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:39.020
Greek words, "Herod tetrarch."
00:24:39.030 --> 00:24:42.040
Another prominent character in the gospel story is Pontius
00:24:42.050 --> 00:24:44.240
Pilate who is first mentioned in Luke chapter 3, verse 1.
00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:50.140
Pilate minted coins that honored the Roman Emperor Tiberius.
00:24:50.150 --> 00:24:54.270
This coin shows the Greek words,
00:24:54.280 --> 00:24:56.240
"Tiberius Caesar," surrounding a curved wand important in
00:24:56.250 --> 00:25:01.180
Roman mythology.
00:25:01.190 --> 00:25:03.190
For anyone who loves history, ancient coins provide awesome
00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:07.240
evidence for the famous rulers we read about.
00:25:07.250 --> 00:25:10.240
Here in Israel, numerous coins have been discovered that
00:25:10.250 --> 00:25:14.050
establish the characters in the gospels as real
00:25:14.060 --> 00:25:17.210
people in history.
00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:21.080
Soon after the seemingly inconsequential event with the
00:25:21.090 --> 00:25:24.010
fishy money at Capernaum, Jesus left Galilee for the last time.
00:25:24.020 --> 00:25:30.000
Galilee had been the setting for his greatest teachings and
00:25:30.010 --> 00:25:33.070
most memorable miracles but the master clock was ticking.
00:25:33.080 --> 00:25:37.210
It was time for the final chapter in Jesus' mission,
00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:41.090
a final confrontation.
00:25:41.100 --> 00:25:44.090
According to Luke, Jesus resolutely
00:25:44.100 --> 00:25:46.280
set out for Jerusalem.
00:25:46.290 --> 00:25:49.290
Something new and purposeful was in the air.
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:53.290
According to Mark, "They were on their way up to Jerusalem
00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:58.010
with Jesus leading the way and the disciples were astonished
00:25:58.020 --> 00:26:02.120
while those who followed were afraid, Mark 10:32.
00:26:02.130 --> 00:26:07.190
The disciples' fear was palpable.
00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.130
Why did this trip to Jerusalem feel so much different?
00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:14.210
[music]
00:26:15.150 --> 00:26:18.010
[music]
00:26:21.100 --> 00:26:35.280
[music]
00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:50.290
[music]
00:26:51.280 --> 00:26:59.270
[music]
00:27:00.270 --> 00:27:05.290
[music]
00:27:09.040 --> 00:27:23.080
CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.abercap.com
00:27:23.290 --> 00:27:27.260

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The Gospels | Episode 11

The Gospels | Episode 11

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Menu Top

The Gospels | Episode 11

The Gospels | Episode 11

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