(c) Eva Marie Everson
Questions 7 & 8: “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. (Genesis 32:29) “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15).
The Path of Silence: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9–11).
The Path of Memory: Take time to write your thoughts, about your daily journey or a memory.
The Path of Questioning: Re-read Genesis 32:1–27; read Matthew 16:13–16.
After Jacob answered God’s question of “what is your name” with an honest “Jacob,” the Lord then changed his name. He would no longer be the old “supplanter.” He had become one who “wrestled with God and with men and won.”[i]
God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means “God fights.” I find this interesting because—while God had previously blessed Jacob in spite of his deceit toward his father, his brother, and his uncle-in-law, and then fought with Jacob—from that moment on, He would protect and fight for this newly named one.
Remarkably, Jacob responded with another request. “Please tell me your name,” he said.
There is little doubt that Jacob-now-Israel knew exactly who he’d fought with. But in the culture of the ancient Middle East, a man’s name carried his character. So, much like when Moses would later ask God to declare the name of the One who sent him,[ii] in Israel’s way of thinking (I believe), hearing God’s name would cement the promises He had made with the man once known as Jacob.
“Why do you want to know my name?” God asked. This is a question I have studied and studied. A question which leaves me hungry for an explanation as to the purpose of the question itself. Did God ask because He knew that Israel knew whom he had fought with? Or did He ask simply to test Israel’s faith? To say, “Do you doubt the divine presence of the One you have wrestled with?”
Perhaps God waited for Israel to tell Him who He was. “You tell me.”
And isn’t this much like the question Jesus asked of the disciples some 1600-plus years later?
In the time of Jesus, the nation of Israel was under Roman occupation (ironically known as Pax Romana—the peace of Rome), during which the Roman empire sustained power throughout much of “their world”—the world they had fought against and conquered. Each subjugated area or nation was ruled by various levels of authority. Subsequently, many lands included cities named for the highest-ranking Romans as a tribute or honor to them.
Such was Caesarea Philippi, which means Philip’s Caesarea and is found still today (although by another name, Banias) at the southwestern base of Mount Hermon. The Philip here is Philip II (26 BC–AD 34), also known as Philip the Tetrarch. He was the son of Herod the Great, a brutal ruler who earned his infamy within the Nativity story with the charging of the Wise Men, and the “Murder of the Innocents” (Matthew 2).
Philip rebuilt the city of Caesarea Philippi, giving it his name so as to distinguish it from Caesarea Maritima, built by Herod the Great as a port city and named for the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus (63 BC–AD 14), the great nephew and “adopted son” of Julius Caesar (100 BC–44 BC).
Before being named after Philip, however, the Caesarea Philippi was called Paneas, named after the Greek god Pan, the god of desolate places. It was here near a cave from which a spring rose that the worship of Pan took place. The cave, with its gaping and jagged mouth, resembles what many called “the Gates of Hell.” Here, despicable acts of worship to Pan took place, acts we will not get into.
And it was here Jesus chose to ask one of the most important questions He would pose during His ministry: “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?” Then, an even more important question: “Who do you say I am?”
According to Matthew 16, Mark 8, and Luke 9, Jesus and the disciples had come to the area of Caesarea Philippi and were “walking along.”[iii] Perhaps they had come near enough to the site of pagan worship—the Gates of Hell—to see it (as someone who has been there, I can tell you that it’s hard to miss and difficult to attribute as anything but hellacious). In this place dedicated to the names of Caesar and Philip and Pan, Jesus then asked the first question.
“Who do people say that I am?”
The answer came from several followers, who gave responses such as, “John the Baptist. Elijah. Jeremiah. or one of the other prophets.”[iv]
John the Baptist had recently been executed after his condemnation of Herod Antipas’s marriage to Herodias, who had formerly been married to Antipas’s brother. John had accused them of adultery, telling Herod that their marriage was “against God,”[v] something Antipas and Herodias had not taken lightly. John’s recent beheading had left many wondering if he could possibly return as Messiah. Alternately, Elijah, the great prophet of the Old Testament who had been carried into heaven by a fiery chariot,[vi] had a special place in the hearts and minds of all Jews. The Passover traditions they observed included leaving an empty place and a cup of wine for him at the head of the table during the Seder meal. Jeremiah (650–570 BC), the “weeping prophet,” had lived during a troubled time for God’s chosen people and had been called by God to warn Judah of impending destruction with a call to repentance and the receiving of salvation. All three of these men were linked to Messianic promises, so it was of little wonder this is what the people thought.
But Jesus wanted to know more. “Who do you say I am?” (Emphasis mine).
Note those two words: “you” and “say.” Not “others” and “think.” Not “your best friend” and “suppose.”
You.
Say.
You with your own mouth … declare. Not because you presume it is true but because you know it is true.
Simon answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
He is saying, You are the One we have waited for. The One we have believed for. You are the One who will save us. Redeem us. Sanctify us. And You are the only begotten Son of the only God who truly lives and breathes and gives us our being (Acts 17:28).
Simon’s quick answer led to one of the most repeated lines from the gospels: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hadeswill not overcome it.”[vii]
As God had given Jacob a new name—Israel—He gave Simon a new name—Peter, which means rock. Oh, but there is so much more here than new name giving; Jesus is affirming to those who followed Him that there was and is power in such a declaration.
Upon this rock.
Which leads me to another question, one of my own: was the rock He spoke of Peter or the knowledge and proclamation of who Jesus is?
We are not so often defined by our names anymore. Today, we name our babies after relatives or historical figures or by whatever name happens to pop out at us from the baby-name book. But there is a name we will one day be called, a name only God knows. As Revelation 2:17 says: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” The words found in this verse of scripture are within those known as “red-letter” words, the words of Jesus Himself.
And there is a Name we, each day, should call out to—Jesus (the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Yeshua,” the name He would have been called by). The Name above all names.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
***
Now it’s your turn to journal on The Path of Questioning, noting the words I underlined, plus any you may have underlined as well, along with the questions God asked Jacob and the disciples—and now asks you—write your answer to Him.
Circle toward the labyrinth’s center with The Path of Prayer. Then, sit quietly for a few moments with God before returning to life as you know it.
[i] Genesis 32:28
[ii] Exodus 3:13
[iii] Mark 8:27
[iv] Matthew 16:14
[v] Matthew 14:4
[vi] II Kings 2:11
[vii] Matthew 16:17, 18
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