Yeah, I wondered after I made my comment, if the the “recontextualized” referred to your point about the audience for Jesus’ comments. Thanks for clarity.
My thought was that this film adds context that I’m not sure has been filmed and may even be overlooked in regular reading or sermons on this event.
As far as the differences between Matthews and Marks accounts (I.e. Mark leaves out info Matthew includes) I don’t have anything specific to add other than the standard “each author edited differently because the may have had specific points they were making”.
Some might say the series is “contextualizing” the scene - adding context that has often been missing.
AIUI, it is believed that the temple of Pan in Caesarea Philipi carved in solid rock was considered a gateway to the underworld in pagan theology at the time.
So when Jesus referenced “Upon this rock I will build my church” and “the gates of hell/hades” he could have been alluding to something well known to his disciples at the time, related to the location they were near.
Personally I have read this passage many times and never made the connection with Caesarea Philipi - it just seemed an insignificant random location for Jesus to be making such an announcement. In other words, I was missing the context that may have been familiar and significant to those there at the time.
Yeah, by "recontextualizes" I was thinking primarily of the way the clip seems to turn something that Jesus said privately (to Peter and the disciples) into something that he now says publicly (to the small crowd by the pagan temple). The shifting context -- who Jesus is addressing, and where he is addressing them -- also has implications for how we interpret the phrase "this rock" (is it a reference to Peter himself? to his confession? etc.).
I've heard the theories about the significance of Caesarea Philippi to this story, but I don't believe I've ever seen a movie make that connection the way this one evidently will.
For what it's worth, if you follow the theory that Mark's gospel came first, he also tells the story about Jesus asking the disciples "Who do you say I am?" while they were in the region of Caesarea Philippi, but there's not much more to the story than Peter saying "You are the Messiah" and Jesus telling the disciples not to tell anyone what Peter just said (Mark 8:27-30). Matthew 16:13-20 basically expands on that story from Mark's gospel, by inserting Jesus' comments about "this rock" and "the gates of Hades" between Peter's confession and Jesus' instruction not to tell anyone who he is.
So if Mark came first, and if Caesarea Philippi and the temple of Pan provide the context for Jesus' comments about the "gates of Hades", why does MARK make a point of saying that this story took place near Caesarea Philippi when he never mentions the "gates of Hades" comment?
Yeah, I wondered after I made my comment, if the the “recontextualized” referred to your point about the audience for Jesus’ comments. Thanks for clarity.
My thought was that this film adds context that I’m not sure has been filmed and may even be overlooked in regular reading or sermons on this event.
As far as the differences between Matthews and Marks accounts (I.e. Mark leaves out info Matthew includes) I don’t have anything specific to add other than the standard “each author edited differently because the may have had specific points they were making”.
I find your word “recontextulized” interesting.
Some might say the series is “contextualizing” the scene - adding context that has often been missing.
AIUI, it is believed that the temple of Pan in Caesarea Philipi carved in solid rock was considered a gateway to the underworld in pagan theology at the time.
So when Jesus referenced “Upon this rock I will build my church” and “the gates of hell/hades” he could have been alluding to something well known to his disciples at the time, related to the location they were near.
Personally I have read this passage many times and never made the connection with Caesarea Philipi - it just seemed an insignificant random location for Jesus to be making such an announcement. In other words, I was missing the context that may have been familiar and significant to those there at the time.
Anyway, thanks for posting more of this series.
Yeah, by "recontextualizes" I was thinking primarily of the way the clip seems to turn something that Jesus said privately (to Peter and the disciples) into something that he now says publicly (to the small crowd by the pagan temple). The shifting context -- who Jesus is addressing, and where he is addressing them -- also has implications for how we interpret the phrase "this rock" (is it a reference to Peter himself? to his confession? etc.).
I've heard the theories about the significance of Caesarea Philippi to this story, but I don't believe I've ever seen a movie make that connection the way this one evidently will.
For what it's worth, if you follow the theory that Mark's gospel came first, he also tells the story about Jesus asking the disciples "Who do you say I am?" while they were in the region of Caesarea Philippi, but there's not much more to the story than Peter saying "You are the Messiah" and Jesus telling the disciples not to tell anyone what Peter just said (Mark 8:27-30). Matthew 16:13-20 basically expands on that story from Mark's gospel, by inserting Jesus' comments about "this rock" and "the gates of Hades" between Peter's confession and Jesus' instruction not to tell anyone who he is.
So if Mark came first, and if Caesarea Philippi and the temple of Pan provide the context for Jesus' comments about the "gates of Hades", why does MARK make a point of saying that this story took place near Caesarea Philippi when he never mentions the "gates of Hades" comment?