Fearless at the Gates of Hell and the Powers of death

Fearless at the Gates of Hell and the Powers of Death.

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi with His disciples, He asked them, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is? They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.‘ ‘But what about you?’ He asked them. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by books or teachers. My Father in heaven, God Himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And I tell you that you are Peter (‘petros’ = a single small rock), and on this rock (‘petra’ = a cliff or massive rock formation) I will build my church, and the Gates of Hades will not overcome it…’” (Matthew 16:13-18).

Walk, walk, walk. Sometimes it must have seemed to the disciples that’s all they did, walk one dusty trail after another. They were always on the move, constantly walking from here to there. It is estimated by the Bible scholars who research such things that Jesus and His disciples walked an estimated 2,500-3,100 miles during their three-year ministry! They would not restrict their travels to trips from Capernaum to Jerusalem, a total of 85 miles, or from the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem (70 miles), or a journey on foot from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a total of 65 miles. But the disciples would also find themselves following Jesus to the far northern port of Tyre, 104 miles from Jerusalem, or maybe for a short jaunt to Samaria, only 42 miles from Jerusalem. Hither and yon, here and there. As renowned Chicago pastor Rev. Otis Moss said, “Jesus had a mobile ministry, going to where He was needed!”

The disciples endured one of their longest hikes during their third year together with Jesus, to the Greek region of Caesarea Philippi (CP) at the base of Mt. Hermon, which is 20 miles north of Capernaum, and a total of 105 miles from Jerusalem. CP was a hardcore pagan city from ancient times, earlier devoted to Baal worship, but more recently given over to the worship of the pagan god Pan. CP was completely covered in pagan shrines, temples and idols around every corner. It was not exactly a destination spot for earnest Jews, since it thrived as the center of detestable pagan worship for that whole region. All good Jews would avoid CP at all costs, and wouldn’t step a foot near there.

There are two different ways for a believer to understand the term “Gates of Hell” that Jesus used in this passage. The term can be understood first as a figure of speech, representing something along the lines of the powers of death, the powers of darkness, the stronghold of destruction. So the Gates of Hell, or Hades, could be referring to the very power the brings death to us all, the powers of darkness that usher us into the stronghold of death itself.  Gates are symbols of strength and defense and protection, so the Gates of Hell symbolize the entry point that will bring people to death and keep them imprisoned within evil.

Another way to understand ‘Gates of Hell’ is to see it as a literal place of evil and death,  a physically real complex of pagan worship sites in Caesarea Philippi that was as wicked as wicked can be, a huge rocky cliff outside of a Greek city only a few miles from the home town of Jesus, dedicated to celebrating the wickedness of the evil one.

And now what… Are we to storm the gates of hell, taking the offensive against evil? Or are we to hide under the shadow of His wings and claim God to be a refuge against any powers of death perpetrated against His followers? Actually, both. Jesus will build His church with the spiritual power to overcome the gates of Hell, while also providing refuge from the evil in this world. The Church… both a rescue operation and a refuge from evil, playing both offense and defense.

^“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

In paraphrasing this passage, the esteemed pastor in Detroit, Rev. Richard Bieber, said that Jesus was born into the human race in order to set us free from the fear of death. We are all in bondage to this fear, he once said, unless we allow “the power of God to flow into us from the Cross, driving the fear of death right out of us, filling us with eternal life.”

Fear: dread or alarm in facing danger; to be afraid or apprehensive; anxiety caused by belief in approaching danger or by a perceived threat; feeling frightened concerning one’s safety or a loved one’s well-being; unpleasant emotions due to the likelihood of something unwelcome or undesirable; trepidation over unexpected crisis.  

If there is one fear common to us all, it is the fear of death. Yes, we are living in the 21st century, 2024, and fear is in the air we breathe. We nonetheless try our best to survive in this firmly established climate of fear. Consider the many causes of fear this day: the covid pandemic; terrorism; climate change; a seeming moral breakdown in society; old age; extreme weather; tragic violence; educational chaos; the diminishing of parental influence; international conflict; nuclear weapons; racial unrest. For Christians, we can add the fear of spiritual warfare on our loved ones and on our culture. Many of us have more private fears, such as crime, hunger, unemployment, and subsistence survival. But fear of death, that has plagued all of us in one way or the other since Day One in human history.

Those who follow Jesus can have joyful confidence that nothing can separate us from life everlasting with God Himself. Jesus has broken the curse of death, He has executed death, and it has no power over us. The Gates of Hell, the powers of death, are rendered powerless, and will never be able to overcome or defeat the powers of everlasting life in Christ. The Church triumphant is now able to storm the gates of Hell and rescue the perishing. Those who were imprisoned by the powers of darkness can now be released from bondage. We can be fearless at hell’s very gates.

Jesus continues to build a Church that advances against the face of evil by being salt and light and fleshing out the life of Jesus in everyday life. Because of Him, His followers can be on the offense, opening the strongholds of death and setting free those who were held captive within the devil’s fortified city. As Eugene Peterson said, “The church is so expansive with spiritual energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.”

So, Jesus is saying in Caesarea Philippi that believers in Him can take the offensive, we don’t need to cower when faced with evil. We can be on offense, a kingdom of light that is triumphant against the powers of darkness.

Rock. Jesus used two images of a rock in this passage… a singular, small stone (“Petros”) in speaking directly to Peter, and an immovable massive rock formation (“Petra”) which will serve as the foundation for His church. The fact that Jesus was going to build His church on “Petra” could mean that He will literally start His church right there at the Gates of Hell at Caesarea Philippi, in the very face of evil. Or it could mean that Peter’s profound revelation from the Father of faith and trust in Jesus is the very belief that will be the foundation for His church… Petra taken literally as the cliff outside Caesarea Philippi dedicated to evil, or figuratively as the bedrock belief in Jesus as the foundation for His church? Why not both?