The Gates of Hell

One time Jesus was with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi in the northeastern area of Israel. It was a city dominated by immoral activities and pagan worship. In that area the people first worshiped the fertility gods of the Canaanites like Baal and then later switched to worshiping the fertility gods of the Greeks like Pan – who was half man, half goat.

Geographically and culturally, this place was infamous for pagan worship – specifically the "Gates of Hell" cave pictured on the sanctuary screen. The people believed this cave literally led to the depths of hell. Jesus chooses this dark, pagan backdrop to ask his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Jesus deliberately forces a clash of kingdoms. He doesn't ask this question in the holy safety of Jerusalem, but in a spiritual wasteland filled with idols and political power. By asking it there, Jesus is showing that his identity isn't just a private religious opinion; it is a declaration of supreme cosmic authority that directly challenges every false god and worldly empire.

The disciples list the popular opinions of the day: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. These are high compliments! But then Jesus gets uncomfortably direct, “But who do you say that I am” Peter boldly replies, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13, 16).

Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overpower it.” (Matthew 16:1718).

I must admit that I often got this picture wrong. I remember being taught when I was younger that this is a defensive text where the Christian Church will stand strong against the forces of Satan attacking us as Christians. It wasn’t until I was on a trip to the Holy Land where I stood at the mouth of that exact cave in Caesarea Philippi that I finally got it!

How wrong I was! The gates of the Christian Church are not being attacked. The Church is attacking the gates of hell! Christian soldiers are advancing against the forces of Satan. We are given keys as our weapons: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). We are to go on the offensive by calling people to repentance by binding their sins to them and locking the gates of heaven if they remain unrepentant of their sins. We also go on the offensive by calling people to repentance and freeing the captives from their sins by forgiving them and unlocking the gates of heaven if they are repentant.

Gates were defensive structures in the ancient world. By saying that the gates of hell would not overcome his Church, Jesus suggested that those very gates of hell were going to be attacked!

The image here is not of God’s city being attacked and repelling the attackers, but the city of the Devil being attacked by the soldiers of God. That’s why we are singing today, “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” The city is this world, claimed by the prince of this world – the Devil – after the Fall. In the beginning of the book of Job, the Devil flaunted his claim on this world before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming the earth and walking around on it” (Job 1:7). Satan also flaunted his control of this world to Jesus in the wilderness. The Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. The Devil said to Jesus, “I will give you all of these things, if you will bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:8-9). The prince of this world had the audacity to try to defeat the King of creation with desert temptations. But Jesus would not be overcome.

Rather, the King attacks the fortress of the Devil. He comes into the very domain of sin and death. He enters the battlefield by taking on human flesh and blood at his incarnation. The Devil snickers and the demons roar as Jesus is nailed to the cross at his crucifixion. But it is with blood and wood that Jesus defeats the Devil. He removes the power of sin by taking sin’s sting upon himself. He releases the Devil’s foothold on this earth by being struck by the serpent’s fangs in his divinely human feet. He frees souls from death by his own glorious resurrection from the grave.

The Church of Christ is the mighty army of the Lord that isn’t waiting inside a fortress repelling attacks. We are Christ’s soldiers who march forward against the gates of hell with the good news of the cross. The cross is a battering ram against sin, death, and the Devil. Christ’s resurrection from the grave at Easter Dawn is the light for those held captive in the darkness. Christ sitting at God’s right hand means freedom for a world claimed by the enemy but retaken by God in Christ. Nothing can harm us for we have been marked and claimed by Christ. This is the way St. John describes it in Revelation 14:1: “Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.” That seal on the head and heart is the sign of the cross that the pastor placed on you at your Baptism.

The Christian Church is not weak and vulnerable, just waiting to be attacked on all sides. Instead, Christ’s words transform fearful and reluctant disciples into stormtroopers for the Messiah.

Jesus presented a clear challenge with his words at Caesarea Philippi – he didn’t want his followers hiding from evil. He wanted them to storm the gates of hell.

The Devil is pictured in Revelation 12 as a huge, red, seven-headed dragon. In Revelation 13, the dragon of the Devil enlists two ferocious beasts to help him in attacking Christians. We’ve talked about the dragon and these two beasts in our latest Men Who Understood The Times podcasts. The beast out of the sea represents the governments throughout the history of the world that have persecuted Christians. The beast out of the earth represents all the religious powers that oppose Christ and his Church during the New Testament era.

The dragon and his beasts are attacking you. So, how are you doing in your attacks against the dragon and his beasts? Are you on the offensive or the defensive?

After Jesus spoke to his disciples about storming the gates of hell, he also gave them a word of caution: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory” (Luke 9:26). Jesus knew that his followers would face ridicule and anger as they tried to confront evil. We cannot successfully confront evil when we are embarrassed about our faith. Jesus’ words come as a sharp challenge – no matter how fierce the resistance, his followers should never hide their faith in the Triune God.

Standing as they were at a literal “Gate of Hell,” the disciples may have been overwhelmed by Jesus’ challenge. But Jesus assured them that his Church would always stand strong despite any attacks. Because his Church was built on him – the “rock”, “the foundation”. That’s why we sang today, “Built on the Rock” and “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.”

Our 21st century American society appears to be just as godless as the 1st century of Caesarea Philippi. We are living in a godless society where there are no moral absolutes. At the same time, it is also a polytheistic society that will allow for any type of god … except for the Triune God. We are living in a confusing and illogical society. A society where women protest to protect lobsters from being boiled because lobsters feel pain. But those same women celebrate murdering unborn children up to the moment of birth. Those children in the womb certainly feel pain. A society where the WNBA cannot figure out what the “W” stands for in their name. So, they have former NBA stars attempting to enter the WNBA draft. A society where people are upset that Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War said, “At the Department of War, we do training, not trannies.” Yet, those same people were not upset when a dude dressed up as a transgender woman as the previous Health Secretary. A society that embraces tolerance for everyone and everything – except for Christians who speak about sin or Jesus as the Savior.

Unfortunately, many of us have cowered under the confusing and mixed-up message of our society. We don’t want to be judged in the court of public opinion. We don’t want to be vilified on social media. We don’t want to offend anyone. We don’t want anyone to leave the church because we are bold and confrontational. We don’t want to be seen as anything other than “nice.” So, we accept the sin that is all around us, rather than confronting it. We are afraid to go on the offensive.

Or we just try to avoid the sinful culture altogether. We cower in our churches, hide in our homes, and shut the door on the evil that influences our culture. We keep our heads down and our mouths shut. We are hunkered down on the defensive. But Jesus challenged his followers to go on the offense — to proclaim the truth without shame. Perhaps that causes the church to shrink. Perhaps that causes the church to grow. That’s not our concern. Nor is it our call. We are called only to be courageous. We are called to be faithful. God will do the rest with his Church.

In a city filled with false gods, Jesus challenged his followers to commit to the one true God. While false idols promised prosperity, they would ultimately fail to deliver. Jesus didn’t promise an easy life, but he delivered on the promise of salvation – the only kind of prosperity that really matters.

Our churches should become staging areas rather than fortresses – places that equip God’s people to confront a sinful world instead of hiding from it. Jesus knows that the pagan world will resist, but he challenges us to go there anyway, and to build his Church in those very places that are most morally decayed.

By looking at the world, it may seem like Satan is in charge. But as Christians, listening to the Word, we know that Jesus is really in charge. St. Paul promises the ultimate victory, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). The mighty fortress of Christianity will stand. The gates of hell will not.

Jesus tells us today that we are to go on the offensive. Church memberships may shrink and churches may close their doors, steeples may fall and spires may crumble, but the Christian Church will never die out. It can never be defeated. The Scriptures promise that the Church will stand forever. Nothing can keep our Redeemer from upholding his promised salvation. Neither wilderness temptations nor the gates of hell, neither an Egyptian army nor a flooding river, not even the great tribulation of the end times will keep our God from preserving his Church.

So go on the offensive. Take back the ground we’ve lost. Claim more territory for Christ’s Kingdom. Win more souls for Christ.

One of the great lines in the great movie The Princess Bride is when Miracle Max says to Inigo and Fezzik, “Have fun storming the castle!” Storming Satan’s castle may not seem like much fun – not with all the mistreatments, persecutions, imprisonments, and deaths. But winning is always fun. And Christ has already assured us of the victory. The two beasts have been beaten. The red dragon is defeated. Death is dead. Sin has been struck down. So, have fun storming the gates of hell! Amen.