And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

 

 Jesus answered and said, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 

 

- Matthew 16:13-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  My study Bible comments that Christ's question, "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, because it is the question that defines Christianity.  Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  Instead, it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  Such a position means that all compromise with other religious systems is excluded.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, my study Bible adds, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3), as Jesus says Himself in the following verse ("Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven").  Christ means "Anointed One," and is the equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study Bible also points out that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself (at the top of the reading).  This is done in order to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.  

 

 Jesus answered and said, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Here my study Bible shows us that Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock" -- both in Aramaic and Greek (Gk. Πετρος-Petros/πετρα-petra).  It notes that this rock refers not to Peter per se, but, according to St. John Chrysostom, to "the faith of his confession."   The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades, my study Bible explains, are the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering its gates, Christ opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  So therefore the Church also shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  My study Bible also comments that the term church is mentioned only twice in all the gospels, here and in Matthew 18:17.  This Church, it says, is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.  

 

 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  Keys of the kingdom is a reference to a special authority that will be given to both Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18; John 20:23).  My study Bible tells us that Peter was not a leader over the other apostles, but rather among them.  This truth was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, an Peter advised but James presided.   My study Bible adds that certain papal claims in later centuries should not be confused with the New Testament witness regarding Peter -- and neither should the role of Peter be diminished in opposition to these claims.  Moreover, binding and loosing, it notes, is a reference primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" according to St. John Chrysostom; see also John 20:23.  But it also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles.  This authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect today.

 

So, if Christ is the true Rock of the Church, then how shall we look at His words today to Peter (whom Jesus named "Rock")?  Clearly, as my study Bible teaches (quoting St. John Chrysostom), it is the faith of Peter's confession -- which we may also share -- that becomes the rock.  It is yet one more instance among many that demonstrates for us the power of faith to make a connection to Christ, and through which Christ's power and authority may be shared with us.  In all of the healings done by Christ, in the miraculous feedings in the wilderness, it is the presence of faith that enables such things to happen, making a connection with Christ.  In the healing of the woman with the twelve years blood flow, it is her faith -- as she dares to touch the hem of His garment -- that connects to release power from Christ and make her well.  As He tells her, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  When the Canaanite woman dared to struggle with Christ for a healing for her daughter, she was rewarded for the persistence of her faith.  Jesus told her, "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be to you as you desire."  When Jesus was rejected in His home town of Nazareth, we're told that He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.   All of this is to show that it is the power of faith in Christ that connects us mysteriously to Christ's power and authority, just as He has also shared the same with the apostles as they went out on their first mission to heal, cast out demons, and preach the gospel message.  Repeatedly we're shown that it is faith that makes such connection and sharing possible.  So, the idea that the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ becomes all the more vividly illustrated through these other events in the Gospels that also depend upon faith in order to happen.  They give us the clues in the Gospels about the power of faith and what it does and makes possible.  On this strength, then, we should not wonder that our Church depends, and so much else depends in the world.  It seems that we frequently fail to give sufficient consideration to that power of our faith, and what are the consequences when we become tepid or uncaring, or take it for granted.  Certainly in the Revelation we witness the chastising response for a Church grown lukewarm in its faith (Revelation 3:16).  But if, by the connection of this faith, healings happen, the Church is built, and the demonic is supplanted by the authority of Christ, what then will be the consequences when faith is dismissed or considered to be extraneous to our lives?  There is currently a best selling book on Amazon.com entitled Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, by Tom Holland, in which the historian explores all the ways in which Christianity has shaped so much of the things we take for granted as part of culture, ethics, values, legal systems, and the common assumptions behind much of our thinking.  In light of that context, it is perhaps illuminating to consider what we might stand to lose when we take all of that for granted, and separate it from the faith out of which it came and was built.  Can we abstract out all the good things that have benefited us from our faith?  Will those "live" in the same way and with the same power and potential?  Perhaps it is time for all of us to set greater stock in the value of our faith itself, and the things it has created in the world through which the whole world benefits.  Let us consider the very thing that gives us the rock upon which we build, and which can prevail even against the gates of Hades.