“The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail”
Text: Matthew 16:13-19
3-9-2022
In the name of Him who prevailed against the gates of hell, dear friends in Christ. Tonight we’re going to look again at photos of a Biblical site in Israel for our meditation. In your bulletin are two pictures from an area way up in the northern region near the border of Lebanon. Just shortly after the time of Christ’s birth, Philip the Tetrarch, one of Herod’s sons, became the ruler of this area. There, he built up his capital city, which was called Paneas. However, in 14 AD he changed the name to Caesarea Philippi in an effort to suck-up to the Roman Emperor. The town no longer exists, but in the ruins nearby archeologists found the remains of an ancient pagan temple that predates Philip back to about the 3rd century BC. The temple was dedicated to the Greek god, Pan. He was half goat and half man. He was one of the fertility gods, especially in relation to the people’s flocks and herds. And they believed he did some very perverse things that I’m sure you wouldn’t want to hear about, especially here in church.
What’s really interesting is that the entrance of the cave that you see in that picture was a vital part of the worship of Pan. This may sound strange but this is how it worked: The people would bring their animal sacrifices and throw the body into this deep cavern. Way back at the bottom of the cave were underground waters that flowed in there. If the carcass of the sacrifice disappeared in the water, this was a sign that the god had accepted their offering. However, if blood appeared in the nearby springs that bubbled up above ground and which were fed by the water from the cave, then the sacrifice had been rejected. That may sound like some harmless, silly superstition, but it’s not. Sadly, there is evidence that those sacrifices were not only hapless animals. The worshipers of Pan would also throw their children into that cave to a die a horrible death. The true God of heaven had made it quite clear to the Israelites that all worship of false gods is detestable to Him. However, even more abhorrent to Him was child sacrifice.
And so, due to the type of sacrifices that took place here, tradition says that this cave was known as the “gate of hell.” You can imagine why. Now, we don’t know for sure if the temple to the god Pan still existed at the time of Christ, but more than likely it did. Regardless, the history of this cave certainly lived in the memories of the people. Again, it may only be a tradition, but it is believed that Jesus was standing near this infamous cave when He had the conversation with the disciples recorded in our text. In answer to Jesus’ question, Peter spoke on behalf of the others and identified Him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Notice, he said the “living” God. That’s significant because it rejects all the other supposed gods that the people around them worshiped. In these pictures you can see niches in the wall where statues of Pan would have been placed. This so-called god and all the rest were inanimate objects of stone and wood that only existed in mythological stories. The true God, however, was alive and almighty and active. What Peter was saying is that Jesus was that very God, standing beside them in human flesh. It was an amazing confession of faith.
Jesus commended Peter for getting it right. He said that on this rock-solid confession of faith He would build the Christian Church. But then He went on to say that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” That phrase, “gates of hell”, refers to the devil and his hordes of demons. All their vicious attacks against believers could not overthrow the Christian Church because it’s built on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ.
So, what’s all that got to do with the temple of the god Pan and the sacrifices to him at that cave? Well, it’s all part of a satanic assault to win the hearts and minds of people through deception, fear, and misguided devotion. How else can you explain the willingness of people to sacrifice their own children in order to appease this false god? Those hellish deaths certainly represented the devilish warfare that goes on to win over the souls of men and women. It’s not a stretch to believe that Jesus chose this very spot to elicit a confession from His disciples; a confession that He was the living, mighty God of heaven who could conquer the devil and all his power. He would destroy Satan and all his works so that people could be free from his evil oppression.
Jesus went to battle against the devil and his demons all throughout His earthly ministry. It began when He withstood the assault of the devil’s temptations in the wilderness that we heard about in the Gospel reading on Sunday. And what was the weapon Jesus used? The Word of God was His shield against Satan’s attacks. Likewise, the “gates of hell” could not prevail against His divine power as He commanded the demons to leave the people they possessed. When they spoke to Jesus, they certainly identified Him as the Son of God, but unlike the disciples, they trembled in fear at the knowledge of that. They knew that Jesus had come to defeat them and cast them into hell where they belonged.
But ultimately, Christ’s victory over those “gates of hell” took place on the cross. You see, the only power that the devil held over us was the guilt of our sins. As long as we were slaves to the sin that dominated our souls, we were under Satan’s control. But Jesus allowed Himself to be nailed to that tree where He became the sacrifice for every last one of our sins. There, the horrors of hell that we deserved were poured out on Him. He experienced the full fury of God’s wrath in our place. And the most horrible part of that punishment was the abandonment by His Father. That’s why in our reading from Mark 15, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That total separation was caused by our sinfulness that He took upon Himself.
When Jesus died on that cross, it appeared that the gates of hell had prevailed against Him and won. But thanks be to God, He didn’t stay dead. After 3 days in the grave, He came back to life early on Sunday morning. And as we confess in the Apostles’ Creed, the first thing He did was descend into hell. Not to suffer but to proclaim His victory over the devil and his horde of demons. By this action He was announcing to the world that the gates of hell could not stand against Him. His power over sin, death, and the devil are supreme.
Now, He has given that victory to us by faith. St. Paul says that when we were Baptized, we died with Christ. But more than that! We were also resurrected with Him. His victory is our victory. In our text, Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. That includes you and me and all believers in Jesus. But notice the “weapon” by which He says we’ll prevail. Christ calls it the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” to “bind” and “loose” things. Our Catechism explains what those “keys” are and what they are used for. It says these keys are “that special authority which Christ has given to His Church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.” (What is the Office of the Keys?) With the forgiveness won for us by Jesus on the cross, we can prevail against the devil’s accusations and assaults.
Trusting in that forgiveness we no longer have to live in fear of Satan or hell. We don’t have to try and appease some freakish, false god like Pan by sacrificing animals or even our children to him. And we certainly don’t need to try and appease the wrath of the true God in this way. That’s because Jesus did that for us. He sacrificed Himself so that we wouldn’t have to suffer the punishment we deserved. Built on the foundation of faith in Christ, the Church now prevails against the gates of hell. And we live in the security of knowing that Jesus assures salvation and eternal life in heaven to us. Pay close attention to the 4th stanza of our closing hymn tonight because it expresses the daily comfort this provides. “Lord Jesus, since You love me, Now spread Your wings above me, And shield me from alarm. Though Satan would devour me, Let angel guards sing o’er me: This child of God shall meet no harm.” May we rest in confidence, trusting that our victorious Savior, Jesus Christ, prevailed against the gates of hell for us. And may we, by faith, live in the freedom of His forgiveness, which was won for us on the cross. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!