The Gates of Hell
There is a story told of a young black boy that grew up in the ghetto. This young boy had both parents but was very poor. His parents once scraped up enough money to buy him a new bicycle. Unfortunately that bicycle was stolen. The boy was enraged by the loss of his bicycle and went looking for the person that stole his bike. While looking for his bike he came upon a policeman. The policeman knew that this young boy was upset and would probably get beat up if he found the person that stole his bike. This policeman took this young boy under his wing and began to mentor him. He realized that this kid was in a rough neighborhood and needed to be able to defend himself if he were to make it. He took this boy to boxing lessons at a local gym and eventually that young boy grew up and became the heavyweight champion of the world known as Cassius Clay or Muhammad Ali.
This officer knew that this boy had to be prepared for what was ahead. Today I want to look at a time in the ministry of Jesus in which He had to prepare His disciples for what was ahead of them.
IN our story this morning we will encounter Jesus leaving the Sea of Galilee and traveling north to Caesarea Philippi. This would be an odd place for Jesus to travel and to understand this we need to lay down some background information.
We have to go back a 2000 years to the Canaanites. The area of Caesarea Philippi was once a place where the Canaanites practiced Baal worship and worshipped fertility gods. This area became world renowned for Baal worship and was considered evil by the Jews.
In the reign of King Jeroboam he built an altar here to Baal that angered God and lead the Israelites into apostasy.
Later on some 300 years before Christ Alexander the Great came through this area of Palestine and established the city of Paneus. Paneus would become Alexander’s center for the worship of the Greek god Pan. Pan is the god that was half man and half goat. He is always shown as having a goat’s face. This area would become the world headquarters for Pan worship. Pan would be adopted by many Roman legions as their god of choice and the one that they honored. Pan worship was evil, immoral, and was nothing like we could imagine. The Pan cult is where we get the words Pandamonium from and Panic. This type of worship was equated with wild and out of control behavior. Paneus was situated at the foot of Mount Hermon and it was here that the Jordan River started. The Jordan River sprang from a cave at the foot of Mount Hermon. The Greeks taught and believed that this cave was where Pan went back to the underworld. There was a large cliff that was near this cave and this cliff had many pagan idols carved into it.
In the time of Jesus Paneus was renamed and enlarged by Herod Philip. You may remember that the Herod of the times of baby Jesus was Herod the Great.
Herod the Great had three sons: Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip.
Herod the Great had already built a city on the Mediterranean coast called Caesarea to honor the Roman Caesar.
Now Philip wanted to honor Caesar by enlarging Paneus but also wanted to make a name for himself so he renamed Paneus – Caesarea Philippi.
Now Philip would add more evil to this place by building the first Temple to Caesar Augustus in the world. This Temple would be set to worship Caesar as a god.
Now in this place that Jesus is taking his young disciples you would find 14 idols to Baal and Asherah as well as the shrine to Pan and a Temple to Caesar Augustus.
This would be the last place that any Jew would want to go visit.
You could probably imagine the disciples parents telling them when they were young to stay away from Caesarea Philippi and now the Master is taking them there.
A few geographical names given to parts of Caesarea Philippi will help us make sense of this story. 1st of all the cave that the Jordan River sprang out of was called the Gates of Hell – or Gates of Hades- this is where the Greeks and Romans believed Pan would descend to the underworld from and come back.
It was in the winter that it was believed that Pan would return to the underworld through this cave and then the people would do unspeakable acts to bring the return of Pan in the Spring time.
This place just 28 miles north of Jesus home was the place believed by pagans where the underworld would be open to our world. This was the world headquarters for demon movement to and from Hell.
2nd the huge cliff with all of the pagan statues was called The Rock-
So if you were to go to Caesarea Philippi during the time of Jesus during the 1st century there were two geographical attractions that everyone knew and that was the Gates of Hell and the Rock.
So in our passage this morning we will witness Jesus take his apostles to this pagan location and give almost a type of graduation ceremony.
Matthew 16: 13-20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 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." 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
It is interesting that Jesus chooses this place to ask Simon Peter this important question.
Many people had ideas as to WHO Jesus was but Jesus wanted to know what Simon Peter believed about Him. Simon Peter’s response to Jesus is important because he is the leader of the group. He is probably the oldest of Jesus disciples because only He and Jesus had to pay the Temple tax. The others would look to Simon and his response to Jesus. I could imagine that they were in shock because of where they were. They were probably wondering what Jesus was trying to tell them.
There are two things that I want to focus on that you might find odd from this passage and that is the following:
1) The Church will be built upon the authority of the Apostles and their leadership.
2) The church will challenge the evil of the world. The church will not be a castle that is hiding from the world.
I) This passage shows us that the battle with Satan and the forces of darkness begins with a strong foundation of truth.
The church is built upon a foundation.
1st of all Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church. The Church is built upon an unmovable truth of Jesus Christ.
But Jesus prepared for His departure. He did not leave us here without direction but made provision for a foundation of truth to be laid. He gives Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and this passage goes back to the OT.
In Isaiah 22 we learn of an office of viceroy of Israel. In Isaiah we read of Shebna the steward of King Hezekiah and Shebna was evil and had to be replaced by Eliakim. This office is spoken of in the passage and the authority given by the king to this official.
Isaiah 22: 20-22
20 "Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 "Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.
In this passage we see the similarity in what is said to Eliakim and Peter. Peter will receive the keys to the kingdom of heaven and Eliakim will receive the keys to the kingdom of David. In the OT the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of David are used interchangeably.
There are times when both are used to mean the same thing.
Jesus is the true Davidic King and his viceroys or his people that will carry out his commands will be the Apostles.
We cannot overestimate how important the apostles were in the early Church and the growth of the Church.
Peter will literally take the keys entrusted to him and open up the way to the Church when he preaches the first sermon on Pentecost. Just 50 days after Jesus crucifixion we will witness Peter stand up and tell people how to be saved.
In Ephesians 2:20 we see that the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles.
In a sea of relativity and competing ideas the Church was birthed with apostolic authority. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3 that the apostles have the very words of Christ.
It will be the early Church that will look to the Apostle’s guidance to find an anchor in the storm.
For the Church to make it today in a world that has lost its path we must now more than ever turn to Apostolic authority.
How do we do this? How do we just like the earliest Christians turn to the Apostles? We must look to the Scriptures.
Our canonical books of the our NT were determined by their connection to an apostle. In other words, the first question that was used to help determine if a book should be in our NT was, “Was the book written by an apostle or sanctioned by an apostle?”
We must delve into our NT and turn to the Scripture for our answers.
In 1965 65 percent of Americans believed the Bible to be true and that it was the inspired word of God.
Today that number has dropped to 32 %. A loss of 30 percentage points in a little over 40 years. Why has this happened?
In 1992 Barna did a poll and found that 72 percent of young people between 18-30 did not believe in absolute truth in our country. We are living in a time when more and more people do not believe that there are certain non-negotiables when it comes to truth.
Something similar to this has happened in our nation’s history. America was founded originally by people fleeing Religious tyranny in Europe. Many came to be free to worship and some saw their work as bringing God’s just kingdom rule to this earth.
What you don’t hear that is in the early 1700’s many people had fallen away. Alcoholism was on the rise and church attendance was dropping.
In the mid 1700’s there came what was to be called the Great Awakening in which the Bible would take center stage. There was a call to return to Scriptural teaching and public teaching of the word. Christianity exploded in our country and right before our American Revolution some estimate that 85 percent of Americans regularly attended Church services.
This emphasis on the Bible fueled much of America’s desire for independence to form a country that could worship and practice Christianity as we please without outside governmental interference.
The only way this type of growth can happen again is the model we find in the Bible. We go back to the well spring. WE go back to the authoritative word that is attested to by Apostolic witness.
We get to know our Bibles and share that knowledge with others.
We quit compromising in our government institutions, schools, and businesses. We stand for a perfect standard of purity in doctrine and lifestyle.
We speak where the Scripture speaks and we only give godspeed to what can be proved in the Scripture.
We once again become the people of the book.
II) We have to wade into the fight
We cannot have a castle building mentality as Christians. We have to be willing to do whatever it takes to share the gospel with those that are lost and dying.
Jesus takes his apostles to Caesarea Philippi, the most pagan place you could go. He goes to a place that is well known for paganism to make his point.
This would have been unheard of in his time to go to such a place. Could you imagine what his disciples were thinking?
He tells them that they are taking the fight to Hell. We are not waiting in our cozy towns and awaiting Jesus to come and destroy the world, but we take up our cross and follow Him.
In the next passage after this in Matthew 16 – Jesus makes this point- going and facing evil will take some cross bearing. There will be pain. We will suffer some loss for the Cross of Christ.
John 15: 18-20
18 "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own ; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Jesus makes it so perfectly clear that we are entering the battle zone. The hillside at Caesarea Philippi filled with pagan gods would be much like a pagan world that they would go into and teach the gospel. This rag-tag bunch would take the gospel even to the heart of this pagan empire and the world would never be the same again.
When you stand for what is right in a world that doesn’t want to hear the truth you are going to take criticism, pain, and you will suffer.
We are so blessed to live in a country that we can freely share our faith. It is not like that everywhere. Christians suffer for the cause of Christ everywhere in the world. One such place is our so called partner in our fight against terrorism, Pakistan. Not too long ago a young girl told a story of her family’s persecution in Pakistan. She tells of the story of a small and persecuted Christian community in a country that is officially Muslim.
She was poor and had to work for a rich Muslim boss. He tried repeatedly to convert her but she refused to convert to Islam. He beat her severly for this and her mother went to the man’s house to confront him about the beating.
This young girls mother asked the man for an explanation and he beat the mother also, poured gasoline on her and burned her to death. Stories like this happen everyday across the world. People so on fire for
Christ that they will die for that belief.
We are so blessed to have the change to be in a place that we can boldly proclaim the Word of God.
III. Are we willing to claim Christ? Peter proclaims that Jesus is the Son of the Living God and because of that he is declared to be a blessed man.
How many of us are willing to stand up and tell people that we believe in Jesus?
What about in company with non-believers? When bad jokes are told? Someone is cursing and taking his name in vain?
Someone is lost and they need to hear the truth that heals instead of a lie that kills?
One day we will meet risen Christ face to face. Will we be ashamed to look upon Him just like Peter was when Peter denied Him three times. The Scripture says that Jesus looked at Peter after Peter’s denial and Peter was crushed by what he had done.
Will we be ashamed because we are ashamed of Jesus. Are we willing to boldly proclaim the gospel just like many that came before us?
Jesus says
Matthew 10: 32-33
32 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Beneath Westminster Abbey is an old crypt which for centuries was used as the burial place of the early kings. It is related that one day some years ago a visitor who had wandered into this vault was locked in. He did not notice the doors swing together. The janitors were busy, and no one heard the muffled voice which began to cry from the crypt or the muffled blows which began to beat upon its oaken door. The afternoon passed away. What that imprisoned man suffered as it gradually grew upon him that he was buried alive, who can know?
At the usual hour the janitor made his evening round before closing the building for the night. The entombed man heard him as his footsteps came near, then retreated, came near again, then finally receding grew fainter and fainter, and died away at length in the distance. What imagination can conceive his agony! He redoubled his cries. He dashed his body wildly against the solid door.
Now he thought he heard the distant entrance doors creak on their hinges and the key pushed into the great iron lock. In a moment more the vast tomb would be closed for the night. Fortunately, before turning the key the janitor paused a moment and listened. He thought he heard dull blows, faint and far away -- a sound as of stifled, agonizing cries. He listened more intently. A horrible thought suggested itself to his mind: "Someone is locked in the crypt!" He hastened to the place, threw open the heavy oaken door, and held his lantern up to see. The buried man had fallen senseless upon the stone floor. He was rescued just in time to save his reason. How fearful to be locked in hell eternally!
We think that it would be horrible to be locked in that crypt and we think what a terrible feeling but what about those that will be locked in Hell for eternity?
I feel that Satan has lulled us into a slumber. Because of our great wealth and relatively tranquil lives it is easy to move into a castle mentality and not worry about this world.
Let us ask ourselves, If we saw that mountain full of pagan idols that day with Jesus what would have been our answer? Would we have taken up our cross?
Philip from Bethsaida – Imperial gate of Heiropolis. – He got it – He understood it. Peter – in Rome – he got it
We are in a battle, we are in a struggle that is more important that anything else we could imagine.
We cannot afford to be distracted any longer.
Our souls depend on it,
Our children’s souls depend on it
And I am sorry to say that our nation’s very existence may hang in the balance. Now is the time that we have to read the Bible the way it was written as a missionary document written to a church on the move for Christ.
We must look at our Gates of Hades and our Caesarea Philippis and be willing to take on the challenge.
We must go back to the strong hold of the Bible and its truth as God’s Living Word, and boldly Proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.
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