The Gates of Hell

** This teaching was highly influenced by my time spent with Ray VanderLaan and his teaching which can be seen in the "That the World May Know" DVD series.

If Jesus was worried about the disciples not getting out of the boat at Susita, or truly learning the lessons of the last few chapters of Matthew, Jesus puts the disciples in a real pressure cooker in the next story.

Jesus marches the disciples into the region of Caesarea Philippi, and to properly understand the message surrounding the famous passage we often call “Peter’s Great Confession,” we need to do a basic history lesson regarding this place referred to as Caesarea Philippi.

In the ancient world of the Old Testament, this location would have served as a major place of worship for the Assyrian, Canaanite, and Phonecian god of Baal. While the nuances change throughout the ancient world, Baal was seen, almost without exception, as the god of agricultural fertility. Thunder was his voice, lightning was his weapon, and rain was his “gift” to the earth. Water was the common image of Baal. Therefore, wherever the ancient world had a spring or a water source that came from the earth, it was immediately associated with Baal worship.

At this particular location, a major water source flowed out of the rock face; in the ancient world, seven springs were reported to have flowed from this location. It serves as one of three major sources which form the headwaters of the Jordan River. The religious myth went something like this (it is not my desire to be crude, but to explain very clearly the context of this story):

In the winter, everything begins to die. This is because Baal has left this earth to descend into the underworld and pursue his mistress, Ashtoreth (or Asherah, the goddess of sexual fertility). Baal pursues her and she continually teases him to the point of ejaculation. The rainy season is actually Baal’s sperm watering the earth and bringing life to the world around us. In the spring, Baal grows weary of this game and emerges from the underworld and the agriculture springs back to life.

This myth will eventually evolve from Baal worship into Pan worship (the preferred god of the Greeks) and the underworld being Hades (the Greek version of hell). The name of the location will become Panias — or sometimes translated in the Roman world as Banias.

Ruins of the temple to Pan at the "rock" known to the
ancient world as the 'Gates of Hell'

When Herod dies and wills his kingdom to his three sons, this region falls under the rule of Philip in the north. Philip, in an effort to gain the admiration of Caesar, follows in his father’s footsteps and rebuilds the city of Banias, dedicating it to Caesar and attaching his name, calling it Caesarea of Philip (or Caesarea Philippi). Most historians believe it was an effort to build a commercial enterprise out of the annual festival held in honor of the god Pan, called Pandaemonium. This festival included a parade featuring a six-foot erect penis made of gold, which was paraded in the midst of the women who would caress the statue and work themselves into a sexual frenzy. Meanwhile, the men would celebrate the story of Pan by engaging in beastial relations with goats.

The Roman world called this location “the Gates of Hell.”

This is the region of Ceasarea Philippi. It makes the Decapolis look like a children’s playground.

Jesus brings his disciples here, and the following conversation takes place:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus is incredibly pleased with Peter’s answer. In fact, in reference to an earlier conversation we’ve had, Jesus claims Peter has received sod (more on this in the next post). He also includes another detail in his exclamation:

And Jesus answered him, “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 tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Now, if I’m reading this passage correctly in context, Jesus is following that brilliant rabbinic principle of never teaching about something you cannot point at. We have for centuries argued about what the rock is that Jesus will build his church on. The Catholics have argued that the rock is Peter himself; I think there is some truth to that — Peter will be the leader of the Christian movement. Protestants have argued that the rock is the truth of Peter’s confession; obviously, I think there is plenty of truth to that, as well.

But both of these answers ignores the cultural setting of Caesarea Philippi. Jesus is saying, “Listen guys! I’m building my church and I’m bringing the Kingdom of God RIGHT HERE! I’m going to bring shalom to the most incredible chaos. And the Gates of Hell itself will not be able to prevail against what I’m doing in the world!”

Now, this raises a hundred different observations, but one of the most impactful for me as I’ve studied in this region is that Jesus’s movement in the world is an offensive strategy, not a defensive one. I have grown up with a faith that worked hard to play it safe. This message is telling me Jesus is running INTO the chaos with shalom. He’s looking for the places where it’s needed most and he is employing it at the points of crisis.

He trusts in the work of God that much.

He trusts the story.

And he’s wanting to hand us the keys.