The Gates of Hell
- Sermon By: Bishop St. Hylton R Coombs
- Categories: God, Holiday
The mention of the “gates of Hell” comes immediately after Peter’s confession, where Jesus declares, “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” (Matthew 16:18, ESV). This statement signifies the establishment of the church and its invincibility against the powers of death and darkness.
Matthew 16:13 is a pivotal passage where Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” This question leads to Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). In response, Jesus blesses Peter, affirming that this revelation came from God.
Sermon Description
In Matthew 16. Jesus takes his disciples to the district of Caesarea Philippi to ask them a question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They stumble around a bit giving various general thoughts.
Then Peter pipes up. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” What a guy, Cephas. Jesus commends his outspoken disciple, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”
The phrase pulai hadou (gates of hell) is a Jewish expression meaning “realm of the dead.” The same two words appear in the Septuagint version of Job 38:17–“Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness [puloroi de hadou]?”). They appear again in Isaiah 38:10–“I said in the middle of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol [pulais hadou] for the rest of my years”. In both passages, pulai hadou is a euphemism for death. Notice the parallelism in both passages. The first half of each verse clarifies that the second half of the verse is not about hell but about death. The gates of hell represent the passageway from this life to the grave.