The Gates of Hades: Jesus’ Meaning

In Matthew 16 Jesus took his disciples to the district of Caesarea Philippi, there he posed two questions to his disciples. First, he asked, who the people said he was, to which they replied, John the Baptist, or one of the prophets, such as Elijah or Jeremiah. Then Jesus asked them the more important question; who they said he was. Simon responded and declared Jesus to be the Christ, Son of the Living God. At that response, Jesus told Simon that God had revealed that information to him; from then on he would be called Peter and prophesied that on this rock he, Jesus, would build his church against which the Gates of Hades would not prevail.

To us, Jesus’ reference to the Gates of Hades and the connection with their being in Caesarea Philippi might not be clear. The Gates of Hades was a cave located at Caesarea Philippi, which was thought to be the entrance to the underworld. In that cave sprang two springs which formed part of the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was believed that the gods of fertility dwelled there and into those springs, the ancient Romans would cast infants to secure a bountiful harvest. If the child disappeared, then it was believed that the sacrifice had been accepted, but if blood appeared in the water, then the sacrifice had been rejected and another child would need to be sacrificed. When Jesus declared his church would overwhelm the Gates of Hades, in effect he was saying that his church would overcome the pagan religion of the Romans and Greeks. With the preaching of the apostles, the Gospel of Jesus began to do just that.

The Emperor Julian, nephew of the Emperor Constantine, was just one illustration of the power of Jesus to transform the Roman Empire and the world. Julian had been raised a Christian, but as an adult returned to the ancient pagan religion of Rome. Traveling through Asia Minor he came upon a city in which the pagan temple was in disrepair and the priests spent their time getting drunk. Appalled, Julian chastised them for the condition of the temple, their behavior and for not taking care of the poor. He urged them to care for the poor as the Christians did. However, Julian’s response revealed how much Jesus’ message had changed him and the Roman world. The priests were acting as pagan priests had always acted; they got drunk and thought little of the poor who were despised in the ancient Greek and Roman world. Julian wanted the priests to act as if they were Christians. In other words, Jesus message had impacted not only those who believed in him, but had changed the standard of behavior for everyone, demonstrating a fulfillment of what he had declared back at Caesarea Philippi!

The Gospel Explained By Paul In Romans

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explains what the good news, or gospel really is. He does so by correcting an assumption that the religious Jews had made about Abraham. The religious Jews of Paul’s day attached a special value to Abraham’s believing God as recorded in Genesis 15. Due to Abraham’s belief in what God had promised him, God declared Abraham to be righteous. The Jewish leaders of Paul’s day taught that Abraham’s belief in God’s promise could be considered an action that established his righteousness. This is why they did not consider Abraham to be different from his physical descendants through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, who received the Mosaic law and were taught to obey it. Even though Abraham never lived under the Mosaic law, nor was circumcised when he was declared righteous, the first century Jews considered him righteous due to his efforts. It was this belief that Paul was correcting in Romans 4, when he demonstrated that if the Jewish teaching were true, then God’s promise to Abraham was empty, and no grace was involved, because in effect Abraham had earned righteousness through believing God.

Paul explained that the Mosaic law, actually any law, establishes legality, transgression as Paul expressed it, because where there is no law, there exists no transgression, no illegality. On the other hand, obeying the law does not establish righteousness, any more than a government rewards it citizens who live legally. In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus shed light on the subject, when he explained to the disciples that a master who returns from a trip does not reward or even thank his servants who prepare his meal and serve him before they eat. There is no added reward for doing what is our responsibility in the first place.

Paul’s point was that being declared righteous was not and is not the result of living obediently or doing good works, but rather the result of believing and trusting God to do what he has promised. In Abraham’s case it was believing God would fulfill his promise to him regarding a son; to us it is believing Jesus will forgive us when we repent from our transgressions. Paul’s explanation in Romans 4 demonstrates how Christianity is unique among religions and is truly based on God’s undeserved grace to those who seek His forgiveness and not upon obeying laws or practicing religious rituals.

Why Jesus Teaches Us To Forgive

Have you ever considered the wisdom of Jesus’ instruction to pray for those who have hurt you and continue to make life difficult for you? By this Jesus didn’t mean that we pray that God would judge them or protect us, but rather that God would bless the very individuals who have hurt us. Recently, my wife went through a frightening situation. Her response was to pray that God would bless the perpetrators. Her example helped me to understand the purpose of Jesus’ words to forgive.

Scripture teaches us that God has no desire to condemn anyone, he desires all individuals to come to a point of repentance in their life. Jesus understood and teaches us that individuals turn to God due to God’s kindness toward them. How is God’s kindness extended and demonstrated to someone who lives life out of anger and hurt? One way is for someone who has been hurt by that individual to show kindness to them by asking that God would bless them and show kindness to them. This is similar to Jesus’ prayer when he asked that God would forgive the soldiers who were crucifying him. When Jesus died, these battle hardened soldiers saw that Jesus truly was a man from God. When seen in this light, Jesus’ words to pray for those who persecute us make perfect sense and align with God’s heart toward mankind. In this way, Jesus also invites us to participate in seeing people healed from their own hurts and reconciled with God himself.

Misguided Assumptions about Man and God

Our assumptions on a topic naturally lead to our conclusions about that same topic. This is what Paul was getting at when he summed up his thoughts regarding God’s forgiveness of man’s unrighteousness and ungodliness. The Jews of Paul’s day, as do most everyone today, believed that the way to be acceptable before God was by obeying the commands of Moses, summarized in the 10 commandments. Today, most people do not refer to the 10 commandments, but they make the same assumption, which is: if your good works are greater than your failings, you will be acceptable to God, or at least that is the hope.

In Romans 3, Paul explained the error and misunderstanding of that approach, that assumption. Paul demonstrated that the purpose of the 10 commandments, in particular and the law of Moses in general, was never to provide a means of justification before God. In fact, that belief was a misguided assumption. Rather the purpose of the Mosaic law was to demonstrate guilt, not to God, but to man himself. The law was a means of putting man in a dilemma. If man was not able to justify himself by obedience to the law, then how could he ever be forgiven? Paul answered that question by explaining what Jesus accomplished. When Jesus, being God himself in the flesh, died he bore the full weight of the consequences of all of mankind’s unrighteousness and ungodliness, so that any individual who placed his or her trust in Jesus would be forgiven. By God bearing the consequences of man’s sin Himself, he remained righteous when he also justified man.

The assumption that we can somehow make ourselves righteous before God through our own efforts does not lead to being forgiven. Rather it leads to pride in our own accomplishments, which is by definition unrighteous and ungodly. An errant assumption about ourselves, God’s laws and even God himself, actually leads people away from God rather than to him. Paul explained the truth to the Romans so that they would have the opportunity to draw close to God rather than distance themselves from him. While it is a good thing to do what is right and moral, those actions do not make us righteous and moral, when we assume that they do, our good and moral actions lead us into pride in what we’ve accomplished. We see this in the Pharisees and religious Jews of Jesus’ day. These men obeyed the law of Moses, but were not righteous, they were actually proud of the way they lived. Their pride led them to being in opposition to Jesus. Paul understood his own dilemma Romans 7, when he wrote a question we should all ask ourselves: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” While we still seek to live good and moral lives, we still need a Savior to deliver us from ourselves.

Understanding True Christianity: More Than Just Good Works

Many people have misunderstood what it means to be a Christian. Some assume being a Christian is to live the best way that you can, so that the good you’ve done is greater than the bad. Sometimes this is equated with being “religious”. Paul’s letter to the Romans reveals that in fact the belief that your good works can outweigh your bad is actually what it means to be religious, but it is not what it means to be a Christian. In Romans chapter 2, Paul directed his words to the religious Jews who were part of the young Roman church. They believed the way to God was by following the law of Moses (being religious) and being circumcised as the sign of following the Mosaic law. These religious Jews had the same view as many do today. If our morality outweighs our immorality, then we will be acceptable to God. Paul revealed that no one can please God in this manner, because they just become hypocrites, as Paul revealed the religious Jews were in Rome. They taught others not to steal, but in some ways they stole. They taught others not to commit adultery, but desired what others had. They taught others not to rob temples, but dishonored God. Paul’s description of the religious Jews is the same plight of anyone who seeks to use their morality as the basis for becoming pleasing to God. Paul’s point? Everyone fails. Something else is necessary. They need a change of heart, that only God can effect through faith in Jesus’ offer of forgiveness. Paul referred to this as having a circumcised heart, whether one was circumcised in the flesh or not.

So it doesn’t matter what your ethnicity is, what your theology is, what church you frequent. What matters is whether you’ve trusted Jesus to forgive you and allowed him to transform your heart. This is why Jesus warns us not to judge another’s heart. While we can determine whether a behavior is right or wrong, we are utterly incapable of discerning another person’s heart. Only God can do that. We live in a world that is very confused about God and Jesus, but the bigger question is are we confused about them too?

What About God’s Wrath?

The topic of God’s wrath has at times caused some to question the goodness of God. Some come to the conclusion that God’s wrath and his love for mankind cannot co-exist. That conclusion did not seem to be a problem for Paul as he wrote his letter to the Romans. In his first chapter, Paul wrote that the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18)” Taking the statement by itself it is easy to associate Paul’s words with some form of God’s punishment. However, that conclusion would ignore what Paul had previously written in Romans 1:16-17. In those verses he had previously declared that the Gospel of Jesus is the power of God to save men from unrighteousness to righteousness.

The Gospel reveals God’s declaration of war against unrighteousness. His intent is to transform men, not punish them. In this way unrighteousness in men is destroyed like a disease is overcome through a powerful treatment. Understanding Paul’s reference to God’s wrath in verse 18 in the light of what he had just written about the Gospel in 16-17, reveals that Paul was not referring to God’s punishing men, but to his intent on saving them from unrighteousness, including self-righteousness, and ungodliness. When God saves an individual, he does more than change his behavior; he changes his heart. The Gospel is not a self-help program, anymore than a diseased organ can be cured by a behavioral change, outside help is needed. The proclaimed Gospel is the power of God to overpower unrighteousness and ungodliness that lurks, hidden within the human heart. Therefore, Paul’s reference to God’s wrath is a description of the Gospel overcoming the ills in humanity.

“The problem is that evil resides in places that laws and regulatory agencies cannot touch. It resides in he human heart, which only the Spirit of God can touch and bring healing to. Jesus’ final prayer command (deliver us from evil) touches the issue of evil in the human heart. It is a recognition that only the Spirit of God can protect us from evil that has invaded every area of human existence – the community, schools, and even the nuclear family.” (Outrageous Prayer, pg. 154)

The Brotherhood of Christianity

Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus, on the morning of his resurrection, displays the emotion that Mary felt in those moments. She was crying, distraught over the disappearance of Jesus’ body. However, when Jesus called her name, she knew it was him and clung to him, so much so that Jesus asked her to stop, because she had more important business. That business was to announce Jesus’ resurrection to his brothers, the disciples, and tell them he was going to his Father and their Father and to his God and their God. The way Jesus phrased Mary’s commission demonstrated his connection with the disciples. He didn’t refer to them as “disciples”, but as “brothers”. He didn’t refer to God only as his Father and God, but also their Father and God. This is a confirmation of what Jesus had said earlier in John 15 when he told the disciples that he did not call them servants, but his friends, here he goes even further and refers to them as his brothers.

Jesus’ words reveal the uniqueness of Christianity. In no other belief system is God viewed as His followers’ brother or Father. Jesus identified himself as the disciples’ brother and identified God as their Father. Jesus’ words reveal that Christianity isn’t so much a religion, as it is a brotherhood. Jesus implied this when he taught the disciples in Matthew 23:8-12 that they were to view each other as brothers. They were not to refer to each other as “Father”, “Rabbi”, or “Teacher”. Jesus said this in response to how the Scribes and Pharisees acted. Being a brotherhood, there is no place in Christianity for one individual to rise above another, just as in a family it is inappropriate for one sibling to rise above another. In Christianity no classes exist, there is no priestly class, as there was in the Old Testament, because according to the New Testament, all followers of Jesus are priests. No one has an advantage more than another with God. No one has more access to God than another. All followers of Jesus are priests, meaning all have equal advantage, all have equal access. Jesus gave us the example. If Jesus identified himself as his disciples’ brother, then how much more should Christians see one another as brothers and sisters.

“When we have the possibility of referring to someone as ‘Father’, we are placed in a unique and privileged position. How we refer to someone reveals the closeness of our relationship with them. The more formal the name, the more distant the relationship and vice versa.” (Outrageous Prayer, page 22)

https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Prayer-Praying-Jesus-Prayed- ebook/dp/B09RW88FZC

The Irony of Jesus’ Leadership

It is fascinating to see how much irony is found in the Bible. In Matthew 20, Jesus had just informed his followers that he would be crucified. To say the least that was not good news or a positive message. However, right after Jesus’ statement two of his followers, James and John, along with their mother, approached Jesus to request what they thought were the two most important and powerful positions in Jesus’ Kingdom, to be at his right and left when he came into his Kingdom. Jesus told them they didn’t know what they were asking. They sure didn’t. They thought they were asking for positions of power and prestige. He asked them if they were willing and able to drink from the cup he was about to drink; they said they were. Even though they said they were willing, Jesus said that those positions were reserved for those prepared by the Father. Jesus entered into his Kingdom when he was crucified, so in effect these two brothers were asking to be crucified on Jesus’ right and left. Those two spots would be filled by two convicted thieves.

Afterwards the other 10, making the same assumption that the brothers made, were offended because of what the brothers had asked for. Jesus explained to them greatness in his Kingdom, contrasting it with how leadership and authority is exercised in the world. In the world, leaders use power and authority to make sure their followers comply with their commands. The threat of punishment or loss makes sure that followers in the world’s system comply, not so in the Kingdom of Jesus. In Jesus’ Kingdom servants and slaves are the leaders, just like Jesus, who although he was the Son of God identified himself as a servant. Now this is also different from the world’s way. In the world, no one chooses to be a slave, they are forced to be one. However, in Jesus’ Kingdom, Jesus instructed his followers to voluntarily choose to be a slave. That raises an important question. Why would anyone voluntarily choose or aspire to slavery? Actually it is for the same reason that Jesus did, for love. Jesus informed his followers that there is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for his friends. Jesus chose to be identified as a slave because of love. His followers aspire to be slaves because of their love for others. The world does not see this as greatness, but in Jesus Kingdom it is. This one story reveals how different Jesus’ Kingdom is from the way that the world operates. It also explains why in the first century, the message of Jesus was so offensive to those in positions of power and affluence, but appealed to the slaves and powerless. For those following Jesus, there exists a daily decision to determine according to whose values one will live, the world’s or Jesus’.

The Transforming Power of Jesus’ Death

As Jesus hung on the cross, the crowd taunted him saying that he saved others, he should save himself. Their taunt revealed how much they misunderstood Jesus They judged Jesus by their own standards, rather than by God’s love. Their value was to save themselves, to do what would benefit themselves and assumed that Jesus was just like them. They were wrong. Up until Jesus’ time the value was “might makes right.” A victorious general came and conquered a city; then he made the law and did what he wanted. He killed the men, women and children he chose, or allowed his soldiers to do so. He allowed them to rape any woman or child they desired. He enslaved whomever he wanted and took them from their home to his. Compassion and forgiveness were considered foolish. The disabled were shunned and left to beg and fend for themselves. It was a very different world before Jesus died on the cross. But after Jesus died, when he refused to save himself as the crowd taunted, the world began to change. For the first time in human history, Jesus revealed the power of someone sacrificing himself for the benefit of others, even when virtually no one understood what he was doing. After Jesus, his followers went out and proclaimed the power of love for your neighbor and your enemy in Jesus’ name. Their persecuted communities were so attractive that at first primarily slaves were drawn and then those who were free, even some in Caesar’s own household became followers of Jesus. Baby girls who had been abandoned at the order of their own fathers, were taken in by followers of Jesus to raise these girls as their own daughters. Over the centuries Europe was transformed from a warring group of tribal kings to a society in which the poor and abandoned were cared for. Today, we have hospitals for the sick; we have schools where all children, wealthy or poor, can go and receive an education. We have values where everyone’s rights are acknowledged not based on how much they can contribute to society, but because they are people. The world in which we live was shaped by Jesus’ decision not to save himself. It is a good thing for you and me that he chose not to listen to those taunting him, because if he hadn’t done what he did, we would live in a world where the vast majority of us would live under the oppression of a few powerful men, just like all the world did prior to Jesus.


Seeing God’s Image and Reading His Inscription



No one enjoys paying taxes, even in Jesus’ day. Jesus’ enemies hoped to put Jesus in an awkward situation regarding taxes, but Jesus used it to give us revelation about who man is and how God expects him to live. The trick question regarded paying taxes to Caesar (Luke 20:22). The trick involved putting Jesus in an apparent no win situation, because if he said they should pay taxes to Caesar it would diminish Jesus’ standing among the people, who hated paying taxes to Caesar. On the other hand, if Jesus denied that they should pay taxes to Caesar, they could condemn him to the Roman governor as a rebel and trouble maker. Considering their duplicity, Jesus asked them a question, whose image and inscription was upon a coin. Their response was that it was Caesar’s, who had minted the coins of that day. Therefore Jesus told them to give back to Caesar what is his, the money he had created, but more importantly, they were to give back to God what is God’s. The question is, what did Jesus mean by giving back to God what is his? In response we should ask ourselves where is God’s image and where is his inscription? The creation account in Genesis 1, declares that God created man in his image, male and female he created them. That means, every man, woman and child, bears God’s image in their body and being. Furthermore, we know from Scripture, that God has written eternity in man’s heart. Every time we look at a human being, we get a glimpse of the image of God. Every time we see someone sacrificially loving someone else, we are reading God’s inscription. So how do we give back to God? What Jesus identified as the greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is how we give back to God. Ironically, the resistance we display to paying taxes indicates a rival to loving God, humans tends to love money and possessions more than they love God, which is why it can irritate us to pay taxes to the state and federal government. We don’t like to be separated from that which we love anymore than the people of Jesus day hated paying taxes to Caesar. That resistance should cause us to take a moment to pause to ask ourselves where our devotion lies, to money or to God.

“When describing the temple, Jesus declared it to be a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13). The temple was and is to be a place in which we meet and converse with God. Prior to the coming of the Spirit, the temple was a building, but after his coming, the temple became a people indwelt with the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:20). Since we are the people of God, we are to reflect that identity by prayer and communion with God.” (Outrageous Prayer, page 8).

https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Prayer-Praying-Jesus-Prayed- ebook/dp/B09RW88FZC