21 Aug 2005

"Jesus' Church vs. Hades"

Matthew 16:13-20

Rick Pendleton writes, "A priest asked a little boy if he knew what 'matrimony' meant. The little boy replied, Sure! It is a place between heaven and hell where a man pays for his sins."

I believe the little boy was confused between matrimony and purgatory. Though some people might think it is the same thing, I beg to differ. However, this story reminds me of how difficult it is to learn a language, and new vocabulary in particular. Danny is already becoming aware of the difficulties between Spanish and English. For example the other day he was talking to Christinita and he said to her, "Dantes casa," showing her the house of our dog Dante. Well, in English he can say "Dante's house," putting the pronoun first. In Spanish however, it is not correct to say Dante's casa. He should say, "La casa de Dante." Casa had to come before Dante.

Some scholars believe that a similar thing could happen in Matthew. We could miss something in the translation to English. Jesus said to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church..." (16:17). By reading this verse in English we have missed the connection between Peter and rock, unless we know that Peter and rock are the same word. For example we would be asking ourselves: what is the rock Jesus is talking about? In the Greek language, Peter is Petros and rock is Petra. Peter (Petros) is in the masculine form, and rock (Petra) in the feminine. One can ask, if Jesus wanted to make a clear connection between the rock and Peter, why not use the same form? Well, in the Greek, the writer of Matthew had to use the feminine form to refer to the church. Ecclesia in the Greek is a feminine noun; therefore the writer had to use Petra instead of Petros. If we were reading these verses in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, we would be using the same exact word, no feminine or masculine form. We would read, "And I tell you, you are Rock and on this rock I will build my church."

Having said that, however, for years we non-Catholic Christians have argued that Jesus was not speaking of building his church over the leadership of Peter, rather Jesus was referring to the revelation Peter had. Catholics on the hand believe that these verses establish a single male leader to run the church, a pope. When Jesus asked the disciples, "But who do you (plural) say that I am?" Peter answered on behalf of all the disciples, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." In response to Peter, Jesus answered, ""Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church..." (16:17). In other words, we non-Catholic Christians say that Jesus said, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on the revelation given to you 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God' I will build my church." Therefore, Jesus' church will be built on the premises that he is the Messiah of the living God.

The problem with this interpretation is that it does not take seriously the connection between Peter (the Rock) and the rock Jesus refers to. Richard B. Gardner, an Anabaptist scholar, wrote in his commentary of Matthew, "It is more likely... that the rock on which Jesus promises to build the church is in fact Peter himself, Peter the first disciple (cf. 4:18; 10:2) who represents the whole group of disciples from which the church will be formed."

The point Jesus was trying to make is not that Peter, a single man, will be the foundation on which his church will be built, but that it will be built in contrast to others. In other words, Jesus' church, this ecclesia or assembly of believers, will not be built upon the teachings of the day, but on the teachings of the disciples. Moments before Jesus warned the disciples, "Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (16:6). The disciples correctly understood Jesus to say "be aware... of the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (16:12).

Jesus' church, this new assembly of believers, will not follow the teachings of the religious leaders of the day, but the teachings of his own disciples. This revelation was meant to break the connections between the followers of Jesus and the Jewish teachers. The authority to teach and train Jesus' church will come from his own disciples, and not from other Jewish religious leaders. After all, it was they, Peter and the disciples, who were able to see Jesus as the true "Messiah of the living God."

Yet, there is a second revelation in Jesus' words. He said to Peter, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." Most scholars interpret this second revelation as a promise to the church, to this new assembly of believers, that evil and death will not destroy them. In his commentary of Matthew, Dr. Gardner writes, "According to Jesus, the community he builds is such a place, capable of withstanding destruction. However fierce the floodwaters that beat against the church, its foundation is secure, and it will not be overwhelmed."

There are two concerns that I have with Dr. Gardner's interpretation. One, Dr. Gardner refers to this new assembly of believers as a place; "the community he builds is such a place..." John Howard Yoder and others have pointed out that there are no evidences that Jesus or the writer of Matthew were thinking of a physical place when referring to the church. The church is not a building or a place. In the New Testament, the church is always referred to as the assembly of Jesus' followers. On the other hand, in Greek mythology and in the Hellenistic Jewish culture, Hades is a place. It is the place of the dead. The Greek god that rules over Hades also goes by the same name.

In the Old Testament the place of the dead was referred to as Sheol. But whether or not we are talking about the Jewish Sheol or the Greek Hades, we are talking about a place. Therefore, my second concern with Dr. Gardner's interpretation is that he downplays the fact that Hades is a place.

Interestingly enough, in Caesarea Philppi, where the conversation between Jesus and the disciples took place, there is a cave that some today refer to as the gates of Hades.

The entrance to this cave reminds us of the opening of the mouth of an animal. It is not difficult to see why some people could image this cave to be the entrance to Hades.

Furthermore, in Greek Mythology there is an actual gate guarded by a dog with three heads named Cerebus or Cerberus. This mystical creature prevented the gods and mortals from entering Hades to try to destroy it.

Jesus did not talk about the gates of the church. He did not say the "gates of the church will withstand the attacks of Hades."

He said, "and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." Meaning, the gates of the place of death can not keep the assembly of believers outside.

It is not that the church will withstand the attacks of the enemy. Rather it is that this new assembly of believers will have the power to enter the dark and evil places and over come them, as John Howard Yoder and others scholars have argued. The church, we, you and I, will be able to be light to the world. We would be able to shed light in dark places. Bring peace in places of conflict. Hope in places of hopelessness. Joy in places of despair. Bring life to places of death. This is what Jesus came to do, and this is what he expects of his church.

The third and final revelation of Jesus echoes this truth. He said, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (16:19). Most scholars agree that the binding and loosing language refers to the rabbinic authority to make decisions in the community.

Brian Stoffregen, a Lutheran preacher and scholar writes, "The keys of the kingdom of heaven given to Peter represent teaching authority (see Isaiah 22:20-25). That is also the meaning behind binding and loosing. Those are rabbinic terms for authoritative teaching, the authority to interpret Torah and apply it to particular cases, the authority to declare what is permitted and not permitted. This authority is given to the ekklesia in [Matthew] 18:18."

Here, in Caesarea Philippi a place build by Rome, a place named after Caesar Augustus and Philip the son of Herod, we find Jesus declaring to the disciples that they will be the ones who will lead his church. Following the leadership of Peter, the disciples and only the disciples will declare Jesus' truth. They and only they will teach his message. They will be the ones who will come to places of death and overcome its darkness. They will be the ones who will bring forth the kingdom of heaven here on earth. They possess the authority and truth to change the world.

The writer of Matthew reminds us that it is the church, the assembly of believers, those who see Jesus as the Messiah of the living God, who hold the truth. This revelation, this truth, is what we know and what we teach. Matthew also reminds us that it is the church, the assembly of believers, those who see Jesus as the Messiah of the living God, who hold the power to break the gates of Hades and overcome its darkness. It is the church who, in the name of Jesus, can enter the red light district and bring hope and life to the ones who sell their bodies, the ones who exploit others, the ones who seek drugs, and the ones who seek evil. It is the church who, in the name of Jesus, can enter war zones, crime scenes and execution chambers and bring forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and hope to those who kill as well as those who are affected by the killings. It is the church, in the name of Jesus, who can recognize the evilness inside some our institutions and governments and cast out the demons within them. It is the church who, in the name of Jesus, can bring hope, joy and life to the dark places of our own minds and souls.

Matthew also reminds us that it is the church, the assembly of believers, those who see Jesus as the Messiah of the living God, who have the authority to make decisions for the community. The Christian church, not other political or religious leaders, not Rome, not the world, holds the authority to decide what the church should and should not do. We surrender to no other authority. We confess no other god. We serve no other master than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us therefore, continue to teach and preach the truth we know, the gospel we have embraced.

Let us therefore, continue to enter the dark and evil places, the places of death inside the gates of Hades and the dark places within us, and bring life, hope and joy.

Let us therefore, continue to surrender, confess and serve no other master than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I pray and hope that we continue to be transformed by God so that we, by the authority and power of Jesus Christ, may transform our world. For His honor and for His glory we pray.

Amen.