“Jesus said to the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of 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.”

Matthew 16:15-18

I’ve been to Ethiopia 4 or 5 times. Each time I fall deeper in love with the country and its beautiful people. Most of my time has been spent in the capital city of Addis Ababa. But I’ve traveled to other cities and villages as well.

While it is generally a safe country, it also takes safety very seriously. Many public buildings, hotels, and businesses have security measures in place with guards and X-ray scanners that you must go through on your way into the facilities. It is a normal part of life. And many of the buildings and hotels also have security gates that you must drive through to enter the parking lot.

In all my times there I’ve never felt like these security checks are incredibly thorough. In many ways they are performative. It is a checklist that every vehicle has to go through and it is a natural part of life. But, I don’t think it would be difficult to crack the security protocols.

One of the reasons I say this is because of the gates that are protecting these parking lots. They all shared a similar design: a crossbar that blocked the entrance, a post that this bar pivoted upon, and a counterweight to help with the lifting up of the bar. They are not too different from many of the security bars you see across our country.

However, the unique and curious use of these gates made me scratch my head. Because of the counterweight, the default for all the gates was open. The gates were only closed by the guards when a car drove towards the entrance.

I’m no security expert, but it seems to me that one of the fundamental aspects of gate operation is that the default should be closed.

Instead, the gates would remain open and only be closed when someone pulled near.

Gates are defensive structures. They are employed to keep unwanted people out while also allowing some people inside.

In today’s scripture, Peter is celebrated for his confession of Jesus as the Messiah. His name is changed—in Greek, the name Peter sounds like rock. And the declaration of the church and its nature is articulated.

However, too often, we miss the nuance of the closing clause of this declaration by Jesus. It is hell that has the defensive structure, not the church.

What does this mean? It is so easy for us to be stuck on our heels. At every turn, it seems like the church is giving up ground. We have less prominence in society, culture wars have always raged, but the voice of the church carries less weight today. It often feels like we are on defense—trying to fight and hold onto what we feel is important. It seems like evil is coming at us and for us, and we need to work hard to defend the faith and hold fast to what is good.

Jesus tells us that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. The gates of hell can’t stand when the church of Jesus Christ comes knocking. Hell’s gates will get knocked down and knocked over. They cannot stand.

Jesus tells us that the church is not on defense. We are on offense. We are the ones that storm the gates of hell. And they will be crushed. They will collapse under the confession of the church—Jesus is the Messiah.

In today’s world it can feel like you are under attack. It can seem as though you are losing ground at every turn.

Sometimes, as my coach use to say, the best defense is a good offense.

What does it do for your spirit to know that the gates of hell will never withstand the movement and mission of the church? What does it look like to go on offense? How will you proclaim, share, bless, and serve others.

Maybe you can think of a gate with a counterweight that is wide open. Blessing others and sharing a personal story of how Jesus has redeemed you is intimidating. I get it and know. But the gates are open.

How will you hold open the gate this week so others can draw closer to Jesus?