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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 16

1 Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather because the sky is red,’⁠ 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.⁠ 4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away. 5 When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread. 6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” 8 When Jesus learned of this, he said, “You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000, and how many baskets you took up? 10 Or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you took up? 11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”⁠ 14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”⁠ 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.⁠ 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.⁠ Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”⁠ 20 Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. 21 From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed and on the third day be raised. 22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.⁠ 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life?⁠ Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?⁠ 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.⁠ 28 I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 3 Maccabees 5:51 and Matthew 16:18

Deuterocanon · New Testament

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Summary

3 Maccabees describes people crying out for mercy as they stand at the gates of Hades, describing the boundary between life and death. In Matthew, Jesus uses similar language about the gates of Hades, promising that it will not stop his community.

Passages

3 Maccabees 5:51

Deuterocanon
48 The elephants went out at the gate, followed by the armed force. When the Jews saw the dust raised by the throng, and heard the loud cries of the crowd, 49 they thought that they had come to the last moment of their lives, to the end that they had tremblingly expected. They gave way, therefore, to lamentations and moans. They kissed each other. Those nearest of kin to each other hung around one another’s necks—fathers hugging their sons and mothers their daughters. Other women held their infants to their breasts, which drew what seemed their last milk. 50 Nevertheless, when they reflected upon the help previously granted them from heaven, they prostrated themselves with one accord, removed even the sucking children from the breasts, and 51 sent up an exceedingly great cry asking the Lord of all power to reveal himself, and have mercy upon those who now lay at the gates of hades.
100 BCE – 70 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Maccabees

Matthew 16:18

New Testament
13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” 20 Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... Although theirs was a delegated power, the same power of the Kingdom worked through them that worked through Jesus. Their awareness that these miracles were wrought by no power resident in themselves accounts for the fact that they never performed miracles in a competitive or boastful spirit. The report of the seventy is given with complete disinterestedness and devotion, as of those who are instruments of God. The truth is implicit in the statement that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church (Mt. 16:18). This image of the gates of the realm of the dead is a familiar Semitic concept. (Isaiah 38:10; Psalm 9:13; Job 38:17; Wisdom of Solomon 16:13; 3 Maccabees 5:51 ...) The exact meaning of this saying is not clear. It may mean that the gates of Hades, which are conceived as closing behind all the dead, will now be able to hold its victims no longer but will be forced open before the powers of the Kingdom exercised through the church. The church will be stronger than death, and will rescue people from the domination of Hades to the realm of life ..."
George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, ed. Donald A. Hagner, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 114.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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3 Maccabees 5:51 and Matthew 16:18

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