I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not overcome it.
—Matthew 16:18
When Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it,” he was pointing to his resurrection.
He would soon be crucified, and the gates of hades [the gates of death] would slam shut behind him. But those gates would not be able to hold him prisoner, for as he told John, “I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Rv 1:18).
Death, Satan’s final and most feared weapon would be powerless against Jesus. Satan could not prevail against the building of the church because he could not prevail against the resurrection of Jesus. “I was dead,” Jesus would later say, “and behold I am alive for ever and ever!” (Rv 1:18).
And he left this note for you: “Because I live, you also will live” (Jn 14:19).
The resurrection promises
never-ending life.