I used to read, in Matthew 16, where Jesus was talking about the “gates of hell” coming against the church and how they would not prevail against it, and I’d think, That’s great! We can stand up to the worst attacks. But that doesn’t make any sense. Gates don’t attack. I’m kind of a military history nerd, and I still missed this. This reference isn’t defensive at all. It’s about being on offense. What it actually sounds like is this: Jesus is sending His followers out to love others, and they can go anywhere, even through the gates of hell, to do it.
