Matthew 16:18 Peter, rock, and church

[fromIslam2Christ]

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (KJV)

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. (ESV)

So my question is, how do I understand this verse?

This verse has always been mysterious to me in meaning. Tying this to the "Tend my sheep" injunctions made to Peter at the last appearance of Jesus, is Jesus here appointing Peter as the leader and foundation of the church, as the Catholic Church claims? Or is there a different meaning?

In Acts, Paul doesn't seem to see Peter as authority. Rather, James appears to have the last word on decisional matters....

I would really appreciate feedback on this.

[nebula]

Some time ago, Yod posted an interesting commentary on this passage.

There is mention of the location they were at when this exchange took place. At the time, there was a Temple there dedicated to Zeus, and it was called "The gates of Hell."

Bust as for the "rock", it is quite possible Jesus did not mean Peter being the rock, but Peter's declaration of Jesus as "the Messiah, the Son of God" that is the rock upon which He will build His assembly.

[Rick-Parker]

I assume you are referring to Matthew 16:18. Jesus is speaking of Himself. Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter, which means "a fragment of a rock." Jesus is the Living Rock on which the Redeemed as living stones are built; for other foundation can no man lay. The power of death is caused by sin, which shall not prevail against it (the Rock), Who's victory was won on the Cross.

Matthew 16:19 goes even further. "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Thee refers to all believers while the keys refer to symbols of authority, the privilege of preaching the Gospel. Christ has given the authority and power to every Believer to bind Satan and his minions, and to do so by using the name of Jesus, which has the ability to loose the power of God according to the usage of the name of Jesus. This is the authority of the believer.

The Catholic Church has claimed it's authority from Peter as the rock, while indeed it is Jesus who is the Rock.

[Hunterpoet]

Strongs:

4074 Petros, a ( piece of) rock ( larger than 3037, Petrus-an Apostle, compare 2786.

2786-Kephas-Cephas=stone, another name for the Apostle Peter

3037, lithos, 1) a stone, a) a small stone, b) a building stone, c) metaphor of Christ

I believe the meaning here is that Peter is a piece of the corner stone( which is Christ).

Christ Jesus is the corner stone; everything else is built off the corner stone.

[Guest]

There is a subtle wordplay here. The name Peter comes from the Greek "petros" meaning rock or stone. Regardless of later claims or villianization, the apostle Peter was instrumental in spreading the gospel. If you read the book of Acts, you will see that Peter was a key person in preaching the Word.

The Rock

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalms 18:3

Of The Believer

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

Strange How Some Claim Dear Brother Pete As Their Rock Yet Fail To Heed His Words

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:15-18

[Matthitjah]

Grace to you,

Jesus was speaking of Peter's confession that He was Lord. That's the Rock and foundation upon which the Kingdom is built.

Peace,

Dave

[UncleAbee]

The catholics believe in apostolic succession. They claim that Matthew 16:18 makes Peter the 1st pope and that all other Popes succeed from him. This gives them a direct lineage to Christ. For example Christ taught Peter, who became the 1st Pope, who in turn taught the next Pope, and so forth. I rather believe that the confession that Peter made is the rock that Christ built the church on. This confession of faith in vs 16 was that Jesus is the son of God. This is the same confession we are all to make that leads to salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

[Rick-Parker]

There is a subtle wordplay here. The name Peter comes from the Greek "petros" meaning rock or stone. Regardless of later claims or villianization, the apostle Peter was instrumental in spreading the gospel. If you read the book of Acts, you will see that Peter was a key person in preaching the Word.

Yes he was. But that is not what the OP is about. Christ is the Rock, not Peter. Peter was very instrumental in spreading the Gospel, but he is not the Gospel. The Catholic Church is wrong about it's interpretation of the Scriptures.

[fromIslam2Christ]

Thank you, all the responses are enlightening!

I found a commentary in my study Bible (in French-- Semeur translation) that explains it the same way most of you do. It says that either the Rock refers to the confession that Peter made, or that it refers to Christ himself as being the Rock.

I guess what confused me is the way He seems to be addressing Peter the apostle.

That's the downside about having to read the Bible in a translation, instead of the original language, right?

Neb, I couldn't find the discussion you referred to, which might prove quite helpful.... Thanks though, i'll keep looking.

[nebula]

OK, I found a place he wrote about this:

Matthew 16:18

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock (THIS UNSHAKABLE TRUTH THAT HE IS THE MESSIAH) I will build my COMMUNITY OF FAITH, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

This seems self-explanatory to me. Is there something about it specifically you would like addressed?

This is a play on words since the name Shimon/Simon means "vacillating one" (one can't decide) but the name Kefa/Peter means "rock".

By addressing him as Simon and then saying he will now be called Peter, Yeshua is saying that Simon Peter is no longer vacillating between opinions and has now settled on an immovable truth. On this immovable truth, the community of faith will be built.

This was said at Caesarea Phillipi where there is a bottomless pit known as "the Gates of Hell" and the Romans had built a temple to Jupiter (Zeus)