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On this rock I will build My church
‘And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it' (Matthew 16:18)
For hundreds of years, Matthew 16:18 has been one of the most controversial, misunderstood and misused verses in Scripture. Traditionally Roman Catholics teach that Peter is the rock and founder of ‘the Church'. Conversely numerous Protestant denominations consider Jesus to be the rock mentioned in this verse. Determining what it actually means is critical since the application refers to either a reliance on a man focused, institutionalised religion, or a God centred faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the head of the body.
If Peter is in fact the rock on which Jesus would build His church then we are immediately faced with several difficulties. Firstly Peter is never described as being the prominent leader amongst the apostles. Secondly, in Galatians 2:11-12, Paul publicly admonished him for not eating with the Gentiles when the Jews arrived on the scene. Thirdly, there is no record or evidence of Peter being the first Pope, founding the Roman Catholic Church or even entering Rome. Fourthly, if any apostle were to be considered a leader amongst the apostles, Paul who saw Paradise and heard inexpressible words not lawful to utter (2 Cor 12:4) would be the immediate candidate.
The Rock in the Old Testament
Throughout the Old Testament though, the words ‘rock' and ‘stone' are never used in relation to any person other than God. In every instance when used as a metaphor, they always apply to God. The first reference is Gen 49:24 which testifies of the coming Messiah ‘By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob from there is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel.'
In Numbers 20 Moses infamously smote the rock on two separate occasions when commanded by God to speak to the rock the second time. The rock was clearly a picture of Christ being smitten, once, and for all for the sins of mankind, past present and future, for those who are being sanctified (Heb10:14). Similarly the doctrine of transubstantiation, the idea that during the mass that the body of Jesus is literally being eaten, that Jesus is being sacrificed again and again, is blasphemous and neither is it biblical.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4 explains to the reader who the Rock actually is! 'Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.'
There is also perfect continuity between the Old and New Covenant demonstrating that Jesus is both the Messiah and the Stone of Israel. In the parable of the wicked vinedressers Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22-23 in Matthew 21:42. Jesus applied the verse in this context to demonstrate that the chief priests and Pharisees had missed the visitation of the Saviour asking them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: "the Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes."
The Stone in the New Testament
If we were to ask Peter who the rock in Matthew 16:18 referred to, undoubtedly he would ask us whether we had read his first epistle! In 1 Peter Chapter 2 Peter describes the believers as ‘you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.' (verse 5)
Then Peter cites and expounds on three Old Testament prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ as the Stone proclaiming who He is. ‘Behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will never be put to shame.' (verse 6, c.f. Isa 28:16), ‘the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone' (verse 7, c.f. Psa 118:22) and ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence."(verse 8, c.f. Isa 8:14)
Or alternatively, we could ask Paul who he believes the rock is, or who the chief cornerstone relates to and how do the apostles fit in to the functioning of the church? Paul answers all those questions in his letter to the Ephesians 2:19-22 Now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a whole temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.'
Building with loose stones or the Rock?
Finally there is a similarity between the word ‘Peter' and ‘Rock', yet there is also a subtle and important distinction. Peter in the Greek is rendered ‘Petros', meaning a piece of rock or stone. Rock in this verse (Matt 16:18) is translated ‘Petras', a mass of rock. The former is small whilst the latter is large and to suggest that the building is on something small is not worthy of the One who builds on something large.
What an encouragement it is then, to invest one's faith and trust in the Stone of Israel, the chief Cornerstone, our God the Rock who is good and upright and without injustice! What assurance there is in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom the whole body is being fitted together and who never sleeps or slumbers and who has conquered sin through one offering and is able to intercede for His children continually at the right hand of the Father! |
