The Rock
Part 3
On this rock
25th November 2016
We've been looking at these words from Matthew's Gospel:
Matthew 16v13-18
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"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 I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome
it.
The last part of this passage has become one of the most contentious statements in the New Testament. Jesus tells Simon, 'I tell you that you are Peter [or "Rocky"] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Peter means "rock"). People have argued over exactly what Jesus meant.
Some people - mostly Roman Catholic people - believe that Jesus was saying, "You, Peter, will become the Bishop of Rome, your successors will be the Popes, and they will have all authority in the church." It's true that the Popes have had great power within the church, but I don't think that's what Jesus was talking about.
Some other people think that when Jesus said "this rock" He meant Himself (as if He was pointing to himself while He was saying it) so that He was really saying, "I will build my church on myself". It's true that the church is built on Jesus, I don't think that's what He meant here.
Still others think that Jesus meant the confession - or the understanding - that Jesus is God, is the rock on which He would build His church. That's not what I think it means, either.
This is what I think it means: The church is the temple of God and you and I are living stones (1 Peter 2v5) - living rocks (The Greek word "petros" means both "rock" and "stone"). The church is a temple being constructed by Jesus and every Christian is one living rock in the fabric of that temple. I think Jesus was saying, "Peter, you're the first one to confess that I am God. You're the first living stone. There'll be millions of others, but you're the first, Peter. The building starts with you."
Peter had sat down calmly, reflectively, and said "I believe that Jesus is God". And Jesus thought, "I'm building a temple made of billions of living stones, and here's the first one! Peter has come through! Peter believes! Peter's got it!" They'll be lots of living stones. But Peter will always be the first Christian, the first believer, the first living stone to be built on the foundation that is Jesus.
But this does also involve Peter's confession, of course. It's not Peter of himself. It's Peter getting it, it's Peter understanding, believing and confessing that Jesus is God, that's the first stone.
Jesus calls Simon "Peter" - "the Rock". Peter must have felt wonderful at that moment. But he was far from perfect. In just a few minutes, Jesus would call him "Satan". The rock would become the enemy ("Satan" means "enemy"). We'll look at that soon.
But now, let's stop to think about Jesus's confidence when He prophesied that His church would be built, and that the gates of Hades would not overcome it. He was certain that God's plan would work out. He knew that the church would survive and prosper. But at the time He gave this prophesy, the number of people who had calmly, thoughtfully, confessed that Jesus was God was just one.
From such a small beginning, when one Galilean fisherman believed, Jesus has built a world-wide church. His church continues to grow, despite opposition, as He promised it would. And His church will go on growing until He returns.