And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church

On this rock I will build my church

The term “church” means “assembly” a term often used of Israel in the Old Testament. There is no controversy that Jesus is talking about the raising up and the building of a people of God, a holy nation. And this is what the Gospel has done as it has spread across the world. But what is the foundation for the church, this assembly, this people or as Peter will later call it a “spiritual house”? Who or what is Jesus referring to when he says, “this rock”? And how does this all relate to the “gates of hell” and the “keys of the kingdom of heaven”? And how does this all center around “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”?

Is the rock Peter?

The Catholics believe that “this rock” refers to Peter and in turn the succession of popes. If the term “rock” is referring to Peter as the leader or “pope” of the church, we don’t see this elsewhere. And this understanding does not appear to be clear either to Peter or the other disciples because they argued multiple times about who would be the greatest after this event. Also, immediately after this Jesus rebukes Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan”. And the reason Jesus rebukes Peter is because he has strayed from the foundation of the faith. There being no other passage associating Peter with being the foundation or rock of the church, this verse is not the most solid grounds for claiming scriptural support for the pope. There is no scriptural or historical reason to assume that Peter is the “rock” Jesus is referring to, without bringing something outside of the scripture into the text.

How is the symbology of the rock used elsewhere?

However, we do get a consistent theme that is carried throughout scripture of the “rock”, “stone”, or “foundation” upon which the church is built all referring to this central phrase, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”. When these illustrations are used, they are referring to Jesus, Jesus’ words, or the teaching of the Gospel.

Jesus quotes the Old Testament

Jesus earlier in a sermon talked about a house built on a rock, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24, ESV). Jesus also talks about the cornerstone, the stone the builders rejected, referring to himself and the message of the Gospel (Mt 21:42, Mk 12:10, Lk 20:17). Jesus takes this from Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16 both of these verses talk about putting ones trust in this cornerstone for salvation.

     Open to me the gates of 
     righteousness, 
          that I may enter through 
            them 
          and give thanks to the 
            LORD. 
     This is the gate of the LORD; 
          the righteous shall 
          enter through it. 
     I thank you that you have 
     answered me 
         and have become my 
          salvation. 
     The stone that the builders 
     rejected 
         has become the 
          cornerstone. 
     This is the LORD’s doing; 
         it is marvelous in our 
          eyes. 
     This is the day that the LORD 
     has made; 
          let us rejoice and be 
          glad in it. 
       (Psalm 118:19–24, ESV) 

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, A precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes in it will not be disturbed. (Isaiah 28:16, NASB)

Paul’s use of these terms

Paul also uses these symbols in relationship to the Jesus and the foundational teaching of the Gospel. In his letter to the Ephesians he writes,

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:17–22, ESV)

Paul also writes to the Corinthians, making it clear that, “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). He later tells the Ephesians, “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (4:15-16, ESV). Paul warns the Galatians, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6,7, ESV). Paul makes it clear that this distinction and honor does not fall on Peter, “So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future – all are yours, and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:21-23, ESV).

Paul also makes it clear that it is by our confession and belief in Jesus that the church is built. In Romans 9:32-33, he summarizes these two passages in Isaiah

And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” (Isaiah 8:14-15, ESV)

therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ (Isaiah 28:16, ESV)

This is how he understand the meaning of these passages,

Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 9:32-33 ESV)

Notice that the distinction for Paul is belief in who Christ is. And it is this belief that Peter is confessing in this passage. When Jesus says on this rock I will build my church, he is referring to Isaiah 28:16, and the true Zion, whose foundation is built on the confession of faith.

It is clear from these Paul’s writing that the rock, the stone, the foundation of the church is Jesus and the teaching of the Gospel, which was given by the apostles, but how did Peter to whom Jesus spoke the words “on this rock I will build my church” see this? As we will see Peter will confirm this understanding and say that we who believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God are by this confession built together into the temple of God.

Revelation

 When John describes Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, he describes “the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14). This is similar to Paul’s description of “of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”. Notice Peter is not singled out, but instead this refers to the teaching of the apostles as they spread the Gospel throughout the world. The apostles had the unique role of initiating teaching to others the words of Christ as a firsthand account. Both Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant agree that the apostles’ teachings are foundational to the church.

Daniel

Daniel in his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar dream describes a stone,

As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (Daniel 2:34–35, ESV)

It is clear that this stone that becomes a mountain is the Kingdom of God, or the church, as it spreads, and the message of the Gospel conquers the hearts of men throughout the whole world. This dream emphasizes the fact that this stone was cut out by no hand, or no human. Paul also describes, “For we know if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1, ESV).

The writer of Hebrews describes this mountain,

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

(Hebrews 12:18–29, ESV)

Peter’s understanding of the rock

So who or what did Peter believe “this rock” to be? Peter is the one to whom Jesus is talking to when he says, “this rock”, and therefore has some authority in interpreting Jesus’ words and defining what Jesus meant by this phrase. So how does he use this symbology. In Acts 4:11, Peter clarifies who the cornerstone is, “This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”. This statement is similar to when Peter says to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.” When Peter made this declaration, he is declaring Jesus to be the foundation and the one by whom we are saved. Elsewhere when Jesus asks his disciples if they too will leave him as many others had, Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68,69). Peter understood who the foundation of the church was.

In Peter’s first letter in the Bible, he writes,

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:

     “Behold, I am laying in 
     Zion a stone, 
          a cornerstone chosen 
          and precious, 
     and whoever believes in 
     him will not be put to 
       shame.” 
     So the honor is for you 
     who believe, but for those 
     who do not believe, 
     “The stone that the 
     builders rejected 
          has become the 
          cornerstone,” 
     and 
     “A stone of stumbling, 
         and a rock of 
          offense.” 

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

(1 Peter 2:4–10, ESV)

It is clear that Peter understood that the church was built on and centered on Jesus and the teaching of the Gospel and it is on this foundation alone that we as living stones are being built into the temple of God.

Next . . .

               In coming posts, we will explore how the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” and Jesus’ comment about the “gates of hell” fit in with the theme of the Gospel being preached to the world, further confirming that this is what Jesus meant by the “rock” and that this passage centers around Peter’s confession.

There is a song I relate to, that exposes me for who I am. It has these lines in it . . .

Behold the man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders;

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers.

from How Deep is the Father’s Love for Us

Most of us at least consider Jesus to be an ok guy. Christians may be jerks, but Jesus was a good moral teacher that taught people to love one another. Love is good. Can’t hate a person like that, right? I suppose, but do we know the man. We can say we like Jesus because for most of us Jesus is an idea, a concept more than a real person, with whom we must interact. We can define and mold an idea to our imagination. Jesus is not a person we have to get to know. So, if you have this casual knowledge of Jesus and like him, it is probably because you don’t know much about him. Those who were alive and interacted with him when he was here ended up crucifying him.

We might say, “Yeh, they crucified him back then, but I wouldn’t do that”. Well, . . . is that really true. We tend to see the best in ourselves. “If I was there, I would have behaved differently. . .I would have stood up to Nazism, racism, slavery, etc. blah, blah, blah . . .” But if we are honest with ourselves, we are no better than others, our hearts are prone to the same longings for safety and comfort. We are not unique but all of us have weaknesses and faults.

Here is the thing, Jesus was not a moral teacher. He was not creating a to-do list of how to be a good person. He wasn’t giving strategies of how to love others. He was calling people out of the kingdom of this world, out of the darkness, out of oppression into his Kingdom. Jesus said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46).

Most of us are attached to the world we live in, so were most in the days Jesus walked the earth. Imagine if someone was coming to destroy your world. How would you respond? They were no different than us. Jesus is by no means comfortable. Jesus has come and threatens all that we know and hold on to. He calls us to abandon this world and follow him. This is not casual moral teaching; it is a line in the sand. Jesus said that the world “hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” (John 7:7)

A popular verse is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” But right after this, Jesus makes it clear, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19,20) We may be intrigued by Jesus, but in the end, we love this world, we want to hold on to it. Jesus has come to destroy this evil age and if we cling to it, we will be destroyed along with it. Jesus is a threat to the life we love. He is a threat to us. He says things like, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” He came to rescue us from our fate, to save us from the darkness, but we love the darkness more than the light, and the light becomes our enemy.

Jesus’s miracles and teachings fascinated and intrigued the masses, but in reality, he was not well-loved by the people of his day. On occasion, people picked up stones to kill Jesus after hearing him speak. He was hounded by the Pharisees and Sadducees. Even the crowds who followed him and appeared to love him, eventually abandoned him, because they found his teachings too hard for them. Only a few stuck it out, and even those deserted him. And in the end, when he was brought before the people to see what they would have done, they cried out, “Crucify him!”  

When I take an honest look at my own heart, I am with those who tried to stone him, with those who abandoned and deserted him, and in that crowd who called for his death. I can say with the hymnist, “Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers.”

 Jesus said, “Whoever hates me hates my Father also.If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ (John 15:23-25)

 We love this world and are ready to fight against anything that has come to destroy what we cherish. And this is what the Kingdom of God does, it destroys this evil age and calls us to come to and be reconciled with God. In the end, Love will overcome and this evil age will come to an end. Though we fight it, we can’t stop it. Love will conquer evil. However, this world is all we have known. What God has called us to is unknown, uncomfortable. We cringe and shrink back. We see our world being destroyed and we want to fight to keep it. We believe when we fight against Jesus, we are protecting the good we have. And we are willing to do anything to keep what we have, and so, in this frantic desire to protect what I have, I hear my angry voice defending what I love and crying out “Crucify him!” “Away with the man who has come to threaten my world.”

Thankfully, the song and the scriptures do not end there. . .

Behold the man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders;

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished;

His dying breath has brought me life –

I know that it is finished.

Yes, I was an enemy of Jesus. Yes, I put him to death. But my hatred for him is what held him there. Before Jesus was betrayed, he prayed that if there was another way to rescue humanity that God would provide it, that he would not have to suffer on the cross. God the Father who loved his Son would have granted his Son’s request if there was another way. Jesus chose to bear my hatred for him on the cross because it was the only way that we might be reconciled to God. On the cross, Jesus defeated hate with Love, darkness with Light.

Don’t deceive yourself by “liking” Jesus or being fascinated or intrigued by an idea of Jesus. This is not knowing the man. Jesus will not be ignored or fooled. He knows our hearts and who we are. Jesus warns, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22–23).

Despite this warning, we continue to love this world more than God and so we scoff. “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money [ie. this world], heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God’.” (Luke 16:14,15). We are not given the option of a casual relationship with Jesus. Jesus has come for a bride, the most intimate of relationships, the most powerful Love. We will either be lovers of this world or intimate lovers of Jesus. If we are lovers of this world, we will cling on to it and follow it into its fate, . . . Fortunately for me, Jesus did not die for the righteous, he died for sinners. He died for those who scoff and hate him. Before your world crumbles around you and it is too late, come to him, his arms are open wide. He is calling, “Come out of this evil age of darkness into the light.” Love is more than you have known.

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”

“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

“Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus has come to destroy your world. How will you respond?

Jesus exposed our true hearts and the subtleness of evil. He said if we have called someone a fool, we are guilty of murder. When we look on someone lustfully, we are guilty of betrayal and adultery. We may think we are good when compared to others, but when we are unmasked by Love, we are not as good as we think we are. We cannot love well on our own. We are called to Love. Love is a person. When we choose to do what is right in our own eyes, we have rejected Love, for our own wisdom. We have become selfish. No matter how good we feel about ourselves, when we do what is right in our own eyes, we have abandoned our true Love, for ourselves. Yet even at our worst, True Love pursues us and calls us to come to himself.

But evil is subtle and attractive, luring us through pride. We are so determined to do what is right in our own eyes . . . . even if it means rejecting Love.

If we believe in a God, most believe that God is love. But what does this mean? Is love some ethereal quality, a good feeling, a perspective? Does it exist before God? Does it exist without God? Is it greater than God? Paul writes, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13). The Bible describes love as loosng onself for others. It is the opposite of pride. Love is not greater than God but comes from him. Love comes out of the very essence of who God is. God from all eternity has loved outwardly and relationally, as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. From all eternity God created love. He is the source and fountain of love, just as he is the source of beauty, joy, life, and all that is good.

In love, God made mankind to be in intimate relationship with him. We are made to soak in and thrive in the goodness of God. As beautiful gardens thrive in rich soil, water, and sun, we thrive in the presence of God. We are made to know his love and we are made to love. We are complete when, we are with God. However, when Adam and Eve fell, they decided to become their own source of good and evil, a separation occurred in mankind’s relationship with God. We have become like a rose plucked from a rose bush, separated from our source. Though still beautiful, we are withering away, not only us but the world around us.

What would the strongest love do? God has pursued us. Though we have rejected him and hated him, he continues to pursue us. Though when he came, we spit on him, brutally treated him, and put him to death, he pursues us. He calls us back to himself.

So what is this wide gate? Humanity in our pursuit to define good and evil for ourselves have rejected God. Each of us are our own little god, and each of us defines good and evil in our own way. We each have our own reality. This is the wide gate. Our turning from God to the myriads of other “truths”, other “loves”, other “fountains” to satisfy our thirsts. Yet in all these endeavors, no matter how noble, great, or grand, we are left wanting, because we have left the only one who can satisfy us.

Thank you, for your response. I appreciate that you are open and willing to discuss things, even hard things with patience. Not many are willing to talk even when they disagree and try to understand the other. I learn so much from those discussions and look forward to learning more.

You are right there are many religions that claim to have aspects similar to Christianity, Buddhism being one. And on the surface, they may seem to. Jesus himself said there is a wide road, but he also said there is a narrow road that leads to life. Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” We can search the wide roads, see similarities to Christianity, but only one road leads to Jesus. No other religion has this. In other words, all of our efforts are of no avail, except to be known by Jesus. What Jesus did at the cross, was the only means of restoring that broken relationship. If it were not Jesus would not have gone to the cross, nor would God the Father have allowed it. Jesus says that the Father always answered his prayer, yet when He asked for this cup to pass if it were possible, even to the sweating of blood. The request of the Son to His Father was intense. The answer was the cross. Jesus said that the deepest love of an earthly father is evil compared to the immense love of the God the Father. If there was another way, no matter how remote it was, there is absolutely no way the Father would have sent His son to the cross. If Buddhism was a way, Jesus would not have gone to the cross. If any other religion provided a way to restore our relationship with God, Jesus would not have gone to the cross. But because of the Love of the Father and the Son, they were willing to go through this, to restore a relationship with us. This is the power and romance of a Love that conquers. After His resurection, Jesus was walking with two men on the road to Emmaus “and he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” The whole of scripture is about the work and worth of Jesus.

This in itself does not prove that Buddhism is better or worse than Jesus. Nor would I claim that I am wiser or better than others. I am not. I have great love and respect for you and Michael and learn from my discussions with y’all. One of the reasons I want to hang out with y’all is I love how you challenge me to grow. Wish we lived closer together, and we could hang out and talk more. But Buddhism and Christianity only have superficial similarities and those similarities have a very different core, and essentially are not the same in the end. I don’t say this to put down your comment, but to discuss and help you understand why I would say Buddhism and Christianity are different. And I am eager to hear your thoughts.

If who Jesus claimed to be is true, then we must abandon all other so-called gods, religions, or ways to life, for if we reject Jesus, then we have now rejected the only true God and have rejected the source of love. And life and like a rose plucked from a bush, even in our grandest beauty and most fragrant smell, we too will one day wither and decay. No matter how much nutrition we place in the vase, it is fundamentally different from the source of life. The wonder of the Gospel is that in order for us to be restored into a relationship with God, we cease striving, and trust in the work and worth of Jesus. This is personal and engaging. It is not an idea we trust, it is a person we trust. God, himself, coming and living amongst us in order to restore a relationship with us. Which is something you expect from a God, who from all eternity has been in relationship.

Jesus made this evident. The Pharisees had made righteousness a set of rules to live by, “Thou shall not murder”. Jesus came and made it tougher, “I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment”. Elsewhere He says, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”. God is not concerned about a list of rules, but the heart and its pursuit of holiness. We are to ever more and more pursue holiness. We are to increase in our love for God and our love for others. We are to grow in purity and uprightness. We are to do well at our jobs. We are to explore the wonders and challenges of manhood and womanhood. We are to enjoy the fellowship of one another, growing deeper in our relationships.

Some of what He says is hard, but it is hard because He knows what joy and freedom there is in what He says, and He is a good Shepherd. He is a Father who delights in His children’s joy. God’s way is much more demanding, it causes us to tremble, it puts us on edge, it causes us to feel inadequate and hopeless, we don’t know if we like it, it rubs you the wrong way, . . . it causes us to fear God, but it is also much more exhilarating and free.

And He is a God who picks us up and comforts us in our failures as we run into His arms. His heart is not a demanding list, but for us to walk with and to be with Him.

God has more in mind than a list, He calls us to explore and to be a part of a kingdom, a kingdom that is beautiful and fills us with awe, and delights us with its extravagance. And it is fun to explore its immenseness and to grow in the likeness of Christ. God calls us to Himself, the most all satisfying thing for our hearts.

So far all those who are weary and heavy laden, for those who are afraid, stop living by a list, for Christ and the Church cries out, “Come and enjoy the richest of fair.”