Articles
“"I Will Build My Church"”
“13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-19
At a pivotal moment in his ministry, Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was. The popular opinion of Jesus was positive but fell short of the mark. But what did Jesus’ closest followers think of him? Peter, speaking for the group as usual, boldly confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16).
The confession (16-17) — They knew he was much more than a mere prophet. He was the long awaited “Christ,” the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew “Messiah,” which means ‘anointed one.’ God anointed prophets, priests and kings to mark them out for special service to him, but he promised the Anointed One, par excellence, in places like Psalm 2:2 and Isaiah 61:1. This Supreme Anointed One was also “the son of God,” which could also be used to refer to the Lord’s ‘anointed’ king from the line of David (2 Sam. 7:14; Psa. 2:7; 89:27). Not only this, Peter confesses he was the son of the “living God,” distinguished Israel’s God from the myriad ‘dead’ gods of the pagans surrounding them at the various shrines and temples of Caesarea Philippi (1 Sam. 17:26; Psa. 42:2; Jer. 10:1).
Peter’s confession was bold, clear and full of conviction. He may not have understood all the implications of his confession yet but he was “blessed” because he came to this conclusion not by mere human insight but by means of divine revelation. Jesus says that his Father in heaven “revealed” it him. That is, Peter saw that the Father was bearing witness about Jesus (Jn. 5:30-47) and he drew the correct conclusion, something many others either could not or would not see (for example, Mt. 16:1-4).
The construction (18a) — When Jesus first met Peter, he changed his name (Jn. 1:41-42), something God did for key people at key moments in his redemptive plan (see Gen. 17:5, 15; 32:28). When God does this he is not just making a prediction of that person’s future but declaring what he can make of such a person. Here, Jesus changes his name from “Simon” (a Hebrew name derived from the verb “to hear”) to “Peter” (a Greek name which means “rock”), anticipating his future as a man of great strength and leadership in the church (see Acts 1-10). Jesus also promises to build his “church,” a word meaning an ‘assembly’ or ‘congregation’ of people.
The confusion (18a) — Upon what “rock” does Jesus promised to build his church? He makes a wordplay on Peter’s name. Semantically, “Peter” sounds similar to “rock” in Greek but they are two distinct words with slightly different meanings. “Peter” (petros) is masculine and is used to describe small stones or pebbles, whereas “rock” (petra) is feminine and is used to describe large, solid rocks. Therefore the foundation of Christ’s church can’t be “Peter” the apostle for then Jesus would have said, “You are petros and on you I will build my church.” Moreover, when the word “rock” was used figuratively in the Old Testament, it was never used of man but always of God (Psa. 18:2). When Peter later wrote about the church, he pictured it being built upon the cornerstone of Jesus, not himself (Acts 4:8-12; 1 Pet. 2:4-8). Paul does the same in his writing, naming Jesus as the church’s one foundation (1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:20). Therefore, the “rock” upon which Christ’s church is built is not Peter himself, as the Roman Catholic Church purports, but rather the confession Peter made about Jesus. Only Jesus can provide a solid enough foundation for his people (Mt. 7:24-27).
The continuation (18b-19) — Jesus also promises that no power can conquer his church or stop him from building it. The “gates of Hades” is a Greek idiom meaning death, akin to the Old Testament ‘Sheol.’ The Hadean realm was thought to be inescapable, but after Jesus defeated death in his resurrection he promises to liberate the dead who have turned to him in faith (Rev. 1:18; 1 Cor. 15:54-57; see Acts 2:24ff). Not only is the kingdom indestructible, it is also accessible. Jesus promises to give Peter the “keys of the kingdom,” that is, the authority to open its metaphorical gates to welcome people into it. This is precisely what Peter did in the book of Acts. Peter preached to many people, turning their hearts to Jesus. But there are two occasions which stand out: first, he is pictured as the lead voice on the day of Pentecost that initially preached the gospel and those first three thousand were saved (Acts 2); second, years later, the Lord chose Peter to be the first to preach to Gentiles, and Cornelius and his family were welcomed into the kingdom (Acts 10). Thus, Peter was the ‘key’ figure who escorted the lost into the early church to be saved.
Jesus also promised that “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Binding and loosing is more authoritative language. This means that Peter had the right to teach and enforce the truth for those in the kingdom (Acts 8:14-24). This authority was not exclusive to him but extended to the other apostles as well (Mt. 18:18; cf. Jn. 20:23). However, the authority to “bind” and “loose” does not extend beyond the apostles. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit and specially commissioned by Jesus to be leaders. Leaders in the church today are also delegated authority to govern the church, but in a much more limited way than the apostles. “Elders” or “shepherds” (Acts 20; 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1) are always subject to Jesus’ ultimate authority (1 Pet. 5:1-5) and can govern only through the proper application of God’s word (Acts 20:28, 32).
This passage teaches us many things about Jesus, Peter and the apostles. There are some wonderful promises and some much needed clarity about the church as well, especially amid the bewildering array of denominations on offer today. Let us do our best to ensure we are truly thinking, speaking and acting like the Lord’s church.
