"And I Shall Build My Church"

Jesus said to his disciples, “who do you say that I am?”

He had just led them to the region of Cesarea Phillippi, some twenty-five miles north of Gallilea . It was the site of various temples of Baal worship. There was a cavern nearby said to be the birthplace of the Greek god Pan. There was a great temple built to the godhood of Ceasar. And further, this was where the river Jordan, a site of great significance to the Jewish faith, was said to have its begininng. Truly this was a place of great religious significance, an area in which four major religions made their presence very clear. And it was in this place that he asked his disciples, “who do people say that the Son of Man is,” and “who do you say that I am?”

And it was in this place dedicated to the gods of the religions of the world that Peter answered, “you are the Messiah, the son of the living God.”

Over the last few weeks we’ve been exploring the topic of building our faith upon a solid rock as Christ instructed, and in today’s reading we see the rock that he would build upon.

This is not an uncontroversial passage. Jesus says “you are Peter” - that is “rock” in Greek - “and on this rock I will build my church”. But what is that rock? The most clear answer seems to be Peter - the apostle Paul writes after all in his letter to the Ephesians that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.” In Rabbinic tradition, Abraham was often referred to as the rock on which the people of Israel was built and in the same way Peter would be the rock on which the people of Christ’s Church would be built. Others have suggested it refers rather to the testimony that Peter has just given: the church is built upon the rock that is the truth of Christ as Messiah. It is that conviction which all other doctrine and church structure stems from. John Wesley, meanwhile, suggests that perhaps Christ was pointing to himself when he spoke these words- just as he said to the Pharisees “tear down this temple and I will rebuild it in three days”, so he said “on this rock I will build my church”. And this too would make sense - we see God referred to as a rock regularly in scripture.

Perhaps all of these readings carry some element of truth.

In any case, here in this place of the world’s gods Peter declares that Christ is the messiah, the son of the one true living God, and Christ declares that he will build his church upon a solid foundation beginning with Peter - a statement which would soon be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

Now what are we to learn today from this story?

Firstly, we learn something about the nature of our individaul faith, and the testimony it brings.

Peter’s testimony is said to come “not from flesh and blood…but from my father in heaven”. It was from the witness of the holy spirit. And the same goes for all of us: we know Christ is the messiah, our saviour, not through some worldly sources but rather because we have the holy spirit dwelling within us and showing us the truth. That sure knowledge which is granted to us by God Himself!

Let’s really think about what that means.

This was not the first time a disciple had observed Christ’s Lordship. In fact, it isn’t the first time Peter did! Notably, he was recognising Christ’s holiness from the start: in the fifth chapter of Luke, we see Christ calling Peter as a disciple after a miracle involving a large catch of fish, and Peter declaring “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” In the first chapter of John, after Christ told Nathaniel that he had seen him under a fig tree that he could not have seen physically, Nathaniel declares “you are the son of God”!

So what made Peter’s testimony different this time?

Notice that the previous testimonies occured in response to miracles. They were an emotional response - that is to say “revealed by flesh and blood”. But this time, there is no miracle. Christ has taken the disciples somewhere to be alone, away from the crowds, the healings and the feedings. This time Peter is speaking from a knowledge revealed to him by God’s spirit.

Where does your response to God stem from?

Is it an emotional response to a perceived blessing, or to an apparent miracle? Or is it a deeper commitment, one based on spiritual witness?

There are those who will occasionally attend church for a short time, spurred on by a seeming answer to prayer - a recovery from illness perhaps, or a much needed job offer or promotion. When this seeming blessing happens they really do praise God for a time. But their testimony comes simply from a wordly, physical experience. It is of flesh and blood. And, sadly, unless that testimony is converted to one that comes from the spirit we see them leave at the end of that season.

The teestimony that comes from the spirit meanwhile is one which leads to further development of one’s faith - it is the building block of our sanctification, of our ongoing move to walk more closely with Christ.

And it is also that testimony which binds us together - it is the common ground that we sit upon stones in Christ’s building.

Because when we read this passage,

We also learn that our faith is communal.

When Jesus says, “I will build my church”, he wasn’t talking about an institution, or a denomination. He wasn’t referring to a structure of congregations, bishops, councils, the sort of trappings that we associate today with the word “church”. No, rather the word he most likely used here was the Hebrew “qahal”, meaning cognregation or gathering and often used to refer specifically to the people of Israel. Christ is talking about building a community. A gathering of people which would begin with Peter but would expand to be so much more.

A gathering of people with a strong faith based on the witness of the spirit.

A gathering of people who would be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

A gathering of people built on the foundations of the apostles.

A community united across the world, across cultures, across languages, by the love of Christ and the salvation he brings.

And this is not something which we can do on our own: by its very nature, by design, it is a communal endeavour.

We are a community, called to love one another.

We are a community, called to follow Christ, together following the teachings of the apostles and the prophets.

We are a community that serves and worships and everybody brings their gifts to play the part that God has called them to!

We learn that our faith, based on a strong foundation, is undefeatable!

The Gates of Hades shall not prevail against Christ’s church!

But what does that mean?

Perhaps Christ was using the image of a fortress gate, from which emrges a mighty army. A great opposing force which assaults the church that he has built.

And just as the rains fell, the floods rose, and the winds blew and beat upon the house but it did not fall thanks to its being built on a strong foundation, so the church that Christ built upon the rock would withstand the forces of Hades.

It would not be destroyed.

Another possibility is that Christ was thinking of the city gate as the place of government, where the elders of a community would sit in judgment, settle legal matters, and make decisions. In this case, we envision a governmental power acting in opposition to the church. But although it may use its ruling powers to act against the church, although it may persecute and disrupt, scatter the people and force them into hiding, still it cannot ultimately prevail against. Christ’s congregation remains, united in that declaration of faith, built on that solid rock.

Or maybe, the emphasis here is not on the gates, but upon hades. Hades, the holding place of the dead.

Death itself will not prevail against the church.

Because Christ came that we may have life, and live it to the full.

Because the Son was sent that whoever believes in Him shall not die, but shall live eternally.

Because Christ would die and rise again, and in doing so would conquer death.

And in Christ’s conquering death, so too is the church freed from death.

In Christ conquering death, the gates of Hades are unlocked, and the church cannot be held within.

Death’s gates did not prevail against Christ, and will not prevail against the congregation united in Christ by that testimony which comes from the spirit!

So where do we go from here?

What does it mean to us today, that in Ceserea Phillipi, the heartland of the world’s religions, Peter testified that Christ was the Messiah and Christ declared that he would build his church and the gates of hades would not prevail against it?

What does it mean to be a congregation united in that testimony of Christ?

It means everything.

It means that we have have a reason to hear Christ’s words and act upon them.

It means that we have a reason to seek that solid foundation.

It means that all of this means something: because Christ’s church will not be defeated. Christ has triumphed and so we triumph with him.

And it means that as we go forth today, we can do so with the confidence of God’s children who have the words of Christ and who can listen to them and put them into practice.

Because we are Christ’s church.

Christ’s church that is salt, and light.

Christ’s church that is known by the way in which we love one another as Christ loved us.

Christ’s church that is built on the rock, and that the gates of hades shall not prevail against.

(Prayer?)

Amen