All About Rocks (Jesus and Peter)
Matthew 16:13‑20
All About Rocks
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. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Jesus enjoyed laughter, and one of the great conflicts within Christendom arises over a play on words as He addressed His disciples. Jesus seized upon an occasion as the disciples related the speculation of the populace. He sought to provide instruction concerning the work in which He was engaged. The verse is well known, though the meaning is controversial. I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. You are Peter, Pevtro", and on this rock, kai; ejpi; tauvth/ th'/ pevtra/, I will build my church.
The name Peter, Pevtro", refers to a stone. Simon Bar-Jonah might well be called Rock Johnson today. His given name was Cephas, but the Lord gave him the nickname Peter. When He made the pun, Jesus used Peter as a foil and then employed a different word to speak of the rock on which He would be building His church. Pevtro" is masculine, clearly used here as a name for the Apostle Cephas. When Jesus spoke of a rock, he used the feminine form of the word, pevtra/, referring to a great rock, much as we see displayed in the mountains surrounding the town site.
He was impetuous and impulsive. Outspoken in his claim to boldness, he was at turns craven and brave. A married man [cf. Mark 1:30], he often took his wife along with him when he travelled on business for his Master [1 Corinthians 9:5]. Influential, he readily swayed others by his own decisions, though those decisions were too often made with insufficient information to permit wise judgement. A natural leader, he willingly deferred to others as they ascended in influence among his peers, his motive being to permit the work prosper.
His pastor was newer in the Faith than he himself. The brother of our Lord, James, became Pastor of the Jerusalem church with which Peter worshipped. Though respected, the Big Fisherman was swayed by cultural passion and on occasion was rebuked by none other than the Apostle to the Gentiles because of this instability. At the last, he fulfilled the prophecies spoken by the Risen Lord – strengthening his brothers [Luke 22:32] and ultimately giving his own life as one of Christ’s martyrs [John 21:18,19]. Peter was all this … and more. What he was not, was pope. No such critter as a pope is found in the Word of God, nor is warrant for such a position discovered therein. Neither does the text before us give us warrant to assign Peter a position superior to the other Apostles. Join me in exploring the text that together we might learn all about rocks.
Peter’s Confession – You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus’ question to the disciples preceding Peter’s confession inquired about the rumours swirling about Him. Who do people say the Son of Man is? The Master was asking the disciples not only what the current gossip might be, but it was intended to draw out their own understanding of the One whom they followed. It served as a platform on which to build through teaching them of their call and of the One who had called them.
The disciples spoke of what people were saying. Some thought Jesus was perhaps John the Baptist, raised from the dead after Herod had ordered him executed. Some thought Jesus was Elijah, sent back before the judgement of God. Others thought He was perhaps Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. They equated His ministry to that of the prophets.
Jesus did not permit His disciples to remain at the point of merely relating what others had to say, but He moved quickly to the vital issue of their personal belief system. But what about you? Who do you say I am? On the subject of Jesus, we dare not remain at the point of idle speculation, but we must each answer the question for ourselves.
We should not think Jesus’ question idle conversation. Numbered among the disciples was Judas Iscariot, the one who would betray the Master. The Word informs us that Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him [John 6:64]. The question Jesus posed was a gentle confrontation for Judas Iscariot, though it no doubt served to encourage and affirm each of the other disciples.
What is taught as dogma concerning the Son of God among some religious bodies of this day is far from what is given us in the revealed Word of God. Jesus is a teacher, the greatest Teacher ever, since the lessons He presents lead the student to liberty. Jesus is a healer, the Great Physician who heals broken hearts, raises the dead to life, causes the deaf to hear and gives sight to blinded eyes. Those walking in darkness have seen a great light and on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned [cf. Matthew 4:16]. However, if He is only a teacher or a physician, we are fools to worship Him.
In my earliest days of ministry I preached each Sunday afternoon except for once each quarter, to inmates serving their sentences in an east Texas prison farm. Every fifth Sunday a Methodist minister would come to that same prison and minister to the inmates. He would sing songs and briefly speak to them, telling them that they were really good men who needed but to try harder and they would make something of their lives.
Roland was a pleasant man who pastored two Methodist churches nearby and conducted this service to the prisoners once each quarter. Over the course of time I had opportunity to get acquainted with him. We were intrigued with one another in part because we represented such diverse religious traditions. One cold November day following his time with the men I stood in the cold, speaking to him through his open car window. I was astonished as we spoke to discover that we had so very little in common other than the fact that each of us was engaged in a form of religious work.
He did not believe the Bible to be inspired anymore than Shakespeare’s works were inspired. He did not accept that anyone needs salvation, since no one is a sinner. Heaven and hell was what you made of your time on earth, in his estimate. Jesus was not God anymore than you or I are divine. He did not accept that Jesus was raised from the dead, but rather His disciples thought he was alive in their hearts. He rejected every tenet which John Wesley, Charles Wesley, Peter Cartwright, and a host of good Methodist people have held dear throughout the years since that movement was founded. I remember especially his insistence that Jesus was a good man and a great teacher.
I said then, and I say now, if Jesus is not God, He is not a good man. If He is not uniquely the Son of the Living God, He is not a Great Teacher … rather He is a liar. Jesus elicited from Peter the confession that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter first asserted that Jesus is the Messiah – the fulfilment of prophecy, the Hope of Israel. He is the One who fulfilled prophecy. He is the One who brought salvation to mankind. He is the One who provided a perfect sacrifice that all who look to Him might live. He is the Lamb of God, given that man may live. If He is not God, He is not good.
Even more pertinent to us as sinners, according to Peter’s testimony Jesus is the Son of the Living God. He is uniquely the God-man – fully God and fully man. As man, He can sympathise with our weakness since He has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin [Hebrews 4:15]. As God He can also do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself [Hebrews 9:26].
The Source of Peter’s Confession – Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. How does anyone know the reality of or the reliability of the Gospel message? How does anyone know who Jesus of Nazareth is? Though I should be ever so persuasive both in speech and in logic, and though I should be powerful in rhetoric, no one believes the message of life in Christ the Lord because they are convinced through my words or the words of any mere mortal.
I recall an occasion when I had delivered a lecture on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The subject of the lecture was scientific reasons for determining the validity of the models for Creation and Evolution. Among those in attendance were a number of faculty members from the Department of Zoology. They had come with the openly stated intention of shutting the mouth of this renegade scientist. Also in attendance that day was the religion editor of the Vancouver Sun newspaper. When I concluded the lecture, I opened the meeting to questions. Silence reigned for about the space of a full minute, and at last one faculty member ventured a question. There are two creation accounts, he asserted. Which one is therefore the correct account was the taunting question he posed.
Walking over to where he was seated, I dropped my Bible in front of him. “Show me these two accounts,” I challenged.
That professor stared at the Bible lying in front of him as though it were a serpent coiled to strike him dead. At last he stammered out that he was uncertain where to begin to look. “Then you are guilty of accepting secondary sources for your assertion,” I accused. Picking up the Bible again I pointed out to the audience packing that lecture hall that scientists are trained to rely on primary sources for their conclusions. Continuing, I pointed to the first and second chapters of Genesis and explained Hebrew parallelism, instructing my hearers in the truths of the Word of God.
With that, though the lecture had been a scientific lecture presenting the factual basis for drawing an appropriate conclusion, a student exclaimed, “But you are not a scientists!”
“Well,” I explained, “I have an earned doctorate and over thirty papers published in refereed journals. My peers were of the conclusion that my doctoral work and the subsequent studies which I reported were of sufficient merit to accept me as a scientist. On what basis would you say that I am not a scientist?”
“You believe in Creation. That is not scientific!” he asserted.
Though he could not argue against the facts presented, and though he had no rebuttal against the lecture, he argued emotionally against the conclusions I had drawn. At last I pointed out to that young man and to the audience in attendance, that though the evidence is overwhelmingly opposed to our point of view, when we hold to a position emotionally we respond in kind, revealing that ours is a religious response. This young man demonstrated that evolution is a religion and not science by his response.
Until the heart is changed no one can believe the truths concerning spiritual matters. Our Lord said much the same thing when He challenged the religious leaders of His day, You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life…
Do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say? [John 5:39,40,45-47]
If you know Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, it is because the Father has revealed it to you. You do not choose to believe, but God calls you and when He calls you are responsible to respond. Faith is the result of God’s spiritual operation in the heart of an individual and not because one chooses to believe.
One can become a Muslim by reciting the confession that there is but one god, Allah is his name and that Mohammed is his prophet. You can be a Buddhist by practising the disciplines of that philosophy. You cannot be a Christian, however, unless you are born into the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Word says, No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 12:3]. You may be religious, but you cannot be born from above except by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
The Impact of Peter’s Confession – 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. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The last words Jesus spoke to Peter at this time serve to introduce one of the great controversies of the ecclesiastical world. Did Jesus with these words appoint Peter to be a pope, one to whom was reserved special power and privilege to make canon law and to administer the same? Did Jesus here make Peter His vicar on earth? The answer to that question should become obvious if we can look carefully at the passage, seeking the light of His Good Spirit to guide our thinking.
The first truth which stands out is that the Lord Himself will build His church. This bit of information is spontaneous from our perspective, as the Lord volunteered the information that He would be building His church. The tense is future. The work is ongoing. The builder is Jesus Himself. Though others are graciously invited to become fellow labourers with Christ, yet the work of building is His. He works through us and in us, but ever and always the work of building the church is His glorious work.
This point is important, and the more so in light of the damage done to the churches of our Lord through the efforts of many claiming to be building the church. The scandals surrounding the televangelists disturbed many people, mostly for the wrong reasons. We should have been scandalised that idol worship had crept into the life of professing believers as our heroes were equated with power and possessions, much as is true of the heroes of this dying world. Instead, we were scandalised that our sin was exposed for the entire world to see and we felt ridiculed.
Think with me of that issue for a moment. The exposure of the sinful nature of our idols was one of the surest evidences that the church is a divine institution. The world expected better of the church than that we should permit scoundrels in our pulpits, but we were incautious since we wanted leaders like those of the world about us. God exposed the sin of these worldly leaders to remind us that His work is different from that of the world. Unfortunately, it has not taken long for us to begin to again create idols in our hearts … idols for destruction as we worship at the shrine of wealth and power.
God will not permit His spokesmen to long continue in sin. Jesus had said that we would recognise men by their fruit [Matthew 7:15-20]. Paul, instructing Timothy in the need to exercise caution when setting individuals apart to holy orders, spoke of the fact that at the last character will prevail, revealing the individual as either godly or evil. The apostle said, the sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgement ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them [1 Timothy 5:24]. We defined success as the world defines success, and we got the character the world tolerates. Had the church been merely another institution like all the other institutions in this fallen world, no one would have cared that the televangelists were charlatans and no exposure would likely have occurred.
Just so, when we tolerate a little bit of sin in the work of any congregation, that congregation is destined for the dustbin of history. We need to hear the warning of Paul, Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough [1 Corinthians 5:6]? Within the church we are to determine that we will be pure that we may labour unhindered with Christ in the great work of building which He began so long ago.
The next truth which stands out is that the church Jesus is building is founded on Jesus Himself, the Great Rock. The battle lines are drawn around the foundation on which Jesus is building His church. Some, especially those within the Catholic communion, are assured that Jesus is here identifying Peter as the foundation of the church. Others have staked out the ground that Peter’s confession is the foundation for all future building. Still others have asserted that Jesus is the foundation. I have no doubt that each of these views has merit, yet one stands out upon reflection.
If Peter is the foundation of the church, he is a poor foundation. He denied the Lord and quailed before the accusation of a mere girl. He was rebuked by Paul for permitting himself to be crowded into a uniquely Jewish stand against including Gentiles. He faded from prominence as the church expanded beyond a mere Jewish sect. Though used of God mightily at Pentecost and for a brief while later, he was yet unstable throughout his ministry. Though the confession Peter makes is the same confession required of all who enter into life and of all who enter the church, nowhere else in the Word of God is our confession said to be the foundation of the church.
On the other hand, Jesus is presented as the foundation of the church repeatedly. No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ, says the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 3:11. Jesus Himself is the chief cornerstone on which the church is built [Ephesians 2:20]. Likewise, God’s solid foundation stands firm with this inscription, “The Lord knows those who are His” [2 Timothy 2:19].
In light of these subsequent Scriptures it seems best to understand that Jesus is here praising Peter for his accurate statement concerning the person of the Lord, and He chose this statement to introduce His work of building the church. In a brief moment Jesus would speak of His death [verse 21], introducing yet another reason to believe that He was here referring to Himself.
The church has enemies since we are told that the gates of Hades will not overcome it. With these words I understand that Jesus spoke primarily of His own death, since it was through His death as a sacrifice for sin that the church would be enabled to gather a vast number of men and women to faith. Also, as just mentioned, the tenor of Jesus’ instruction changes with verse 21 which follows shortly. The program of building His church would not be deterred even by His own death. It is by His death that materials for the building of the church will be assembled. It is by His death that the church will be built, and it is by His death that He shall be glorified.
When Peter speaks in his first letter to younger pastors, he reminds them that they are to be shepherds of God’s flock that is under [their] care [1 Peter 5:2]. Reading that assignment which Peter makes, I cannot help but wonder if the words Jesus spoke at the time of our text were in his mind. My mind turns almost automatically to the words Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders as he addressed them on the Melitian shore. He admonished them to keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood [Acts 20:28].
The gates of Hades stand always opposed to the program of our Lord. It seems that the brightest and best of His saints are too often struck down in their prime and the work is halted. Death is the result of sin and the evil one would employ death to frighten the saints. We need to hear the encouragement of the Word. God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline [2 Timothy 1:7]. Instead of being frightened by threats from inhabitants of this world, we need to insure that we are part of the program Christ began and which continues to this day. If we are part of that divine program, then we need to obey the divine command to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes [Ephesians 6:10,11].
The church will be divinely preserved. Since not even death shall overcome the program Jesus began, it is obvious that the church is given divine protection. A holy church still awes a world plunged into deep darkness. My mind is drawn to the verse which relates the reaction of the watching inhabitants of Jerusalem when God revealed Himself as holy among His people.
You no doubt recall the story of Ananias and Sapphira, the couple who thought they could lie to God. The account, recorded in Acts 5:1-11, tells how they sold a certain piece of property and attempted to present themselves as something they were not. After selling the property they brought a portion of the moneys they received from the sale, pretending that they were giving everything they had to God. God struck them each dead because they lied to Him. Focus on two verses with me. Verse eleven states that great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. The corollary is given in verse thirteen: no one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.
A holy church is a church kept from the assaults of the wicked world. When the church becomes indistinguishable from the world, however, there is nothing to offend the world, but neither is there any longer any reason for God to preserve such a monstrosity. If the world imagines that the church will accommodate its views, and if the world sees the church as just another organisation, then the church has sacrificed her unique position of purity before the Living God. If the church refuses to demand purity of her adherents, then she has forfeited her right to identify with Holy God and has jeopardised her unique position of divine preservation.
The last truth which stands out follows from the issue of divine preservation. That truth is that the power to bind and loose will be entrusted to the church Jesus builds. Jesus here employed the second person singular pronoun, demonstrating that He was addressing Peter. The action is future (I will give you the keys of the kingdom) and Peter will receive the keys of the kingdom which will permit binding and loosing people. Do not draw the conclusion, however, that only Peter and unnamed successors to an imagined position would receive such authority. The entire assembly of Apostles received this same authority later [John 20:22,23], and the churches of our Lord received this same authority in Matthew 18:15-20.
The issue of binding and loosing speaks of judgement. It is judgement of one’s confession of Christ. The standard is set; Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Those coming to Him in faith are born into the Kingdom of God. The churches of our Lord are responsible to assess the reality of the profession of those presenting themselves for membership within the Body. Those who speak one thing but whose lives speak another must be confronted with the disparity between the two. Our practise is to present for church action those requesting baptism and those requesting membership in this assembly. The church must make a judgement. One who has dealt with the individual serves as an advocate, speaking of their transformation if the individual is not otherwise known to the congregation, and the church passes judgement on their call and confession.
When the church has passed judgement on an individual's call and confession, it is but ratifying what has already been determined in Heaven. The church must align herself with the teaching of the Word, and thus aligned speak boldly and with authority. Those wishing to be called by the Name of God must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it [1 Peter 3:11]. Those walking contrary to the will of God are to be called to account by brother and sister Christians.
When the authority to bind and loose was given to the church, as is recorded in Matthew 18:15-20, it is clearly in the context of judgement of Christian conduct. People often quote Matthew 18:19,20 as though it were a promise of Christ’s presence at every church meeting, or as though it were a promise that if a few individuals can but agree on a given issue Jesus will do their bidding. Though I am confident that He does attend the gathering of even the smallest band and though I am convinced that He delights to hear His people unite in prayer, the text has rather a different application than either of those. The context of the passage speaks of the church gathered for the purpose of judgement. Never is Christ more present with His people than when they defend the church against assault and when they call those affiliated with the church to godly living.
While there is scant practise of church discipline in this day, it is in part because we have rejected the responsibility of uniting openly with the congregation. We think to hold ourselves aloof as though we can somehow absorb the benefits of walking with Christ without the responsibility of open identification with Him. It is as though we want the respectability of belonging to the church without the responsibility attending that same membership. May I say quite plainly that each one who names the Name of Christ is responsible to identify with Him as He commands. Having identified with Him through baptism, each professing child of God is responsible to unite with the congregation wherein God places him or her. This is in no small measure so that each child of God may invest their own spiritual gifts within that assembly where God has placed them, but also that they may be accountable to fellow saints for their conduct.
Let me be practical for a moment in order to assist the people of God. Those saved are added to the church through their baptism, according to the Word of the Lord [Acts 2:41]. Within the assembly is to be practised a hearty fellowshipping in the apostolic teaching, in worship and in prayer [Acts 2:42]. Part of this fellowshipping entails submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ [Ephesians 5:21].
Unlike relationships which may be formed in the world, the church is responsible to call individual actions into question when those actions are inconsistent with our call to live according to the Word of God. Those who cry out that it is nobody’s business how they live reveal that they know nothing of Christ’s call to holiness. Those who belong to Christ are willing to live according to His command and to accept the discipline of the church when they live contrary to the revealed will of God. Otherwise, there is nothing left for the errant one except to expect to meet God.
One of the frightening passages of the Word of God is found in Amos’ prophecy as Holy God confronts errant Israel with her sins. God states that He had sent famine and drought without capturing the attention of His wayward people. He had blighted their vineyards and gardens, sent locusts and plagues among them without arresting them in their mad flight toward destruction. War and invasions and occupation of the land by foreign troops had not served to deter them from national suicide. As though exasperated by their wantonness, the Lord God then says:
Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
and because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel
[Amos 4:12].
To any who think to enjoy the benefits of the Faith without giving an accounting to the people of God, I warn you that it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God [Hebrews 10:31].
It seems appropriate in light of the message this day to invite you to reflect on that which is written and that which has been spoken. Have you trusted Christ as Lord of life? Have you confessed Him before man as He commands? Have you obeyed His call to openly identify with Him through believer’s baptism, identifying with Him in His death, burial and resurrection? Isn’t it time that you submitted to that which the Lord commands? Why have you held yourself apart from the people of God? Will you not reveal the beauty of His work in your life through practising open accountability toward your fellow believers? The doors to the church are now open and we invite you to come place your life in the fellowship of this church. Amen.