Rock Peter

[Matthias]

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

(Matthew 16:18, NET)

”There can be no higher tribute than to call a man a rock.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 173)

 

[Matthias]

“No sooner had Peter made his great discovery than Jesus made to him a great series of promises. These promises have been the subject of much and embittered controversy, and we must seek to find the mind of Jesus in them.

(i) There is the promise to Peter: ‘You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church’ (Matt. 16.18). Two things are to be noted. First, here there is a play on names, not reproducible in English. The Greek for ‘Peter’ is petros, and the Greek for rock is petra; in Greek there is a change in gender and therefore a change in the ending of the words; but in Aramaic the word play would be even more perfect, for Peter’s Aramaic name was Cephas, and cephas is the word for ‘a rock’.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 172)

 

[Matthias]

“Second, whatever the meaning of this is, there is no doubt that it was a very great compliment to Peter. To call a man ‘a rock’ was high praise. A rabbinic saying says that God said of Abraham: ‘Lo, I have discovered a rock on which to found the world.’ Abraham, so the rabbis said, was the rock on which the nation was founded, and the rock from which the nation was hewn. The word ‘rock’, this time in Hebrew sur, is again and again applied to God in the Old Testament. ‘Who is a rock, except our God? (Ps. 18.31; II Sam. 22.32). ‘The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer’ (Ps. 18.2; II Sam. 22.2). There can be no higher tribute than to call a man a rock. To whom, then, or to what does the phrase ‘this rock’ refer in the saying of Jesus to Peter?”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, pp. 172-173)

 

[Matthias]

“Four main suggestions have been made. (a) Augustine suggested that the rock in question is Jesus himself, and that Jesus is saying that the Church is founded on him, and that Peter will be honored in it. (b) It is suggested that the rock is Peter’s faith, that, to change the metaphor, Peter’s initial faith is the spark which kindled the flame and fire of faith which was ultimately to burn in the world-wide church. (c) It is suggested that the rock is the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that this is the bedrock of truth on which the very existence of the Church is founded. (d) While we agree that there is truth in all these suggestions, we feel certain that the rock is none other than Peter himself. It is perfectly true that in the ultimate and eternal sense God is the rock on whom the Church is founded; but it is also true that Peter was the first man to discover and publicly confess who Jesus was; and, therefore, Peter was the first member of the Church of Christ, and, on him the Church is founded. The meaning is not that the Church depends on Peter; the idea is, to use a modern metaphor from the same realm of thought, that Peter is the founder member of the Church, because he was the first to experience and to confess the Church’s faith in Jesus.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 173)

 

[Muna]

I always liked this combination between the Cephas picture and what Peter writes in his epistle too

John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias,
which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

And as Simon (A stone) was brought to Jesus (to the stone the builders rejected) he writes to them

1 Peter 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

 

[ScottA]

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

(Matthew 16:18, NET)

”There can be no higher tribute than to call a man a rock.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 173)

Unfortunately, this is the passage that marks the fork in the road where most of Christendom followed the foretold false teachers off the path fulfilling the foretold strong delusion for having believed a lie.

It was deliberate, however. Just as Moses had set before the house of Israel, "life and death, blessing and cursing", this is where Jesus set the same life and death choice before the Church.​

In the passage was two rocks: Peter, yes, but more importantly the Rock of ages. Meaning that in that one verse (16:18) Jesus identified Peter addressing Peter as "you", as "flesh and blood" and very clearly--"not" the means by which He would build His Church. Unfortunately, after reading the passage and believing it to mean it was referring to Peter rather than distinctly making the point that it was "not" Peter--for 2,000 years--it is a hard truth to come to grips with. Even so, that is what He said.

 

[Matthias]

“It may be that we will get a better understanding of this saying of Jesus if we in fact avoid the word ‘church’; in modern times it has the ideas of denomination, organization, administration, Protestant, Roman Catholic attached to it. It is true that in Greek the word is ekklesia, but in the Greek Old Testament ekklesia regularly translates the Hebrew word qahal, which is the word for the congregation, the assembly of the people of Israel, assembled before God in his presence. The idea then is that Peter is the founder member of the new Israel, the new people of God, whom Jesus came to create, the company of men and women everywhere who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Nothing can take from Peter the honor of being the first stone in the edifice of the new people of God.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, pp. 173-174)

 

[Muna]

I always liked this combination between the Cephas picture and what Peter writes in his epistle too

John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias,
which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

And as Simon (A stone) was brought to Jesus (to the stone the builders rejected) he writes to them

1 Peter 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Running off that last verse 1 Peter 2:6 from above along with what Paul writes, Jesus is the gift (or precious stone) and the wisdom and power of God

It would be the Father who laid in Sion the chief corner stone (as in the above)
also called the rock (or Petra) in both Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:8

Romans 9:33 As it is written,
Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock (Petra) of offence:
and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Peter (Petros) is attributing to Christ both that stone of stumbling,
and a rock (Petra) of offence in 1 Peter 2:8

Christ, the rock (Petra) in 1 Cr 10:4 which was in them (Peter and Paul) in the apostleship to both of these

Gal 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb,
and called me by his grace,

Gal 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

The Father revealing his Son Christ, in him, not flesh and blood

 

[Matthias]

Rock God.

Rock Abraham.

Rock Jesus.

Rock Peter.

”To the one who conquers ... I will give him a white stone, and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand except the one who receives it.”

(Revelation 2:17, NET)

Rock me. Rock you. Rock on. Rock all who belong to the Messiah; the household of God.

 

[Muna]

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

 

[Matthias]

“(ii) It is then said by Jesus to Peter: ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 16.19). The possession of keys always implies very special authority and power. The rabbis for instance had a saying that the keys of birth, and death, and the rain, and the resurrection from the dead belong to God and to God alone. In the New Testament the keys are specially connected with Jesus. It is the Risen Christ who has the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1.18). It is Jesus who has the key of David and who opens and no man shuts, and shuts and no man opens (Rev. 3.7). These sayings all have a common background. They all go back to Isaiah’s picture of the faithful Eliakim who had the key to the house of David on his shoulder, and who alone opened and shut (Isa. 22.22). Now Eliakim was the steward of the house of David; he was the doorkeeper who brought people into the presence of the king. So, then, Jesus is saying that Peter is to be the steward of the Kingdom. If that be so, the whole emphasis is on the opening of the door, for the steward is the person who answers and opens the door. Peter was to be the man who opened the door of the Kingdom, and indeed he did. At Pentecost it was the preaching of Peter which opened the door to three thousand souls (Acts 2.41). It was Peter who adventurously opened the door of the Kingdom to the Gentile Cornelius (Acts 10). It was Peter who at the Council of Jerusalem gave the decisive witness which flung open the door of the Church to the Gentiles at large.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 174)

 

[Hiddenthings]

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

(Matthew 16:18, NET)

”There can be no higher tribute than to call a man a rock.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 173)

Do you think Peter is the rock?

 

[Matthias]

“(iii) It is then said by Jesus to Peter: ‘Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’ (Matt. 16.19). Here we must note two things. First, we must note that it is whatever you bind and loose, not whomever you bind or loose. This has clearly nothing to do with binding or loosing people. Second, the phrase binding and loosing was very common in Jewish language in regard to rabbinic and scribal decisions about the Law. To bind something was to declare it forbidden; to loose something was to declare it allowed. In this context this is the only meaning which these two words can have. Jesus was saying to Peter: ‘Peter, in the days to come heavy responsibilities will be laid upon you. You, as leader of the Church, will have to take grave decisions. The guidance and the direction of the young Church is going to fall on you. Will you always remember that the decisions you will be called on to make will affect the lives and souls of men in time and in eternity?’ Jesus was not giving Peter some special privilege; he was giving him a grave warning of the almost unbearable responsibility that was going to be laid upon him for the welfare of the Church in the days to come.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, pp. 174-175)

 

[Matthias]

“Jesus was saying to Peter, and saying with joy : ‘Peter, you are the foundation stone of the new community which I came to found, for you are the first man to know me and to confess me. In the days to come you will be the steward of my Kingdom, opening the door to those who seek my presence. In the days to come, you will have grave decisions to make, decisions which will affect men’s souls. Always remember the duty laid upon you, and your responsibility to men and to me.’ This is the natural and inevitable outcome of this whole incident. Jesus took his disciples apart for the all-important purpose of finding out if there was any who understood him. To his joy one man did understand, and Jesus was committing his work into the hands of that man, for that was the very thing he set out to do.”

(William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 175)

 

[Hiddenthings]

Peter was not the foundation, but rather part of the foundation, with Christ as the true cornerstone or foundation.

1 Corinthians 3:11 "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

This verse clearly states that Jesus Christ alone is the foundation of the Church, not Peter, nor any other apostle.

Ephesians 2:20 "...built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,"

Here, the apostles and prophets (including Peter) are described as part of the foundation; but not the ultimate foundation. Jesus is the chief cornerstone, aligning and supporting the entire structure.

Peter's confession is in fact the entire foundation upon which the building stands!

Revelation 21:14 "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

This verse reveals that the New Jerusalem is built on twelve foundations, each bearing the name of one of the twelve apostles — again, Peter is one of several, not singular or supreme.

 

[Matthias]

“Identifying Peter as a ‘rock,’ as the coming human foundation on which the church would be built (16:18a), could be meant to call to mind the famous cornerstone (or capstone) prophecy of Psalm 118:22 (see also Isa. 28:15-19), which will figure prominently later in Matthew … There may also be an allusion to Isa. 51:1-2, to the rock from which Israel was hewn, making Peter a ‘founding father’ of the new covenant community, just as Abraham was for Israel (see Davies and Allison 1988-1997: 2:624). The ‘gates of Hades’ (16:18b) appears to allude to texts such as Job 38:17; and Isa. 38:10, while ‘the keys of the kingdom’ (16:19) almost certainly is based on the identical metaphor in Isa. 22:22. On the possible relationship between these two allusions, See Marcus 1988.

(Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson, Editors, p. 55)

 

[Matthias]

“So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.”

(Ephesians 2:19-29, NET)

 

[jaybird]

Acts 15 James not Peter gives final judgment

 

[Matthias]

Acts 15 James not Peter gives final judgment

That’s right. Why was that the case?

 

[jaybird]

That’s right. Why was that the case?

i would say in those situations thats the decisions made by the leader. the one with the highest authority.
James was also leader of the Jerusalem church, wouldnt that be the church with the highest authority at the time?