Jesus does the building, and nobody has said otherwise. Jesus doesn't build junk.
But as the passions of the Reformation era have cooled, and Protestant scholars have taken a more dispassionate look at this text, they have come to agree more and more that Jesus was referring to Peter himself as the rock. Of course, they disagree with the Catholic interpretation of what this
means, but many now agree that the Catholic explanation of the grammar of the text is correct.
Twelve Quotations from Ten Protestant Biblical Scholars
William Hendriksen
member of the Reformed Christian Church
Professor of New Testament Literature at Calvin Seminary:
The meaning is, You are Peter, that is Rock, and upon this rock, that is, on you, Peter I will build my church. Our Lord, speaking Aramaic, probably said, And I say to you, you are Kepha, and on this kepha I will build my church. Jesus, then, is promising Peter that he is going to build his church on him! I accept this view.
New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1973), page 647
Donald A. Carson III
Baptist and Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Seminary
(two quotations from different works)
Although it is true that petros and petra can mean stone and rock respectively in earlier Greek, the distinction is largely confined to poetry. Moreover the underlying Aramaic is in this case unquestionable; and most probably kepha was used in both clauses (you are kepha and on this kepha), since the word was used both for a name and for a rock. The Peshitta (written in Syriac, a language cognate with Aramaic) makes no distinction between the words in the two clauses. The Greek makes the distinction between petros and petra simply because it is trying to preserve the pun, and in Greek the feminine petra could not very well serve as a masculine name.
The Expositors Bible Commentary: Volume 8 (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), page 368
The word Peter petros, meaning rock (Gk 4377), is masculine, and in Jesus follow-up statement he uses the feminine word petra (Gk 4376). On the basis of this change, many have attempted to avoid identifying Peter as the rock on which Jesus builds his church. Yet if it were not for Protestant reactions against extremes of Roman Catholic interpretations, it is doubtful whether many would have taken rock to be anything or anyone other than Peter.
Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary New Testament, vol. 2
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), page 78
John Peter Lange
German Protestant scholar
The Saviour, no doubt, used in both clauses the Aramaic word kepha (hence the Greek Kephas applied to Simon, John i.42; comp. 1 Cor. i.12; iii.22; ix.5; Gal. ii.9), which means rock and is used both as a proper and a common noun.... The proper translation then would be: Thou art Rock, and upon this rock, etc.
Langes Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: The Gospel According to Matthew, vol. 8
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1976), page 293
John A. Broadus
Baptist author
(two quotations from the same work)
Many insist on the distinction between the two Greek words, thou art
Petros and on this
petra, holding that if the rock had meant Peter, either
petros or
petra would have been used both times, and that
petros signifies a separate stone or fragment broken off, while
petra is the massive rock. But this distinction is almost entirely confined to poetry, the common prose word instead of
petros being
lithos; nor is the distinction uniformly observed.
But the main answer here is that our Lord undoubtedly spoke Aramaic, which has no known means of making such a distinction [between feminine
petra and masculine
petros in Greek]. The Peshitta (Western Aramaic) renders, Thou are
kipho, and on this
kipho. The Eastern Aramaic, spoken in Palestine in the time of Christ, must necessarily have said in like manner, Thou are
kepha, and on this
kepha.... Beza called attention to the fact that it is so likewise in French: Thou art
Pierre, and on this
pierre; and Nicholson suggests that we could say, Thou art
Piers (old English for Peter), and on this
pier.
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew
(Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1886), pages 355-356
J. Knox Chamblin
Presbyterian and New Testament Professor
Reformed Theological Seminary
By the words this rock Jesus means not himself, nor his teaching, nor God the Father, nor Peters confession, but Peter himself. The phrase is immediately preceded by a direct and emphatic reference to Peter. As Jesus identifies himself as the Builder, the rock on which he builds is most naturally understood as someone (or something) other than Jesus himself. The demonstrative this, whether denoting what is physically close to Jesus or what is literally close in Matthew, more naturally refers to Peter (v. 18) than to the more remote confession (v. 16). The link between the clauses of verse 18 is made yet stronger by the play on words, You are Peter (Gk. Petros), and on this rock (Gk. petra) I will build my church. As an apostle, Peter utters the confession of verse 16; as a confessor he receives the designation this rock from Jesus.
Evangelical Commentary on the Bible
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1989), page 742
Craig L. Blomberg
Baptist and Professor of New Testament
Denver Seminary
Acknowledging Jesus as The Christ illustrates the appropriateness of Simon's nickname Peter (Petros = rock). This is not the first time Simon has been called Peter (cf. John 1:42), but it is certainly the most famous. Jesus declaration, You are Peter, parallels Peters confession, You are the Christ, as if to say, Since you can tell me who I am, I will tell you who you are. The expression this rock almost certainly refers to Peter, following immediately after his name, just as the words following the Christ in v. 16 applied to Jesus. The play on words in the Greek between Peters name (Petros) and the word rock (petra) makes sense only if Peter is the rock and if Jesus is about to explain the significance of this identification.
The New American Commentary: Matthew, vol. 22
(Nashville: Broadman, 1992), pages 251-252
David Hill
Presbyterian minister and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biblical Studies
University of Sheffield, England
On this rock I will build my church: the word-play goes back to Aramaic tradition. It is on Peter himself, the confessor of his Messiahship, that Jesus will build the Church. The disciple becomes, as it were, the foundation stone of the community. Attempts to interpret the rock as something other than Peter in person (e.g., his faith, the truth revealed to him) are due to Protestant bias, and introduce to the statement a degree of subtlety which is highly unlikely.
The Gospel of Matthew
The New Century Bible Commentary
(London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1972), page 261
Suzanne de Dietrich
Presbyterian theologian
The play on words in verse 18 indicates the Aramaic origin of the passage. The new name contains a promise. Simon, the fluctuating, impulsive disciple, will, by the grace of God, be the rock on which God will build the new community.
The Laymans Bible Commentary: Matthew, vol. 16
(Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1961), page 93
Donald A. Hagner
Fuller Theological Seminary
The natural reading of the passage, despite the necessary shift from Petros to petra required by the word play in the Greek (but not the Aramaic, where the same word kepha occurs in both places, is that it is Peter who is the rock upon which the church is to be built.... The frequent attempts that have been made, largely in the past, to deny this in favor of the view that the confession itself is the rock... seem to be largely motivated by Protestant prejudice against a passage that is used by the Roman Catholics to justify the papacy.
Matthew 14-28
Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 33b
(Dallas: Word Books, 1995), page 470
