Commentaries:
People's Commentary (NT)
Matthew 16:18
Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. This
is the first time Jesus speaks of his church, and here, as not yet
founded. Three terms are to be noted: (1) "Peter", in the Greek,
"Petros", meaning a single stone; (2) "Rock", in the Greek, "Petra",
which means the solid, immovable bed-rock, a great mass like a cliff,
and (3) "church", Greek, "ecclesia", those "called out", the fellowship
of believers, the organized society of Christ, the kingdom of heaven on
earth. There is probably no passage in the word of God that has called
forth more discussion. The Papal church insists that Peter is the rock
upon which Christ founded his church. The Catholic position is based
upon the fact that Peter means a stone, and the Savior's language might
be rendered, "Thou art a stone and upon this rock I will build my
church" (see John 1:42). The Catholic view is untenable, for (1) The
Savior does not say, "Thou art a stone, and upon thee I will build",
etc., or "Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build". He changes
the word in the Greek from "Petros" (Peter, a stone) to "Petra", a
rock, or ledge of rock--a solid bed-rock. (2) Every saint is a stone
(see 1 Peter 2:5). The Lord declares that Peter is one these living
stones, made such by his confession of faith, and ready to be built
into the church, the spiritual temple, formed of living stones, and
built upon the rock. So is every confessor of Christ. In order to
settle what the Savior does mean by the "rock", we must consider
Matthew 16:18,19 together, and keep in mind the entire figure. This
figure portrays (1) a Builder, Christ; (2) a temple to be built,
composed of lively stones, the church; (3) a foundation for that
temple, the rock; (4) the gates of an unfriendly city or power which
shall seek its destruction, hell, or more correctly, Hades, the
unseen abode of the dead, the grave; (5) a door-keeper of the church,
or spiritual temple, with his keys, Peter. Peter's place in the figure
is not that of the foundation, but that of the key-holder, or turnkey.
The only difficulty is in settling what the Lord means by the "rock".
Since this rock is the foundation of the church, the central principle,
the fundamental idea, we are aided to a correct decision by the
teachings of the Word elsewhere. We learn [through Paul] "That other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ".
This excludes Peter or any human platform (1 Corinthians 3:11). Christ is often
called a stone: (1) "the stone that the builders rejected" (Matthew 21:42
Mark 12:10 Lu 20:17); (2) "the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:20);
(3) "the stone that is the head of the corner" (Matthew 21:42 Mr 12:10
Luke 20:17 Ac 4:11 1Pe 2:7); (4) "the spiritual rock which is Christ"
(1 Corinthians 10:4). Faith in Christ held in the heart, and confessed with
the lips is the very foundation of the spiritual life and of the
church. This constituted the fundamental difference in apostolic days
between Christians and unbelievers, the church and the world. It does
still. It is the essence of the teaching of the New Testament that the
platform or foundation of the Christian society, the church, is this
belief that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God" (see
Matthew 16:16 Joh 6:69). It is then Peter's grand confession, faith in
the Spiritual Rock, the faith that lays hold of Christ, belief that he
is the Anointed of God, the Divine Savior, that the Lord pronounces
the rock upon which he will found his church. That this view is
correct is shown by a correct understanding of the declaration.
The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. "The gates of
Hades" (Revised Version). From the gates of the city always marched
forth its armies. The powers of hades are represented by its gates.
Hades is not hell (Gehenna), but the unseen abode of the dead that
holds the departed within its gates. Just after these words the Lord
talks of his death, or entering hades. Six months later the Sanhedrin
sent him to death for making the same confession Peter had just made.
See Matthew 26:64-67. They expected to demonstrate that the confession
of his divinity which he had made was false by sending him to hades,
which they supposed would hold him and prevail against the confession
of the ROCK. He was sent there from the cross, but the gates of hades
did not prevail, for they could not hold him, and the living Savior,
rising triumphant from the tomb, was the unanswerable argument that his
own and Peter's confession was a rock that could never be moved. His
resurrection demonstrated that he is the Rock. Hades did not prevail.
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Matthew 16:18
Matthew 18:17
Luke 6:48
Luke 9:18-21
John 21:16
Hebrews 3:6
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