Upon this Rock

Text Mt 16:13-19:

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Translation Notes:

1. In verse 18, in Aramaic, the language commonly spoken among the Jews at the time of Jesus, Kephas means both Peter and rock. There is no difference in spelling, gender, pronunciation, etc. It is simply the same word. Petros and petra are the translations for this Kephas into Greek. In Greek, we still see the relation between Peter and rock, but due to gender issues, it is not the exact same word.
2. In verse 19, the Greek has distinction between you (singular) and you (plural). In proper English, there is no such distinction. In informal usage, southerners have the advantage of using y'all for distinction. Use of "y'all" here would be a mistranslation.

Wild Thoughts and Ruminations:

Here, we see one of the most famous exchanges between Jesus and Simon Peter. First, he asks who others say he is. There are many answers. What follows is a question that we must all face in our lives. "Who do you say that I am?"

The answer each man gives is his alone to give. The answer he gives defines that man. It is THE question. Our answer, ultimately, is given by the way we live. Even if a man outwardly says, "Lord, Lord!", it is empty if he does not pick up his cross and follow Christ. If a man at first denies Christ, but then repents, he is borne out by his actions. Others may say he is a good man or a prophet or a teacher. Some may say he is a madman with delusions of grandeur. Some even deny his very existence.

Simon, however, answers correctly, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." It is a bold statement. We, sitting in our chairs or pews, having read this and been preached this all of our lives, will say, "of course! Who else would he be?" His statement was earth-shattering. The Father revealed this to him, but he faced the same fears and doubts that we all face in this life. Was this idea truly from God? Is it from Satan, trying to give me false hope? Does it come from my own hopes and desires? This struggle is just as difficult as it was to step out of the boat and onto the water. He was stepping out where he was only supported by faith. At that moment, his soul stood before Christ, without support or crutch, borne only by this conviction.

And Jesus, reading Simon's very soul, chose him. Jesus knew that Simon would fall in a moment of weakness. Jesus also knew that, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Simon could guide the Church when He has risen. Thus, he gives Simon a new name.

Throughout the Old Testament and the New, we find that names are of deep spiritual importance. The first to receive a name is Adam. It quite simply means man. He is the father of all mankind. No human is human without being a son or daughter of Adam. (Hence, CS Lewis' usage.) We see that Abram, the father of many nations, the father of Judaism, was called by God and named Abraham. We see that Jacob, the father of the Twelve Tribes, is renamed Israel. We see that Samson was given his name by the angel of the Lord, and he sacrificed himself for the budding nation of Israel. We see that John the Baptist was given the name John, rather than his father's name Zechariah, to indicate that he had a special mission. We see even Jesus Himself was given a name by the angel Gabriel.

We see here, that Christ gave Simon the name Peter. In Greek, Petros. In Aramaic, Kephas. The Rock. (See translation note above.) In being renamed, Christ gives Simon, now Peter, a new mission. And the new mission follows directly: "upon this rock I shall build my Church." Again, fully, with the Aramaic names in place: "You are Kephas, and upon this kephas I will build my Church." He also continues, "I will give you (singular) the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you (singular) bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you (singular) loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." English is one of the few languages that obscures the translation. There is no such difficulty in Spanish, for instance.

With this name and mission, it is clear that Christ was appointing Peter as his successor in mission and authority. Peter shall lead the fledgling Church and exercise Christ's authority in His apparent absence.