Who or what is the “rock” upon which Jesus builds his church, according to Matthew 16?

Theology
1

I hear a lot of discussion about this one verse, Matthew 16:18–Jesus’ words: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” I think that God has led me to a solution by examining the full context of that verse, as follows:

Mat 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Mat 16:14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Mat 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Mat 16:16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Mat 16:20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Mat 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
Mat 16:22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
Mat 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Mat 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Mat 16:25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Mat 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Mat 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Mat 16:28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

The key verse in this passage and the one upon which the rest of the chapter is built as part of the history of Jesus’ ministry is Peter’s profession of faith in verse 16. That is the “rock” which is the foundation of Jesus’ church, certainly not fallible people like Peter, who, as an instrument of Satan, takes Jesus to task for saying that he was going to die at Jerusalem and rise again. Instead, people who deny themselves, accept the suffering that comes with Peter’s profession of faith, and follow Jesus alone are the ones whom Jesus includes in his church.

In reviewing this whole passage, who or what do you think is the “rock”? Why?

2

In Matthew 16 the immediate context strongly suggests that the “rock” is not Peter as an isolated infallible individual, but rather the revealed confession concerning Christ, namely:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” — Matthew 16:16 (ESV)

Jesus responds:

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” — Matthew 16:17–18 (ESV)

The Greek text contains a distinction:

Peter = Πέτρος (Petros) -a stone, rock fragment
Rock = πέτρα (petra) -bedrock, massive rock foundation

While related, the distinction is still meaningful within the flow of the text. The emphasis falls not merely upon Peter’s person, but upon the divine revelation he confessed.

The context immediately afterward is extremely important. The same Peter who had just confessed Christ is then rebuked:

“Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” - Matthew 16:23 (ESV)

That creates a major contextual difficulty if Peter himself, personally and indefectibly, is the foundational rock in an exclusive sense. Within only a few verses, the “rock” becomes a “stumbling block” (σκάνδαλον, skandalon).

The broader New Testament repeatedly identifies Christ Himself as the true foundation stone.

Paul writes:

“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 3:11 (ESV)

Again:

“And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 10:4 (ESV)

Peter himself later says:

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.” - 1 Peter 2:4 (ESV)

And:

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” - 1 Peter 2:7 (ESV)

Paul likewise teaches:

“Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” - Ephesians 2:20 (ESV)

Notice carefully, the apostles collectively are foundational in a derivative sense because of their apostolic testimony, but Christ remains the cornerstone and ultimate foundation.

The “keys of the kingdom” in Matthew 16:19 are also not uniquely Petrine in an absolute sense, because authority to bind and loose is later extended to the disciples corporately:

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” — Matthew 18:18 (ESV)

Likewise in John:

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” John 20:23 (ESV)

So Peter certainly has a prominent apostolic role. He is often the spokesman among the apostles, opens the kingdom to Jews in Acts 2 and Gentiles in Acts 10, and is undeniably significant in redemptive history. But the text itself does not require the conclusion that Peter alone is the infallible rock upon which the entire church rests.

Rather, the strongest exegetical reading is that the church is built upon the revelation and confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, with Christ Himself ultimately being the true foundation and cornerstone.

2 cents.

J.

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3

Seems to me that this should work like it would in a classroom setting. Once He says, “you are Peter”, that ends the question and answer between them, subject is about to change. The change, if still directed at Peter, should once again have Him say Peter’s name, He does not do that. It appears that He has a pause, breaks eye contact with Peter, returns His attention to everyone, and probably motions with His hands, then begins to speak to them once again as a group. It would not say the pause, and change in eye contact, so it just runs together. Basically He went from “Who am I?”, to who they all are, not just Peter. How I see it anyway.