May the mumbling commence!
What is the rock, the petra, that the church of Jesus is built upon? Let’s look at the context of the statement that Jesus made about the foundation of the church from Matthew chapter sixteen:
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. (Verses 13-20)
Some people read this and would name Simon Peter as the bedrock foundation of the church. This makes some common sense. Peter, the name that Jesus gave Simon, means rock in Greek. It is from this text that we get apostolic succession from Peter to the modern day priests of the Roman Catholic Church.
So God used a backwards fisherman to build the foundation of the church. That’s just like God – using what we would think to be cast off material and making something special, even divine about it. Could God do this? Absolutely. But, is it the total truth of this passage? No.
The Apostle Paul speaks of one foundation for the church, and that is Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:11). The fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, is the rock solid foundation of the church. Should we give some equal meditation to this thought?
When he talked to Simon Peter, what exactly did Jesus say? He said, “You are blessed that God revealed this (that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God) to you. The simple faith of Simon Peter in this fact – this statement - is what the rock is. Let’s read a little further in Matthew chapter sixteen:
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." (Verses 20-28)
Talk about a quick turnaround! Only a few verses earlier, Jesus called Peter the rock on which the church would be built. Now, Peter denies the inevitability of the passion, and Jesus calls him Satan! So, Peter, who is the rock-solid foundation of the church, is now Satan incarnate? No, I don’t think so.
Again it is the statement of Peter that Jesus talks about. What Peter said and did revealed a lot about him. Peter tried to take charge, perhaps taking his role as the rock the church is built upon as the invitation to do so.
In what ways do we take advantage of the privilege of knowing Christ as the living Son of God? Is it an invitation to be controlling? "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet he forfeits his soul?"
Or is it an invitation to obedience to God’s will? “You have in mind the things of men not the things of God.” What we say and do reveals a lot about us.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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