Matthew 16-17

Read: Matthew 16-17

Verses chosen for reflection

Matthew 16:13-20

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?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 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. 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. 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[d] in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Reflect

There has been much debate on what Jesus mean when he said in verse 18 that "on this rock I will build my church". Which or what rock was Jesus referring to? Was Jesus referring to the Apostle Peter or was He referring to his confession that Jesus is the Christ?

Some theologians insist that "the rock" (Greek: petra) refers to the Apostle Peter. Hence, the true church will only come from the line of the Apostle Peter. According to Catholic traditions, Peter was installed as the first Pope. Therefore, churches must be built upon such a tradition or some would say the foundation of which Jesus commanded. However, others debated that Jesus was referring to Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ. He was not referring to Peter as an individual. Hence the church will be built upon the foundation of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. In other words, the church should be built upon the foundation of the Gospel.  

Of course, being a Protestant, I lean more towards the idea that "this rock" refers to Peter's confession. One of the interpretation keys to such a verse can be found in verse 17, where Jesus said that such divine knowledge was only revealed by the Father in heaven. Hence, the emphasis was more on what God had given to Peter as divine insight to the true identity of Christ than the personhood of Peter. If Peter was indeed "the rock" by which the true church comes about; it might not be very assuring to the other disciples, that in the next subsequent verses that Jesus referred to him as Satan (verses 22-23). 

Furthermore, if the true church only comes from one Apostle, it does not make sense for Jesus to commission all the eleven (minus Judas) to make disciples in Matthew 28. It also does not make sense for Jesus' command to the disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; where many witnessed the power and word of God and believed. This gave rise to the beginning of the church. 

Hence, the true church is not built on one or even fifty people. It is built upon the foundational stone of Christ and through the glorious power of the Spirit. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus is therefore the essence and framework of which the church shall grow and shine for God's glory. In this way, yes, the gates of hell will definitely not prevail against it. 

Relate

The church of today should be dwelling in the Gospel and sharing the Gospel much more than what we are doing now. At a recent pastors fellowship meeting, representatives from Love Singapore shared a 6 years vision for church growth. The idea is to grow the number of Singaporeans knowing Jesus from 18.9% to 20% by the year 2030. In order for that to happen, churches need to be much more proactive in sharing the Gospel, winning souls for Christ and making disciples. 

We need to be much more active in reaching out to the communities. We need to cut away things that only seeks to edify ourselves as Christians but take away resources or even the desire to go out and bring people to the Lord. Simply put, we need a total realignment of ourselves to Christ our Rock and His vision for the church. We need to soak ourselves in and through prayer because only God can do it through us and us. Only then, can the church grow in His will. Only then will the gates of hell not prevail against it. 

Rest

Lord, give us the courage and grace to realign ourselves with you. Take us out of our own self interest but show us what it means to be serving only for Your interest. For You are the Rock and Redeemer. This we pray in Jesus Name. Amen

Jason