Peter is the Rock upon which Jesus built his Church

Peter is the Rock upon which Jesus built his Church.

 

Most Protestants disagree and claim that Matthew 16:18 does not teach that Peter is the rock that Jesus built his Church, but the Rock is Jesus Himself or the confession of Peter is the Rock. I am going to show that Jesus explained why He changed Simon’s name to Peter in Matthew 16:18 proving Peter is the rock upon which the Church was founded.

 

When you ask the question why Jesus changed Simon ‘s name to Peter, I think by just knowing the meaning of the name Peter you can conclude that it has something to do with a rock and Jesus did give us the reason why He changed Simon’s name. If you ask the proponents of the alternate interpretations of Matthew 16:18, where did Jesus give a reason for the change of name from Simon to Peter, you simply do not get a response.

 

From the first moment Jesus met Simon, he told him he shall be called Cephas or in Greek Peter (John 1:42). However, Jesus did not explain why Simon shall be called Peter/Cephas. And there no where in the Scriptures where the explanation is given as to why Jesus decided to call Simon by the name of Peter except for one place as we shall see shortly.

 

Every time there was a name change from those chosen by God and in most cases their name resembles what they have done or what God has done for them. For Example, Abram was changed to Abraham because God bestowed on Abraham the privilege to be the father of many nations. To Jacob also known as Israel, he wrestled with God and was given the name Israel. So we actually know why the names were given to Abraham and Israel from the explanations given in Scripture. So where is the explanation of the name Peter given in Scripture. It is given in Matthew 16:18.

 

Jesus had asked earlier who do people say I am. When it comes to people, worldly opinions began to pour. Some say and others say etc etc. Then Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am”. The question was now turned to the 12 who were with him. One man answered and got it right, however Jesus assured him that what he had said did not originate from his human capacity but from heaven. It is at this point that Jesus who had blessed Peter using his birth name Simon son of Jonah, would now tell Simon why he is named Peter.

 

The sentence in the verse starts by saying, “I say to thee, thou art Peter.” If the verse was to end here, the audience would have to wonder, you have said to him, You are Peter, then what. Jesus goes on to tell us the reason He says, “I say to thee, thou art Peter.” The reason follows immediately after those words, “And upon this rock I will build my Church.” Jesus first declares that Simon is Peter and then gives the reason why he is Peter. The verse can be divided into two parts:

1.      Jesus declaring that Simon is Peter: “And I say to thee, That thou art Peter;”

2.      Jesus Explaining why He declared Simon is Peter: “and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

What about other possible interpretations of Matthew 16:18 which are proposed. The first would be, it was not on Peter that the Church was built but on his confession that Jesus is the Christ, son of the living God. Well reading carefully the passages and surrounding context, that conclusion can only mean that confession is the one that Jesus referred to when he said “And I say to thee, That thou art Peter;”. In other words, its the confession that was named Peter, not the person of Simon. 

The second proposed interpretation is that Jesus was referring to Himself when he said, “and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." As I explained before, that would leave us with the question, why did Jesus even say, “And I say to thee, That thou art Peter;” if what follows does not even have a connection to what He was going to say after. He would have made the declaration for no reason and leaves us with no real meaning of why He renamed Simon to the name Peter.

Scriptural citations taken from the Douay Rheims.


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