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"This is the foundation, Petra, the Rock, which is Christ Jesus the chief cornerstone in which the builders [the Jews] rejected. Peter's name, Petros, represented what the apostles were called to do - lay the foundation of Christ."
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Peter The Rock?
Brian Culliton
"And coming into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples, saying, who do men say Me to be, the Son of Man? And they said, some say, John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father in Heaven."
(Mat 16:13-17)
Why did Jesus ask His disciples this question? The answer is Jesus wanted them (the twelve) to realize the uniqueness of their discipleship. They realized upon answering Jesus' first question, that no one other than they knew Jesus was the Son of God. Think about it; the people who believed that Jesus was no more than a prophet were the same people who saw His works. They saw the lame walk, the sick healed; some even saw Jesus raise Lazareth from the dead. But even after all they saw, they still couldn't see Jesus for who He is, the Son of God.
When Jesus asked His disciples the same question, they could plainly see the difference between them and others who followed Jesus. And as was usually the case, Peter spoke up and answered the question. Peter, however, was not the first of Christ's disciples to realize Jesus' divinity; that distinction belongs to Nathanael (Bartholomew). Jesus said of Nathanael, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile!" (John 1:47) Nathanael was truly a man of God and apparently nothing was withholding him from seeing the divinity of Jesus. John records for us the first time Nathanael meets Jesus as follows:
"Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile! Nathanael said to Him, from where do You know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered and said to Him, Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel! Jesus answered and said to him, because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these. And He said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
(Joh 1:47-51)
This next account shows that the rest of Jesus' disciples finally realized His divinity as well. They had just witnessed the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 men, plus their families, and had left the shore as Jesus commanded. And as they were crossing the lake, it was dark and the wind was causing the waves to come upon them. I'll let Matthew pick it up from here:
"But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a phantom! And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, be of good cheer, I AM! Do not fear. And Peter answered Him and said, LORD, if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water. And He said, come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing that the wind was strong, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him; and said to him, Little-faith! Why did you doubt? And when they had come into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God.
(Mat 14:24-33)
In the Gospels we find one more account of this unique confession. John chapter six is known as the Bread of life discourse. At the end of His discourse with the Jews, Jesus asked His twelve disciples if they too would leave Him as the other non-believing disciples did. Peter, go figure, spoke up again saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (John 6:68-69)
Clearly Peter was speaking on behalf of all twelve disciples, and it is evident that all of them were aware of Jesus' divinity. It is important to understand this before considering Jesus' next words: "Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? And one of you is [or has] a devil? But he spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon; for it was he who was about to betray Him, being one of the Twelve." (John 6:70-71) If you ever wondered what the unpardonable sin is, this is it. Judas knew Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, yet for gain he turned against Him. Because of this, Jesus said, it would have been better if he were never born.
In Matthew 16, Jesus, alone with the Twelve, prompts them once more for this confession when He asked them "who do you say I am." Peter's answer is just as before, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Again Peter is speaking for them all and nobody is shocked by his response. For all we know, Jesus could have been looking right at Peter when He asked that question. Jesus' answer, however, makes them realize something special; God the Father made this fact known to them and only them.
First Jesus tells Peter he is blessed and then proceeds to tell him why, but before He does Jesus calls him by his given name: Simon, son of Jonah. Jesus wants to make it clear to Peter that He is about to reveal the reason for giving him the name Cephas, or Peter in Greek meaning "a stone." Jesus tells Peter, "flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father in Heaven." This is an absolute necessity for salvation. No one will find salvation without coming to Christ, and nobody can come to Christ unless the Father draws him or her to Him.
Again, during the Bread of life discourse Jesus tells the Jews, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no way cast out." (John 6:37) And again He said, "And this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day." (John 6:39) And yet again He said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44)
So Peter's confession, which was a result of a revelation from God, was exactly what Jesus was looking for. So Jesus continues, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Mat 16:18)
Notice, Jesus did not say, "you are Peter (petros) and upon this Peter (petros) I will build my church." He said, "you are Peter (petros) and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church." There is a distinct difference between these two statements. Jesus is saying that upon this foundation, which is salvation by faith in Christ of whom man can know with certainty that He is the Christ, if indeed God has made it known to him, He will build His church. This being the case, how does one come to believe? Jesus said in His great prayer in John chapter 17, "And I do not pray for these [the eleven] alone, but for those also who shall believe on Me through their word." (Joh 17:20)
This is the foundation, Petra, the Rock, which is Christ Jesus the chief cornerstone in which the builders [the Jews] rejected. Peter's name, Petros, represented what the apostles were called to do - lay the foundation of Christ. But don't take my word for it; listen to what the Apostle Paul said to the church in Corinth, "For any other foundation can no one lay than the one being laid, who is Jesus Christ." (1Co 3:11)
Furthermore, Paul gives a complete and thorough description of the church in his letter to the church in Ephesus. "Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Eph 2:19 - 20) In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul referred to himself as a master builder. And in this passage from his letter to the Ephesians, it is clear that the apostles and prophets are the ones who laid the foundation for it was they who testified and prophesied of Christ our Lord.
What hope would we have if it were true that the foundation of the church was built upon a fallible and imperfect man rather than on the sure foundation of Christ our Lord? For Peter himself said, "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you." (1 Pet. 1:22-25)
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