Bible Question: Mathew 16:18--what is the "rock"? |
Bible Answer: Ephesians 2:19-22 "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Since Christ himself is the cornerstone on which the church is built, Jesus could not have been referring to Peter as that very rock in Matthew 16:18, so it follows that it was Peter's confession of Christ that he was referring to. Jesus never speaks of two cornerstones. This is how it was understood by the Apostles, Peter never took a position of leadership among them, and it is also how it was understood by the early bishops (popes) of the church in Rome who never accepted such a claim and in fact gently rebuked those who held the church in Rome in such high esteem. Other references are to Jesus as the cornerstone: Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is " 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.(Psalm 118:22) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." The Parable of the Tenants (Matt 21:33-45, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-19) 1 Peter 2:1-11 (quotes Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 8:14 and Isaiah 28:16) |