Upon this rock…

The Gospel of Matthew is for us all.  However, when it was first written it was clearly written for the Jews.  It’s main goal is to present Jesus as the Messiah of the Jews.  So it is with great care we need to look at the passage that has caused so much division between Christians.

Jesus looks at Peter and says, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  Matthew 16:18

What was He saying?  Why did He say it?  And what happened to make Him say it?  The answers to these three questions unlock the verse for us.

Just prior to this pronouncement by Christ we see Him ask, “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter answers, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

This was Peter’s confession; That Jesus was the Messiah.

To the Jews, this confession would change everything.  For it was this confession… that Jesus was the Messiah, that would become “the rock of salvation”, the confession that saves.

When Jesus said “I will build my church” He was saying that He would bring all those who would confessed that He was the Messiah together (“build” means “to bring together”) and that we, as believers, would join in prevailing over death. 

We do this through our confession in Christ and it is then that we receive new life in Him.

SDG