Upon This Rock I Will Buld My Church

In Matthew 16 Jesus was discussing a very important matter with His apostles.  Let's read this passage:

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,^b and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^c will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^d bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^e loosed in heaven.”

The question that is asked here is a very significant one, not only to Peter, but to us as well.  Jesus could be asking each of us as Christians who we say that He is.  And we read here that the correct answer is "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  The key here is to believe this, to allow this fact to be dominant in our lives, and to be willing to declare it to others.  

Jesus answers to Peter using a word play.  Peter means "rock."  But when Jesus says "upon this rock I will build My church,"  He is using a different form of the word rock.  It isn't Peter that is the foundation of the church; it is the statement that Peter has made.  It is the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  It reminds me of the final words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount, Matthew 7:

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practise is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practise is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jesus is the rock, the foundation, the chief cornerstone of our faith.  By following Him we have life eternal. 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!