Is Peter the Rock in Matthew 16:18?
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My Catholic friend told me that Peter meant rock and in Matthew 16:18 Jesus was building His church on Peter. Is this true?
Let’s read Matthew 16:13-19 together. First, we should note that the context of this passage is Jesus asking the disciples about His identity. There are many answers suggested by different sources, but Peter comes out and says that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus then pronounces a blessing upon Peter for this good confession. So, the passage is about the identity of Jesus, not the work of Peter as an apostle, per se. Second, in return for Peter’s good confession of Jesus, Jesus acknowledges Peter’s identity by saying, “You are Peter.” The word for “Peter” in this verse is the Greek word petros which means a pebble. Jesus goes on to say that upon this rock, petra, he would build his church. The Greek word petra means a large rock such as the ridge of a mountain or the ledge of a cliff. In other words, Jesus is saying, “Peter, you are a tiny pebble, but I am going to build my church on a great big mountain ridge.” What is the giant rock that Jesus would build His church upon? It is nothing else but the confession of Peter that Jesus is the Son of God. Christ is the rock! This answer is consistent with the rest of scripture as well. Peter affirms this in 1 Peter 2:4-8:
Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
The word “rock” in verse 8 is the Greek word petra just like in Matthew 16:18. Jesus is the rock of offense. Romans 9:33 also uses this same thought to refer to Jesus as the rock.
In 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul writes, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Also, in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, we read:
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
The Greek word for “Rock” in this verse is petra, the same word Jesus said that His church would be built upon. The message that Jesus is the Rock in scripture is clear and consistent. Those who say that Peter was the rock are ignoring the rest of the New Testament’s declaration that Jesus is the rock.