Matthew 16:18-19
Passage:
18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."[1]
Exposition
This passage seems to be Jesus talking directly to Peter and placing him in charge of the Church as a whole. Upon closer examination of the passage what Jesus is doing is speaking about the larger church to come and the salvation that will come from the church.
This passage is sandwiched between the confession by Peter of who he is and Peter’s failed rebuke of Jesus. This context sheds a bit of light on the passage. Matthew is using a bit of wordplay with Peter’s name, which means rock. Jesus uses two different words when talking of Peter, petros, and rock, petra. Peter’s name means a small stone while the word for rock that is used denotes a massive rock or cliff. This seems to point to the idea that while Peter is small his confession is quite massive and it is upon the confession that he, Jesus, will build his church.
The passage then moves on to talk of building his church. Here it is Jesus saying that this is going to be his church and it is going to stand forever.
“The noun translated ‘church’ is ekklesia (1577), mentioned here for the first time in the New Testament…It means the set of individuals called out of the unbelieving world to become and remain beliers…The Lord Jesus is not only going to build His church; He’s going to posses it in the fullest sense. It is His Church and no one else’s.”[2]
Here Jesus is looking forward the church here on earth. He is saying that it will be built on the confession that Peter had just spoken. This is a reflection of Jesus being the chief cornerstone of the church. He is the “rock” on which the church is built.
Ephesians 2:20[3] says that the apostles are the foundation that is built on the corner stone of Jesus. This seems to be pointing back toward this passage where Jesus is talking of his church of which he is the rock. Then again in 2 Corinthians 3:11[4] it is made clear that it is only on Christ that a foundation can be built on. This further points toward the passage meaning being that Jesus is going to build his church upon the confession by Peter. In these two passages there is a foundation that is being built upon a large cornerstone or rock and that rock is Jesus and the confession that he is the messiah.
This passage also feels similar to a passage in Isaiah 28.
“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste.'” (English Standard Version)
In this passage it is seen that God has placed a cornerstone in Jerusalem and will lay a foundation on it of those who believe. This passage seems to foreshadow in some way the confession of Peter and then Jesus statements in Matthew. It is upon this cornerstone, Jesus, that a sure foundation would be laid, the apostles.
Looking at verse 18 again it feels like Jesus is using Peter as a stand in for all the disciples in saying that He, Jesus, is the rock on which the church will be built and that it will stand for all time.
In verse 19 Jesus talks about giving Peter the keys to heaven and telling him that whatever he loose or binds on earth will have been loosed or bound in heaven. This leads to some questions about the authority that is given to Peter. It would seem like there is a large amount of authority given to Peter. But on a closer look it is clear that the verse is saying that whatever is bound or loosed on earth was already bound or loosed in heaven. Therefore it is heaven that has the authority not the church, figured here by Peter, the church only acts out what has already happened in heaven.[5]
The next question is what is being bound or loosed in heaven. The obvious answer is that it is sin that is being dealt with.
“Although salvation is depicted as the Lord breaking into Satan’s house, binding him and stealing his treasured possessions, namely, unbelievers (Matt. 12:29), Jesus did not give Peter His power to save and destroy (James 4:12). The binding and loosing here most likely refer to corporate judgment the church makes on sin:”[6]
This helps us in our understanding of the whole passage for if this is referring to sin and what heaven has already done it would further support the idea that Peter is a stand in for the church to come.
Theological Implications:
There are three general understandings of this passage. The first is the more literal reading that is held primarily by the Catholic Church that Jesus set Peter as the head of the church and endowed him with special authority. The second is a more moderate view of the Catholic Church that does not hold Peter as the head. The third view is that Peter is a symbol or stand in for the coming church and that Jesus is talking to his church.
The Catholic Church points to this verse as the reason that Peter is the head of the church and one of the verses for the argument of apostolic succession.
“Then Jesus addresses Simon by what seems to have been the nickname “Peter” (Cepha in Aramaic and Petros in Greek, meaning “Rocky”) and promises to build his church on this “rock” (also cepha in Aramaic and petra in Greek), which will overcome all the evil forces arrayed against it. The idea is that the church built on Peter will be a place of stability, strength and permanence.”[7]
The Catholic Church sees Peter as the head of church because of this passage. They read it as Jesus telling Peter that he is going to be the rock that the church will be built on and he has been given tremendous authority on earth.
There are a few problems with this reading of the passage. First it needs the context of the previous verse and the context of history. Also this text needs to be placed in the context of the rest of scripture. When this is done the case for Peter being the sole subject for this passage is shaky.[8] Therefore this reading of the passage is not the best one and other options should be considered.
The second option is that the passage is directed toward Peter but without the weight and authority that the Catholics place upon this passage. This reading claims that Jesus was speaking to Peter about laying the foundation of Christ among the Jews as well as the gentiles. Here they point toward passages in Acts where Peter was the first one to preach to the Jews[9] and the first one to share the gospel to the gentiles[10] as fulfillment of this passage. This understanding says this is the plain meaning of the passage:
“I will make you the honored instrument of making known my gospel first to Jews and Gentiles, and will make you a firm and distinguished preacher in building my church”[11]
This understanding of the passage becomes nothing more than Jesus blessing and prophesying over Peter as he tells the future.
The third option states that Jesus was using a word play with the word rock in order to make a point about the future church and the church’s authority under heaven. This understanding of the passage places emphasis on the church being one whole united body under the banner of Christ. It is Christ who is the rock of our salvation and through him we all continue to thrive and exist. The second half of the verse helps us to understand that it is Christ in heaven that make the decisions and passes them onto the church. These verses make a strong case for the unity of the church and helps us understand what a church is.
The third option also agrees with the other scripture about how the church is built. As well as who is the head of the church. The fact that it is not Peter who is the main leader in the church now makes sense.
Conclusion:
As the first option is an incorrect reading of the passage it would seem like both the second two have valid points to make. The third option makes a better case for its reading. It makes more literary sense that Jesus is using wordplay here to make his point about the church. Jesus, in a previous story, used wordplay to talk about the Pharisees and Sadducees teaching. Therefore it would make sense that He would use wordplay here as well. Thus given the two options the third is the best understanding of the passage.
Practical Application:
The practical application of this verse is a call to unity and community with in the greater church body. The church needs to look at this passage and realize that while there might be some doctrinal differences every church is built upon the rock of Jesus Christ. This should lead as a churched to work together as one body for the spread of the gospel.
Practically this looks like churches partnering in evangelistic endeavors as well as helping one another out. If a church is in need it should be the other churches that meet that need. The church should be a community that helps spread the gospel instead of a collection of churches in an area that are competing for people.
In conclusion this verse shows that we are all one church built on the rock of Jesus Christ and under the authority of heaven. Therefore the church should act as one unified and catholic church to help spread the good news of Jesus.
Works Cited
Barnes, Albert. The Gospels. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1985. Print.
Cronjé, S. W. "A study of the theological and ecclesiological consequences of Jesus' pronouncements in Matthew 16:18-19 and 18:18 concerning Peter as the rock, the keys of the kingdom given to Peter, and the church as holder of the keys of the kingdom." Acta Patristica et Byzantina 14.(2003): 78-96. New Testament Abstracts. EBSCO. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
Goodrick, W. Edward, Kohlenberger III, R. John. The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance. Grand Rapids, Michagan: Zondervan, 1999. Print.
Harrington, Daniel J. "Peter the Rock." America 199.4 (2008): 30. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 9 Oct. 2010.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools &Colleges St. Matthew. Ed. A. Carr. M.A. London: Cambridge University press, 1889. Print.
Zodhiates, Spiros. Exegetical Commentary on Matthew. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2006. Print. (pp 225-228).
[1] New American Standard Bible (NASB)
[2] Zodhiates, Spiros. Exegetical Commentary on Matthew. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2006. Print. (pp 225-228).
[3] having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone (NASB)
[4] For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (NASB)
[5] Spiros Zodhiates, P. 227
[6] Spiros Zodhiates, P. 227
[7] Harrington, Daniel J. "Peter the Rock." America 199.4 (2008): 30. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 9 Oct. 2010.
[8] The Cambridge Bible for Schools &Colleges St. Matthew. Ed. A. Carr. M.A. London: Cambridge University press, 1889. Print.
[9] Acts 2 14-36
[10] Acts 10
[11] Barnes, Albert. The Gospels. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1985. Print.
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