Was Peter the "Rock" upon which the church was built, or was it Christ Jesus.?

Question

In Matthew 16:18 the Lord says, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, (Petros, or piece of rock) and on this rock (Petra, or Mass of rock) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Did Jesus not mean that the Rock upon which the church was to be built was himself, and not Peter, who in comparison was only a little rock.
See for comparison 1 Corinthians 10:4 which says, " and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock (Petra, Mass of rock) that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

Answer 1

Yes. Jesus is the Rock, not Peter. If you read the verses before this, you will see what the CONTEXT of the following verses are. "And who do you say I am?" Jesus is asking who Peter thinks He (Jesus ) is. THIS IS WHAT THE WHOLE THING IS ABOUT. WHO JESUS IS, NOT PETER. So, when Peter answeres Jesus, and says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus responds to Peter's reply. "And you are Peter." (Jesus is pleased with Peter's answer, that's why He says this)
Then, He goes on and says "and on THIS Rock, I will build My church....." Jesus is referring to Himself, because His first question was "Who do you say I am?"

This is in the same context as when Jesus tells the Pharisees "Tear down THIS TEMPLE, and I will rebuild it in three days."
By "THIS TEMPLE" Jesus meant Himself, not the building. The Pharisees didn't understand, and neither do the Catholics when it comes this verse about the Rock.

Yes, I agree with you. All other verses in the Bible which contain the "Rock" are about Jesus, not Peter (the pebble).

Answer 2

I find it funny how people are coming up with all these long worded explanations about who the rock is. The bible has the answer. I'm not going to give a long explanation as to why the Rock is neither Peter or Christ. I'm going to give you the verse. You can believe man, or God's word.

Deuteronomy 32: 3-4
The answer is actually quite simple. No long explanation needed. The bible is very clear who the Rock is.

Deuteronomy 32:3-4
3Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

4He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Answer 3

The "rock" was the proclaimation that Peter had just made

Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus is the Christ ( Messiah)- That is the foundation of the Christian faith.

Answer 4

The word for Peter (Petros) means small stone. Jesus used a play on words here with petra which means a foundation boulder. The New testament makes it clear that Jesus is the head and the foundation of the Church. God used Peter and the other Apostles to help build his Church, but he did not mean that the church was literally built upon Peter. In 1 Peter 2 :5 Peter explains that the church is built with "living stones and that Jesus is the chief cornerstone. I believe that as Christians we are called to be closely identified and united with Christ that the very life that exists in Christ exists in us also. We are to be living examples of who Christ was. We should seek to know Christ and the power of his resurrection as the apostles of old did.. If you look at Paul and Peter, despite their short comings you will see that they were truly living stones of the church in their time. Today we are the living stones of our churches. I hope and pray that all churches teach sound doctrine and move away from the modern day mumbo jumbo..."ask Jesus into your heart and be saved!" How can we be living stones with wrong doctrine?

Answer 5

In addition to the word translated as "Peter" meaning a small stone, and "Rock" meaning a bedrock, these words are also different in gender. (Peter, male / Rock, female)

The Bible says, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11)

The foundation rock of the church, the chief cornerstone, is the truth that Peter confessed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"

Answer 6

Christ was also called The Cornerstone. He wants to equate the builder with the building. He is His church and He built His church. We are in Christ as Christ is in us. So He is the Rock and Peter is the Rock. That doesn't mean that we are equal to God, just doing His will.

Answer 7

Peter is the rock.

Petra vs petros: The difference in meaning can only be found in Attic Greek, but the New Testament was written in Koine Greek—an entirely different dialect. In Koine Greek, both petros and petra simply meant "rock." If Jesus had wanted to call Simon a small stone, the Greek lithos would have been used.

Anyway, it works in Aramaic, too, which is what they would have spoken to each other What Jesus said to Simon in Matthew 16:18 was this: ‘You are Kepha, and on this kepha I will build my Church.’

Besides, why re-name the guy Peter if this wasn't His intention!?

Answer 8

Jesus is the fundament,
or said in other words, the fundament is Peter's statement regarding that Jesus: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Look it in other way:
Could christianity exist without Jesus? No way. No one can replace what Jesus did.
Could christianity exist without Peter? Sure, other would take his job.

Now which one is the Rock, the fundament of the christian church? Jesus, the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God.

Answer 9

Well I have heard both, it seems the Peter the rock is the biblical explanation for the Roman Catholic Church, and the no Jesus is the rock is the explanation for break away churches. I think that mainstream Christianity's rock may have a few pieces missing but it prevails because it allows an avenue to the truth.

Answer 10

It was at the Last Supper, long after the events of Matthew 16:18, that the disciples argued about which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24).

What is the RCC fit for?
.