What does this mean? (its a bible passage)?

Question

"18 And I say to you: That you are Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven."

I see it as Christ giving Peter power of the Church so He could return to Heaven. I'm interested into what you think it means

Answer 1

According to what I learned: Peter became the leader of the Christian community in Rome. When he was martyred, his followers elected Linus, who took on the powers that Jesus delegated to Peter. When Linus died they elected Cletus. This line of succession continued on down to His Holiness, Benedict XVI, Pontifex Maximus and Vicar of Christ, now gloriously reigning on the throne of Peter.

Other Christians disagree with this view.

Answer 2

Peter just confessed Jesus as being the Christ. My paraphrase. 'It is upon this confession, Peter, that I will build my church. I am the Christ and the gates of hell will not be able to stand against that truth. Go forward and storm the gates of hell. What you bind will be bound what you loose will be loosed (by Me) in heaven also.'

In other words Because I am the
Christ and you know me to be so. Go take my authority and raid the enemy's kingdom, use my authority to raid it and build my church from what has been redeemed.

Answer 3

This is the moment when Jesus renamed Peter. Depending on the language you're speaking, his new name was Peter, or Petros, or Cephas. In all cases, the meaning is "rock".

Using Greek words, Jesus said that you are petros and on this petra I will build my church. The difference in gender (-o vs. -a) is often cited as meaning that Jesus referred to Peter as a little rock and Himself as the big rock on which the Church will be built.

Like many languages (especially European languages - Spanish, Italian, etc.), you can only name males with male words, and you name females with female words. Jesus couldn't have called Peter "petra", because Peter is a man, so He used "petros".

It seems terribly insulting for Jesus to call Peter a rock, then say that another rock - Himself - is the foundation of the Church. Why bother calling Peter a rock at all? Jesus could have delivered the same message by just saying "I am the rock on which I will build the Church." He called Peter a rock for a reason - and not to insult him, I would think. Therefore, both uses of the word "rock" refer to Peter - the foundation of the Church after Christ ascends to Heaven.

There is a lot of evidence that Peter was acknowledged as the leader of the early Church - the rock, as Christ said. A simple example is the number of times his name appears in the Gospels, compared to any of the other apostles.

God has a history of renaming people when He puts them on a new course: Abram/Abraham and Saul/Paul stand out as two good examples. Peter was renamed to signify a new mission as the rock of the Church - its earthly leader.

As to the second verse, I agree with you - Christ gave Peter power. The power of the keys or "binding and loosing" is used to explain one of the most powerful, uniquely Christian notions - the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus departed so the Holy Spirit could descend to the apostles, with Peter at their head, to continue Christ's minstry on earth. Alone as a mortal man, Christ was one person. With the Holy Spirit, God is intimately near each of the apostles - nearer than a physical Jesus could be, inside rather then beside.

Answer 4

We build upon a foundation (as a rule). Hopefully, it is a solid one so that it would withstand the forces of nature and man's destruction. Speaking metaphorically, Jesus was proclaiming that Peter had shown his worth to be the "rock " upon whom He would start His earthly church and that the evil of hell would not be able to stamp it out, regardless of how many inroads may be made. In the end, He wins!

We are taught to speak forth the binding of anything which comes against us, our families, friends, church, etc and profess the loosing of whatever the evil intent is coming to harm. We declare this in the Name of Jesus for the Bible says, "At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord." When we apply His Name, the forces of hell must back off. Satan does not fear you or me, but he does fear Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Answer 5

Peter and the rest of the Disciples were there when the church started at Pentecost by the Holy Spirit. Peter preached and many entered the Kingdom of Heaven.

Answer 6

Peter whose name was Simon, he verbally denied Christ and was a leader of the early Church, he was put to death during the time of Nero's persecution of Christians, also he gave encouragement in the time of suffering.

Answer 7

Jesus was saying that upon this rock (referring to Himself), the church would be built, and Peter was given the keys of the kingdom.

Answer 8

Read before those verses. Peter told Jesus who he (Jesus) was and Jesus said that only God could have revealed that to him. It is the revelation of who Jesus was/is that Jesus will build his church. All these things are for those who obey God as Jesus did. You can bind evil here on earth as God leads you to and it will be bound in heaven..............