Matthew 16:13-20

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

   Who do you say that I am? This is the most important question all of us must answer. Your eternal destiny relates to how you respond to Jesus and the Gospel. Who is Jesus? Most people in Jesus’ day had expectations that the Messiah would be a great prophet. And Jesus is a prophet, but Jesus is not just a prophet. So again, who is Jesus? Fully God, fully man. Son of God. Perfect sacrifice. King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Savior. Redeemer. Lion of Judah. Son of Man. Lamb of God. Alpha. Omega. I AM. Light of the World. Mighty God. The eternal Word. Emmanuel. Messiah. Prince of Peace. Wonderful Counselor. Good shepherd. Living Water. Bread of Life. Cornerstone. 

   This is Jesus. This is who Peter confesses, the Christ, the Son of the living God. But, sadly, not everyone sees Jesus this way. When a person is dead in their sin, Jesus is just another good person or good teacher or great prophet. It takes God to know God. For us to rightly know who Jesus is, God has to reveal Himself to the human heart. God has to take that which is spiritually dead and bring new life. This causes a person to respond to Jesus in faith and love and see Him as He truly is. That’s what Jesus tells us; God revealed Himself to Peter so that Peter had an understanding of who Jesus is.

   Jesus tells us something else, something very important. After Jesus points to God’s revealing power, He talks about rocks. Yes, rocks. And Jesus does an interesting wordplay in Greek that we don’t notice in English. He says, And I tell you, you are Petros (a piece of a rock or stone), and on this Petra (an immovable rock, a massive boulder) I will build my church. So, what is Jesus talking about here? Many people think Jesus refers to Peter as the rock on which the church is built. But He does not say, you are Peter and on you I will build my church. As we see, Jesus makes a distinction between the types of rocks. Along with many other commentators, I believe that Jesus is referring to Himself. He reveals that He is the Rock of the church. Jesus is pointing out that He will build the church on Himself, on what Peter confessed…the church is built on Christ, the Son of the Living God. 

   This is not the first time in Scripture Jesus is referred to as a rock or foundation.

-Isaiah 28:16: 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.’ 

-Acts 4:11: This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

-1 Corinthians 3:11: No one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.