when Jesus said : on this rock shalI I build my church?

Question

and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it" was He talking about peter or the revelation that peter had received from the Father and had spoken to Jesus?

Answer 1

St. Peter is Simon he is called "Peter" by Christ the Greek word is Petros which means "stone" the Aramaic word is "Cephas" which meaning "rock". So which one is correct? Jesus spoken Aramaic which was His native language as for Greek that was the commerce language most likely Jesus called Simon (St. Peter) Celphas. Of course when your translating it into Greek it comes out as Petros which is a person's name while Petra is an object.



Now God is not an object, yet alone Jesus is not a object. So what is Petra "rock" mean it's faith a solid pillar of stone a rock.



Matthew 16:18



And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.



And so I say to you, you are Peter (Petros), and upon this faith (Patra) I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

Answer 2

Actually, neither. Always keep things in context for proper interpretation.



The Jewish men, steeped in Old Testament Scripture, recognized the rock as a symbol of God. "He is the Rock, His work is perfect" (Deut. 32:4). "The Lord is my rock, and my Fortress" (Ps. 18:2). "For who is God save the Lord? Or who is a rock save our God?" (Ps. 18:31)



But let's investigate the Greek words that the Holy Spirit led Matthew to use. "that you are πετρος (a stone), and upon this rock (πετρα - a massive rock) I will build My church.” Jesus had given Simon the new name of Peter (John 1:42) which means “a stone.” The Aramaic form is Cephas, which also means “a stone.” Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ and confesses Him as the Son and God and Savior, is a “living stone” (1 Peter 2:5).



Jesus Christ is the foundation rock on which the church is built. The Old Testament prophets said so (Ps. 118:22; Isa. 28:16). Jesus Himself said this (Matt. 21:42), and so did Peter and the other Apostles (Acts 4:10-12). Paul also stated that the foundation for the church is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). This foundation was laid by the Apostles and prophets as they preached Christ to the lost (1 Cor. 2:1-2; 3:11; Eph. 2:20).



Matt. 16:18 And I also say to you that you are *Peter, and on this *rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.



*Peter (Gr. πετρος=petros) meaning stone. (4074) Petros always means a stone never a rock.

*rock (Gr. πετρος=petrα) A projecting rock, cliff. (4073) Used metaphorically of Christ and the testimony concerning Him which is an unchangeable, immovable testimony (Matt. 16:18). When reference is to Jesus Christ and His testimony, it is petra, but when reference is made to the Apostle Peter, then it is Petros.



Hope this clarifies this passage of Scripture for you.

Answer 3

this is another one of those claims where god , or an angel or similar appears to an INDIVIDUAL with a message that only the individual ever hears , often the appearance is IN A DREAM , the gospels were written hundreds of years later by unknown people so could not have contained verbatim accounts of what happened and there is no independent historical evidence that jesus , peter, the apostles , mary or others ever existed

Answer 4

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.



And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.



And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.









He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

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

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.



It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.









Pretty obvious, really.

Answer 5

.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (Petros), and upon this rock (Petra, meaning Himself) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.



Rev_20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.



. . .

Answer 6

He was referring to himself. The stone that produced water in the desert, the stone the builders rejected. Peter is more like a pebble.

Answer 7

Jesus is the rock.

Answer 8

I think he was referring to the act of faith that Peter displayed. However, since Peter showed more mistrust than faith, I think Mary Magdalene should have been the great apostle. Mary was the first one to believe that Jesus was resurrected! Peter had to see to believe.

Answer 9

Jesus is the rock, Peter, the stone upon it. Church must rest on Savior. No pope ever because God is the Father

and Peter was a Jew, and popes only began 300+ years

later, how these ideas can get going!

Answer 10

I am still trying to figure out how gates can attack a church.



There is definitely a translation problem there.



Watch this:



"I am building the most secure casino in the world!!! The gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!"



Everyone would be like "Whaaat?"

Answer 11

i think hes talking about being so strong that it cant be moved

Answer 12

He was referring to himself. The stone that produced water in the desert, the stone the builders rejected. Peter is more like a pebble.

Answer 13

I think it clear and obvious that he was talking about Peter. The renaming of Simon to "Cephas" (the masculine form of the Aramaic word meaning "rock", Greek "petros" from which the English name "Peter") can hardly be reasonably contested.

However, it is also obvious that Peter is *not* the sole "foundation rock", as the Bible clearly teaches us elsewhere:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph%202:20&multilayout=cols&version=NASB;KJV

Answer 14

Yes, He was Talking about St. Peter. The Papacy is traced all the way back to Peter.

Answer 15

The debate rages over whether “the rock” on which Christ will build His church is Peter, or Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). In all honesty, there is no way for us to be 100% sure which view is correct. The grammatical construction allows for either view. The first view is that Jesus was declaring that Peter would be the “rock” on which He would build His church. Jesus appears to be using a play on words. “You are Peter (petros) and on this rock (petra) I will build my church.” Since Peter’s name means rock, and Jesus is going to build His church on a rock – it appears that Christ is linking the two together. God used Peter greatly in the foundation of the church. It was Peter who first proclaimed the Gospel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-47). Peter was also the first to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1-48). In a sense, Peter was the rock “foundation” of the church.



The other popular interpretation of the rock is that Jesus was referring not to Peter, but to Peter’s confession of faith in verse 16: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Jesus had never explicitly taught Peter and the other disciples the fullness of His identity, and He recognized that God had sovereignly opened Peter’s eyes and revealed to him who Jesus really was. His confession of Christ as Messiah poured forth from him, a heartfelt declaration of Peter’s personal faith in Jesus. It is this personal faith in Christ which is the hallmark of the true Christian. Those who have placed their faith in Christ, as Peter did, are the church. Peter expresses this in 1 Peter 2:4 when he addressed the believers who had been dispersed around the ancient world: “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.”



Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/upon-this-rock.html#ixzz35PX3mwHG

Answer 16

Jesus is the rock.

Answer 17

Was Peter the “rock” on which the church was built?



At Matthew 16:18, JB Jesus says:



“I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.”



Notice in the context [specifically Mt 16:13 & 20] that the discussion centers on the identity of Jesus:



"When he had come into the region of Caesare′a Philip′pi, Jesus asked his disciples:

'Who are men saying the Son of man is?'” (verse 13)



"Then he sternly instructed the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ." (verse 20)





Now we need to ask . . .



Who did Peter & Paul understand that Rock & Cornerstone to be . . . ? Notice:





“You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations,

and *Christ Jesus himself* for its main cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:20, JB)



“Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, ‘. . . It was by the name of *Jesus Christ the Nazarene,* the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, *by this name and by no other* . . . . *This is the stone* rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone [“cornerstone,” NAB].’” (Acts 4:8-11, JB)



“Set yourselves close to him [the Lord Jesus Christ] so that you too . . . may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed.” (1 Peter 2:4-6, JB)



“Christ is head of the Church.” (Ephesians 5:23, JB)



“Then there used to be a great number of those other priests [in Israel], because death put an end to each one of them; but this one [Jesus Christ], because he remains for ever, can never lose his priesthood. It follows, then, that his power to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him.” (Hebrews 7:23-25, JB)





Did the other apostles view Peter as having primacy among them? No . . .



“A dispute arose also between them about which should be reckoned the greatest, but he [Jesus] said to them, ‘Among pagans it is the kings who lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are given the title Benefactor. This must not happen with you.’” (Luke 22:24-26, JB)



If Peter were the “rock,” would there have been any question as to which one of them “should be reckoned the greatest”?





Since Jesus Christ --head of the congregation-- is alive . . . does he need any successor? No:



“Then there used to be a great number of those other priests [in Israel], because death put an end to each one of them; but this one [Jesus Christ], because he remains for ever, can never lose his priesthood. It follows, then, that his power to save is utterly certain, since *he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him*.” (Hebrews 7:23-25, JB)



“Christ . . . having been raised from the dead will never die again.” (Romans 6:9, JB)



“Christ is head of the Church.” (Ephesians 5:23, JB)





What were “the keys” entrusted to Peter?



“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19, JB)



In Revelation, Jesus refers to a symbolic key used by himself to open up privileges and opportunities to humans. (See Revelation 3:7, 8)



Peter used “keys” entrusted to him to open up (to Jews, Samaritans, & Gentiles) the opportunity to receive God’s spirit with a view to their entering the heavenly Kingdom. (See: Acts 2:14-39, 8:14-17, 10:24-48)









The Greek word pe′tra (feminine gender), designates a mass of rock (Mt 7:24, 25; 27:51, 60; Lu 6:48; 8:6, 13; Re 6:15, 16) and therefore differs from pe′tros (masculine gender and employed as a proper name, Peter), meaning “piece of rock.”



This distinction makes it clear that, when saying to Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock-mass I will build my congregation,” Jesus was *not* using synonymous terms. (Mt 16:18)



Even in the Aramaic (Syriac) version the distinction is apparent from a difference in the gender of the particle preceding the word kiʼphaʼ, used for both “Peter” and “rock.”



The masculine verbal pronoun (hu) precedes “Peter,”

but “rock” is preceded by the feminine demonstrative adjective (hadeʼ).





That the apostles did not understand Jesus’ statement to signify that Peter was the rock-mass is evident from the fact that they later disputed about who seemed to be the greatest among them. (Mr 9:33-35; Lu 22:24-26)



There would have been no basis for such disputing had Peter been given the primacy as the rock-mass on which the congregation was to be built. The Scriptures clearly show that as foundation stones, all the apostles are equal. All of them, including Peter, rest upon Christ Jesus as the foundation cornerstone. (Eph 2:19-22; Re 21:2, 9-14)



Peter himself identified the rock-mass (pe′tra) on which the congregation is built as being Christ Jesus:



"It is to you, therefore, that he is precious, because you are believers; but to those not believing,

'the stone that the builders rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone.'" (1Peter 2:7)





Therefore, it is clear that Christ was referring to himself . . . not Peter, nor the revelation that Peter had received.