Was The Church Built Upon Peter?
The Lord Jesus said in Matt. 16:18, “And I say also unto
thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” A
footnote to Matt. 16:18 in the New Catholic Edition Bible
states, “The rock is Peter.” However, the question is, “Was
Peter the rock/foundation of the Church?” The fact of the
matter is this: The context of Matt. 16:18 absolutely forbids
Peter being the rock or foundation of the church. The Greek
word translated “Peter” is petros, simply meaning “a small
stone or pebble.” However, the Greek word Jesus used
translated “rock” is petra. Although this word is similar to
petros, they are nonetheless different words with different
meanings. Petra (translated “rock”) means, “a huge massive
rock.” W.E. Vine, in his dictionary of NT words, states that
“petra denotes ‘a mass of rock,’ as distinct from petros, ‘a
detached stone or boulder,’ or a stone that might be thrown
or easily moved.” When Christ said, “Thou art Peter,” he was
telling Peter he was a small pebble. Then, he contrasted
that by describing the confession Peter had made in v. 16,
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” as a gigantic,
massive rock. It is interesting to note that in I Pet. 2:8,
Peter himself used the term petra, likewise translated as
“rock.” The reference is clearly to Christ. It is amazing that
even the Catholic Bible in a footnote on I Pet. 2:8 considers
“rock” to be a reference to Christ, thus contradicting what is
stated with reference to Matt. 16:18 and the word “rock.” The
apostle Paul penned in I Cor. 3:11, “For other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” This
settles the matter for any honest and sincere person. Jesus
Christ is the foundation. Peter is neither the rock nor the
foundation upon which the church was built.