Daily Bible Verses | Peter’s Profession Of Faith | Jesus Founds The Church Upon The Rock – Petra | Get Thee Behind Me, Satan | Audio KJV | Keys Of The Kingdom Of Heaven | Christian Faith In God

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Matthew 16: 13-23 – Week 18 Ordinary Time, Thursday (King James Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)

13 ¶ When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
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.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 ¶ From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church. This is taken to be the expression by Jesus of Peter’s primacy among the Apostles. Jesus tells Peter that he is to hold the keys of heaven, and so the gift and the power to grant admittance to heaven. Peter is to be the foundation of Christ’s Church.

It is refreshing for us to take just a little step back from all that has been built on this declaration by Jesus, and to consider these Gospel verses. We may look at what Peter is and does and says in these verses. Jesus asks Peter: But you – you, Peter, you yourself, and irrespective of anyone else – who do you say I am? The man Peter’s individual response: You are the Lord. You are the Christ. You are the Son of the living God. This is what Jesus asks each of us.

Peter’s knowledge of Jesus, as Jesus recognizes in these verses, stands distinct and aside from the knowledge of human institutions. Worldly knowledge says that Jesus might be John the Baptist, or that he might be Elijah, or that he might be some other of the prophets. It is the inspiration of God, shining on Peter from outside of history and from outside of human knowledge – it is revelation – which lets Peter know that Jesus is God the Son. This knowledge comes from God, and not from the learning of human institutions, those of flesh and blood. This knowledge is revealed to Peter by God.

This grace is given to Peter, as it is given to all of us, and in exactly the same way – Ultimately, we know Jesus just as Peter knew Jesus. We are all enabled to know that Jesus is the Son of God, come to us to save all mankind, not ultimately by what we are told within the context of human institutions, but by special grace, which comes to us directly from God. This is to say that each individual within the Church is visited individually and especially by God. And the Church helps to gear our minds, our lives, our attitudes, toward the reception of God’s gifts of grace. This is in accord with Peter’s affirmation in these Gospel verses, and of Jesus’ celebration of Peter’s confession of faith.

As Jesus tells Peter that he will found his church upon him, in the light of Peter’s confession of faith, that Jesus is the Son of God, so as we confess this same truth about Jesus, Jesus founds his Church in us all, as a collective and individually.

It may seem strange, indeed potentially shocking, therefore, when Jesus says to Peter, who has just in effect vowed to defend our Lord from harm: ‘Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’

You are Peter and on this rock I will found my Church. Get thee behind me, Satan.

There is a serious lesson here, and one which the Church and all constituent members of the Church must devote themselves to unravelling. And it is no easy lesson. So often, we are presented with the figure of Peter as keeper of the keys, and this figure extends to the successors of Peter. We might tend to forget the full content of today’s Gospel verses. Get thee behind me, Satan.

In a breath, Peter is given the power of intercession by Jesus, and immediately Peter refuses the things of the spirit and turns his faith to earthly goods and earthly powers.

There is a great warning here to the Church. Jesus must not be bound to the goods of this earth. To seek to constrain Jesus thusly were blasphemy. It is as Jesus gives to Peter to be the foundation, the rock, upon which the Church will be founded, that Jesus warns us against and condemns all folly and abuse that may follow. As we hear these Gospel verses, we might ask that we may be shocked out of all and any complacency, and once more give ourselves up to the good and jubilant confession, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that the goods that thereby flow to us are not of this world.

Concluding Prayer | Love Revealed

The kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; he who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Romans 14: 17-19)

Almighty God,
you are all light,
in you there is no darkness.
Let your light shine upon us in all its radiance,
so that we may walk gladly in the way of your commandments.
Through Christ our Lord.

King James Audio Bible KJV | Endnotes | King James Version | Word Aloud

What Does It Mean That Jesus Calls Peter The Rock – And So Founds His Church?

The phrase ‘upon this rock I will build my church’ has been the subject of much debate among Christians. Some have argued that Jesus was referring to Peter himself as the rock, while others have argued that he was referring to Peter’s confession of faith. The Catholic Church has traditionally held the former view, while many Protestant denominations have held the latter.

One of the earliest interpretations of this passage comes from the Church father Origen, who lived in the third century. Origen wrote that ‘Peter, upon whom the Church of Christ is built, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, has left only one epistle of acknowledged genuineness’ (Commentary On John, Book VI). Origen’s interpretation suggests that Peter himself is the rock upon which the Church is built.

This interpretation was later expanded upon by Saint Augustine of Hippo, who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries. Augustine wrote: ‘The rock is not so named from Peter, but Peter from the rock; just as Christ is not so named from the Christian, but the Christian from Christ. For on this very account the Lord said, “On this rock will I build my Church,” because Peter had said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” On this rock, therefore, He builds His Church, because Peter says, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”’ (The Retractions, Book I, Chapter 20).

The Catholic Church has taken this interpretation as the foundation for its doctrine of papal authority. According to Catholic teaching, Peter was the first bishop of Rome, and his successors (the popes) have inherited his authority as the head of the Church on earth. This belief is based on the idea that Peter was the rock upon which the Church was built, and that his authority has been passed down through the centuries to the current pope.

Protestant denominations have in large part rejected the Catholic interpretation of this passage. They argue that the rock upon which the Church is built is not Peter himself, but rather Peter’s confession of faith. This interpretation is based on the idea that Jesus is the true foundation of the Church, and that the confession of faith in him is what binds Christians together.

John Calvin, the influential Protestant theologian of the sixteenth century, wrote: ‘Christ, therefore, did not pronounce Peter to be the foundation of the Church, but only that confession which he had just made. Nor does Augustine disagree from this view, when he teaches that the rock is every disciple of Christ, because they are all built upon the one and same foundation.’ (Institutes Of The Christian Religion, Book IV, Chapter 6, Section 9)

Some Protestant theologians have pointed out that the Greek word used for ‘rock’ in this passage (petra) is feminine, while the name Peter (Petros) is masculine. They argue that if Jesus had meant to say that Peter himself was the rock, he would have used a masculine form of the word.

The Catholic Church | Peter Is The Rock Upon Which The Church Is Founded

The Catholic Church has developed its doctrine of papal primacy based on the idea that Peter was the first bishop of Rome and the rock upon which the Church was built. This doctrine asserts that the Pope, as Peter’s successor, has supreme authority in the Church. This extends to the doctrine that the Pope is infallible when speaking ex cathedra (from the chair of Peter) on matters of faith and morals. (In practice, the doctrine of papal infallibility, formalized in 1870, has been invoked once, when in 1950 Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary as dogma.)

According to Catholic theologians, the primacy of Peter as the first Pope is supported not only by the passage in Matthew 16, but also by other passages in the Bible. For example, in John 21:15-17, Jesus tells Peter to ‘feed my sheep’ and ‘tend my lambs’, indicating that Peter is to be a shepherd of the Church. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus tells Peter that he has prayed for him specifically, indicating a special role for Peter in the Church.

Protestant Interpretations | A Priesthood Of All Believers

The Catholic Church also points to the historical evidence of Peter’s leadership in the early Church as support for its doctrine of papal primacy. The Acts of the Apostles records Peter’s role in the selection of Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15-26), and his preaching at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41). Peter is also shown as a leader in the early Church in the accounts of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, where he is shown as settling a dispute about whether Gentile converts to Christianity must follow Jewish law.

Many Protestant theologians have rejected this idea, arguing that it is based on a misunderstanding of the passage in Matthew 16. Protestant theologians often point to other passages in the Bible that emphasize the priesthood of all believers and the importance of faith in Christ, rather than any particular individual or institution.

For example, in 1 Peter 2:5, Peter himself writes that all Christians are ‘living stones’ who are built into a spiritual house. In Ephesians 2:19-20, Paul writes that Christians are ‘built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone’. These passages suggest that while Peter may have had a special role in the early Church, he was not the sole foundation upon which the Church was built.