What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18

The argument from the perspective of some is as follows. Christ says to Peter, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church”. It is on him that he builds the Church.

The falsehood that Peter is the rock on which the church of Christ is built on is ridiculous.

Some I’ve come across appear to be steeped long enough in dogma to be at little risk of being dissuaded nor distracted, by the truth that, the Church is built on Christ, They will take one scripture out of context in this section of scripture and build a misguided doctrine. The church is built on Christ, not Peter. The Church is “The body of Christ.”

Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 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. 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. 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. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus “the Christ.”
Christ gave us all the keys to the Kingdom when He died and rose. He is the door, the way, the truth and the light.

He is referring to the foundational truth Peter spoke as the Spirit of God revealed it to him. “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God”
Another way: You are Peter, and as God has revealed to you, I am the Son of the living God and upon this truth I will build my church.

Christ is the chief cornerstone, the foundation. His church is built on him. He’s alive, Peter is dead. Peter did not conquer death, Christ did.

1st Cor 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Eph, 2:20 …Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.…

1 Peter, 2:4
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. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone, and
A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”

When scripture refers to others as a part of the foundation, it is because they are principal characters in the delivery of the Word of God. That word being, Christ is the sole originator and truth, the unblemished sacrifice sufficient for redemption. Preachers are not the foundation, though they may be of great use in our growth in Christ.

Maria Billingsley said:

The Rock is Jesus Christ of Nazareth who is the "Chief Cornerstone". Peter and all of the 11 are the foundation. Be blessed.

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As are we. 1 Peter, 2:4
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. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

Michael Collum said:

What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18?

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Disputes on this topic are quite old.

St. John Chrysostom understands here that the rock upon which Christ builds His Church is the confession of the Apostle,

"'And I say unto you, You are Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church;' that is, on the faith of his confession. Hereby He signifies that many were now on the point of believing, and raises his spirit, and makes him a shepherd. 'And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' 'And if not against it, much more not against me. So be not troubled because you are shortly to hear that I shall be betrayed and crucified.'" - St. John Chrysostom, Homily 54 on Matthew, 3

St. Augustine speaks of having in other places said Peter is the rock upon which the Church is built, but in his Retractions brings more clarity and invites the reader to consider whether it should be taken to mean Peter himself or Peter's confession and thus Christ Himself:

"I have said in a certain place of the Apostle Peter, that it was on him, as on a rock, that the Church was built. But I know that since that I have often explained these words of the Lord, Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my Church, as meaning upon Him whom Peter had confessed in the words, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God; and so that Peter, taking his name from this rock, would represent the Church, which is built upon this rock. For it is not said to him, Thou art the rock, but, Thou art Peter. But the rock was Christ, whom because Simon thus confessed, as the whole Church confesses Him, he was named Peter. Let the reader choose whether of these two opinions seems to him the more probable." - St. Augustine of Hippo, Retractions 1.24 (quote here taken from the Catena Aurea of Thomas Aquinas)

Earlier we have in Tertulian's apologetic/polemic against Marcion, he writes,

"Was anything withheld from the knowledge of Peter, who is called 'the rock on which the church should be built,'" - Tertullian, Against Marcion, ch. 22

Origen in his Commentaries on John mentions the following in passing while discussing the writings left by the Apostles,

"And Peter, on whom the Church of Christ is built, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail left only one epistle of acknowledged genuineness." - Origen, Commentaries on John, 5.3

While in his Commentaries on Matthew the same Origen says,

"if we say it as Peter, not by flesh and blood revealing it unto us, but by the light from the Father in heaven shining in our heart, we too become as Peter, being pronounced blessed as he was, because that the grounds on which he was pronounced blessed apply also to us, by reason of the fact that flesh and blood have not revealed to us with regard to Jesus that He is Christ, the Son of the living God, but the Father in heaven, from the very heavens, that our citizenship may be in heaven, revealing to us the revelation which carries up to heaven those who take away every veil from the heart, and receive "the spirit of the wisdom and revelation" of God. And if we too have said like Peter, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," not as if flesh and blood had revealed it unto us, but by light from the Father in heaven having shone in our heart, we become a Peter, and to us there might be said by the Word, "You are Peter," etc. For a rock is every disciple of Christ of whom those drank who drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, and upon every such rock is built every word of the church, and the polity in accordance with it; for in each of the perfect, who have the combination of words and deeds and thoughts which fill up the blessedness, is the church built by God." - Origen, Commentaries on Matthew, 12.10

This is hardly exhaustive, but it does provide some insight into the ways the ancient fathers saw and understood the text.

-CryptoLutheran

timothyu said:

Peter was the pebble (being a man) but the fact the truth only comes from God (as Jesus always said if it were not true i would have told you) and not from the opinions of man, became the cornerstone (rock) of His church. .

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All right. We recognize that this is a question without an obvious answer. Different people and churches have different opinions about the meaning.

The interpretation I recounted is more straightforward than the others, some of which aren't straightforward in the least. It's also the view taken by some of the major branches of Christianity, too.

All the others--such the the interpretation you offered here--are so roundabout and symbolic that they sound like a puzzle that a person would have to decode in order to get out of one of those "escape rooms."

These are the main reasons why I am not persuaded by those guesses.

There is also one more that I didn't mention but which I did refer to in other discussions on this topic. If Peter was being talked to by Christ about being the man Jesus was counting on or had selected for some big task that would really "build" the church, Peter's miraculous sermon on Pentecost which caused the first big rush of conversions to Christianity perfectly fits the bill. Events that were to take place shortly after this conversation with Jesus took place verified the meaning as I explained it.

public hermit said:

Th rock is, in one sense, the truth of the good confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That is, the rock is Christ. Nonetheless, it is also the confession itself, as well as Peter who was the first to confess. He names Simon, Peter, as the first to confess the truth. So the rock is all three with the ultimate foundation being Christ, who can only be revealed by the Father, as was done to Peter. I think to try and say it was one of the three, to the exclusion of the others, misses the point.

In other words, the Church is built on the revelation of Christ as his followers confess to the truth, which all began with Peter.

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Of course it's all three. None of the three meanings are to be neglected.

Albion said:

All right. We recognize that this is a question without an obvious answer.

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The answer is obvious if it points toward the benefit of God's will and not man's. What stands to gain, the institution man builds or the Kingdom of God? Which are we told it benefits?

Michael Collum said:

What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18?

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"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Michael Collum said:

What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18?

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The truth that God revealed; not Peter or the pope.

Michael Collum said:

What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18?

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Christ was speaking of Himself.

What Does the Bible Say About Rocks?

Michael Collum said:

What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18?

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I believe, to be succinct, the rock is faith in Christ Jesus; knowing and testifying that He is God.

Michael Collum said:

What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18?

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I think this refers to Peter. Jesus also tells Peter "Shepherd My sheep". This is interesting because Jesus doesn't tell any of the other apostles this. It looks like Jesus gives Peter a special position, and Peter became one of the main leaders in the Church.

From this to the conclusion there are to be a succession of popes is something else altogther IMO.

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.
— John 21:15-17

Jesus is speaking about Himself and what His ministry accomplished.

He is not referring to Peter.

Just because Christ said that to Peter, he wasn't special. In Eph, 2:19 We see this; "So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
This is a problem when we take 1 scripture and try to make a doctrine of it while ignoring the others. It's kinda like Mormons and being baptized for the dead.

Albion said:

If it is suggested that Christ is referring to the church that he said he founded, why would any of the rest of this naturally follow--thou are Peter (a name that signifies a stone)? Upon THIS rock? I will build my church (upon it)?

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There's the 3rd far less popular explanation about what 'THIS rock' is referring to. It involves the historical context of what people believed during the second temple period. Basically the disciples in the first century would be aware of a third rock present at their location. That third rock would neither be Christ or Peter but the location they were standing on.

What Did Jesus Mean by “Gates of Hell”? | The Logos Blog

Michael Collum said:

What is the rock being referred to in Matthew 16:18?

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I think it means Peter is one rock of the building that is God's temple. Disciples of Jesus form the temple of God, and they are building blocks of God’s temple. And Peter is one fundamental block in that building. And Jesus is the corner stone of that temple.

Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes?'
Matt. 21:42

Don't you know that you are a temple of God, and that God's Spirit lives in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16

timothyu said:

The answer is obvious if it points toward the benefit of God's will and not man's.

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All of the usual interpretations of this passage do that.

Albion said:

As I was saying, the wording just doesn't support the alternate theories.

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Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
(John 2:19)

By the same reasoning, this wording could not have meant anything other than the temple where Jesus was standing at the time.

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
(Matthew 24:34)

The people listening had good reason to believe he was talking about them, but perhaps it was a reference to the kingdom that would have no end:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.
(Isaiah 9:6-7)

I just think that Christ was wont to talk about himself in ways that caused people not to realize that he was talking about himself. While I agree that the actual words he used clearly indicated that he was talking about Peter, I still don't think he was really talking about Peter.

nonaeroterraqueous said:

I just think that Christ was wont to talk about himself in ways that caused people not to realize that he was talking about himself. While I agree that the actual words he used clearly indicated that he was talking about Peter, I still don't think he was really talking about Peter.

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But if so, you could conclude that the passage in Matthew (which, however, does not appear to be full of analogies or mysterious symbolism) could mean almost anything you might want it to mean.

I would encourage readers here to research the significance when God changed someone's name. God did it in the OT (and with Saul on the NT) and it always meant something. Do your homework.

It is curious that Jesus changed Peter's name and didnt change "his confession's" name. The idea that the rock is Peter's confession was never taught by the Church, and for good reason.

Peter is dead. Christ is alive.
1 Cor, 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
My faith is not and never will be in anything Peter did. If Peter had never been born scripture would read a little differently, God's plan and foundation would still be intact.