Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 16:18

"And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." — Matthew 16:18 (ASV)

Peter was an accepted name in Jesus’ day , and Jesus makes a pun on the name. The word “Peter” (petros, meaning “rock”; GK 4377) is masculine, and in Jesus’ follow-up statement he uses the feminine word petra (GK 4376). On the basis of this change, many have attempted to avoid identifying Peter as the rock on which Jesus builds his church. Yet if it were not for Protestant reactions against extremes of Roman Catholic interpretation, it is doubtful whether many would have taken “rock” to be anything or anyone other than Peter. If Jesus spoke Aramaic here, there is no distinction in “Cephas.”

But none of this requires that conservative Roman Catholic views be endorsed. The text says nothing about Peter’s successors, infallibility, or exclusive authority. What the NT does show is that Peter was the first to make this formal confession and that his prominence continued in the earliest years of the church (Acts 1–12). But he, with John, could be sent by other apostles (Acts 8:14); and he was held accountable for his actions by the Jerusalem church (Acts 11:1–18) and was rebuked by Paul (Galatians 2:11–14). He was, in short, primus inter pares (“first among equals”); and on the foundation of such men (Ephesians 2:20), Jesus built his church. That is precisely why Jesus, toward the close of his earthly ministry, spent so much time with them. The honor was not earned but stemmed from divine revelation (v.17) and Jesus’ building work (v.18).

The word “church” (ekklesia; GK 1711) occurs only here and at 18:17 in the Gospels. It is derived from the verb ekkaleo (“to call out”) and refers to those who are “called out.” In the NT ekklesia usually refers to a Christian congregation or to all God’s people redeemed by Christ (in Ac 7:38, it refers to God’s OT people). Acknowledged as Messiah, Jesus responds that he will build his ekklesia, his people, his church. Implicitly, then, this verse embraces a claim to messiahship, for a Messiah without a messianic people is unthinkable to any Jew. They are the people of the “new covenant” (26:28).