When I was five, my dad was in our driveway working on his old brown Dodge car. As usual, I wanted to be right in the middle of things, so Dad let me "help" him. He tasked me with taking a jug and filling it with water. I happily did as he asked. I ran off to fill the jug and then traipsed back across the yard sloshing water all over myself and the ground as I went. When I got back to the car, I set the water jug on the bumper and climbed back up on the car to continue "helping". Dad was preoccupied with something in the engine when I asked him where he wanted me to pour the water. Apparently he did not answer quickly enough for my liking, so I asked him again....and again...and again.
Somewhat exasperated, Dad lifted his head, quickly pointed, and with a hint of frustration in his voice said, "Right there!"
So I began to pour the water where he had pointed. Next thing I know, Dad with a panic filled voice was yelling, "What are you doing??!!! Stop!!!!! Stop!!!!!"
I stopped and responded, "I am putting the water where you told me to."
I was so confused. I thought I was following directions very well....especially for me. This should be a good thing, not a bad thing.....or not. Apparently the carburetor does not need a gallon of water dumped into it, but that is just what it got that day. When I had asked where to pour the water, Dad thought I knew where it should go. He thought I was being hard headed or obstinate (which if you know me, you know is not a stretch), so he had sarcastically told me to pour the water into the carburetor. Although my gift of sarcasm has been well honed over the years, it was pretty much non-existent back then. As soon as the initial reaction faded for Dad, he started to laugh. He said it dawned on him that he was dealing with a five year old who had no clue about the inner workings of an engine.
If I had been older, maybe I would have made sure that was really where Dad wanted me to pour the water, but I was just a little person. I followed the directions of the one who seemed to know what they were talking about. I didn't question. I just did it. I have been thinking about how often we do this with Scripture. We will automatically accept what someone says about Scriptures because they seem to know what they are talking about. We fail to dig in to make sure it is correct. At times this can lead to wrong interpretations of Scripture and that can get us off track. One example of this is in Matthew 16:13-19 when Jesus is speaking to His disciples and He asks them a question.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:13-19
This Scripture passage is commonly misunderstood by many of us in the Church. We have taken this conversation and built a picture of Peter's role in the early Church. We have missed the grand scope of what Jesus was saying. Some churches have built entire systems around this error in understanding, and have made Peter the very rock upon which the Church was built. Many in the Church have elevated him to a role that was never his. Don't get me wrong, Peter's role in the early Church was huge and awesome. But he was never the rock on which the Church was to be built. He was part of the foundation stones on which the Church was to be built, but he was not THE ROCK. However, it is understandable that from reading the text in the English we could draw conclusions like that and get off track.
Our misunderstanding of this passage goes something like this, "Jesus said Peter is the rock Jesus was going to build His Church on. Furthermore, Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom." From here all kinds of assumptions and errors are made. This, however, is not what Jesus said. What He did say was, "....I also say to you that you are Petros, and upon this Petra I will build My Church..."
Petros in the Greek is a masculine noun meaning a stone, pebble, or rock - one that can be moved or shaken. Petra in the Greek is a feminine noun that means a boulder, rock, or cliff - one that cannot be moved or shaken. When Peter answered Jesus, Jesus first called Peter by his given name Simon Barjona. He tells Simon Barjona that he is Peter (Petros). When Jesus said this to him, Peter already had this nickname. Jesus had given it to him when he first became a disciple of Jesus (John 1:42). This time what Jesus seemed to be letting Simon Barjona know was that his nickname had a deeper meaning and was important to the conversation they were having. His nickname points to his role as a stone or pebble in the divine building plan. So if Peter is called to be a stone and not the rock that the Church was to be built on, what was the petra, the boulder, the rock that Jesus spoke of in His reply to Peter?
Jesus had asked his disciples a specific question. When Peter answered, Jesus told him that he was stone and that he had answered correctly, and upon this rock, petra, Jesus would build His Church. Peter had declared that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and it was on this truth that had been revealed to Peter by the Father in heaven, that Jesus would build His Church. Jesus is the ROCK who cannot be moved or shaken. It is upon Him the Church would be built. He is the Rock, the Petra.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, Jesus is ALWAYS the Rock. The first time the word rock is even mentioned in Scripture is when Moses is told to strike the rock in the wilderness to bring forth water. This is a picture being given in advance of Jesus being struck to bring forth living water. Paul even tells us this in 1 Corinthians 3:4: And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Jesus is the the rock, the chief cornerstone upon which the Church would be built, and we are all the living stones being built up as a spiritual house. Peter (aka Pebble) wants to make sure we understand this in 1 Peter 2:4-8:
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER [stone,] AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER [stone,]" and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this [doom] they were also appointed.
Peter wanted to make sure that everyone knew their roles. It almost seems like the Holy Spirit knew we would get this wrong. Peter declares that we are the living stones being built up into a spiritual building and that Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, is the chief cornerstone of the spiritual building. Jesus is the Rock of offense. He is the Chief Cornerstone of the Church He is building.
But what about the rest of Jesus' answer? What about the keys to the kingdom? Were those given to Peter specifically? Many Christians believe they were. But what does the text actually say? As Jesus stood talking to the disciples about what was to come, the first stones that would become part of the foundation of the Church were gathered around Him. Jesus told His disciples that He would build His Church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. Jesus then goes on to say, "I will give you the keys...". Jesus was not saying, "you, Peter", but "you, my Church...". The Church would be given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. But what does Jesus even mean by this?
The meaning for keys in the Greek is power and authority. The Church would be given power and authority from on high. The disciples did not understand it at the time, but they were going to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to go forth as living stones to be built up into the spiritual building that would be the Church. They would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the work laid before them. They were given power and authority from Heaven with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells every follower of Jesus, and since the veil was torn, we have access to the Father through Jesus. Jesus tells the disciples the keys of the Kingdom would be given to His Church.
Yes, Peter was a rock, but he was a stone. He was not "the Rock" upon whom the Church would be built. Yes, Peter was given the keys to the kingdom, but so is every other follower of Jesus. Every one of us as followers of Jesus are His living stones with the keys to the Kingdom that He is building into His Church. He is building that Church upon the Rock, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus is THE ROCK.
The water did belong in the engine of my dad's car. It just didn't belong where I was pouring it. Pouring water in the wrong location made the engine not work the way it was supposed to. This made things more complicated than they needed to be. A lot more had to be fixed because I put the water in the wrong place. The same can be said for when we don't understand something clearly in Scripture, if we try to put things or people where they don't belong. We can make quite a mess of things and make things a lot more complicated than they need to be. I love that we can go straight to God's Word to seek truth and understanding. I pray that we always seek to understand the truth of His Word through His lens, the Word of God. I pray our desire is deeper intimacy with Him, and that we would live our lives as living testimonies of the goodness, love, and mercy of God. As the Church, I pray we would be good ambassadors for our King, our Salvation, our ROCK.
