To what does “this rock” refer?

Explanation:

Jesus spoke in Aramaic, and in Aramaic, the name for Peter is kepa (Cephas). The Aramaic name for rock is also kepa. Thus, in the Aramaic there would be no question that Jesus uses a play on words to refer to Peter as the rock: “You are kepa and on this kepa.”⁴ The New Testament was written in Greek, which retains the wordplay: You are Peter [Πέτρος] and on this rock [πέτρᾳ]… The wordplay leaves little room for doubt that Jesus refers to Peter as the rock on which he will build his church.

Counterargument:

When Jesus says, You are Πέτρος and on this πέτρᾳ he is not calling Peter by his name. We know from the New Testament that Peter’s original name was Simon bar Jonah. We also know that Simon was not addressed as Peter while Jesus was on earth.⁵ Thus, what Jesus calls Simon in Matthew 16:18 is not the proper name Peter, but the nickname stone.⁶ What Jesus is saying here is that Simon bar Jonah is a stone, and God has revealed to him that Jesus is the Christ.⁷ And stones like Simon, who have received God’s revelation, will be the rock on which Jesus builds his church.⁸ Thus, the similarity between Πέτρος and πέτρα is incidental.⁹

Response to counterargument:

Unfortunately for this view, we know from John 1:42 that Jesus gave Simon the name Peter very early in his ministry. Further, if Jesus wanted to distinguish between Peter as a stone and Jesus’ building his ministry on a rock, it would have made more sense for Jesus to use the term λίθος (stone) instead of Πέτρος.¹⁰ Πέτρος is based on the Aramaic kepa which means rock. Πέτρος also means rock. Λίθος, on the other hand, is the most appropriate Greek term for stone. Thus, if Jesus wanted to distinguish between stone and rock, it is highly unlikely that he would use Πέτρος and πέτρα. Instead, he would have written, You are λίθος and on this πέτρα. Further, wordplays are used often in the Bible and should not be dismissed quickly.¹¹

Explanation:

When we look at the immediate context of Matthew 16:18 we notice a parallel between Peter’s confession of Christ in Matthew 16:18 and Jesus’ response in Matthew 16:18. Jesus asks the disciples who they say that Jesus is. Peter answers, You are the Christ (Matthew 16:16). Jesus responds in return, You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. There is a clear parallelism between Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus stating that Peter is the rock on which Jesus will build his church.¹²

Counterargument:

How can it be that Peter is the rock on which Jesus will build his church? Jesus is the cornerstone and foundation of the church. The apostle Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 3:11 where he writes that no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. While there might be a parallel between Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ and Jesus’ naming Peter, it is hard to see how Peter could be the rock on which Jesus builds his church.

Response to counterargument:

It is true that Scripture sometimes uses the metaphor that Christ is the foundation, but metaphors must be understood in their context. For example, in Matthew 16:18 Jesus is the builder of the church, while in 1 Corinthians 3:10, the apostle Paul is the master builder. Also, while Jesus is called the foundation in 1 Corinthians 3:11, the apostles and prophets are given this title in Ephesians 2:20, and in Revelation 21:14 Jesus and the apostles are referred to as the foundation. In Matthew 16:18 Peter has the keys to the kingdom, while in Revelation 1:18 Jesus has the keys. Further, in John 9:5 Jesus is the light of the world and in Matthew 5:14 his disciples are.¹³ The point here is that metaphors need to be understood in their context. In the case of Matthew 16:18 Jesus refers to the fact that the preaching of Peter and the other apostles is the foundation on which Jesus will build his church.¹⁴

Possible weaknesses:

Other than the wordplay between Πέτρος (Peter) and πέτρα (rock), there is some ambiguity as to what this could refer to. Does this refer to Peter, Peter’s confession, or the fact that Jesus is the Christ? If Jesus wanted us to know that Peter is the rock, he might have been clearer by saying, You are Peter and on you I will build my church. Of course, the world play between Πέτρος (Peter) and πέτρα (rock) does offer a strong clue that this rock refers to Peter.

Explanation:

To understand what Jesus means when he says that he will build his church on this rock, we need to understand the Jewish context. In Jewish thinking, Abraham functioned as the rock on which the Jewish people were hewn (Isaiah 51:1–2).¹⁷ Next, in Matthew 3:9 we read that when the Pharisees come to John the Baptist for baptism, John calls them a brood of vipers and says that God can raise up children of Abraham from stones. In other words, God can produce faith in whomever he likes to be children of Abraham.¹⁸ Further, when Jesus says, You are πέτρος in Matthew 16:18, he is not calling Simon by the proper name Peter, but he is calling him a stone.¹⁹ And what makes Simon a stone? Simon is a stone in the sense that God has revealed to him that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:17). In other words, God does raise up children for himself from these stones, and one of these stones is Simon.

After Jesus calls Simon a stone, he says that on this rock I will build my church. The rock that Jesus refers to is neither Simon (Matthew 16:17) nor Simon’s confession (Matthew 16:16), but the fact that God has revealed to Simon that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:17).²⁰ The revelation of the Father that Jesus is the Christ is the rock on which Jesus will build his church.

Counterargument:

For one, while it is interesting that John the Baptist says that God can raise children of Abraham from stones (Matthew 3:9), making the connection from Matthew 16:18 to Matthew 3:9 is not valid since Jesus is most likely naming Simon as Peter, and not a stone. And it is not obvious that the reason Jesus calls Peter a stone is because God revealed to him that Jesus is the Christ. Finally, the suggestion that this rock refers to anything other than Πέτρος is to overlook the obvious wordplay between Πέτρος and πέτρα.