Page 80 - Advanced Life of Christ - Student Textbook

It was at this place that Jesus
announced His coming death in
Jerusalem. It was at the end of His
earthly ministry and the beginning of
his disciples’ ministry. It is a mystery
why Jesus chose this place to reveal who He was to His
disciples, so far north of the Sea of Galilee, yet there
are some interesting clues. Caesarea Philippi was the
location the Cave of Pan, the place of the pagan Gate
of Hades. It was in this area that the first king of Israel
(Jeroboam) led the northern kingdom of Israel into
idolatry. This was also the same place where the
Greeks and Romans received revelations from the god
Pan, who was mentioned in classical writings as a
"seer" or fortune teller and a giver of revelations.

Standing in front of all the temples created to honor false gods, Jesus turned to His disciples and asked
them who the multitudes thought He was. They responded that some thought He was John the Baptist,
some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked them who they thought He
was, and Peter answered, "You are the Christ the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:15-16). Jesus
blessed Peter and revealed to them "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hades shall
not prevail against it”.

So, what is the rock on which Jesus will build His church?

The debate rages over whether “the rock” on which Christ will build His church is Peter, or Peter’s
confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). In all honesty, there is
no way for us to be 100% sure which view is correct. The grammatical construction allows for either
view. The first view is that Jesus was declaring that Peter would be the “rock” on which He would build
His church. Jesus appears to be using a play on words. “You are Peter (petros) and on this rock (petra) I
will build my church.” Since Peter’s name means rock, and Jesus is going to build His church on a rock –
it appears that Christ is linking the two together. God used Peter greatly in the foundation of the church.
It was Peter who first proclaimed the Gospel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-47). Peter was also the
first to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1-48). In a sense, Peter was the rock “foundation” of the
church.

A better interpretation of the rock is that Jesus was referring not to Peter, but to Peter’s confession of
faith in verse 16: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Jesus had never explicitly taught Peter
and the other disciples the fullness of His identity, and He recognized that God had sovereignly opened
Peter’s eyes and revealed to him who Jesus really was. His confession of Christ as Messiah poured forth
from him, a heartfelt declaration of Peter’s personal faith in Jesus. It is this personal faith in Christ which
is the hallmark of the true Christian. Those who have placed their faith in Christ, as Peter did, are the
church. Peter expresses this in 1 Peter 2:4 when he addressed the believers who had been dispersed
around the ancient world: “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.”

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