Who or What Is The Rock In Matthew 16:18?
In this post, I want to examine a popular Christian apologetic site, Compelling Truth. Compelling Truth is a network site of the popular “Got Questions” ministry. I was recently researching rebuttals to who or what the rock is Matt 16:18, and I had come across this explanation. I found this to be one of the most disingenuous and overreaching articles I’ve seen in a while, so I thought it would be worth addressing.
To start the passage in question is Matt 16:18, It reads as such in the NIV,
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
This is a very important passage in all of Christendom but also in a lot of denominational apologetics. So I want to start by just addressing the answer given to this passage by Compelling Truth and analyzing their response. I will respond in black , and their responses will be in red. You can find their article here titled, What is the rock in Matthew 16:18 upon which Jesus will build His church?
Compelling Truth’s Answer
The article says the following:
“According to the interpretation of the Roman Catholic Church, this rock refers to Peter. The word “Peter” is the Greek word for rock. Therefore, the connection is made between Peter as a rock and the use of rock in verse 18. This has become very important for Catholic theology because Peter is then seen as the foundation of the church and the first pope among the line of popes in the Catholic tradition.”
This is generally true, but it requires some nuance. First, the Greek text of the New Testament uses two different words in this passage. The first word is derived from the name “Peter,” and the second is the word for “rock.” The passage reads:
“18 And I tell you that you are Peter (Πέτρος, Petros), and on this rock (πέτρᾳ, petra) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Here, we encounter two terms: “Petros” and “petra.” Some Protestants argue that “Petros” means “big rock” while “petra” means “small rock.” (For a more detailed explanation of why this argument doesn’t hold much weight, feel free to refer to this blog Here.)
However, I’ll concede the point simply to show its absurdity.
To maintain the view that “Petros” refers to Peter as the rock in Matthew 16:18, one would have to argue that either the author of Matthew’s Gospel or even Christ Himself gave Peter the name “Petros.” However, this is not the case. A more accurate understanding involves considering the language that Christ and the apostles spoke-Aramaic. When we look at this linguistic background, it becomes clear that Peter’s name is not “Petros”; rather, it is “Cephas.” In fact, Peter is referred to as “Cephas” many times throughout the Bible, with one prominent example found in John 1:42:
“And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).”
This is clearly explained by John in Chapter 1, and Peter is referred to as “Cephas” in several other verses as well (c.f. 1 Cor 1:12, 1 Cor 3:22, 1 Cor 9:5, 1 Cor 15:5, Gal 1:18, Gal 2:9, Gal 2:11).
“Cephas” is simply the Aramaic word for “rock.” In Aramaic, there is no distinction between a “big rock” and a “little rock.” With this linguistic background in mind, the verse can be literally read as: “You are Cephas, and on this Cephas I will build my church.”
Let’s continue on.
“However, Protestants understand the “rock” to be Jesus. Jesus could be referring back to Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) or perhaps He was pointing to Himself when He made the statement. Why do Protestants believe this? First, Jesus would not build His church upon any person other than Himself. Second, Jesus immediately follows with, “I will build my church.” While Peter was an important part of the church’s beginning, Jesus is the builder of the church. Third, Jesus said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Death would eventually come to Peter, but Christ would resurrect from the dead, proving death could not prevail.”
I see several problems with this interpretation of scripture.
Firstly, to assume that Jesus was pointing to Himself when He made the statement to Peter is a clear example of mental gymnastics. This is simply a speculative reading of the text, suggesting physical gestures or body language where none are explicitly mentioned. If we were to apply this same assumption of body language to other passages in the Bible, it could drastically distort narratives and misrepresent key theological concepts. Such an interpretive method is deeply flawed and problematic, as it relies on reading into the text details that aren’t present. This opens the door for all sorts of misinterpretations and undermines the integrity of Scripture by replacing its intended message with unfounded assumptions.
Secondly, let’s just analyze the context of this passage, look to the begining of the passage as we read Matt 16: 13-20. The context never shifts from being specifically about Peter. Notice how many times Jesus directly to Peter, also note how many times he refers to him as “you”. The texts reads as follows, bold emphasis mine.
“13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
Furthermore, other verses highlight Peters’s primacy, one being the very fact that Paul goes out of his way to include a passage about him correcting Peter in the letter to the Galatians. (Gal 2:11-14). Also see Luke 22:32 where Jesus switches from the plural to the singular and directly prays for Peter, to not lead his brothers astray.
The debate over what Jesus meant has been long. But a look at the rest of Scripture points toward the view that Peter’s confession regarding Jesus’ identity – so Jesus Himself – as the rock is the best understanding of the passage.
For example, 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 notes, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” Jesus is the builder of the church from Paul’s perspective.
Notice the author of the post avoids the reference to Cephas later in the same passage in verse 22:
“whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours”.
By not acknowledging the use of Cephas it makes this post even weaker. Peter is named definitionally as the rock.
Of great importance are Peter’s own words in 1 Peter 2:4-7. He writes, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.'” If Peter called Jesus the cornerstone and Paul called Jesus the One who grows the church, then the most accurate understanding of the rock upon whom the church is built is Jesus Christ. No human could accomplish this goal; but Jesus, God in human form, fully accomplished His work and continues to build a prevailing church today.
Peter is and was correct to highlight Christ as the cornerstone. There could be no Church, without Jesus as the cornerstone of the New Covenant and its salvific worship. But yet it is abundantly clear Christ chooses Peter as the rock upon which to build his Church. The church is not solely built on Christ, but the apostles of Christ as well, see Ephesians 2:20: “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” This verse would make no sense if we accept the protestant interpretation.
Simply put, Christ is the foundation of the church, but Peter is the first stone that Jesus used to build his church. Furthermore, the catechism of the church does not deny Christ is the cornerstone, CCC 424 and CCC 756.
