What is the rock upon which Christ says He will build His church in Matthew 16:18?  Many people believe that Jesus was saying He will build His church upon Peter, a mere man.  But would Jesus really build the church upon a man?  It is important to go to the original text in order to translate accurately.  So, in referring to the original Greek, when Jesus said in verse 18 speaking to Peter “thou art Peter”, the original Greek word for Peter here is petros which means a piece of the rock or a small stone. Then Jesus goes on to say “upon this rock I will build my church”.  The Greek word for rock here is a different one – petra – meaning a mass of rock or a foundation boulder.  This is the same word used when Jesus taught about the rock (petra) upon which the wise man built his house. When Peter answered Jesus’ question of “who do you say I am?”, Peter gave an answer that was not taught to him by mere man, but revealed to Him by God Himself.  It would be upon this example of revelation, or God revealing His Word to His people, that Jesus would build the church. Up until now, revelation wasn’t needed because Jesus was with them.  But Jesus, the Word made flesh, would soon be gone.  And His disciples would need revelation (God’s Word revealed to them) to fulfill their great commission. Peter, John, Paul, Philip, Timothy all went on to receive revelation from God.  And that didn’t stop with the disciples and apostles of the early church. God still speaks today to those who have ears to hear!

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” ¹⁴ So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:13-18 (NKJV)

²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25 (NKJV)

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NKJV)