And Jesus said to Simon, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. 16:18) This is one of the most controversial passages in the New Testament. For instance, Catholics use it to justify papal authority in all things. They argue that Peter was the sole foundation upon which the church rested. Protestants, understandably, disagree. And various interpretative tracks have been taken throughout the years to provide far more plausible alternatives. Personally (and this will come as no surprise), I lean heavily to the side of Protestantism in this debate. Jesus was not making Peter the sole foundation stone. That disciple was one among many and the first in a long line. The point that Jesus was trying to make was that his church wasn't a Temple building but a community—an ekklēsia (“church”)—of people that confess Jesus to be the Messiah. We are as much the foundation, walls, and roof of the church as Peter and the first-century Christians were.
However, what often gets overlooked in this passage because of this Catholic vs. Protestant debate is how Peter goes from being portrayed as a foundation rock to being characterized as a stumbling block (cf. Mat. 16:23). This change comes because right on the heels of Peter's confession that Jesus was the Messiah, the Lord proceeds to tell his disciples about how he'll eventually suffer and die in Jerusalem (cf. Mat. 16:21-23). This prediction contradicted who Peter thought the Messiah would be. He assumed that “the Christ” was a political revolutionary who would throw off the shackles of Roman oppression. Growing up, Peter no doubt thought (just as many of his peers did) that the mysterious Messiah figure in the OT was a victor, not a loser. "The Christ" would go to Jerusalem. Peter wouldn't argue that. But the Messiah would go to Israel to rally forces, not die. And so, this faulty assumption fueled such a profound hubris that Peter began to rebuke the very one he had just proclaimed to be the Anointed One of the living God (cf. Matt. 16:22).
In turn, Jesus rebukes Peter using the Greek term skándalon, which has various translations from "hindrance" (ESV), "offense" (KJV), or "stumbling block" (NIV). In my opinion, it seems the translators of the NIV got it right as a skándalon referred to any impediment or trap (i.e., string, stick, stone, etc.) that was placed in the way of something or someone that would cause them to be either ensnared or to stumble and fall. Thus, the "stumbling block" is an apt metaphor for what Peter was doing given that he was, quite literally, standing in Jesus' way and trying to trip him up (cf. Mat. 16:22). But Jesus would not be deterred. He humbled Peter that day, forever imprinting on him the importance of his mission which had always been to suffer for the sins of humanity.
So, why am I bringing this up? Because depending on our motives, we can either be masonry material for the Kingdom of God or a rocky obstacle impeding others. We must be vigilant about what drives us because, in a moment, we can get something so right but then turn around and get something else so wrong. As we read today, Peter swung between follower and foe within the breadth of just a few minutes (cf. Matt 16:13-28). We would do well to remember that we are no better.
But how do we avoid making the same mistake that Peter made? We should ask ourselves daily, "Am I someone humbly following Jesus? Or am I someone who is pridefully standing in his way?" If our goal is self-sacrifice, we'll be used as a foundation stone. But if our aim is self-preservation, we'll become a stone of stumbling.
Matthew 16:24-27 (ESV)
Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
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