Picture this: you’re standing before a vast fortress, its walls towering and unshakable. The question echoes in your mind: what is the foundation that holds this mighty structure together? Is it strong enough to withstand the test of time, storms, and even attacks? When it comes to the Church, that fortress of faith, many have wondered about its foundation. Did Jesus build His Church upon Peter, the apostle, as some claim, or was it built on something far greater?
The passage in Matthew 16:18-19 has sparked much debate. Jesus said to Peter, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” At first glance, this seems simple enough. Some have taken this to mean that Peter himself is the foundation of the Church. After all, doesn’t "Peter" mean "rock"? And didn’t Jesus say, “On this rock, I will build my church”?
But, as we dive deeper, we see that things aren’t quite that simple. In the Greek language, which Matthew’s Gospel was written in, the word for “Peter” is petros, meaning a small stone or pebble. In contrast, the word Jesus used for "rock" is petra, which means a large, immovable rock or foundation. The distinction is subtle, but important.
Jesus wasn’t saying He’d build His Church on Peter, the man, but on the great confession, Peter made just moments before: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). That confession—that Jesus is the Messiah—is the unshakable rock upon which the Church would stand.
Think of it this way: when constructing a building, would you lay the foundation on a small, movable stone? Of course not. You would choose a massive, stable rock that can bear the weight of the structure. In the same way, the Church isn’t built on a man, flawed and human, but on the eternal truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. This is a foundation that no storm, no power, not even the gates of hell, can shake.
In Matthew 16:19, Jesus also tells Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This statement has been interpreted by some to mean that Peter was given a unique authority, more so than the other apostles. Was Peter, in fact, superior to the rest? Did he wield special power?
To understand this, we must first consider what keys represent. Keys unlock doors—they grant access. When Jesus gave Peter the keys, He was giving him the responsibility to open the door to the kingdom of heaven. And this is precisely what Peter did when he preached the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. By declaring the terms of salvation—faith, repentance, and baptism—Peter opened the door to the kingdom for thousands.
However, this authority to "bind" and "loose" wasn’t exclusive to Peter. In Matthew 18:18, Jesus made the same promise to all the apostles. Later, in John 20:23, He told them all, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” The authority Jesus gave Peter was shared with the other apostles. They were all entrusted with the responsibility of preaching the Gospel, making disciples, and declaring what was bound or loosed according to God’s Word.
But what does it mean to "bind" and "loose"? This phrase refers to the authority to declare what is lawful or unlawful, what is required for salvation, and what is not. The apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, were given the ability to teach and set forth the doctrines of the Church. Yet, they weren’t making up rules as they went along. The literal translation of Matthew 16:19 reveals something interesting: “Whatever you bind on earth will have already been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have already been loosed in heaven.”
This means the apostles were simply carrying out the will of heaven. They weren’t acting on their own authority but were instruments through which God revealed His truth. It’s like being handed a message to deliver. The authority doesn’t lie in the messenger but in the One who wrote the message. The apostles delivered the Gospel, not from their own ideas but from the Spirit of God.
Returning to the question: did Jesus promise to build His Church on Peter? The answer is clear—no. The Church is not built on human authority, nor on any one man, but on the confession that Jesus is the Christ. He alone is the foundation, the cornerstone, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:20: "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone." Peter, along with the other apostles, played a vital role in spreading the Gospel, but it is Christ who is the firm foundation upon which the Church stands.
While Peter played an important role in the early Church, he was not preeminent. Scripture shows that the other apostles shared the same authority. In fact, in Acts 2:42, we read that the early Christians devoted themselves to the “apostles’ teaching,” not just Peter’s teaching. The authority of the apostles came from their unity in the truth revealed to them by the Holy Spirit.
This is a crucial distinction to understand. Peter, though a leader, was not the sole voice of the Church. When the apostles made decisions, such as at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, it wasn’t Peter alone who decided matters, but a collective decision guided by the Spirit. The Church was built on the collective work of all the apostles as they taught and upheld the truth of Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, the foundation of the Church is not Peter but the unshakable truth that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God. The keys to the kingdom were given to Peter, but not to him alone— all the apostles shared in this authority. Their task was to proclaim the Gospel and teach what had already been established in heaven.
Like a fortress standing firm through the ages, the Church endures because it rests on the solid rock of Christ, not on the shifting sands of human authority. And so, we, too, as believers, stand secure in our faith, knowing that our foundation is not in any man but in the eternal Lord of heaven and earth.
Comentários