"Ekklesia: Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church"
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
Jesus replied to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Mt. 16:17-18). At the first reference, Jesus addressed Peter by His Hebrew name of Simon Barjona; and this occurrence is one of only two places in scripture where Jesus identifies Peter by this nomenclature. The other is at the call of Peter in John 1:4. Simon is the Hebrew word Shim-on from the root shama meaning hearing. Barjona means son of Jonah. Peter had heard the Heavenly Father’s revelation of His Son, Jesus; therefore Jesus, who was the Son of God, acknowledged that Simon, who was the son of Jonah, had indeed heard correctly.
Next, Jesus addressed him as Peter rather than Simon Barjona. Peter is the Greek petros meaning a stone. “You are petros and upon this petra I will build my ekklesia.” Petra means a large rock. Against the backdrop of the large rock cliff of Mt. Hermon in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus declared that He would build His ekklesia upon a large rock. A big stone and a little stone were referenced in conjunction with the ekklesia.
Recall that the Temple to Caesar and the Sanctuary of Pan both stood at the base of Mt. Herman and note that they would have been within the view of Jesus’ disciples when Jesus made His proclamation. Stone temples had been built on the foundation of the Mt. Hermon. One could almost say that the large rock mountain was the foundation for the smaller stone temples. Jesus, too, would build with the two same fundamental components: a big rock and stones.
The large foundation rock upon which the church of Jesus would be built was none other than Jesus, Himself. He is the rock – the petra. He is the foundation stone. The idea of God being like a rock or the usage of the term rock as a metaphor for God’s strong attributes was well developed within the Old Testament. Moses sang about the Rock of Israel in Deuteronomy 32 while Hannah’s rejoicing caused her to declare that there was no Rock like god. David’s song of deliverance from the hand of Saul repeatedly describes God as a Rock, a fortress, a deliverer (Ps. 18; 2 Sam.22). No less that fourteen other psalms employ the same imagery of God.
Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, whom he described as a rock that would come to serve as a cornerstone or alignment stone for God’s temple but warned that the builders would reject him (Is.8:14; 28:16). Jesus, aware that the Jews were not acknowledging Him as the Messiah, warned them by applying the admonition of Isaiah to Himself. Listen to these words in the parable of the vineyard:
"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them." (Matt 21:42-45, also found in Mk. 12:10-12; Lk. 20:17-19)
I Peter 2:6-8 also references Isaiah in connection with Jesus as the Rock and the cornerstone.
"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."
Jesus came as the foundation of the new temple. “And (you) are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Eph. 2:20-21). As Jesus declared that He would build His church upon a rock – a petra – Jesus was identifying Himself and His work as the foundation rock. Jesus was a resurrected cornerstone. Jesus defeated death and was alive forevermore. As the cornerstone or the alignment stone, all the rest of the new temple would be of the same nature, would follow the same configuration, would take its orientation from the corner. Every stone built upon the foundation rock would also be a resurrected stone.
Peter was the petros – a stone in the church. The temples that loomed in the backdrop at Caesarea Philippi were made of stones. One stone was placed upon another stone until the construction of the sanctuaries was completed. Jesus’ temple would be built in a similar fashion. One stone would be placed by another. However, Jesus’ temple would be constructed with stones that had been raised from the dead. Jesus would build the House of God with people, with believers who had been freed from the sentence of death, with those like Simon Bar Jonah who believed that Jesus was the Christ. Living stones, who had been granted a revelation from the Father, would collectively make up the Temple for God’s dwelling. “You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:4-5).
Next, Jesus addressed him as Peter rather than Simon Barjona. Peter is the Greek petros meaning a stone. “You are petros and upon this petra I will build my ekklesia.” Petra means a large rock. Against the backdrop of the large rock cliff of Mt. Hermon in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus declared that He would build His ekklesia upon a large rock. A big stone and a little stone were referenced in conjunction with the ekklesia.
Recall that the Temple to Caesar and the Sanctuary of Pan both stood at the base of Mt. Herman and note that they would have been within the view of Jesus’ disciples when Jesus made His proclamation. Stone temples had been built on the foundation of the Mt. Hermon. One could almost say that the large rock mountain was the foundation for the smaller stone temples. Jesus, too, would build with the two same fundamental components: a big rock and stones.
The large foundation rock upon which the church of Jesus would be built was none other than Jesus, Himself. He is the rock – the petra. He is the foundation stone. The idea of God being like a rock or the usage of the term rock as a metaphor for God’s strong attributes was well developed within the Old Testament. Moses sang about the Rock of Israel in Deuteronomy 32 while Hannah’s rejoicing caused her to declare that there was no Rock like god. David’s song of deliverance from the hand of Saul repeatedly describes God as a Rock, a fortress, a deliverer (Ps. 18; 2 Sam.22). No less that fourteen other psalms employ the same imagery of God.
Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, whom he described as a rock that would come to serve as a cornerstone or alignment stone for God’s temple but warned that the builders would reject him (Is.8:14; 28:16). Jesus, aware that the Jews were not acknowledging Him as the Messiah, warned them by applying the admonition of Isaiah to Himself. Listen to these words in the parable of the vineyard:
"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them." (Matt 21:42-45, also found in Mk. 12:10-12; Lk. 20:17-19)
I Peter 2:6-8 also references Isaiah in connection with Jesus as the Rock and the cornerstone.
"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."
Jesus came as the foundation of the new temple. “And (you) are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Eph. 2:20-21). As Jesus declared that He would build His church upon a rock – a petra – Jesus was identifying Himself and His work as the foundation rock. Jesus was a resurrected cornerstone. Jesus defeated death and was alive forevermore. As the cornerstone or the alignment stone, all the rest of the new temple would be of the same nature, would follow the same configuration, would take its orientation from the corner. Every stone built upon the foundation rock would also be a resurrected stone.
Peter was the petros – a stone in the church. The temples that loomed in the backdrop at Caesarea Philippi were made of stones. One stone was placed upon another stone until the construction of the sanctuaries was completed. Jesus’ temple would be built in a similar fashion. One stone would be placed by another. However, Jesus’ temple would be constructed with stones that had been raised from the dead. Jesus would build the House of God with people, with believers who had been freed from the sentence of death, with those like Simon Bar Jonah who believed that Jesus was the Christ. Living stones, who had been granted a revelation from the Father, would collectively make up the Temple for God’s dwelling. “You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:4-5).
