Who is the 'Rock', Peter or Christ?

Peter is the “Rock” of Matt. 16:18 – just as Abraham is the “Rock” of Isaiah 51:1-2.
God/Christ is the “Rock” of all of the other verses you mentioned.

By the way - 1 Pet. 2:5 calls ALL of us "Rocks". Verse 4 uses the SAME Greek word, "Lithos" for the "Rock" that is Christ.

It’s not that difficult . . .

 

Jesus is the main cornerstone, as Jesus was the Mountain, and peter was the stone!

 

In Matt. 16:18 - Peter is the "Stone" (Kepha) - period.

Jesus didn't speak Greek to His Apostles. He spoke Aramaic. The word he used for Peter here is "Kepha", which means "Stone". It doesn't mean "small stone or "pebble" - just "STONE".

Jesus said to him: "You are Kepha and on this Kepha I will build my church . . ."

This is why we read in Paul's letters where he refers to Peter as "Cephas", which is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic "Kepha".
Even the bulk of Protestant scholarship acknowledges this . . .

1. There is no distinction between "petros" and "petra."
· "In Aramaic 'Peter' and Rock are the same word; in Greek (here), they are cognate terms that were used interchangeably by this period." --Craig S. Keener,The IVP Bible Background Commentary New Testament, (Downer's Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1993), 90.

· "Although it is true that petros and petra can mean 'stone' and 'rock' respectively in earlier Greek, the distinction is largely confined to poetry." --Frank E. Gaebelein, ed., The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Volume 8 (Matthew, Mark, Luke), (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 368.

· "Many insist on the distinction between the two Greek words, thou art Petros and on this petra, holding that if the rock had meant Peter, either petros or petra would have been used both times, and that petros signifies a separate stone or fragment broke off, while petra is the massive rock. But this distinction is almost entirely confined to poetry, the common prose word instead of petros being lithos; nor is the distinction uniformly observed." --John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1886), 355.

· "I grant that in Greek Peter (Petros) and stone (petra) mean the same thing, save that the first word is Attic [from the ancient classical Greek dialect of the Attica region], the second from the common tongue." --John Calvin, Calvin's New Testament Commentaries: The Harmony of the Gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke, vol. 2, trans. T. H. L. Parker, ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1972), 188.

· "The obvious pun which has made its way into the Gk. text as well suggests a material identity between petra and Petros, the more so as it is impossible to differentiate strictly between the meanings of the two words."--Gerhard Friedrich, ed., and Geoffrey W. Bromley, trans. and ed., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. VI, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1968), 98-99.

2. Two different Greek words are used because you can't use a feminine noun for a man's name.
· "The Greek makes the distinction between petros and petra simply because it is trying to preserve the pun, and in Greek the feminine petra could not very well serve as a masculine name." --Frank E. Gaebelein, ed., The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Volume 8 (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 368.
·
· "When using both the masculine and feminine forms of the word, however, Matthew is not trying to distance Peter, Petros, from 'this rock,' petra. Rather, the evangelist changes the genders simply because Simon, a male, is given a masculine form of the feminine noun for his new name." --James B. Shelton, letter to the authors, 21 October 1994, 1, in Scott Butler, Norman Dehlgren, and Rev. Mr. David Hess, Jesus Peter and the Keys: A Scriptural Handbook on the Papacy, (Goleta, CA: Queenship, 1996), 23.

· "The name Peter (not now first given, but prophetically bestowed by our Lord on his first interview with Simon (John 1:42), or Cephas, signifying a rock, the termination being only altered from petra to petros to suit the masculine appellation, denotes the personal position of this Apostle in the building of the Church of Christ." --Henry Alford, The New Testament for English Readers, vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1983), 119.

 

Jesus is still the Cornerstone, as his body is based upon him, not upon Peter!

 

Nobody said He isn't.

The question was about who is the "Rock" of Matt. 16:18 - and that is Peter.
Abraham is the "Rock" of Isaiah 51:1-2.

 

Peter was an Apostle of Jesus, period!

 

And WHO is saying he wasn't??

 

He was not the first pope, as there is no papacy!

 

Sure he was.

We see this in passages like Matt. 16:18-19, Luke 22:31, John 21:15-19 and more.
Irenaeus in the Second Century documented ALL of the Popes from his time all the way back to Peter, which was a just over 100 years.

 

there were 3 'Popes" in Acts then, peter to the Jews, Paul to Gentiles, and James to main church in Jerusalem!

 

Nope - just ONE.

Peter is the ONLY one who Jesus said He would build His Church on (Matt. 16:18).
Peter is the ONLY one that Jesus said He was praying for to strengthen his brothers and bring them back (Luke 22:31).
Peter is the ONLY one that Jesus asked to feed His Lambs and Tend His sheep (John 21:15-19).

James and Paul were NEVER given this Authority . . .

 

Peter recognized that Paul has SAME authority among the gentiles as he did the Jews, and James ran the Jerusalem Council, not Peter!

 

Peter's authority was over ALL Christians - Jew or Gentile.

James was the Bishop of Jerusalem - NOT the Pope.
It was Peter who spoke first at the Council of Jerusalem and James agreed with him.

 

WRONG.

Jesus didn't promise that the Gates of Hell wouldn't overcome Peter's body.
He promised that the gates of He wouldn't overcome His CHURCH.

As for Peter's Authority - you will find that in verse 19:
Matt. 16:19
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. WHATEVER YOU BIND on earth shall be bound in heaven; and WHATEVER YOU LOOSE on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

If you knew your Old Testament - you would understand that this is the fulfillment of the OT Type that was Eliakim, to whom God said almost the very SAME thing.

We ALSO see Peter's Authority over the Church John 21:15-19 . . .
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Christ is the Head (Col. 1:18) - Peter is His appointed earthly leader (Matt. 16:18-19, Luke 22:31, John 21:15-19).

 

We have no Pope, as there is Jesus as head of Church, and His pastors and Elders!

 

Soooo, explain why . . .

- Peter is the ONLY one who Jesus said He would build His Church on (Matt. 16:18).
- Peter is the ONLY one who Jesus told that WHATEVER he (singular) bound or loosed on earth would be bound or loosed in Heaven (Matt. 16:19).
- Peter is the ONLY one that Jesus said He was praying for to strengthen his brothers and bring them back (Luke 22:31).
- Peter is the ONLY one that Jesus asked to feed His Lambs and Tend His sheep (John 21:15-19).

While you're at it - show me ANYBODY other than Christ who is mentioned MORE than Peter in the NT.

 

As a Gentile, Paul far more important to me than Peter was!

 

Can you show me a verse that says Paul was "more important" than Peter??