The Commentary by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 13, 1888

The Commentary.

By Editor

NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.

PETER CONFESSING CHRIST.

THIS is a lesson so full of strong points that but little space can be devoted to each. Jesus had just returned from healing the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman, and had reached the region of Cæsarea Philippi. Seemingly without any previous introduction, he asked his disciples: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." These ideas that were held by different persons were no doubt derived from Deut. 18:18; Mal. 4:5. Besides this, it seems they had a tradition that before the end some of the prophets would rise from the dead; they were looking for the Messiah at about the time of Christ's advent, but they had confounded the prophecies concerning his first and his second advent, and were looking for him to come in glory. Accordingly, some thought that Jesus might be one of the prophets risen from the dead as a pledge of the general resurrection. Notice, however, that nobody is reported as saying that Christ was the Son of God. It seems that a belief of this was confined almost exclusively to his disciples.

"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Here was a recognition of Christ's real nature and mission. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,"—the Son of the Author of life,—conveying the same idea as in the confession recorded in John 6:68, 69: "Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." The confession of faith which Peter made on behalf of the disciples, must have been as a refreshing draught to Jesus, in view of the way in which he was regarded by the world at large.

AND Jesus answered and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona [Simon son of Jonas]; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven." No human being had revealed this wonderful truth to Peter; no human being could reveal it. For "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Cor. 2:14. Says Paul: "Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God." 2 Cor. 5:16-18. From these texts we learn that no matter how much one may have heard of Christ, he doesn't know him if he has not received the revelation which God alone can give by his Spirit. He who has this knowledge indeed, is a new creature. Many can testify that when Christ was revealed to them as the Saviour of sinners, and not merely of sinners in general, but of them in particular, it was in the place of secret prayer; or perhaps it was after hearing words, the like of which they had often before heard unmoved. And nothing could be more positive than the knowledge which is thus revealed. No argument could make it so plain, and no argument could make the individual doubt the knowledge thus revealed. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is everyone that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8.

"AND I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Upon this we quote the following from Edersheim's "Life of Jesus the Messiah:"—

"Not less Jewish in form are the succeeding words of Christ: 'Thou art Peter (Petros), and upon this Rock (Petra) will I build my church.' We notice in the original the change from the masculine gender, 'Peter' (Petros), to the feminine, 'Petra' ('Rock'), which seems the more significant, that Petros is used in Greek for 'stone,' and also sometimes for 'rock,' while Petra always means a 'rock.' The change of gender must therefore have a definite object, which will presently be more fully explained. Meantime we recall that, when Peter first came to Christ, the Lord had said unto him: 'Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, Peter [Petros, a Stone, or else a Rock]'—the Aramaic word Kepha meaning, like Peter, both 'stone' and 'rock.' But both the Greek Petros and Petra have (as already stated) passed into Rabbinic language. Thus, the name Peter, or rather Petros, is Jewish, and occurs, for example, as that of the father of a certain Rabbi (José bar Petros). When the Lord, therefore, prophetically gave the name Cephas, it may have been that by that term he gave only a prophetic interpretation to what had been his previous name, Peter. This seems the more likely, since, as we have previously seen, it was the practice in Galilee to have two names, especially when the strictly Jewish name, such as Simon, had no equivalent among the Gentiles. Again, the Greek word Petra—Rock—('on this Petra [Rock] will I build my church') was used in the same sense in Rabbinic language."

"Believing that Jesus spoke to Peter in the Aramaic, we can now understand how the words Petros and Petra would be purposely used by Christ to mark the difference, which their choice would suggest. Perhaps it might be expressed in this somewhat clumsy paraphrase: 'Thou art Peter (Petros)—a Stone or Rock—and upon this Petra—the Rock, the Petrine—will I found my church.' If, therefore, we would not entirely limit the reference to the words of Peter's confession, we would certainly apply them to that which was the Petrine in Peter: the Heaven-given faith which manifested itself in his confession. And we can further understand how, just as Christ's contemporaries may have regarded the world as rearen on the rock of faithful Abraham, so Christ promised that he would build his church on the Petrine in Peter—on his faith and confession."

SOME have thought from the reading of Eph. 2:19, 20 that Christ referred, not to Peter alone, but to all the apostles, as the rock upon which his church should be built. That text reads: "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." But 1 Cor. 3:10, 11 shows just how this should be taken. There the apostle Paul says: "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

THIS text teaches that Jesus Christ is the only foundation; he is not only the chief corner-stone, but the entire foundation. Then how could Paul say to the Ephesian brethren that they were built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets? He means the foundation which the apostles and prophets laid, as he says in 1 Cor. 3:10, that is, Jesus Christ as the Life-giver and the Saviour of sinners. That this is the foundation to which he refers, is proved by the second verse of the preceding chapter: "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." This was the foundation which all the apostles laid, as Peter himself said after he had healed the lame man: "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:10, 12. And this was likewise the foundation of the prophets, as Peter further says: "To him [i.e., to Jesus] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Acts 10:43. Thus we see that the rock upon which Christ's church is founded, is belief from the heart in him as the one whose blood can cleanse from sin.

"AND the gates of hell [hades, the grave] shall not prevail against it." This does not mean that the gates of the grave are carrying on an aggressive warfare against the church, hurling themselves against it in a vain endeavor to overthrow it. Gates don't "prevail" in that way, neither do men use gates in that way in warfare. Gates "prevail" against anyone when they effectually bar his passage. Now Christ is the Son of the living God; and "as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" (John 5:26), "that he should give eternal life" to as many as the Father should give him. See John 17:2. He says of himself, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades, the grave] and of death." Rev. 1:18.

SATAN has the power of death (Heb. 2:14); the grave is his prison-house, and all the dead he counts as his lawful prey, since death came because of sin. So he, as "a strong man armed keepeth his palace" (Luke 11:21), and "opened not the house of his prisoners." Isa. 14:17. But Christ is the stronger than he, who has come upon him, and overcome him, and passing through his prison-house, has carried away the keys, and will divide the spoils. Luke 11:22; Isa. 53:12. The saints of God may go into the grave; Satan may stir up persecution against them, and may slay them by the thousands; but the gates of the grave cannot prevail to hold a single soul that has been fastened to the eternal Rock. "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

"AND I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." No power was here conferred upon Peter that was not conferred in equal measure upon the other apostles, and in more limited measure, perhaps, to the entire church. In his instructions as to the method of dealing with an obstinate church member, Jesus said: "But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." Matt. 18:17, 18. Whatever the church does acting unitedly and in the fear of God, is ratified in Heaven, because it is the body of Christ. Eph. 1:22, 23. As such, it is Christ's representative on earth, and he has no other. To no individual, in the church or out, has Christ given power to bind or loose. And even "the church" cannot do this, except when it is walking in the light, and its members are abiding in Christ; for when this state of things ceases, it ceases to be the church of Christ, no matter what its name or pretensions.