The Rock, The Keys, And Peter
“ ‘And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 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’ ” (Matt 16:18,19, KJV).
The Bible says that Christ is the "Rock,” and it also clearly states
That only on that Rock His Church is built (that His return awaits).
Thus, only Christ has the authority to chart His Church’s course,
And hence only Christ, His will and word, should the Christian Church endorse.
No, never on any human would Jesus build the Christian Church,
As straight into apostasy His Church would very quickly lurch.
Yes, some think the Rock is Peter, but that’s biblically unsound,
For Jesus would never build His Church on such shaky fallen ground.
No, Jesus wouldn’t build His Church on one who thrice denied his Lord,
And who cut off the ear of a slave with a quick stroke of his sword.
Not Peter, who Paul confronted for displaying hypocrisy,
Not Peter, who via his own teachings, disclaimed that the Rock was he.
Therefore, to build on Peter would be to just build on sinking sand,
Yes, a weak and erring human who so much failed to understand.
One who argued like the others over who the greatest should be
In Christ’s kingdom, which they thought that in their time on earth they would see.
Peter’s name derives from ‘petros’ — of this fact, we need to take stock,
For ‘petros’ in Greek simply means a small stone; ‘petra,' a large rock.
Christ would never build His Church on such an insignificant stone,
Which is why His Church is clearly built on the solid Rock alone.
And hence why both Isaiah the prophet and the apostle Paul
(Very clearly in their teachings), the "Rock,” also their Saviour call.
Christ himself, via His very own words, confirms that that Rock is He,
And that He is head of the Church, this in Ephesians we see.
Thus, no man heads the Christian Church, despite those claims that some might make,
For only Jesus Christ can rightly that Holy position take.
Yes, only He who is called “worthy” and “Rock of our salvation,”
Has the right to head the Christian Church and be its sure “foundation.”
In ancient cities the key place of defence was the city's gate,
Hence why once the gate was captured, destruction was that city’s fate.
And why figuratively speaking, Satan holds the “gates of Hell”,
But Christ, via His death, entered Satan’s stronghold and it quickly fell.
Yes, our Saviour triumphed over Satan, now death has lost its sting,
Hence why the grave won’t hold believers, who, from their graves will soon spring.
Yes, death’s swallowed up in victory, the “gates of hell” won't prevail,
For deliverance is assured, and Christ’s Church on earth won’t fail.
The “keys” to the kingdom of Heaven that are mentioned in Matthew,
Are simply the words of Jesus that are most trustworthy and true.
They inform us how to enter the kingdom of Heaven above,
So that we can spend eternity with the righteous God of love.
Yes, Christ’s wonderful words of life give us the knowledge that we need,
That leads to eternal life for all those ones who these words grasp and heed.
These “keys” to the kingdom of Heaven are given to us to spread,
With authority and power from the One who for us all bled.
Thus, no one can dictate on earth what Christians must believe or do;
Only Christ has such authority, which via Scripture we know is true.
Thus, to “bind” and “loose” means only that which our Saviour has ordained,
And never what any human (today or in the past) has claimed.
By Lance Landall
You may also wish to read my poem "Mary, Mother Of Jesus".
The significance attributed to Christ’s words, by which they are made to confer primacy upon the so-called successors of Peter, is completely at variance with all the teachings Christ gave to His followers (Matt 23:8,10 – one Master, Christ).
It’s
worthy of note that
among the apostles it was James and not Peter who exercised
administrative functions over the early church in Jerusalem (Acts
15:13,19; 21:18; 1 Cor 15:7; Gal 2:9,12). It was James who announced
the decision of the council that the ceremonial law and ordinance of
circumcision should not be urged upon the Gentiles.
Paul rebuked Peter for a
wrong course of action (Gal 2:11-14), which he certainly would not have
done had he known anything about Peter’s enjoying the rights and
prerogatives that some claim for him upon the basis of Matt 16:18,19.
Peter, here, had displayed a clear weakness of character.
If
Christ had set Peter up as the leader of the new church, there would
have been none of the arguing later among the disciples about who was
the most important.
---------------------------------
“ ‘And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock [Christ Himself] I [Christ] will build My church [spiritual Israel], and the gates of hell [Satan’s power over the grave, death] shall not prevail against it [Christ
triumphed over all of Satan’s power and by that triumph, has provided
assurance that His church on earth will also triumph. Satan couldn’t
hold Christ with the cords of death (Acts 2:24) and nor will it be
possible for him to hold any who believe and trust in Christ (John
3:16; Rom 6:23)]. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven [Christ’s words of life, knowledge that leads to eternal life]:
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven [the church on earth will require only what heaven requires and will prohibit only what heaven prohibits]’ ” (Matt 16:18,19, KJV).