When I was growing up in the country there was a creek near our home. I have fond memories of that creek. It was always very cold, even in the hottest summer. It was named Clear Creek but I don’t know why because it was usually not very clear. It is where I learned to swim. I caught many fish there while growing up. And later, I carried my sons camping on the banks of the creek when they were growing up. Ah the memories…
But there is one memory in particular that I have of Clear Creek. It is the big rock. Close to my home there was a huge boulder in the middle of the creek. It was of such renown that if you referred to the big rock to anyone around town they knew of what or rather to where you were talking.
I remember telling my sons about the big rock. I told them it was as big as a small house. It was big enough to walk around on, dive from and swim, camp on, etc. It was indeed the big rock.
After sharing these memories for a long time and not having been to the big rock for many years, I finally carried my sons and wife there. It was a little hike to get to it but I assured them it would be worth it. So we hiked through the woods and finally there it was! The big rock! The only thing, it was not what I remembered. It was about the size of a car; a rather large car but certainly not as big as I remembered. My family really got a big kick out of Dad’s big rock and they teased me no small amount.
The Big Rock…
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
There are two words in this passage that are related to rock. Jesus said, “You are Peter.” The word for Peter is petros, meaning a rock or stone. Peter’s name prior to his relationship with Christ was Simon. The name Simon means “he has heard” or “hearing”. But Christ gave him a new name probably indicating what He wanted him to become. He wanted Peter to be a rock, strong and firm. Peter didn’t always act like a rock, reference his denial of the Christ, but he eventually became the rock the LORD wanted him to be.
It is interesting to note that from then on when the LORD called him Simon it was as though He was saying “Peter you are acting like your old self, perhaps you need to ‘hear’, to ‘listen’.”
The second reference in the passage is “…on this rock…” This is similar to the first word but not the same. They both form the basis for the word petroleum that we use. This second word is the word petra which means large stone or boulder. Maybe think of a foundation stone as compared to a small rock.
Here is an important theological point. When Jesus said “on this rock” He was not referring to Peter or Peter’s name, petros. The LORD was referring to a petra, a foundation rock. He was referring to a foundation of truth. This truth came from an earlier verse. In verse 16, Peter’s reply was to call Him the Christ, the Son of the Living GOD. This response was the foundation, petra, of which Christ referred. This was the petra, the foundation, of truth that our faith is built upon. Christ is the Son of the Living GOD!
Christ said it was on this truth that He would build His church. What a glorious thought. The church, the collective body of the redeemed (Acts 2:47) is built on the foundation that Christ is the Son of the Living GOD.
Christ is the Son of GOD. This is the “Big Rock” upon which our hope rests.