In Matthew 19, verses 16 and following, we find the story about a rich young man who came to Jesus. And as we have looked at some of these encounters that Jesus had with various people, so far as we can tell every one of these individuals experienced spiritual changes for the better.
Now if we have any doubts about Peter at this point and think, nevertheless, that perhaps he is the rock, they should be disabused by Peter’s conduct. If Peter’s the rock we’re in trouble, since immediately after this Peter objected to something of central importance Jesus said. Jesus went on to say that he had to suffer and die and be killed and that on the third day he would rise again.
And then there’s the third interpretation, and this is the one I hold to. I recognize some of the weaknesses of it, but this is the view that the foundation upon which the church is built, the rock, is not Peter but actually the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now he begins, as I said, in an interesting way, and the way he begins is by asking them what the various people that they had come in contact with were saying concerning himself. The actual question is what we find in verse 13: “He asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’” Now that was a very lively question in that day. Whenever anybody of any unusual stature came along, any leader-type emerging from the people, it was more or less a checklist that the people of the day would run off in order to determine who he was.
