READING TIME: 1 MINUTE
David, what does the rock in Matt 16:18 refer to?
There are three main opinions on who the rock is. Some commentators (Plummer, Carson, France, Rice and most Roman Catholic interpreters) think the rock refers to Peter.
Other interpreters (M’Neile, Tasker, Edersheim, Kent, and Toussaint) think the rock refers to the truth the Peter confessed, namely that Jesus is the Messiah and God.
In my opinion (Calvin, Morgan, Ironside, McGee, Walvoord, Lenski, Barbieri, and Wiersbe agree) the “rock” Jesus was referring to when He was speaking to Peter was Himself. Based on many other passages, this is the way Jesus would have understood it. The Old Testament prophets likened the Messiah to a Stone (Ps 118:22; Is 28:16), and Jesus claimed to be that Stone (Matt 21:42). Peter himself identified Jesus as that Stone (Acts 4:10-12; 1 Pet 2:5-8), as Paul did (Rom 9:32-33; 1 Cor 3:11; 10:4; Eph 2:20). The Old Testament used the figure of a Rock to describe God (Deut 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31, 37; 2 Sam 22:2; Ps 18:2, 31, 46; 28:1).
Source Used
Constable, Tom. “Constable’s Notes on the book of Matthew,” 279.