{"id":4809,"date":"2025-08-12T08:18:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=4809"},"modified":"2025-08-12T08:18:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:18:39","slug":"epi-upon-this-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/12\/epi-upon-this-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"EPI: “Upon” This Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u00a0Each weekday in the month of August, we will pursue \u201cprepositional truth\u201d by zeroing in on a single Greek preposition in a single verse, noting the theological richness so often embedded in the humble words we so often overlook.\u00a0<\/em>

If you occasionally find yourself reflecting on your experiences back in high school English (be still, my beating heart), you\u2019d be hard pressed to dial up compelling memories concerning prepositions.

Except, perhaps, this classic principle: Never end a sentence with a preposition.<\/em>

Which, if unfailingly applied, would make all of us sound like characters from Downton Abbey<\/em>: \u201cWith whom are you having dinner this evening?\u201d And, \u201cAbout what are you talking?\u201d

Winston Churchill was flummoxed when a traditionalist called him out for his dangling prepositions. He memorably retorted, \u201cThis is the kind of insolence up with I will not put!\u201d

Prepositions fare better in the Greek text of the New Testament, especially when we realize they often appear at the heart of some of the Bible\u2019s most noteworthy verses. Consider, for example, Matthew 16:18, which has been Ground Zero for theological squabbling between Roman Catholics and Protestants for the last 500 years.

Before he heads toward his fateful final visit to Jerusalem, Jesus takes his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, a city on the northern fringe of Galilee.

It is a place that defies the God of Israel. Pagan temples abound. Idols dot the landscape. The Roman emperor is openly reverenced as divine.

As if that weren\u2019t enough, the city was also thought to be where this present world \u2013 the world of human beings and their concerns \u2013 intersects with the underworld, the realm of evil spirits and the dead.\u00a0There was (and still is) an enormous cavern, out of which gushes a cold stream.\u00a0Locals believed that at the back of the cave there was an entrance to Hades.\u00a0Thus the yawning mouth of the cavern was known as the Gates of Hell.\u00a0

Heaven and hell, empires and nations, gods and humans \u2013 all the Powers That Be are on display in Caesarea Philippi.\u00a0

Which is almost certainly why Jesus has brought his disciples to this place to have a crucial conversation.

\u201cWho do people say the Son of Man is?\u201d (Matthew 18:13)\u00a0 As far as we know, this is the first time Jesus has ever asked this question.\u00a0He has been coy about his identity, intentionally dampening expectations.\u00a0But now he wants to know what his apprentices have concluded.

\u201cThey replied, \u2018Some say John the Baptist;\u00a0others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.\u2019\u201d\u00a0That\u2019s what others<\/u><\/em> are saying.\u00a0Jesus now makes it personal.\u00a0\u201cBut what about you<\/u><\/em>?\u00a0 Who do you<\/u><\/em> think I am?\u201d\u00a0

Twelve men have been following Jesus through thick and thin \u2013 listening to his teaching, watching his actions, witnessing his miracles.\u00a0Now they\u2019re in a place named for a phony emperor-god, with phony idols on the left and phony idols on the right.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to paint or get off the ladder. Who exactly do you think I am?<\/em>

Peter jumps in to fill the silence:\u00a0\u201cYou are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.\u201d

It\u2019s his greatest moment \u2013 and arguably one of the most head-scratching, analyzed, preached-on, wondered-at, and argued-about moments on the pages of Scripture.

\u201cJesus replied, \u2018Blessed are you, Simon son of John, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.\u00a0And I tell you that you are Peter [petros <\/em>in Greek] and upon<\/u><\/strong><\/em> (EPI<\/strong>) this rock [petra<\/em>] I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it\u2019\u201d (Matthew 16:17-18).\u00a0

Jesus renames his friend.\u00a0He is now \u201cRocky.\u201d\u00a0Or as Clarence Jordan identifies him in his Cotton Patch<\/em> version of the Gospel (a paraphrase of Matthew in the language of the American South), \u201cRock Johnson\u201d \u2013 a designation made decades before Dwayne \u201cthe Rock\u201d Johnson left the world of wrestling and conquered Hollywood.

What does all of this mean?

In this signature moment, Jesus first affirms that Peter has answered his question correctly. He is indeed the long-awaited Messiah spoken of by the prophets, the fulfillment of Israel\u2019s ancient yearnings.\u00a0And he is more than just another human descendant of King David.\u00a0Unlike the fake deities whose temples stand before them in Caesarea Philippi, he is the Son of the Living God \u2013 the God who is really there.\u00a0

For the first time in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus uses the word \u201cchurch.\u201d\u00a0The Greek word is ekklesia<\/em>, \u201cthose who are called out.\u201d

Jesus\u2019 mission as the Messiah is to call out and call together those who are ready and willing to follow him.\u00a0They will become a new kind of family, a new sort of community that will begin, by God\u2019s grace and power, to help heal this broken world \u2013 one heart at a time.\u00a0

Notice the first person pronouns: \u201c\u2026I<\/em><\/strong> will build my<\/em><\/strong> church\u2026\u201d Jesus is not forecasting a new organization that will be launched by Peter or Paul or Thomas Aquinas or Martin Luther or Joel Osteen or Rick Warren.\u00a0The church belongs to Jesus.\u00a0It always has.\u00a0It always will.\u00a0

And it will succeed.\u00a0\u201cThe gates of Hell will not overcome it.\u201d \u00a0

At this point Jesus may have gestured toward the yawning cavern in the high rock wall behind him.\u00a0It was a place fraught with terror.\u00a0 But hell will be no match for Jesus\u2019 called-out ones.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth noting that this verse is frequently misunderstood, as if Satan has the initiative and the church is forever fighting for its life. Just the opposite is true.\u00a0The church of the Messiah isn\u2019t on the run.\u00a0It\u2019s storming the Gates of Hell.

Besides, when was the last time you were chased by a gate?\u00a0

All of this has been enthusiastically embraced by Bible scholars over the years.\u00a0

When we zero in on Jesus\u2019 words to Peter, however, the conversation becomes edgier.

He says to his most enthusiastic disciple, \u201cupon<\/u><\/strong><\/em> (EPI<\/strong>) this rock I will build my church.\u201d EPI appears in a number of familiar English words, including epidermis<\/em> (\u201cabove the skin\u201d), epidemic<\/em> (\u201con the people,\u201d describing a plague that seems to attach itself to a whole population) and epicenter<\/em> (\u201cabove the kentron\u201d<\/em> or central point, designating the location of an earthquake).

What is the \u201cRock\u201d on which Jesus intends to build? Is it Peter \u2013 the guy he has just renamed Rocky \u2013 or something else?

Catholics believe this text is proof-positive that Jesus ordained Peter as the first pope.

If Peter became the first bishop of Rome (a genuine possibility, according to tradition), and if being the Rock means the Lord was granting him a permanent office (also a possibility), and if every succeeding bishop of Rome inherits that same call (OK, that one\u2019s quite a stretch), then Jesus\u2019 statement about building his church upon<\/u><\/strong><\/em> the Rock means that the Vatican should have ecclesiastical and spiritual authority over every follower of Jesus.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0

Protestants, of course, have a different take. \u00a0

Even though Peter is renamed \u201cRock\u201d (petros<\/em>, a masculine Greek noun) Jesus\u2019 expression \u201cupon<\/u><\/strong><\/em> this rock\u201d refers not to Peter himself but to the bedrock (petra<\/em>, a feminine Greek noun) of his faith.\u00a0According to this view, Peter\u2019s powerful declaration of trust in Christ is a kind of first deposit. Countless disciples over the centuries will imitate Peter\u2019s bold declaration of faith and help advance God\u2019s reign on Earth.

After more than five centuries of exegetical quarrelling \u2013 sometimes resulting, tragically, in pitched battles with actual weapons of war \u2013 the two sides have not yet arrived at common ground.\u00a0

Catholics may have overstated Peter\u2019s role in the kingdom. Protestants have almost certainly understated it.

What we know for sure, according to Matthew 16, is that brash, hopeful, shoot-from-the-hip Peter was more than \u201cjust another disciple.\u201d\u00a0

Regardless of where you put your prepositions, that\u2019s something up to which<\/em> we all can try to live. \u00a0

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here \u00a0Each weekday in the month of August, we will pursue \u201cprepositional truth\u201d by zeroing in on a single Greek preposition in a single verse, noting the theological richness so often embedded in the humble words we so often overlook.\u00a0 If you occasionally find yourself reflecting on your experiences back in high… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[978,127,977],"class_list":["post-4809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-caesarea-philippi","tag-faith","tag-rock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4811,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809\/revisions\/4811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}