The disciples know the danger of Herod and the Pharisees, who seem strong enough to overcome the remnant of Jesus’ faithful followers, but Jesus promises that these very disciples will see these threats rendered powerless.
In Matthew 16:17, Jesus reminds his disciples how confessing him as the Christ is through God’s revelation. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus adds his own promise: his guarantee of the future of his gathered people against all enemies (the gates of hell
). And the disciples will be the foundation of this community, only through the Father’s revelation, by which Simon has become what his nickname means, a stone, and it is upon this God-given material, the confessing disciples, that Jesus will build the future of his church.
When Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, they had been fully aware of the threats that Herod and the Pharisees posed. It may have looked like they may have had sufficient resources to overpower the last remnant of Jesus’ faithful followers. Yet when it concerns the future, the exact opposite is true, for this very group of disciples form the basis for a great future in which these threats would be reduced to powerlessness. This is what Jesus promises.1
In Matthew 16:17 Jesus reminds his disciples that confessing him as the Christ is the result of a divine gift—the Father’s revelation—granted at a time when many relatives and fellow citizens rejected him. Now, here in Matthew 16:18, alongside the Father’s revelation, Jesus adds his own promise: namely, that he guarantees the future of his gathered people against all enemies (the gates of hell
). And he assures the disciples that they will serve as the foundation of this community. They are not fit for this task in and of themselves, but only through the Father’s gracious revelation. By means of that revelation, Simon truly becomes what his nickname signifies—a stone—and it is upon this God-given material, the confessing disciples, that Jesus will build the future of his church.2
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rockI will build my church, and the gates of hellshall not prevail against it.