I read in a book on etiquette that whenever you introduce two people you should give the name of each person and then tell something about him or her, where the person is from or what he does. Like this: “Sally, I would like you to meet Robert. He works with computers for Dupont.” Or “Robert, this is Sally. She’s a doctor.”
A lot of important things happen on mountains in the Bible, which means that we are not wrong when we recall these events and speak of “mountain top" experiences The most dramatic example is the appearance of God on Mount Sinai. first to Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3:1-4:17), then later to the nation when the law was given accompanied by such ten-ifying physical phenomena as fire. darkness, storms and thunder. lt was so frightening that even Moses said. “I am trembling with fear" (Heb. 12:21). It was on Mount Carmel on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea that God answered Elijah‘s prayer by sending lire to consume the sacrifice and even the altar which Elijah had constructed as a challenge to the false prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:16-40). that God appeared to Elijah on Mount Sinai too, as he had to Moses (1 Kings 19:8-18). Again, we can think of Satan‘s blatant temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ when he took him to “a very high mountain“ and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, saying, “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me" (Matt. 4:9). Jesus overcame Satan by reminding him that it was written in Deuteronomy 6:13, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matt. 4:10).
Peter was not the rock, but he did have an important role to play. Specifically, he was given “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” with the added promise, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (v. 19). Whatever does that mean? Does it mean that Peter was given the exclusive and daunting privilege of determining who would get to heaven and who would not? Was Jesus really placing the eternal destinies of other men and women in Peter’s hands?
In Peter's sermon to the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8-12), Peter does not suggest that he is the rock upon which the church is built but insists that the foundation stone is Jesus Christ. Peter proves his point by three Old Testament quotations, the first of which we have already examined.
In today’s lesson we conclude our look at three main interpretations of Jesus’ statement to Peter: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”
