Tim’s Blog

Peter the Rock?

August 30, 2025

When Simon confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus in turn calls him blessed and renames him “Peter” (petros, stone), and adds, “and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:13–18).

Rome of course launches from this text to assert that Peter was the first Pope, upon whom the Church is built, which fits nicely with their notion of papal supremacy.

The problem is that their viewpoint is exegetically impossible.

Before getting to that, there are a couple of non sequiturs and logical problems with Rome’s view.

First, even if Jesus were saying that he was building his Church upon Peter, full stop, that is a far cry from suggesting that he was building his Church upon a whole succession of Peters. While we can say that Peter is a representative, we need some sort of indication regarding the significance of that representation, or the whole thing is arbitrary.

Second, Jesus is referring to a foundation upon which the Church will be built. A foundation is not a living organism that continues to grow indefinitely. It gets laid once for all.

So now let’s consider more exegetical issues. The first thing to notice is that Jesus calls Simon petros, but does not say he will build his Church upon “this petros.” Why not? The word Jesus actually uses is petra. There is obviously an intent to associate Peter with this petra (hence his new name, which is a cognate), but not the intent to identify him with it.

Where, then, is Jesus going with this?

As it turns out, Jesus has already talked about building upon petra in Matthew’s Gospel. In Matthew 7, after warning that those who do not bear the fruit of good works will be cast off and burned (7:16–20), Jesus goes on to warn further that there will be those who claim to have done wonderful things in his name, but he will cast them out as workers of iniquity (7:21–23). He continues (“Therefore”): “whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, will be compared to a prudent man, who built his house on a rock” (Mt 7:24). When the storms come this house stands, because its foundation was petra (7:25).

What becomes clear, then, is that petra is the words of Jesus. But if so, why does Jesus call Simon petros? How is Jesus associating Simon with “these sayings of mine”? Clearly, Jesus is intending to draw Simon into his own Word.

As it happens, Paul draws this all together for us in Ephesians 2:20. Speaking of the Church now comprised of Jew and Gentile, he writes that this new household of God is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus the Messiah himself being the cornerstone.”

The cornerstone, i.e. the architectural element which holds everything together, is Jesus himself. Uniquely, the cornerstone alone is larger than the foundation: “in whom” (i.e. in Jesus the Messiah) “the whole building is fitted together, growing into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:21). Jesus is truly the wise man who builds his house (his holy temple, the Church) upon the rock of his own words.

Of particular interest here is that the foundation is “the apostles and prophets.” In the verses immediately following, we learn that these apostles and prophets are those who have received the revelation of the Messiah, which was hidden through the ages (Eph 3:1–5).

Upon consideration, we should not be surprised that one of these apostles and prophets can be identified as a petros. The foundation is petra, the word of the Messiah, that word which is revealed to all these apostles and prophets. It is these together who serve as the foundation, and specifically in their role as those who have participated in receiving and communicating the revelation of the words of the Messiah. Peter, petros belongs to the foundation, the petra, along with the other apostles and prophets, specifically in their revelatory role.

Incidentally, this gives a devastating refutation of those who pit “the words of Jesus” over against the various writers of the New Testament, such as Paul. The apostolic and prophetic message which we have received as our foundation is the Word of Jesus. The commissioning Jesus gave Simon via his renaming was representative of all of those who would become this foundation, and when Paul or James or Peter speak, Jesus speaks.

[Note: This post was previously published on Twitter, May 10, 2024.]

Out of the Mouth of Babes…

January 6, 2025

In Hebrew, Psalm 8:2 says, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, you have ordained strength.” The LXX (which Jesus cites in Matthew 21:16) has that as ainos — “praise.”

Without getting into how on earth the LXX translators got from strength to praise, two things are certainly true:

1) The immediate context underscores strength: “to silence/destroy the enemy and the avenger.” The Hebrew reading is natural and expected.

2) The LXX rendering is legitimate, or Jesus would not have appealed to it in the manner he did.

Somewhat ironically, it is the variation which has “praise” which also has “to destroy the enemy and the avenger,” whereas it is the variation that has strength which has “to silence the enemy and the avenger.” I.e. it could be argued that the LXX variation of the following clause actually fits with the Hebrew of the first clause better, and vice versa.

In any case, Psalm 8 presents, not young men of strength, but infants, as the paragon of Yahweh’s strength over against the enemy. In the Greek variation, in particular, this strength is tied to praise. In both variations, however, this link is contextually appropriate, given that the preceding verse is itself effusive praise (“O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens”).

The question is, how does the statement make sense? Primarily, it makes sense when we understand it as a riff on Genesis 3. Yahweh places enmity between the woman and the serpent, and her seed and his. Since the only way the serpent gets seed is by stealing it from the woman, infant praise is intrinsically a display of Yahweh’s victory over the enemy.

Put simply, infant praise is Yahweh’s show of strength.

False Humility Regarding the Lord’ Supper

December 28, 2022

Between Two Insurrectionists: Riots in the Capital

April 15, 2022

No, not that capital, silly. We’re talking about real insurrectionists here. It is Good Friday, after all.

So first things first.

Insurrectionists, Not Thieves

Jesus did not die between two thieves.

“What??” you exclaim. “My Bible tells me he did just that, in both Matthew and Mark” (Matthew 27:38, 44; Mark 15:27).

The Greek word used, however, is lestai (singular lestes). While this term apparently can refer to violent bandits (and thus “robbers”), it is not a term associated with what we generally think when we hear the word thief (pickpockets, burglars, larcenists etc). Such thieves would almost certainly never have been crucified.

read more »

Matthew 18 and Church Discipline

August 30, 2016

Matthew 18 is a series of portraits of grace: the grace to those who humble themselves as children, the parable of the lost sheep, and the parable of the unforgiving servant, with its attendant call to forgive our brothers 70×7 times. It also includes a warning against putting a stumbling block in front of other people (which is not at all the same as the modern notions regarding “being offensive”; rather, it is about not being the occasion of tempting others to sin).

In the midst of this is a short passage that, if considered carefully, provides discomfort for various Christians. I am referring in particular to vv 15–20, which in some Bibles comes under the heading “If Your Brother Sins Against You.”

The little passage is uncomfortable for those who pretend the Church has no authority, who think “Judge not, lest you be judged” means accepting everyone no matter what they do. In these verses, Jesus gives the Church the authority of binding and loosing, so that the impenitent are set outside the Church, with the promise that such activity will be ratified in heaven. All of that implies, of course, that the Church is supposed to exercise discipline. It implies that there is such a thing as sin, and more importantly, that recalcitrance (an insistence upon maintaining wrongdoing; a refusal to be corrected) is grounds for expulsion.

But the details of the passage also prove problematic for those who like to think of these verses as outlining “the steps of discipline,” which in fact is simply not true. read more »

Why the Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah Matters

March 27, 2016

In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul identifies the resurrection as one of the cornerstone truths of the Christian faith. Along with the Messiah’s death “for our sins,” he identifies the resurrection with “the gospel” (1 Cor 15:1–4). He even goes so far as to say that if the Messiah has not risen, we believers are of all men most pitiable (v 19); indeed, we are still in our sins (17) and our faith is vain (14).

But why? Isn’t the resurrection just a proof of the deity of Christ? Is it really necessary for us?

Much in every way.

We see why this is so when we understand Romans 4:25, which says (literally) that Jesus our Lord was “delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised because of our justification.”

We like to talk about Jesus’ death as representative—carried out on our behalf. But that representative death by itself is an enactment of condemnation. (This is why the concept of substitution, while valuable, cannot carry within itself the whole significance of Christ’s work.)

It is Jesus’ resurrection that constitutes His vindication in the face of the condemnation against Him and us. In other words, His justification, which is why in 1 Timothy 3:16 Paul writes that God was “manifest in the flesh, justified by (Greek en) the Spirit, seen of angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

This is why if Jesus died but did not rise, we are still in our sins. If the representative Man was not justified, neither are the represented men. If the representative death did not issue in representative resurrection, then death and only death is rightly ours.

The resurrection is not simply a sign of the glory of Christ. It is that, of course—it is in response to it that James blurts out, “My Lord and my God!”

But it is more than that.

It is our hope.

Jesus the Water-and-Spirit Man

June 3, 2015

John’s Gospel is loaded with references to water.

The purification jars of water in Cana get transformed into wine jugs. Jesus tells Nicodemus that Israel must be reborn of water and Spirit, and then goes beyond the Jordan, where His disciples start baptizing more disciples than John. Meanwhile, John’s disciples are in a dispute with the Pharisees over purification—whose point of reference would be the baptisms of the Mosaic law.

Subsequently, Jesus goes “out of His way” (i.e. takes the direct route that self-respecting Jews wouldn’t take) to ask a Samaritan woman for some water, and then promises her “living water” (an allusion to the law’s requirement for living water). Then He goes back to Jerusalem and meets a man who has no one to throw him into the healing waters of Bethesda. Jesus heals him, and in so doing instructs him to break the rules against carrying burdens on the Sabbath.read more »

Nicodemus the Man

June 3, 2015

Good interpreters remind us that the chapter divisions in Scripture are not inspired. They certainly are useful—it’s much easier to find things! But when interpreting the Bible, we shouldn’t make the mistake of stopping or starting at a chapter break without thinking about the connections.

John 2–3 is a case in point.

In John 2, Jesus performs the water-into-wine miracle in Cana, and then goes to Jerusalem and cleanses the temple. These are both “signs” (albeit, of different sorts to our eyes, as the former is what we typify as “miracle,” while the latter is not), and many people believe on Jesus as a result of His signs (2:23).read more »

John 20:19–23: The True Adam Releases New Adams

April 22, 2014

As a lot of folks have recognized, there are Edenic themes in the resurrection scenes of the Gospel. This should not be surprising; Jesus’ resurrection is the commencement of a new creation, and the resurrection in particular therefore marks out Jesus as the new and true Adam. He is taken to be “the gardener,” which is both a mistake by Mary—and at the same time, precisely the truth.

But the Genesis-new creation theme does not end in the garden where Jesus is entombed. The new creation is not so readily restricted.read more »

Galatians 5 and the Farewell Discourse

June 16, 2013

There are a remarkable number of echoes between Galatians (and in particular, chapter 5) and Jesus’ Farewell Discourse in the Gospel of John. The chapter, and more broadly, the letter, is almost like an exposition of aspects of the Discourse.

For example:

1. The first part of John 15 is about bearing fruit by remaining in the vine, Jesus, and much of the surrounding material is about how Jesus will send the Spirit in His own place and as the one who communicates the things of Christ to His disciples. Meanwhile, the virtue list of Galatians 5 is about bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
2. John 15:6 warns that those who do not remain in the vine will be cast forth as branches; Galatians 5:4 warns that those who become circumcised have become severed from Christ.
3. John 15:12–17 highlights the commandment of love of the disciples for one another; Gal 5:13–14 highlights serving one another through love.
4. John 14:27 speaks of Christ’s peace which stands in contrast to that of the kosmos. Jesus says He leaves this peace with them, just after saying that He will send the Spirit to them (14:26). Then John 15:9–11 deal with love and joy. Meanwhile, Gal 5:22 lists love, joy, and peace as the first three aspects of the fruit of the Spirit.
5. In addition, the peace Jesus gives is in connection with a repeated encouragement that the disciples not be troubled in heart (μὴ ταρασσέσθω ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία; 14:1, 27); the opponents in Galatia are styled as “troublers” (Gal 1:7; 5:10, 12; cf 6:17, although 5:12 uses a different Greek term).
6. There is a repeated metaphor of following/way/going in both passages (Jn 13:36–37; 14:4–6; Gal 5:7, 16, 18, 25).
7. John 16:11 says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged; the broader context in Galatians says that the world itself has been crucified (Gal 6:14).
8. Jesus speaks of the travail of birthpangs in John 16:21; Paul says he is having that travail for the Galatians in Gal 4:19.
9. There is a fairly strong theme of persecution in the Farewell Discourse (e.g. Jn 15:18ff) as well as in Galatians (1:13, 23; 4:29; 5:11; 6:12).
10. In Jn 14:19, Jesus says, “Because I live, you shall live also,” adding that whoever keeps His commandments and loves Jesus will be loved by Jesus and the Father; in Gal 2:20, Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
11. It is in the Farewell Discourse that Jesus elevates the disciples’ status from slaves to friends (Jn 15:15), a major theme in Galatians in the transition from rule by the paidagogos and the elements of the world to inheritance as mature sons (see esp Gal 3:23–4:10).

Given all these echoes, I also wonder a bit of Peter’s departure from table fellowship with Gentiles (Gal 2:11ff) makes Paul think of John 13:18, where Jesus cites the passage, “He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me.” Certainly, it would fit with what follows almost immediately: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who received whoever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (Jn 13:20). Interestingly, provision for the poor comes up in both close contexts too (Jn 15:29–30; Gal 2:10), although in John, it’s incidental, based on a false supposition.

There may be further connections, but my familiarity with the Farewell Discourse is considerably inferior to my familiarity with Galatians. Given that some of these themes are central to the gospel narrative, overlap shouldn’t be surprising. But the sheer number of resonances suggest there’s a bit more involved.

Which does raise interesting questions regarding the assumptions of scholars regarding the lateness of John’s Gospel, as well as how well-acquainted Paul really was with the words and deeds of Jesus.