“On This Rock
I Will Build My Church”
Now when Jesus came into the district
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son
of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you
say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I
tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom
of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he sternly ordered the
disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Peter had moments of courage followed
by spiritual failure. Don’t we all? But it was in Peter that Jesus gave the
task of creating the church. Peter was a rock at some point and a small stone
at other points. He was fragile when he tried to convince Jesus not to go to
the cross, and when he denied Him three times after His arrest.
Peter reminds us that no amount of
personal strength or talent can make us adequate for this life and its
challenges. Only as we rest in the strength of Christ will we find His
provision. When we acknowledge our frailty and dependence on Him, Christ’s
strength can empower us for the troubles life throws our way.
Like Peter, we are all “fragile
stones.” How grateful we can be for His strength that is made perfect in our
weakness.
can we be strong in
the Lord.
Our Daily
Bread –