Peter: The Pebble - Jesus: The Rock Mark 8:27-33

Text: “And Philip said, If thou believest (believes, and continues to believe/trust) with all thine heart, thou mayest (be baptised).  And he (the Ethiopian eunuch) answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Acts 8:37.

“...Upon this Rock I will build My Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”

Matthew 16:18.

Good morning, Christian pebble!  If the visible Church of Christ Jesus be that great ‘Spiritual House’ spoken of by the apostle Peter - then by God’s great grace you and I have the privilege of being built together as lively pebbles by the Master Builder, according to His own Eternal blueprint.  What a privilege!  What an honour!  What a Saviour! 

“And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou (Joseph) shalt call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:21)

How often we hear sincere people in the religious field getting their Spiritual priorities wrong.  They promote Peter to be a ‘rock’ who proclaimed himself to be a mere pebble; “...a lively stone...”; in God’s Spiritual House, the Church. (1 Peter 2:5)

Thus, they encourage us to build our faith on a fallacy; our hopes for Eternity upon Peter, a mere sinner like ourselves.  What a tragedy!  What twisting of a fully recorded apostolic testimony!  (1 Peter 1:18-21) (1 Peter 2:1-9)

The fundamental doctrine of Christ’s Deity is the great Rock upon which the Christian Church must stand.  “All other ground is sinking sand” indeed, as the hymn-writer boldly declares.  (Matthew 7:24-29)

Sinners stand before a Holy God Almighty clothed in Christ’s righteousness - or they do not stand at all.  They perish before God’s wrath like the chaff consigned to the burning fire.  Of ourselves, there is NONE righteous, no not one.  (Matthew 7:15-23) (Romans 3:10)

The word ‘deity’ is dictionary defined as having a Divine nature; Godhood.  Thus, to deify is to exalt a person to the position of God; to regard as God; and this is what Peter had done in our Bible passage for today. (V.29)

By proclaiming the fact that Jesus is indeed “the Christ”; the Messiah; the Anointed of God; God incarnate (i.e., God in bodily form) - Peter, under the guidance of God the Father, was revealing the foundation Rock upon which the Church’s faith is built.  There is no other foundation.  (Matthew 16:15-18)

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11)

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, is therefore revealed to be the Eternal Son of God and God the Eternal Son - the Word made flesh, as our Scriptures confirm.  (John 1:1-5;10-17)

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“Let us observe the good confession of faith which the apostle Peter witnessed. He replied to our Lord’s question, “Whom say ye that I am?” “Thou art the Christ.”

“This was a noble answer, when the circumstances under which it was made are duly considered. It was made when Jesus was poor in condition, without honour, majesty, wealth, or power. It was made when the heads of the Jewish nation, both in church and state, refused to receive Jesus as the Messiah. Yet even then Simon Peter says, “Thou art the Christ.” His strong faith was not stumbled by our Lord’s poverty and low estate. His confidence was not shaken by the opposition of Scribes and Pharisees, and the contempt of rulers and priests. None of these things moved Simon Peter. He believed that He whom he followed, Jesus of Nazareth, was the promised Saviour, the true Prophet greater than Moses, the long-predicted Messiah. He declared it boldly and unhesitatingly, as the creed of himself and his few companions: “Thou art the Christ.”

“There is much that we may profitably learn from Peter’s conduct on this occasion. Erring and unstable as he sometimes was, —the faith he exhibited in the passage now before us is well worthy of imitation. Such bold confessions as his, are the truest evidence of living faith, and are required in every age, if men will prove themselves to be Christ’s disciples. We too must be ready to confess Christ, even as Peter did. We shall never find our Master and His doctrine popular. We must be prepared to confess Him, with few on our side, and many against us. But let us take courage and walk in Peter’s steps, and we shall not fail of receiving Peter’s reward. Jesus takes notice of those who confess Him before men, and will one day confess them as His servants before an assembled world.” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)

Christ’s sinless Deity is thus the Rock of our Salvation, and Salvation can be found in no other, it is exclusively found only in and through Christ Jesus.  Praise God for His revelation to us!  Hallelujah!         (Acts 4:12)

So often in this day of tradition and apostasy we are urged to place God-given faith in beliefs which are not of God.  We are asked to build Eternal hopes upon ephemeral pebbles - pebbles like Peter, and Pastors; and fallible people just like you and me. (Ephesians 2:8-9) (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Let us therefore admire sound Christian people, and Godly Pastors; and other obedient, Peter-like pebbles.  However, let us always seek to trust and to build upon the Rock of Jesus Christ ALONE.  He alone will never let us down. Amen, so be it, Lord Jesus.         (Hebrews 13:8)

Thought:  Stalwart Christian faith is founded on Christ, the only Scriptural Rock.