The figure of a rock-foundation, used to describe Peter's future function in the Church, suggests naturally a single rock underlying a whole struc-
♦ Bar-Jona, or 'son of Jonas," probably means 'son of John" (cf. Jn l-i- 211SI0. In Hebrew the words njv and JJIJV differ, but the Greek rendering of |;nv ia sometimes I of n:v (cf. 1 Ch 263, i Es 923, 2 K 2.-.-''). Z.ili
difference between Mt. and Jn. tu ;i 1 -i'
transLator of Mt. of the two Hehri w Wellhausen gives his verdict brit'tl> : 1 i 1
Abkiirzung von Johanan, und .Mt ..,; 1 ,
Hel)riierevangelium, ein spiites Maijiv. - li., 1 - I auch gegen das vierte Evangelium ' (/>((.s Kraii>i
the same as that n .ittrihutes the
„. 1,, ilK- Greek '., |.. 637).
_.L,a-n das 1 h iiMi, sondern ,. .l/„(/. p. 83 f.).
C^SAEEA PHILIPPI
C^SAREA PHILIPPI
249
ture, and not one stone among a number built together into a foundation (cf. Mt 7-'"'-)- Neither the figure nor the function thus assigned to Peter exchides the work of tlie otiier Ajiostles (Eph 2="), much less the w.nk cf .Ti.sns(l Ci, S""), which is clearly indicalnl in luMioo/i./ru. 'I'hi' li^ure describes simply wliat IVtci, l^y nusuii of his strong, ener- getic character, an<l in view uf Jesus' intention, is to be for the Church which Jesus will build. The idea of building a community or Church was familiar from the OT (cf. Ps 28^, Jer 18" 31^ 33"), and recurs in the NT (cf. Mt 21« Ac 4", 1 P 2«-, Ko 15=", 1 Co 3"-, 2 Ti 2""'-, He S'"-). By the use of the future tense and the choice of the word meaning to build rather than to rebuild {dvoiKooo/i^u, cf. Ac 15"^), Jesus not only points to the future for the origin of His Church, but declares that it will be His own creation. It was expected that the Messiah would have a people and would rule over them in an organized community. The idea of such a community cannot have been strange to the disciples who had just confessed their faith in Him. It would have been strange liad Jesus made no reference to His Church. By speaking of it He made plain to them that the idea was included in His purpose, and thus formed an element in His Messianic consciousness. The future founding of the Church is set by Hira in evident contrast to present conditions, but the fact that this is included in Jesus' present purpose and thus made part of His Messianic work brings it into vital and organic relation with the present. His work had, indeed, not yet taken on its Church-form, but this was not due to the fact that the idea of such a Messianic community was foreign to His jjurpose. He thus encourages His disciples in the midst of popular disaffection and unbelief, l)y giving them assurance vith regard to His in- tention.
The disciples had confessed their faith in Him, and He now tells them that however little promise present conditions may give of such a future. He will found His Church. And He will do this in the face of conditions which may seem to them to make such a future impossible. Instead of im- proving, the conditions will become worse. With His conception of the spiritual nature of His work and the consequent character of His Church, Jesus saw the necessity of His completed work and final exaltation in order to the full realization of His Messianic functions in such a Messianic com- munity, and hence speaks of its building as a future event (Ac 2^°, Ro 1^). It is not strange, therefore, that He speaks but seldom of His Church, and dwells on the ideas of the Kingdom, faith and discipleship, in which its spiritual char- acter and principles are set forth.
The word i«2XrW«, regularly used in the LXX to translate 'Oi3 ft'«*<«0. occurs frequently in the writings of St. Paul, but only here and in Mt 1818 in the words of Jesus. Its authenticity has been questioned (cf. Holtzmann, lldcom. ; but, on the other hand, Kostlin in PKE^x. 31S), but its use has an adequate basis in the teaching of Jesus, and is naturally motived here not simply by the confession of Peter, but also by Jesus' thought of the future, controlled as it is by the revelation of His Passion which He is about to make to His disciples.
So permanent and strong will be the structure built by Jesus on Peter, the rock-foundation, that the gates of Hades — a figurative expression used to suggest the idea of the very greatest strength, smce they withstand all effort to force them open (Is 38'", Wis 16'^ 3 Mac 5=')-shall not surpass Ua.TiaxOaov(Tiv) it in strength.* Changing the figure
• Others understand xana-ziirmri, in the sense thnt tlip ntfnrlc jjomg forth from the gates of Hades shall not .,».,....„,. ,i,,. Church(Zahn),oragain that the gates of Hades sli, II i> i i .
strong enough to withstand the attack m.ide on il: i, i,
Church, Hades in the former interpretation heiim i.r,| ,,,
the kingdom of evil, in the latter as the kingdom ot diatli (Meyer).
and having the superstructure in mind, Jesus declares that He will give to Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. What he binds upon earth shall be bound in Heaven ; what he looses upon earth sliall lii> loosed in Heaven. The phrase 'Kinmlipiii of Heaven' frequently takes the place in Mt. of tli(j corresjjonding phrase 'Kingdom of t!od ' in ]\lk. and Lk. Here it is to be understood not of the Kingdom which is in Heaven, but of that Kingdom which has its origin and centre in the Heavenly sphere, whence it receives its character as the rule of God and its determinative principles as moral and spiritual. This is the Kingdom which Jesus preached, whose coming He declared to be at liand, whose character and principles He ex- pounded, and whose blessings He mediated. But while having its centre in Heaven, this Kingdom was to be realized upon earth, and, in its future manifestation at least, is associated closely with the Church. The authority which Peter is to exercise has reference to the Church, but the re- ciprocal relation between the Kingdom and its Heavenly centre is to continue in its future mani- festation as Jesus had known it in His own experi- ence and had declared it in His teaching. What Peter does as His representative in the Church which Jesus will build shall be ratified in Heaven. The keys of the Kingdom of Heaven symbolize administrative authority (cf. Is 22--, Kev 3"'-), and the phrase ' bind and loose ' is another figurative expression in which the idea of regulating seems to be fundamental : in Aramaic the words 'asar and shcj-a mean to allow and to disallow (cf. also ftlt 18'", Jn 2U'-'^). Both figures seem to have re- ference to the internal ali'airs of the Church, and are therefore not to be understood as descriptive of Peter's proclamation of the gospel, as if by means of it those who accepted the gospel message were to be received into the Church (keys) and loosed from their sins, and those who rejected it were to be excluded and so bound in their sins. The description of Peter's work in the proclama- tion of the gospel is given in the figure which represents him as the foundation-rock of the Church. The power of the keys and that of bind- ing and loosing, ho%vever, are not only closely associated together, l.mt tliey are separated from the figure of tlie rork, and together describe Peter's function in the Cliunh and his ijelation to its internal manageme'nt as tliat of an okov6/xos. See also art. Keys below, and ' Power of the Keys ' in Hastings' DB, vol. iv.