The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 133

makes him a shepherd." To the same of God ; ' I so.y to thee, • Thou art Peter,' purport might be quoted Hilary, Ambrose, a rock-man, ' and on thee,' 11s a rock, ' I Jerome, Gregory Nyss., Cyril, and others. will build my Church.'" As he was tho It is remorko.ble that in the Colleot from the first to acknowledge Chriat's nature and Gregorio.n Bacramentary and in the Romo.n office, so he was rewarded by being ap- Missal on the Vigil of Bt:Petor and St. Punl pointed os the apostle who should in- are found the words, "Grant that thou augurate the Christian Church and lay its wouldst not suffer us, whom thou hast first founrlo.tion. His name and his work established on the rock of the apostolic were to C()incide. Thia promise was fulfilled confession ( quo, in apoetoliCIB confessionia in Peter's acts. He it was who took tf.e petra solidasti) to be sho.ken by any com- lead on the Day of Pentecost, when at his motions." Bishop . Wordsworth, as mnny preaching, to the hundred and twenty dis- exegetes virtually do, combines the t;wo ciples there were added three thousand interpretations, and we cite bis exposition souls (Acts ii. 41); be it was who admitted as a specimen of the view thus held : " What the Gentiles to the Christian communitv he eays is this, 'I myself, now confessed by (Acts x.); he it was who in those Pa.rly thee to be both God and Man, am the Rock days stood forth prominently o.s a rnaster- of the Church.· 'rhis is the foundation on builder, and was the first to open tlie king- which it is built.' And because St. Peter dom of heaven to Jews and Gentiles. It is had confessed him as such, he says to St. objected that, if Peter was a builder, ha Peter, • Thou .hast confessed me, and I will could not be the rock on which the building now confess tllee ; thou hast owned me, I was raised. The expression, of course, is will now own thee. Thou art Peter,' i.e. metaphorical. Christ builds the Church by thou art a lively stone, hewn out of and employing Peter as the foundation of the built upon me, tile living Roel,. Thou art spiritual house; Peter's zeal and activity a genuine Petros of me, the Divine Petra. and a table faith are indeed the living And whosoever would be a lively stone, a rock which forms the materio.l element, so Peter, mast imitate thee in this thy true to speak, of this erection; he, as labouring confession of me, the living Rook; for upon in the holy cause beyond all others, at any this Rock, that is, on myself, believed and rate in the eo.rly days of the gospel, is confessed to be both God and Man, I will rego.rd~d as that solid basis on which the build my Church." As the opinion that Church was raised. Christ, in one sense, Christ means himself by " tllis rock " is builds on Peter; Peter builds on Christ. untenable, so we consider that Peter's con- The Church, in so fa.r o..s it was visible, had fession is equally debarred from being the Peter for its rocky foundation; in so far 11s foundation intended. Who does not see it was spiritaal, it was founded on Christ. that the Church is to be built, not on canfes- The distinction thus accorded in tile future eions or dogmas, but on men-men inspired to Peter wo.s personal, and carried with it by God to teach the great truth? A con- none of the consequences . which human fession implies a confessor; it was the person ambition or mistaken pursuit of unity have who made the confession that is meant, not elicited therefrom. There was no promise the mere statementitself,however momentous of present supremaoy ; there was no promise and true. Thus elsewhere the Church is of the privilege being handed down to suc- said to have been built upon the foundation cessors. Tile other o.postles had no concep- of the apostles and prophets (Eph. ii. 20), tion of o.ny superioriLy being now conferred " Ye," says St. Peter (1 Pet. ii. 5), "as living on Peter. It was not long &fter this that stones are built up a spirituo.l house." there was a strife o.ruong them who shonld "James and Cephas who were reputed to be the greatest; Jo.me:i and John cluimed be pillars" (Gal. ii. 9). Iu Revelation the highest places in the heavenly king- (xxi. 14) the foundation-stones of the dom ; l'aul resillted Peter to the face " be- heavenly temple are" the twelve 11poatlea of en.use he stood condemned" (Gal. ii. 11); the Lamb." Hence we gather that the rock the president of the first council was James, is a person. (3) Sowe come to the explana- the Bisl,op of Jerns,ilem. It is plain that tion of the difficulty which naturally is neither Peter hilllself nor his fellow-apostles deduced from the language if considered understood or acknowledged his snprernacy; without regard to prejndioe or the pernicious and that he transmitted, or wo.s intended to use to which it has been put. Looking at the transmit, such authority to suecessore, is e. matter in a straightforward wo.y, we come figment unknown to primitive Christio.nity, to the conclusion that Obrist is wishing to and which was gm.dually croctcd, to serve reward Peter for his outspoken profession ambitious designs, on forged decretals and of faith ; and his commendation ia couohed spurious writin~s. This is not the plo.ce in a form which was usual in Oriental ad- for polemics, and those few apologetio hints dresses, and intelligible to his hearers. are introduced merely with the view of "Thou hast said to me, 'Thou o.rt the Son showing tbot no one need be o.fraid of tha 136 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [oH, xvi. 1-29.