Monday, March 19, 2012

Matthew 16:18b

The gates of hell will not prevail.  The gates of hell will not prevail.  The gates of hell will not prevail.

Jesus, help me to remember this promise today.  

5 comments:

Kathy said...

Hello! I'm an LCA Lutheran become Catholic. Matthew 16:18 is one of my favorite verses. Did you know Luther didn't like it? What do you think? I think we are seeing it fulfilled in our time.

Elizabeth of Hungary said...

Hey Kathy,

I'm absolutely certain Luther didn't like it, since it's kind of the "institution of Petrine primacy" verse. I haven't figured out yet quite what I think about the first half of the verse (I'm not convinced that Luther OR Rome is interpreting it 100% correctly), but Lord help me, I need that second half. All the time.

Kathy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kathy said...

Let me try to be a little more clear.... "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." Matthew 16:18. This is perfectly clear, plain language from Jesus himself. Jesus is saying, obviously, that he will build his Church on Peter, "Rock" -- NOT on Peter's confession. Luther could not accept this central verse because it did not fit his agenda. The Reformation turned on this.

Today we see the churches NOT built on Peter collapsing. To me, this is a fulfillment of Jesus' words. The house build on ROCK will stand. The house built on sand will fall.

Unknown said...

Sorry, but I have to disagree... "petros" and "petra" are two different greek words being used here. This is just an example of word-play. The church indeed is based upon the confession about Christ.

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