Upon this rock ...
I don't need to comment on this post. I just need to share it. Upon this rock... which one? Matthew 16:18 is a problem for Lutherans and Roman Catholics. Rome points to Peter and the Petrine office of the papacy. Jesus is pointing to a man, rather a succession of men, whose primacy is, in their view, undisputed. Lutherans insist that Peter may have been the voice but it is the confession that is the rock. This faith is the rock upon which the Church is built -- not a man but the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. Lutherans insist that this is affirmed in Jesus' own admonition that Peter did not confess this on his own but as the Father revealed it to Him. Now surely this is a rather simplistic way of putting it and there are nuances on both sides that I have overlooked to put this into a brief paragraph. But allow me this for the moment.