An Anchor for the Soul

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Matthew 16:18

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

NKJV

In 2008, my family and I had the opportunity to visit Israel.  One of the sights we visited was the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi.  In this city is a temple built to the Greek god Pan.  Pan is the half-man, half-goat god of fright or panic.  This city also contains one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River.  These springs emerge from a large cave, which became a place of pagan worship.  (1)

This cave was also known as the Gates of Hell a place where those worshiping the god Pan believed dead spirits would go to and from Hades.  (2)  Jesus made the statement in Matthew 16:18 near Caesarea Philippi.  When Jesus mentioned Gates of Hell, we can therefore surmise that he might have pointed to this pagan shrine.  This prophetic statement came to fruition when Rome became a Christian nation and abandoned its pagan worship.  (3) 

Matthew 16:18 also mentions that the church would be built upon this rock.  Theologians disagree on what Jesus meant by this rock.  Some believe Jesus is referring to Peter whose name means rock and is using this play on words to proclaim that Peter would be the rock upon which He would build the church.  There is scriptural credence to this because Peter did deliver the first evangelical message on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).  However, it is also grammatically correct from the original Greek to interpret the rock to refer to Peter’s profession of faith from Matthew 16:16.  (4) 

Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was the way, truth, and life.  John 1:1 also tells us that Jesus is the Word and the Word, Jesus, was God.  The Church of Jesus Christ is bigger than any one man so I therefore lean towards the later interpretation of the meaning of the word rock in Matthew 16:18 for it is the profession of faith in Jesus Christ that brings about eternal life for us all (John 3:16).  The rock is Jesus Christ and our faith in Him.

In most Christian churches today we will see a cross.  The cross has become a symbol of the Christian faith for it is Jesus death on the cross, followed by his resurrection, which brought about salvation for us all.  However, the cross was not such a prominent positive symbol in the early church.  (5)  When we put the early church in the context of the times they were living in it is easy to understand why they would not have adopted the cross as a symbol.  After all, if you had just seen a member of your family or church crucified on a Roman Cross, seeing a cross in church next Sunday would not have garnered positive thoughts.  I personally have no problem with the cross being a symbol for the church today but I believe an anchor also provides a great picture for us as believers today. 

When we look at the turmoil in our world today, people are seeking something stable upon which to anchor their lives.  In 2008 many in the United States voted for Barak Obama believing their lives would improve as they anchored their lives to hope and change as promised by candidate Barak Obama.  Many now, however, are hoping the change ends soon as they find themselves out of work or working part-time with the price of everything, especially health care and food skyrocketing. 

Some in states like Washington and Colorado put their hope in legalized marijuana.  I have never been a user of marijuana but I suspect that those that use it do so as a means of escape from their problems.  They want the drug made legal so as not to compound their problems with fear of an arrest for possession of an illegal substance. 

Still others put their hope in their 401K’s and appreciating home values only to see those erode with the crash of 2008.  However, the stock market and thus 401K values have been surging as of late and home values are beginning to rebound but, as we learned in 2008, the bottom can fall out of the market quickly. 

I encourage everyone reading this to anchor his or her future in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Malachi 3:6 says “For I am the LORD, I do not change.  (NKJV).  An anchor is useless unless it has a firm immovable rock upon which to attach.  The only firm rock for these turbulent times is the rock upon which Jesus built His Church upon, the rock of Peter’s profession of who Jesus is in Mathew 16:16. 

I encourage my readers who have not already done so in their lives to pray and enter into a stable firm relationship with the rock, Jesus Christ by asking Jesus to forgive them of their sins and make him Lord of their life.  I then encourage you to go to http://dalewsr34.wix.com/needanswers to find out what to do next. 

Congratulations, you now have a firm rock upon which to anchor your life in these turbulent times.  May God bless you.

1. BiblePlaces.com. Caesarea Philippi. www.bibleplaces.com. [Online] BiblePlaces.com. [Cited: March 15, 2015.] http://www.bibleplaces.com/banias.htm.

2. The Thorncrown Chapel. The Gates of Hell. www.thorncrownjournal.com. [Online] The Thorncrown Chapel. [Cited: March 15, 2015.] http://www.thorncrownjournal.com/dougreed/gatesofhell.html.

3. JewishHistory.org. The Roman Empire Adopts Christianity. www.jewishhistory.org. [Online] JewishHistory.org. [Cited: March 15, 2015.] http://www.jewishhistory.org/the-roman-empire-adopts-christianity/.

4. GotQuestions.org. What is the rock in Matthew 16:18? www.gotquestions.org. [Online] GotQuestions.org. [Cited: March 15, 2015.] http://www.gotquestions.org/upon-this-rock.html.

5. Wilson, Dr. Ralph F. Anchor as an Early Christian Symbol. www.jesuswalk.com. [Online] JesusWalk bible Study Series. [Cited: March 15, 2015.] http://www.jesuswalk.com/christian-symbols/anchor.htm.