“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.”—Matthew 16:18

The word Peter signifies a stone—a rolling stone. Peter was not the rock upon which the church was founded. The gates of hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. The church was built upon One against whom the gates of hell could not prevail.

Centuries before the Saviour’s advent Moses had pointed to the Rock of Israel’s salvation. The psalmist had sung of “the Rock of my strength.” Isaiah had written, “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation” (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 62:7; Isaiah 28:16). Peter himself, writing by inspiration, applies this prophecy to Jesus. He says, “If ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:3-5, R. V.).

“Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). “Upon this rock,” said Jesus, “I will build My church.” In the presence of God, and all the heavenly intelligences, in the presence of the unseen army of hell, Christ founded His church upon the living Rock. That Rock is Himself—His own body, for us broken and bruised. Against the church built upon this foundation, the gates of hell shall not prevail.

How feeble the church appeared when Christ spoke these words! There was only a handful of believers, against whom all the power of demons and evil human beings would be directed; yet the followers of Christ were not to fear. Built upon the Rock of their strength, they could not be overthrown.

For six thousand years, faith has builded upon Christ. For six thousand years the floods and tempests of satanic wrath have beaten upon the Rock of our salvation; but it stands unmoved.

Peter had expressed the truth which is the foundation of the church’s faith, and Jesus now honored him as the representative of the whole body of believers.—The Desire of Ages, 413.

Further Reflection: What part do I play in helping Christ to sustain and protect His Church?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.—Luke 4:15

“Never man spake like this Man” (John 7:46). This would have been true of Christ had He taught only in the realm of the physical and the intellectual, or in matters of theory and speculation solely. He might have unlocked mysteries that have required centuries of toil and study to penetrate. He might have made suggestions in scientific lines that, till the close of time, would have afforded food for thought and stimulus for invention. But He did not do this. He said nothing to gratify curiosity or to stimulate selfish ambition. He did not deal in abstract theories, but in that which is essential to the development of character; that which will enlarge humanity’s capacity for knowing God, and increase their power to do good. He spoke of those truths that relate to the conduct of life and that unite humanity with eternity.

Instead of directing the people to study human theories about God, His Word, or His works, He taught them to behold Him, as manifested in His works, in His Word, and by His providences. He brought their minds in contact with the mind of the Infinite….

Never before spoke one who had such power to awaken thought, to kindle aspiration, to arouse every capability of body, mind, and soul.

Christ’s teaching, like His sympathies, embraced the world. Never can there be a circumstance of life, a crisis in human experience, which has not been anticipated in His teaching, and for which its principles have not a lesson. The Prince of teachers, His words will be found a guide to His co-workers till the end of time.

To Him the present and the future, the near and the far, were one. He had in view the needs of all humanity. Before His mind’s eye was outspread every scene of human effort and achievement, of temptation and conflict, of perplexity and peril. All hearts, all homes, all pleasures and joys and aspirations, were known to Him.

He spoke not only for, but to, all humanity. To the little child, in the gladness of life’s morning; to the eager, restless heart of youth; to men and women in the strength of their years …; to the aged in their weakness and weariness.—Education, 81, 82.

Further Reflection: Jesus is an amazing Teacher. What kind of student would He say I am?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.—John 1:17

Christ here gives all His people an example of the manner of His working for the salvation of men and women. The Son of God identified Himself with the office and authority of His organized church. His blessings were to come through the agencies He has ordained, thus connecting humanity with the channel through which His blessings come.

Paul’s being strictly conscientious in his work of persecuting the saints does not make him guiltless when the knowledge of his cruel work is impressed upon him by the Spirit of God. He is to become a learner of the disciples. He learns that Jesus, whom in his blindness he considered an imposter, is indeed the Author and foundation of all the religion of God’s chosen people from Adam’s day, and the Finisher of the faith now so clear to his enlightened vision.

He saw Christ as the Vindicator of the truth, the fulfiller of all prophecies. Christ had been regarded as making of none effect the law of God, but when his spiritual vision was touched by the finger of God, he learned of the disciples that Christ was the originator and foundation of the entire Jewish system of sacrifices, that in the death of Christ type met antitype, [and] that Christ came into the world for the express purpose of vindicating His Father’s law. In the light of the law, he saw himself a sinner. That very law which he thought he had been keeping so zealously, he finds he has transgressed. In the light of the law he finds himself a sinner, and he dies to sin and becomes obedient to the claims of God’s law. He repents of his sins and has faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour, is baptized, and preaches Jesus as earnestly and as zealously as he once condemned Him.

In the conversion of Paul are given us important principles which we should ever bear in mind. The Redeemer of the world does not sanction the experience and exercise in religious matters independent of His organized and acknowledged church, where He has a church.—Letter 54, 1874.

Further Reflection: Have I ever caught a vision of Jesus, and if so, what difference has it made in the way I practice my faith?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.—1 John 1:9

God does not give us up because of our sins. We may make mistakes and grieve His Spirit, but when we repent and come to Him with contrite hearts, He will not turn us away. There are hindrances to be removed. Wrong feelings have been cherished, and there have been pride, self-sufficiency, impatience, and murmurings. All these separate us from God. Sins must be confessed; there must be a deeper work of grace in the heart. Those who feel weak and discouraged may become strong men and women of God and do noble work for the Master. But they must work from a high standpoint; they must be influenced by no selfish motives.

We must learn in the school of Christ. Nothing but His righteousness can entitle us to one of the blessings of the covenant of grace. We have long desired and tried to obtain these blessings, but have not received them because we have cherished the idea that we could do something to make ourselves worthy of them. We have not looked away from ourselves, believing that Jesus is a living Saviour. We must not think that our own grace and merits will save us; the grace of Christ is our only hope of salvation. Through His prophet the Lord promises, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). We must believe the naked promise, and not accept feeling for faith. When we trust God fully, when we rely upon the merits of Jesus as a sin-pardoning Saviour, we shall receive all the help that we can desire.

We look to self, as though we had power to save ourselves; but Jesus died for us because we are helpless to do this. In Him is our hope, our justification, our righteousness. We should not despond and fear that we have no Saviour or that He has no thoughts of mercy toward us. At this very time He is carrying on His work in our behalf, inviting us to come to Him in our helplessness and be saved. We dishonor Him by our unbelief.—Selected Messages 1:350, 351.

Further Reflection: What is the role of feelings in my spiritual experience? How do I make faith rather than feelings the source of my actions?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”—Matthew 26:38

As Christ felt His unity with the Father broken up, He feared that in His human nature He would be unable to endure the coming conflict with the powers of darkness. In the wilderness of temptation the destiny of the human race had been at stake. Christ was then conqueror. Now the tempter had come for the last fearful struggle. For this he had been preparing during the three years of Christ’s ministry. Everything was at stake with him. If he failed here, his hope of mastery was lost; the kingdoms of the world would finally become Christ’s; he himself would be overthrown and cast out. But if Christ could be overcome, the earth would become Satan’s kingdom, and the human race would be forever in his power. With the issues of the conflict before Him, Christ’s soul was filled with dread of separation from God. Satan told Him that if He became the surety for a sinful world, the separation would be eternal. He would be identified with Satan’s kingdom, and would nevermore be one with God.

And what was to be gained by this sacrifice? How hopeless appeared the guilt and ingratitude of human beings! In its hardest features Satan pressed the situation upon the Redeemer: The people who claim to be above all others in temporal and spiritual advantages have rejected You. They are seeking to destroy You, the foundation, the center and seal of the promises made to them as a peculiar people. One of Your own disciples, who has listened to Your instruction, and has been among the foremost in church activities, will betray You. One of Your most zealous followers will deny You. All will forsake You. Christ’s whole being abhorred the thought. That those whom He had undertaken to save, those whom He loved so much, should unite in the plots of Satan, this pierced His soul. The conflict was terrible. Its measure was the guilt of His nation, of His accusers and betrayer, the guilt of a world lying in wickedness. The sins of humans weighed heavily upon Christ, and the sense of God’s wrath against sin was crushing out His life.

Behold Him contemplating the price to be paid for the human soul. In His agony He clings to the cold ground, as if to prevent Himself from being drawn farther from God.—The Desire of Ages, 686, 687.

Further Reflection: Have do I handle the weight that results from the guilt of my sins?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names