And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The name-and-mission declaration: Peter (Petros, rock) is the rock (petra) on which the church will be built. The wordplay communicates the connection between Peter's confessing identity and his foundational role. The church (ekklesia, the first use of the word in the Gospels) is the assembly of those who share Peter's confession. The gates of hell (the gates of Hades, the powers of death and the underworld) will not prevail against the church built on the confession of Jesus as Christ and Son of God.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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