Head of the same Church, and the perpetual keeper of the said faith, and al other points thereon depending.
14. But they said.) When Christ asked the Peoples opinion of him, the Apostles al indifferently made answer: but when he demanded what themselves thought of him, then loe Peter the mouth and head of the whole felowship answered for al. Chrysostom. homil. 55. in Mat.
17. Blessed art thou.) Though some other (as Nathanael Jo. 1, 49.) seemed to have before beleeved and professed the same thing, for which Peter is here counted blessed, yet it may be plainly gathered by this place, & so Hilar. can. 6. in Mat. & li. 6. de Trinit.
Chrys. ho. 55. in Mat.S. Hilarie and others thinke, that none before this did further utter of him, then that he was the Sonne of God by adoption as other Saints be, though more excellent then other be. For it was of congruitie and Christes special appointment, that he upon whom he intended to found his new Church, & whose faith he would make infallible, should have the preeminence of this first profession of Christes natural divinitie, or, that he was by nature the very Sonne of God; a thing so farre above the capacitie of nature, reason, flesh, and bloud, and so repugnant to Peters sense and sight of Christes humanitie, flesh, and infirmities, that for the beleefe and publike profession thereof he is counted blessed, as Abraham was for his faith; and hath great promises for himself and his posteritie, as the said Patriarch had for him and his seed. According as S. Basil saith: Basil. li. 2. adv. Eunom.Because he excelled in faith, he receaved the building of the Church committed to him.
18. And I say to thee.) Our Lord recompenseth Peter for his confession, giving him a great reward, in that upon him be builded his Church. Theophilactus. upon this place.
18. Thou art Peter.) Christ (in the first of John v. 42) foretold and appointed that this man then named Simon, should afterward be called Cephas, or Petrus, that is to say, a Rock; not then uttering the cause, but now expressing the same, videlicet Cyr. l. 8. c. 12. Com. in Jo.(as S. Cyril writeth) For that upon him is upon a firme rocke his Church should be builded. Whereunto Hilar. in huc locum.S. Hilarie agreeing saith: O happie foundation of the Church in the imposing of thy new name. &c. And yet Christ here doth not so much call him by the name Peter or Rocke, as he doth affirme him to be a rock; signifying by that Metaphore, both that he was designed for the foundation and groundwork of his house, which is the Church, & also that he should be of invincible force, firmitie, durablenes, and stabilitie, to sustaine al the windes, waves, and stormes that might fall or beate against the same. And the Adversaries objecting against this, that Christ only is the Rock or fundation, wrangle against the very expresse Scriptures, & Christes owne wordes, giving both the name & the thing to this Apostle. And the simple may learne by S. Basils wordes, how the case standeth. Basil li. de panit.
(2) Mt. 5, 14.
(3) Luc. 22, 19.Though (saith he) Peter be a rock, yet he is not a rock as Christ is. For Christ is the true unmoveable rock of himself. Peter is unmoveable by Christ the rock. For Jesus doth communicate and impart his dignities, not voyding himself of them, but holding them to himself, bestoweth them also upon others. He is the light, and yet, (2) You are the light: he is the Priest, and yet he (3) maketh Priests; he is the rock, and he made a rock.
Thou art Cephas, and upon this Cephas.18. And upon this rock.) Upon that which he said Peter was, wil he build his Church; and therfore by most evident sequele he foundeth his Church upon Peter. And the Adversaries wrangling against this, doe against their owne conscience & knowledge; specially seeing they know and confesse that in Christes wordes speaking in the Syriake tongue, there was no difference at al between Petrus and Petra; yea and that the Greeke wordes also though differing in termination, yet signifie one thing, πετρος
πετρα, rock.to wit, a rock, or stone, as themselves also translate it. Jo. 1, 42. So that they which professe to folow the Hebrew, or Syriake, & the Greeke, & to translate immediatly out of them into Latin or English, should if they had dealt sincerely, have thus turned Christes wordes: Thou art a rock, & upon this rock: or, Thou art Peter, and upon this Peter wil I build my Church. For so Christ spake by their owne confession without any difference. Which doth expresly stoppe them of al their vaine evasions, that Petrus, the former word is referred to the Apostles: and Petra the later word, either to Christ only, or to Peters faith only; neither the said original tongues bearing it, nor the sequele of the wordes, upon this, suffering any relation in the world but to that which was spoken of in the same sentence next before; neither the wordes folowing which are directly addressed to Peters Person, nor Christes intention by any meanes admitting it, which was not to make himself or to promisse himself to be the head or foundation of the Church. For his Father gave him that dignitie, & he took not that honour to him-
