Recently I did a breakdown of the point where Christ is referring to the fact that the Revelation of Him as the Rock of our Salvation, the Chief Cornerstone which the builders rejected- is what He is basing the church on. While I mentioned the play on words in the greek "kai" meaning "But" rather than and in this expression, one objection is that this doesn't work in the Aramaic .The argument is this: In that region they spoke Aramaic, and in Aramaic it doesn't translate into greek as this:
"you are a pebble/ petra [But] on THIS Rock I will build my church"
They say that it has to be that the inference is that the "rock must be peter" based on the Aramaic in which it reads
"You are called rock, and on this rock I will build my church"
I can understand the confusion. It's not unreasonable to think "They're Jews, Jews speak Aramaic. Therefore, They Spoke Aramaic." To use an example, If you were to go into a kitchen of a family owned Mexican restaurant in the southern part of California, everyone in that place would likely be speaking spanish- even though the dominant language in America is English. While "Peter" in this analogy might be expected to speak "English" because the Nation speaks "English", him speaking the cultural "Spanish" would not be unreasonable at all. So Peter speaking Greek because the culture is very Greek would not be unreasonable despite the national language being Aramaic. This analogy would work for a lot of construction workers too. Lets look at some facts that substantiate this idea rather than the notion that they innate speaking Aramaic.
- The Hellenistic Jews were all over the place after the conquest of Judea in 332 BC by Alexander the great, and they exposed the area to Greek cultural fusion for centuries. Jewish and Hellenic cultures merge into Hellenized Jewish culture in their practices and the use of the Greek in Jewish communities
- We would have to insist that Christ and Peter weren't speaking Greek to each other at the time and it was later retroactively recorded into Aramaic.
- The Septuagint is the scriptures written in Greek for those in the Diaspora that didn't speak or read Hebrew but were Jewish, like Peter.
Those are pretty significant points and I'll explain the spiritual implications in a moment after I continue to set up context. There are some things that we need to understand regarding Peter in the context of Greek and his use of the language
- Galilee was multilingual: In the first century, Galilee was a culturally mixed region where Aramaic was the primary language of Jews, but Greek was widely spoken, especially in trade and administrative contexts.
- Peter was a fisherman by trade, and fishing was often an export business, likely involving Greek-speaking customers or Roman administrators.
- Peter preached in Greek-speaking areas, including:
- The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2): Jews from all over the Roman world were present. While the Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to speak in various tongues, Peter gives an explanation of the events that have been Greek
- His interactions with Cornelius, a Roman centurion (Acts 10), would almost certainly have involved Greek as the common language
- Peter wrote 1st Peter to Gentile churches Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
- Early Church Fathers—like Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen—accepted Peter as the author of 1 Peter, despite modern critical skepticism
- Proponents of traditional authorship argue that Peter’s decades of missionary work among Greek speakers (e.g., among Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles) would naturally improve his Greek competence
Peter knew Greek as a fisherman that caught and sold fish.
- Archaeological and historical findings show that Galilee had a high proportion of Greek speakers; inscriptions and ossuaries frequently featured both Greek and Hebrew, suggesting a bilingual environment
- Jerome Murphy-O’Connor observes that Galilean fishermen like Peter likely had basic Greek competence, useful for trade with Gentiles and diaspora communities
- Peter was from Bethsaida, a town notably adjacent to a Greek-influenced city, Julias—making exposure to Greek highly likely in his upbringing
The Septuagint (LXX) was created around 250 BC. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible,produced for the Jewish diaspora living in Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) regions, who no longer spoke or read Hebrew fluently. Am I saying that Peter was hellenistic and didn't know Hebrew? Not at all! What I am saying is how much context there is for speaking greek and the magnitude of the effects of the Gentile Greek culture had on the area.
Now, what about the other person in that conversation? What about Christ? Christ examples of speaking Greek ?
Jesus traveled to and healed people in the Decapolis, Tyre and Sidon, and other Hellenized regions documented in Mark 7:24-30.The Decapolis cities were centers of Hellenistic pagan culture: Temples to Greek and Roman gods, Greek-style architecture. We see this exchange with Christ and this woman.
Mark 7:24–30
24 Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.
A Greek-speaking Gentile woman begs Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus replies, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”She replies, “Even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.”
The woman is from Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), where Greek was the dominant language and No interpreter is mentioned. While some argue that Matthew 16 is naturally Aramaic due to location, Greek would be the argument for this location. Plus the back and forth between Jesus and the woman flows naturally in Greek; this would be problematic and difficult in translation. Many argue this interaction was likely in Greek, as it's the only plausible shared language. These regions were predominantly Greek-speaking. Interactions with locals like the Syrophoenician woman would have required some Greek, or an interpreter which isn't mentioned in the Gospels. Matthew 15:21–28 — The Syrophoenician woman speaks with Jesus in what is recorded in Greek; she is a Gentile, and Aramaic would be unlikely. This also shows examples of Christ using this witty wordplay with the dogs and the table, just as He does in Matthew 16 with the Pebble/ Rock pun.
The centurion’s dialogue
Matthew 8:5–13
5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.
I doubt the Centurion was fluent in Aramaic. In Matthew, the centurion speaks directly to Christ. Greek would be the shared language here. Furthermore, Christ is mentioning to the Gentile believer about how he will be welcomed at his table while other "sons of the kingdom" will be broken off. This is a parallel to Isaiah 56, which is also a connection to Peters vision in Acts 10 when Peter was refusing to eat with Gentiles and God had to rebuke Peter by sending him with Gentiles to other Gentiles so that he'd see that Christ cleansed the Gentiles, and gave Gentiles the revelation of Christ and they're allowed to be part of the Church since they have had this revelation.
Lets look at the points regarding Pilot, as they're pertinent in the context of speaking Greek and Latin
- As a Roman official, his native language was Latin, and this was the administrative language of the Roman Empire. Inscriptions from his time, such as the famous Pilate Stone found in Caesarea Maritima, are in Latin.
- Greek – The Lingua Franca of the Eastern Roman Empire
- In the eastern Mediterranean (including Judea), Koine Greek was the common spoken language across cultures and ethnicities—even among Roman officials.
- Greek was used in commerce, governance, and everyday cross-cultural communication.
- Roman governors in the East needed Greek to administer their provinces.
- The Gospels were written in Greek, and Jesus' dialogue with Pilate is recorded in Greek—no translator is mentioned, suggesting Pilate could speak and understand Greek.
Even look at the evidence when Pilot made the sign on the cross he includes greek showcasing the fact that Greek was a prominent language in usage. Pilate made it known to the Greek public along with everyone else, that Christ is the King of the Jews.
John 19:19–20
19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek.
So its reasonable that Christ spoke Greek. Its reasonable that Peter spoke Greek. Its reasonable that the area spoke Greek. Its more reasonable due to linguistics and word play. Lets look at that Spiritual significance I mentioned earlier.
John 1
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). 43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
What do all of these people have in common? Christ is assembling those who will follow Him on the revelation of Him, Christ, being the Messiah. Christ has begun building His church on the revelation of Him as the Rock of our salvation, The stone which the builders rejected. Nathanaels revelation is the same as the one that peter would eventually have- even though Andrew already had it. Christ, at the calling of these men and the revelation of Himself as the foundation which they're to build upon as the Rock. In fact, we can see that in Matthew 7
Matthew 7
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
The revelation of Christ is the Rock, just as He is the gate, just as He casts out those that don't obey Him. Peter tells those Greek churches in 1st peter this same thing, that Christ is the Rock.
1 Peter 2:2-8
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” 8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed
Peter is saying the EXACT point that Christ is making in Matthew 16 regarding the revelation of Christ and obedience to Him as the Rock of our Salvation. That Christ is the Stone, and we as imitators of Christ are in salvation, are to be like the Stone which the builders rejected. That we, when we believe in HIM and obey, we build upon the Rock and will not be disappointed.
Now, lets break down that fishing element.
Mark 1
Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Matthew 4
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Why is it important to note that the Greek speaking fisherman was told by Christ that He would make them "fishers of men"?
Revelation 17:15
15 And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues
Because Christ is making a clever play here with the purpose of sending Peter to the Gentiles. A fisherman who was casting nets into the sea was drafted to be a fisher of men by casting a proverbial net into the nations and multitudes of tongues with the revelation of Christ who is the Rock of our salvation.
Lets put this all together now.
- Peter was a Jew who was a fisherman who knew greek,
- He has an encounter with Christ while Christ sees He is a fisherman and Christ is heralded as the Son of Joseph= Messiah, The Rock of our Salvation and the Stone which the builders rejected.
- Christ who is the Rock of our Salvation, at this time changes the name of this Jewish fisherman who speaks Greek to the word that means "little rock" right after the declaration of Christ as the Rock when Simon/Peter begins following Christ the Stone.
- Christ, takes this Jewish "little rock" and teaches him as Peter struggles to understand things and holds to a bunch of self reliance.
- Christ again asks "who do people say that I am?" and Peter says "you're Christ".
- Christ says right you are simon -the original hebrew name- using the linguistic variant to show he's making a play on words here.
- Making that play on words He says "you are called pebble, but , on this revelation [ That Christ is the Messiah] I will build my church" as a call back to the moment they met and Peter was fishing, and Christ made him a fisher of Men,
- Christ drafted Peter to preach to the gentiles who speak greek in order to teach them how to be followers of the Rock which is Christ.
- Christ is taken before the Greek and Latin speaking Pilot. Christ speaks with this Gentile leader without mention of an interpreter ( and lets be honest here, Christ inventing speaking so I have no doubt that if He wanted to He could speak in any language- but He grew up in the area where Greek was common) and is Crucified and Resurrected.
- Even Peters denial of Christ and the restoration after the Resurrection is a testament of the preaching to the gentiles as All gentiles came from Noah ,spreading out and rejected the ways of God to become separated from God- After the Resurrection, Christ has allowed the restoration back to God to commission them to be imitators of Christ- The Gospel, that by faith and the Revelation that HE is the Messiah you can be saved. Just as was promised to Abraham.
- Peter then goes to gentiles and preaches in greek. He goes to Romans and preaches in greek. He writes an epistle ... in greek.
Read all of Acts 10 in this context that the Revelation of Christ is the Rock on which we build, not Peter. Cornelius the Greek speaking Centurion has the revelation from God. Peter is sent to his HOUSE. Peter's apprehensions are due to Pharisaic rabbinical law that said not to do so, as Peter was refusing to even eat with the gentiles. Peter has this whole vision at the time he would have been refusing to eat with gentiles and would have called them unclean. God tells him to not call unclean the people that He by His word calls clean which is found in John and is saying the EXACT SAME THING ABOUT THE REVELATION OF CHRIST
John 15:1-11
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
Peter who was confused because I think he might have been a little slow to be honest, is standing there and who showed up? 2 servants of the Gentile Centurion requesting that Peter defy the Rabbinical authority's man made rules and come preach the Revelation of Christ to the Gentiles as Christ kept emphasizing. Peter goes because God told him to. Peter shows up and does he say something like "Hey Cornelius and all you Romans, I'm the supreme Pontiff, you must now obey my infallibility!"
No. What does He say?
34 Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. 36 The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)— 37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. 38 You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40 God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
The Peter confession scene at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16; Mark 8; Luke 9) — where the famous Greek wordplay between Πέτρος (Petros) and πέτρα (petra) only functions in Greek. Matthew 16:18 in the greek has this wordplay like the Syrophoenician woman “You are Peter (Πέτρος), and on this rock (πέτρα) I will build my church…”
In Greek, the wordplay between Petros (Πέτρος, a masculine name) and petra (πέτρα, feminine, “rock”) is clear and deliberate. In Aramaic, both would have likely been kepha (כיפא), which doesn’t preserve the pun or contrast.This suggests the Greek version reflects the original wording—or that Jesus made the pun in Greek.
As I mentioned on the greek cultural influence, there are examples of the Greek Kai meaning "but" as linked at the start of this post and listed here.
Examples of "Kai" being used in the ancient Greek:
Clytemnestra
In the night, I say, that has but now given birth to this day here.
Chorus
280 But what messenger could reach here with such speed?
Clytemnestra
Hephaistos, from Ida speeding forth his brilliant blaze.-
Aeschylus, Agamemnon- 5th century B.C.
Contrasting the night giving birth to day with a speedy messenger.
Teucer:
...When he died, he left a conflict over his armor to his allies.
Helen:
But then what trouble is this to Ajax?
In Euripides' Helen (line 102 in Perseus edition), the Greek for Helen's line "What harm if he did?" is: καὶ δὴ τί τοῦτ᾽ Αἴαντι γίγνεται κακόν
Transliteration: kaì dḕ tí toût’ Aíanti gígnetai kakón
It means roughly "And indeed, what harm does this become to Ajax? - Euripides' Helen Perseus edition
Contrasting Trucer's statement over armor to Helen's question about the trouble to Ajax.
Shall I leave the station of the ships and the Atreidaealone, and go homeward across the Aegean sea ? BUT what face shall I show to my father Telamon when I appear before him ? how will he ever endure to look upon me when I appear ungraced—without meed of valour, of which he himself had a great crown of fame ? That cannot be endured -Sophocles, Ajax 462 καὶ ποῖον… “But what…?”
Contrasting the idea of heading home with being looked at ungraciously
“Dikaiopolis: But who has ever seen an ox so vaunting—such a kritanites?”
“But who has ever seen an ox like that—a kritanites—of all the vaunting deeds?”
Here, καὶ initiates a rhetorical question that underscores incredulity—effectively performing a contrastive/adversative function: “But who ever saw...?”
Aristophanes, Acharnians 86 καὶ τίς εἶδε πώποτε βοῦς κριβανίτας
....all of that is to say that the Greek rendering of "you are Peter/pebble BUT on this, I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not overcome it" DOES linguistically and credibly refer to the Gospel and NOT the establishment of Peter as the rock in the place where only Christ should be.
