Mt 16:16,18 (paraphrased): though we are but pebbles, Jesus will build us up into His church to be one solid rock as part of His body which is untouchable by the unholy gates of hell. =) It is such a vivid picture to see that as we are part of Christ, the vine, which gives us life, we are also part of Christ, the rock, which gives us protection. It is also cool to see that He will build His church, not the other way around.

By reflection and expansion, Mt 16:17 warns us not to look only at our circumstances too closely as though Jesus was just a prophet like John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah. With natural eyes the natural is elevated, but with spiritual eyes given to us by God, we are able to see and hold onto the things that are not yet visible in our circumstance (i.e. faith).

I "know" that Jesus is alive but if every part of my understanding really knew all of the implications of that fact ... WOW!

Matthew 16:13-16, Matthew 16:17 and Matthew 16:18-19