Quick Thought: The Symbolism of the Angel Sitting on the Rock in Matthew 28

The turning point of Matthew’s gospel is chapter 16, where Jesus asks his disciples, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ Peter says that he is ‘the Christ, Son of the living God’. Jesus tells Peter that if he has seen that, and if the disciples have also seen that, then on this rock he will build his church. The importance of Christ being the rock had already been established when Jesus named Simon, “Peter” which means Rock. Simon had originally started to follow Jesus because he could see that Jesus was the Rock. Jesus capitalised on that by calling him Peter.

What’s more, we’ve also had the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 to 7), and the Sermon on the Mount finishes with Jesus urging his disciples to build their lives on the Rock and not on sand—Jesus. So it’s a fitting thing to have the angel sit on the rock.