Was Peter the First Pope?

With the election of a new Pope, many have tried to explain the origin of the papacy by quoting Matthew 16. They often quote verse 18 where Jesus said, “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 “Peter” is the Greek word “Petros” (Πετρος), which basically means “rock” or “stone”. He changed the normal feminine noun to the masculine form since Peter was a man.

It’s important to consider the whole context of this statement. It started when Jesus asked his disciples a question in verse 13. He said, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Their response was, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus then asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered in verse 16 saying to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus commended him for his answer and explained that God himself had made him see this basic truth. Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

It was then that Jesus added that comment about the rock on which the church was to be built. The “rock” was not Peter, but the answer Peter had just given. The foundation of the church is not the Apostle himself, but the truth God had revealed to him about who Jesus really was. Simon Bar Jonah (which means “Simon Son of Jonah) would be called “Peter” (the rock) because he gave the correct answer to who Jesus was in verse 13. That truth is the firm foundation upon which the church would be built.

In verse 19 Jesus then said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Entry to God’s Kingdom is given to those resting upon the truth about Jesus. That truth is the solid foundation, the rock upon which the Gospel is based. The keys belong to those who accept Jesus for who he really is, the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God.

In Matthew18 Jesus was addressing a whole group of his disciples. He said to them in verse 18, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The keys of the kingdom in 16:19 were not just given to Peter as a head of the church, but to all who are the disciples of Christ. This is the Gospel we are commissioned to deliver to the world. Peter was the “rock” because he had correctly stated who Jesus really was, the promised Savior going all the way back to the promise relating to Eve in Genesis 3:15 There God said to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Jesus in his work on the cross crushed the head of Satan and only his heel was bruised because he lived on as seen in his resurrection on the following Roman Sunday.

Peter was not elevated to be the first “Pope”. He was honored for his summary of the Christian Gospel message. There was no Pope over the church in that early time. The local churches were led by Elders ordained first by the Apostles, then by other Elders in the years later. This is clearly explained in the Book of Acts, and in the New Testament Epistles.

We in the church built upon the rock of that truth are to bring this message to the world Those who recognize Jesus for what he is and accomplished will dwell together in Heaven eternally. It is our duty to deliver this gate opening message to those God brings across our path each day.