In honor of today’s feast the chair of St. Peter I awoke moved by the Holy Spirit to write about this topic. This feast commemorates Christ’s choosing Peter to sit in his place as the servant-authority of the whole Church. In this post I will be using typology and covenantal theology in order to prove papacy. I will be journeying through the scriptures to prove the papacy. But first I musta dress in a quick point the counter arguments
The anti-Catholic will quote Eph. 2:20 and 1 Pet. 2:4-8 these verses do not disprove anything about Peter being the foundation of the church. Christ is the principle and Peter is the secondary as are his successors that will remain on earth as the foundation that can be scene. Peter can be a foundation because Christ is a cornerstone.
The New Testament has five different places where it states the foundation for the church and of the church.
1. Eph. 2:20
“ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.“
No one cannot take one singular metaphor from a single passage and use it to twist the plain meaning of other passages. One must respect and harmonize both senses of the word of foundation.
Let us commence though.
“The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” -St. Augustine
We can see something called prefigurement, how things take shape and form before they are fully revealed and give us hints to whats coming. The Apostles used the Old Testament to prove their point about Christ and used imagery and verses from the Old Testament to teach about Christ.
Here are verses prefiguring the papacy in the old testament
- (Isaiah 22.19-23)
““I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post. On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his ancestral house.”
The fulfillment:
Matthew 16:18-20
“18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
A things to look at is
- The Rock
Let me first start by pointing out what a few highly respected protestant scholars have stated:
A: Baptist scholar D. A. Carson, warites, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary:
[T]he underlying Aramaic is in this case unquestionable; and most probably kepha was used in both clauses (“you are kepha” and “on this kepha”), since the word was used both for a name and for a “rock.” The Peshitta (written in Syriac, a language cognate with a dialect of Aramaic) makes no distinction between the words in the two clauses.
B: Gerhard Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament about Matthew 16:18, Dr. Oscar Cullman, a contributing editor to this work, writes:
The obvious pun which has made its way into the Greek text . . . suggests a material identity between petra and Petros . . . as it is impossible to differentiate strictly between the two words. . . . Petros himself is this petra, not just his faith or his confession. . . . The idea of the Reformers that he is referring to the faith of Peter is quite inconceivable. . . . For there is no reference here to the faith of Peter. Rather, the parallelism of “thou art Rock” and “on this rock I will build” shows that the second rock can only be the same as the first. It is thus evident that Jesus is referring to Peter, to whom he has given the name Rock. . . . To this extent Roman Catholic exegesis is right and all Protestant attempts to evade this interpretation are to be rejected.
From the very beginning Christ had a special mission for Simon. At the very beginning of his ministry he immediately gave Simon the name change to Peter, which means rock. (John 1:42). We can see preeminence of that in the Old Testament when Abraham was called a rock in Isaiah 51:1-2
“Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
you that seek the Lord.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.”
You can see that Abraham was the rock (Tsur; Aramaic: Kepha). Only God was called “rock”. The name was never used as a popper name. Given a new name meant that the status of he person changed and the job they had to do was very important.
For example:
- Abram’s name was changed to Abraham (Gen.17:5),
- Jacob’s to Israel (Gen. 32:28)
- Eliakim’s to Joakim (2 Kgs. 23:34),
- the names of the four Hebrew youths—Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan. 1:6-7).
No Jew was ever called “rock”. There were examples where names were taken from nature to describe the person or to give them new names for instance Deborah (“bee,” Gen. 35:8), and Rachel (“ewe,” Gen. 29:16), Rock was never used but other names were attributed from nature such ad the sons of thunder referring to St. John and James, this was regularly used in place of their other names. In Simon though Peter definitely replaced the old when he went from Simon Bar-Jonah to his new name Kephas (Greek:Petros).
Anti-Catholics often use greek as a means of rebuttal by saying that Peter is the small stone in greek while Petra is the literal meaning of rock. If this is so why would Christ give a feminine name to a man? That is like giving a son the name of Josephine or Josephina when his real name is Joseph and it is supposed to be that. Why isn’t he named Petra is the greek is correct and that interpetation is correct?
Hold up! Christ did not speak in Greek. He spoke an ancient language called Aramaic, the language of Palestine at that time. The name for rock was kepha which Jesus called Peter in every day speech. One instance would be John 1:42
” 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).”
Later he stated in Matthew 16:!6
” You are Kepha and upon this Kepha I will build my church.”
Note that Christ did not speak to the disciples in Greek. He spoke Aramaic, the common language of Palestine at that time. In that language the word for rock is kepha, which is what Jesus called him in everyday speech (note that in John 1:42 he was told, “You will be called Cephas“). What Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 was: “You are Kepha, and upon this kepha I will build my Church.”
2. the keys
The keys represent the power or the authority Peter had. Peter had the keys of the kingdom. He was given all authority. It is if someone said to you “I’m leaving but here are my keys please take care of my house.”
Although Luther is not an authority let us look at what a deformer or more commonly and falsely known as a reformer has said:
“So we stand here and with open mouth stare heavenward and invent still other keys. Yet Christ says very clearly in Matthew 16:19 that He will give the keys to Peter. He does not say He has two kinds of keys, but He gives to Peter the keys He Himself has, and no others. It is as if He were saying: why are you staring heavenward in search of the keys? Do you not understand I gave them to Peter? They are indeed the keys of Heaven, but they are not found in Heaven. I left them on earth. Don’t look for them in Heaven or anywhere else except in Peter’s mouth where I have placed them. Peter’s mouth is My mouth, and his tongue is My key case. His office is My office, his binding and loosing are My binding and loosing.” [Martin Luther, The Keys, in Conrad Bergendoff, ed. trans. Earl Beyer and Conrad Bergendoff, Luthers Works, vol 40, Philadelphia: Fortress, 1958, pp. 365-366]
2. Deuteronomy 17:8-12
“ If a judicial decision is too difficult for you to make between one kind of bloodshed and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another—any such matters of dispute in your towns—then you shall immediately go up to the place that the Lord your God will choose, 9 where you shall consult with the levitical priests and the judge who is in office in those days; they shall announce to you the decision in the case. 10 Carry out exactly the decision that they announce to you from the place that the Lord will choose, diligently observing everything they instruct you. 11 You must carry out fully the law that they interpret for you or the ruling that they announce to you; do not turn aside from the decision that they announce to you, either to the right or to the left. 12 As for anyone who presumes to disobey the priest appointed to minister there to the Lord your God, or the judge, that person shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.”
The fulfillment:
Matthew 18:15-18
““If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
3. Exodus 28
Exodus 28 speaks of the priestly vestments and speaks about a hiegherarch of priests but mentions one high priest who has all of the power which is Aron. This shows the cabinet and the prime ministerial role of the high priest later to be fulfilled I an everlasting covenant in Christ’s church. The high priest has the Urm and the Thurman in which he judges matters. In Exodus 28 you have supreme power and ordinances over him and the generations to come.
The royal steward is mentioned in Isaish 22 which is a prophetic book is mentioned in many other places of the Bible. (e.g. 1 Kings 4:1-6; 18:3; 2 Kings 15:5; 18:18, 37; 19:2), about this unique office. Something to be noted would be the key that the prime minister would have to open doors, close doors, he wore special robes of honor and special priestly vestments (Lev 8:7). His office was not done at death but was to be filled by a successor.
We also see still in the old covenant that there is a seat of Moses being spoken of. Remember the old covenant does not end when Jesus comes onto the scene or when the New Testament begins at chapter one of Matthew, but rather it is the beginning of the end. The old covenant is ratified after the resurrection. We see that Jesus says this:
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3 therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.”
Matthew 23:1-3
We see Christ is speaking about a seat in this section of scripture. We see that Christ, who is God recognizes even recognizes that the pharisees have the power and the high priest has supreme power. We see that although he speaks of the corruption he brushes that aside and urges them to be obedient but not to carry out their commands the same way but come to it with a different spirit. The as signifies that they shouldn’t do exactly as. Jesus tells his followers to listen to the high priests and the law.
We also see in the New Testament before Jesus’ death and resurrection the power of the high priest as a prefigurement to the pope as does the old covenant conceal the new and vise versa.
47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,
John 11:47-51
The same high priest Caiaphas still has the authority. We see an authoritative priesthood, a collection of priests that share in that and that are an extension of his ministerial arm, and finally a singular authority in the high priest. In the New Testament we see Jesus establishing a college of bishops in Matthew 18:15-18 establishing that authority which he gave them to bind and to loose. We see that just as in the Old Testament he chooses one among them to rule or to preside over the college of bishops the 12 apostles.
Let us look at Luke 22 we see 2 things:
- The college of bishops:
“28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
2. The primacy:
“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Some translations of this passage have Jesus speaking to the apostles and then specifically mentioning Peter during or afterwards after asking who’s going to be the greatest and Jesus says who ever serves the most. (interesting fact the pope is called the servants of the servants of God). Jesus literally says that Satan wants to destroy all of the 12 apostles (Humas plural in greek) and then singles Peter out and says “Behold I have prayed for you.” ( Su, singular in greek). giving him the primacy.
Now let us look at the beginning of the new covenant after Jesus’ passion death and resurrection and let us go to the last chapter of John’s gospel to the 15th to 19th verse:
“15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
here we can note a few things:
- Peter is specifically singled out
This is self explanatory.
- the call to feed his sheep
As mentioned before the many titles for the pope is the Servant of the Servants of God. Knowing this being a Shepard is serving the servants of God, even being supreme Shepard on earth. Who is part of Jesus’ flock? the apostles. Jesus singled Peter out and gave him authority and rule over the flock as mentioned briefly above. Having authority does not mean lording over but to give life. St. Peter does give life. As Revelation states that the devil is defeated by the blood of the lamb and testimony, so to is the devil here defeated and his long downfall is being destroyed. We see that a man who messed up is being instated as head over all. This proves that the weak shame the strong and that where sin abounds grace abounds even more so. His testimony does give life and definitely does edify.
- the belt or the garment ware
This illusion a lot of scholars point out that Jesus was harkening back to the Old Testament section of scripture in Exodus 28 with the belt.
Some further analysis of Peter’s primacy in scripture is:
- Peter announces that Judas’ office must be filled (Acts 1),
- Peter preaches the first sermon (Acts 2),
- Peter performs the first miracle (Acts 3),
- Peter speaks in Solomon’s portico,
- Peter speaks before the Council (Acts 4),
- and it is Peter who Paul must see when he visits Jerusalem (Gal. 1:18).
- Peter decides to confirm the first Samaritans (Acts 8)
- and to baptize the first Gentiles (Acts 10).
- He alone could have stood up and announced the final decision of the first council (Acts 15).
- There are little hints of it everywhere. For example, St. Paul writes that Christ was raised on the third day “and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the twelve…” (1 Cor. 15:3-5).
Let us look at what the fathers in faith have said:
Clement of Alexandria
“[T]he blessed Peter, the chosen, the preeminent, the first among the disciples, for whom alone with himself the Savior paid the tribute [Matt. 17:27], quickly g.asped and understood their meaning. And what does he say? ‘Behold, we have left all and have followed you’ [Matt. 19:27; Mark 10:28]” (Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 21:3–5 [A.D. 200]).
Tertullian
“For though you think that heaven is still shut up, remember that the Lord left the keys of it to Peter here, and through him to the Church, which keys everyone will carry with him if he has been questioned and made a confession [of faith]” (Antidote Against the Scorpion 10 [A.D. 211]).
“[T]he Lord said to Peter, ‘On this rock I will build my Church, I have given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [and] whatever you shall have bound or loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven’ [Matt. 16:18–19]. . . . Upon you, he says, I will build my Church; and I will give to you the keys, not to the Church” (Modesty 21:9–10 [A.D. 220]).
The Letter of Clement to James
“Be it known to you, my lord, that Simon [Peter], who, for the sake of the true faith, and the most sure foundation of his doctrine, was set apart to be the foundation of the Church, and for this end was by Jesus himself, with his truthful mouth, named Peter, the first fruits of our Lord, the first of the apostles; to whom first the Father revealed the Son; whom the Christ, with good reason, blessed; the called, and elect” (Letter of Clement to James 2 [A.D. 221]).
Origen
“[I]f we were to attend carefully to the Gospels, we should also find, in relation to those things which seem to be common to Peter . . . a great difference and a preeminence in the things [Jesus] said to Peter, compared with the second class [of apostles]. For it is no small difference that Peter received the keys not of one heaven but of more, and in order that whatsoever things he binds on earth may be bound not in one heaven but in them all, as compared with the many who bind on earth and loose on earth, so that these things are bound and loosed not in [all] the heavens, as in the case of Peter, but in one only; for they do not reach so high a stage with power as Peter to bind and loose in all the heavens” (Commentary on Matthew 13:31 [A.D. 248]).
Cyprian of Carthage
“The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ . . . On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?” (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]).
Cyril of Jerusalem
“The Lord is loving toward men, swift to pardon but slow to punish. Let no man despair of his own salvation. Peter, the first and foremost of the apostles, denied the Lord three times before a little servant girl, but he repented and wept bitterly” (Catechetical Lectures 2:19 [A.D. 350]).
“[Simon Magus] so deceived the city of Rome that Claudius erected a statue of him. . . . While the error was extending itself, Peter and Paul arrived, a noble pair and the rulers of the Church, and they set the error aright. . . . [T]hey launched the weapon of their like-mindedness in prayer against the Magus, and struck him down to earth. It was marvelous enough, and yet no marvel at all, for Peter was there—he that carries about the keys of heaven [Matt. 16:19]” (ibid., 6:14).
“In the power of the same Holy Spirit, Peter, both the chief of the apostles and the keeper of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, in the name of Christ healed Aeneas the paralytic at Lydda, which is now called Diospolis [Acts 9:32–34]” (ibid., 17:27).
Ephraim the Syrian
“[Jesus said:] Simon, my follower, I have made you the foundation of the holy Church. I betimes called you Peter, because you will support all its buildings. You are the inspector of those who will build on Earth a Church for me. If they should wish to build what is false, you, the foundation, will condemn them. You are the head of the fountain from which my teaching flows; you are the chief of my disciples. Through you I will give drink to all peoples. Yours is that life-giving sweetness which I dispense. I have chosen you to be, as it were, the firstborn in my institution so that, as the heir, you may be executor of my treasures. I have given you the keys of my kingdom. Behold, I have given you authority over all my treasures” (Homilies 4:1 [A.D. 351]).
Ambrose of Milan
“[Christ] made answer: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church. . . .’ Could he not, then, strengthen the faith of the man to whom, acting on his own authority, he gave the kingdom, whom he called the rock, thereby declaring him to be the foundation of the Church [Matt. 16:18]?” (The Faith 4:5 [A.D. 379]).
Pope Damasus I
“Likewise it is decreed . . . that it ought to be announced that . . . the holy Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by the conciliar decisions of other churches, but has received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord and Savior, who says: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven . . . ’ [Matt. 16:18–19]. The first see, therefore, is that of Peter the apostle, that of the Roman Church, which has neither stain nor blemish nor anything like it” (Decree of Damasus 3 [A.D. 382]).
Jerome
“‘But,’ you [Jovinian] will say, ‘it was on Peter that the Church was founded’ [Matt. 16:18]. Well . . . one among the twelve is chosen to be their head in order to remove any occasion for division” (Against Jovinian 1:26 [A.D. 393]).
“Simon Peter, the son of John, from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, brother of Andrew the apostle, and himself chief of the apostles, after having been bishop of the church of Antioch and having preached to the Dispersion . . . pushed on to Rome in the second year of Claudius to overthrow Simon Magus, and held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty-five years until the last, that is the fourteenth, year of Nero. At his hands he received the crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord” (Lives of Illustrious Men 1 [A.D. 396]).
Pope Innocent I
“In seeking the things of God . . . you have acknowledged that judgment is to be referred to us [the pope], and have shown that you know that is owed to the Apostolic See [Rome], if all of us placed in this position are to desire to follow the apostle himself [Peter] from whom the episcopate itself and the total authority of this name have emerged” (Letters 29:1 [A.D. 408]).
Augustine
“Among these [apostles] Peter alone almost everywhere deserved to represent the whole Church. Because of that representation of the Church, which only he bore, he deserved to hear ‘I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven’” (Sermons 295:2 [A.D. 411]).
“Some things are said which seem to relate especially to the apostle Peter, and yet are not clear in their meaning unless referred to the Church, which he is acknowledged to have represented in a figure on account of the primacy which he bore among the disciples. Such is ‘I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,’ and other similar passages. In the same way, Judas represents those Jews who were Christ’s enemies” (Commentary on Psalm 108 1 [A.D. 415]).
“Who is ignorant that the first of the apostles is the most blessed Peter?” (Commentary on John 56:1 [A.D. 416]).
Council of Ephesus
“Philip, presbyter and legate of [Pope Celestine I] said: ‘We offer our thanks to the holy and venerable synod, that when the writings of our holy and blessed pope had been read to you . . . you joined yourselves to the holy head also by your holy acclamations. For your blessednesses is not ignorant that the head of the whole faith, the head of the apostles, is blessed Peter the apostle’” (Acts of the Council, session 2 [A.D. 431]).
“Philip, the presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See [Rome] said: ‘There is no doubt, and in fact it has been known in all ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, prince and head of the apostles, pillar of the faith, and foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race, and that to him was given the power of loosing and binding sins: who down even to today and forever both lives and judges in his successors’” (ibid., session 3).
Pope Leo I
“Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . has placed the principal charge on the blessed Peter, chief of all the apostles, and from him as from the head wishes his gifts to flow to all the body, so that anyone who dares to secede from Peter’s solid rock may understand that he has no part or lot in the divine mystery. He wished him who had been received into partnership in his undivided unity to be named what he himself was, when he said: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church’ [Matt. 16:18], that the building of the eternal temple might rest on Peter’s solid rock, strengthening his Church so surely that neither could human rashness assail it nor the gates of hell prevail against it” (Letters 10:1 [A.D. 445).
“Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . established the worship belonging to the divine [Christian] religion. . . . But the Lord desired that the sacrament of this gift should pertain to all the apostles in such a way that it might be found principally in the most blessed Peter, the highest of all the apostles. And he wanted his gifts to flow into the entire body from Peter himself, as if from the head, in such a way that anyone who had dared to separate himself from the solidarity of Peter would realize that he was himself no longer a sharer in the divine mystery” (ibid., 10:2–3).
“Although bishops have a common dignity, they are not all of the same rank. Even among the most blessed apostles, though they were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction of power. All were equal in being chosen, but it was given to one to be preeminent over the others. . . . [So today through the bishops] the care of the universal Church would converge in the one See of Peter, and nothing should ever be at odds with this head” (ibid., 14:11).
Defending Rome 