The Confession of Peter and the Papacy

Someone recently wrote to me claiming that Peter is not the "rock" in Matthew 16:18, and I decided to argue in favor of the Papacy based on that assumption.

Matthew 16:15-19
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. 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."

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Peter's confession (Matt. 16:16) is the rock in Matthew 16:18.

So, what's so special about Peter's statement that, because of it, Jesus bestows so much honor and authority upon him? What is special about it is the fact that the truth about Christ was revealed to Peter by the "Father who is in heaven". It is for this reason that Jesus calls him blessed. God chose Peter from among the Apostles to be the one to whom the truth would be revealed. Peter had a certain role God wanted him to fulfill in the Church, and so God would give him the supernatural help he needed to fulfill it.

A house built on sand is not solid, but one built on rock is. Christ would build His Church on rock. Now, in the Bible, whenever someone is given a new name, it represents something significant about that person. Here Simon receives a new name: Peter. This new name clearly associates Peter with the solid rock upon which the Church is built. Through God's miraculous help, Peter would become a source of support and strength to the rest of the Church. On another occasion, Jesus told Peter, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:31-32) So here again, we see that Peter is expected to support the faith of the other Christians through the help of God. It is because of this help from God, through which he supports and strengthens the Church, that Jesus associates Peter with the solid Rock upon which the Church is built.

Now, as a result of the office Peter is to hold, Jesus would give him the authority to act on His behalf:

Matthew 16:19
"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."

The keys of the kingdom of heaven belong to Jesus, but He will give them to Peter so that he can use them after Jesus is gone. Similarly, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but before He ascended into heaven, He placed His flock into the care of Peter:

John 21:15-17
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." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." 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." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved 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."

So we see that Jesus believed His sheep needed to be taken care of by Peter, since He wouldn't be around to take care of them Himself. But what about today? Are the Christians of today any better than the Christians of Apostolic times? Are we stronger in the faith than they were? No, we too need to have our faith supported. This is why Peter's office has been passed down to his successors, the Popes. The Popes are given help by God to teach Christians the truth, which preserves those Christians who listen to the Popes from falling away from the true faith.