Was Peter the First Pope?

Below is the script I wrote for a Catholic apologetics video geared toward lay people. The video is also linked below with all of the sources I used for this script in it's description.

Why do Catholics say that Peter was the first Pope? One of our main starting points is the gospel of St. Matthew. In chapter 16 we find Jesus with his disciples in Caesarea Philippi. He asks 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 gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” ~ Matthew 16: 16-18

In this passage we find the basis and beginning for why we say Peter was put in charge of the Church that Christ founded. We also find scriptural basis for the fact the Christ founded a Church period, a fact which passes many people by. Jesus renames his disciple “Peter” which means rock. This is the only person to be named Peter in the whole of scripture and some scholars that Christ essentially invented this as a man’s name.

You might hear some quibble over the translation of this text, citing the difference between masculine and feminine forms of “rock” in Greek, and how this somehow means that Christ was not actually building His church upon Peter, but did you know that Jesus did not speak Greek? He spoke Aramaic, and in this language, there is no gender distinction for this word. The word is simply “Kipha”. So Jesus said, “You are Kipha, and on this Kipha I will build my church.” Jesus definitely proclaimed that he would build his Church on Peter, and that this Church would not be defeated by the forces of hell. But that’s not all, he continues in verse 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.”

Wow, so not only did Jesus promise to build his Church on Peter but also gave him the keys to Christ’s own divine kingdom? Some mere fallen human given the authority from God himself to bind and loose both the earthly and heavenly? Whoever heard of such a thing?

Well, Jesus was actually relying upon a theme well known by the Jews knowledgeable of their scriptures. The Israelite Davidic kingdom often made use of a Steward. Someone who could carry out the royal duties in the king’s absence, a caretaker of the throne. We see this concept in the Lord of the Rings with Denethor as the steward of the throne of Gondor. He essentially acted as King while Aragorn’s line was away, and he had to abdicate that authority once the King returned (though Denethor wasn’t exactly a model steward).

In Isaiah 22, God actually talks about setting up a steward in Israel and uses very similar language to that which Jesus used for Peter. Speaking about this steward of David’s throne, God says,

“...and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” Isaiah 22: 21-22

If we understand that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Davidic throne, that he is the eternal King, then we can see here a precedence for having a steward for this throne in the King’s absence. Certainly, Jesus knew that he would be ascending after the resurrection and would not be earthly occupying his throne until His second coming. So in Matthew 16, he’s personally choosing a Steward for his throne to look after and lead His kingdom until He returns.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church sums it up nicely in paragraph 553:

Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: "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."287 The "power of the keys" designates authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: "Feed my sheep."288 The power to "bind and loose" connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgements, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles289 and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of the kingdom. ~ 553

Later on in His ministry, Christ makes it even clearer that Peter is to be His steward. In the gospel of St. John chapter 21, Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection. He pulls Peter aside and says this,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ~ John 21:15

This is very significant because, throughout the Old Testament, God himself is understood to be the good shepherd. Here, we see that Christ is further solidifying and entrusting the duty and care of His pastoral ministry to Peter. He continues:

“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.” ~ 21:16-17

Feed, tend, and feed. Three times Jesus Said this, to really drive to point home to an exasperated Peter. Jesus knew he would be leaving soon and wanted to make sure his newly founded Church had a leader while he was gone.

This authority stayed with Peter until his death when it passed to his successor via apostolic succession. It has been passed on this way for two thousand years all the way to our current Pope, the leader of the Christian Church, the kingdom of God on earth, with the power to bind and loose. Check out the link below to my video about apostolic succession for you to review.

Now, there are many more reasons and proofs to support the idea that Peter was given authority over Christ’s church, but this is one of the most basic and foundational ones. I will link resources below that further explore Peter’s authority and the reasons for it, and I highly encourage you to check those out.

Thank you so much for watching, please like and share this video with all your friends and enemies, and I’ll see you next time. Sam Bolton - April, 2016

The Video