"Was Peter The First Pope" ?
“Was Peter the First Pope?”
Our religious convictions are the things we hold most dear to our heart, and people are where they are because of what they have been taught or not been taught. The news has been abuzz with the “play by play” action of the papal conclave’s selection a new Pope. Since this subject is on the minds of people, now is a good time to examine whether the church’s claim that the Apostle Peter was the first Pope will hold up to biblical muster.
In Matt. 16:18-19, Jesus said to Peter, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Peter is the rock (the foundation) upon which the church is built. They claim this text is the authority for Simon Peter being the first Pope. The church teaches that papal succession is passed on from Peter, down through history, to the newly selected Pope Francis I. The new Pope is number 265 since Peter and number 266 if you count Peter.
An examination of the original language (Greek) of the New Testament is in order here. Jesus said, “I say that you are Peter (Greek Petros) and upon this rock (Greek Petra) I will build my church.” The word Petros, translated “Peter” in English, means “small stone.” The word Petra translated “rock” means “bedrock.” What did Jesus mean when he called Simon Petros and said He would build His church upon the petra? He was saying the church would be built upon the foundation that He (Jesus) is the Christ as Peter correctly confessed (Matt. 16:16), and Peter would be the gatekeeper of the church. His sermon in Acts 2 let the Jews into the church for salvation (3,000—Acts 2:41). His sermon in Acts 10 let the Gentiles into the church (the family of Cornelius). This is the meaning of Jesus’s statement to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom.”
The foundation of the church is Jesus not Peter—Matthew 16 clearly teaches that. Peter’s identification that Jesus is the Christ is the foundation of the church. Paul said, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11). See also Eph. 2:19-20.
The Roman Catholic Church claims that the Pope is infallible. However, if Peter was infallible, Paul surely didn’t think so. He called Peter a hypocrite and rebuked him for his inconsistent behavior (Gal. 2:11-14). If Peter was the foundation of the church, surely he would have stated as much in the two New Testament letters that bear his name. Instead, he said, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone…the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone” (1 Pet. 2:5-7). Who did Peter say was the cornerstone of the church? Himself? No. Jesus? Yes. All authority on earth belongs to Jesus (Matt. 28:18).
In conclusion, if the papacy is of divine guidance, why does it take more than one vote to select a Pope? Jesus is the head of the church—let all others bow down to Him and Him alone!