The Commissioning of the Papal Office was Obtained by Misconstruing Matthew 16
The origin of the Papal Office lies in Matthew, where Jesus christens Simon as Peter. Let’s take a look at the original passage here:
Matthew 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The assertion that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God (which is of course, the integral part of the Gospel) is clearly what Jesus was looking for. This was the first time one of His disciples confessed Him to specifically be the Christ, although Peter did get pretty close in the sermon of Capernaum when he understood the allegorical flesh and blood of Jesus to be the saving words of the Gospel.
17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 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. 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.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Looking at this, the logical and scripturally congruent explanation of this situation is that Jesus exhorted Peter for recognizing him as the Messiah, and it was by this revelation the Christian church would be founded. The Roman Catholic Church argues that it was Peter himself who Jesus would build the Christian church on. This interpretation is the origin of a long line of arguments that assert that Peter and his apostolic line are protected from fallibility and are the eternal leaders of the church on Earth.
Peter Being the Cornerstone of the Church Isn’t Supported by Jesus’ Language
Notice how Jesus immediately follows His statement of establishing a church on the rock with a command to His disciples to keep this revelation secret. The revelation was not concerning Peter’s primacy, but of course, Jesus’ identity as the Christ. While Jesus certainly did name Cephas, Petros (rock), He did not appear to refer to him as the rock of the Church, otherwise, the verse would look like this instead:
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on YOU I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Furthermore, why would Jesus place further emphasis on Himself being the Messiah, immediately after divinely ordaining his successor? If Peter has all of this alleged Papal power and authorities vested on him, Jesus being the Messiah is irrelevant.
Now, Peter’s identity as the sovereign ruler of the Christian state would become a far more important secret since Peter was meant to be his successor and thus a threat to the Pharisees and the Roman Empire. It just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny when you consider how little attention is afforded to Peter’s supposed succession by Jesus, the apostles, Jewish leaders, or Roman officers. That’s because Peter being the rock is a non-concept to all of them, the Gospel and Jesus’ role of the Messiah are the only concepts given any heed.
Peter Being the Cornerstone of the Church Isn’t Supported by the Scriptures, Which Detail God as the Sole Rock
Semantics aside, it still would not make sense at all for Jesus to make Peter the rock that He would build the church on. When considering the context of other scriptures, this is contradictory to God being the cornerstone and God being the sole rock for salvation:
Isaiah 44:8 Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Psalm 118:22: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Matthew 7:24 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
1 Corinthians 10:4: And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
It is not a coincidence that only the Roman Catholic Church believes that Peter is the rock that Christ would build the church on. Scripturally, the only true Rock is that of the Triune God, therefore biblical Christians have taken this passage to its logical conclusion that it was specifically Peter’s confession as Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God to be the Rock Jesus would build the church on.
Peter Being the Cornerstone of the Church Isn’t Supported by the Early Church Fathers
I actually found this interpretation to be stated exactly by the Early Church from the pen of Origen of Alexandria, a prominent Early Church scholar in the third century:
“And perhaps that which Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” if we say it as Peter, not by flesh and blood revealing it unto us, but by the light from the Father in heaven shining in our heart, we too become as Peter, being pronounced blessed as he was, because that the grounds on which he was pronounced blessed apply also to us, by reason of the fact that flesh and blood have not revealed to us with regard to Jesus that He is Christ, the Son of the living God, but the Father in heaven, from the very heavens, that our citizenship may be in heaven, revealing to us the revelation which carries up to heaven those who take away every veil from the heart, and receive “the spirit of the wisdom and revelation” of God.
And if we too have said like Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” not as if flesh and blood had revealed it unto us, but by light from the Father in heaven having shone in our heart, we become a Peter, and to us there might be said by the Word, “Thou art Peter,” etc. For a rock is every disciple of Christ of whom those drank who drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, and upon every such rock is built every word of the church, and the polity in accordance with it; for in each of the perfect, who have the combination of words and deeds and thoughts which fill up the blessedness, is the church built by God.”
Origen: Commentary on Matthew: https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/009/0090407.htm
Peter Being the Cornerstone of the Church Isn’t Logically Consistent with the Character of God, Jesus, and Peter
If the rock is meant to be the confession of Jesus as the Messiah, then the christening of Petros was simply an exhortation of Peter. This is sensible. Peter was the first disciple to confess this, much in the way that Peter was also the first disciple to understand that Jesus’ metaphor of saving flesh and blood to be His words of “spirit and truth” back in His sermon at Capernaum.
Looking at the above verses, God establishes Himself as the only Rock of salvation in Isaiah. He also is referred to as the as the cornerstone of salvation in Psalms. In Matthew, Jesus confirms that His words are the rock of salvation. Then, well after Jesus christened Cephas as Petros, Paul confirms that once again the spiritual Rock is Christ. Literally nowhere in the epistles do any of the Apostles confess Peter to be the leader or foundation of the church, the only foundation is that of Jesus Himself.
1 Corinthians 3:10: According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
This also makes Jesus rebuking Peter as Satan (written literally directly after his confession in Matthew), Peter denying Him three times, and Jesus singling Peter out as a potential weak link amongst the disciples over the next few days far more reasonable if Peter were just a mere man.
I would not ever see Jesus, who lived His life preaching abject humility under God, naming anyone the Rock of the church, Holy Father, or Summus Pontifex. If anything, it is clear that Jesus still considered Peter to be just as weak in faith and humanly fallible as everyone else.
Matthew 16:21: From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Luke 22:31 – “Simon, Simon, pay attention! Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
So, not only is it logical that Jesus does not consider Peter the specific foundation of the church, but this view is further bolstered by Peter himself. Peter continues to refer to Jesus as the foundation of the church and as still being the chief shepherd of the flock:
1 Peter 5:1: So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Keep in mind that Jesus explicitly stated He Himself was the one shepherd in John, emphasis on one.
John 10:16: And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So, there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Considering that Jesus referred to Himself as the one shepherd then, and Peter referred to Jesus as the chief shepherd in his own letters, this leaves exactly zero room for the Roman Catholic claim as the Pope being the Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Church.
This makes the following passages literal blasphemy, as it attributes to man what is specific to Jesus Christ:
“The Pope preaches the Gospel to all people and ensures that the faith is authentically taught throughout the world. This is done through his encyclicals, apostolic letters, exhortations, addresses and homilies. He is the chief shepherd and all are entrusted to his care” (Catechesis on The Papacy) Source: https://www.cathdal.org/Resources-Grades_3-5_English_cathdal.pdf
Blasphemy is a pretty strong word. Surely, I am reading too much into this. Pretty sure some expatiation straight from the Papal Office itself will clear things up, right?
“The Saviour Himself is the door of the sheepfold: ‘I am the door of the sheep.’ Into this fold of Jesus Christ, no man may enter unless he be led by the Sovereign Pontiff; and only if they be united to him can men be saved, for the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ and His personal representative on earth.” (Pope John XXIII, homily to the Bishops assisting at his coronation on November 4, 1958 Papal Teachings: The Church, Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, Boston, St. Paul Editions, 1962, par. 1556.)”
Here’s Pope John claiming that Jesus is not even the shepherd, but the simply the gatekeeper of the sheepfold. The Pope is shepherd, and he is only absolutely necessary to lead men to Jesus. Jesus isn’t even playing an active role in the calling of the Elect anymore, the Pope is. This is a direct contradiction to both the words of Peter and Jesus, it’s almost as if these men want to be an antichrist.