During the fascinating news coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, several times it was mentioned that the popes are part of a long line of succession dating back to the apostle Peter. In fact, Peter is referred to by Catholics as the first pope, the Vicar of Christ.
According to the Roman Church, Peter is the foundation; the rock upon which she is built. That her claim is true, she says, can be found in a statement made by Jesus in Matthew 16: 18: “I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.”
However, the Greek language, in which this was originally written, doesn’t make the same claim as the Catholic Church. The name Peter in Greek is “Petros,” which is interpreted as “a stone.”
In the Greek, the word for rock is “Petra.” The word indicates a huge boulder, or a protective ledge; the Mother rock, if you will. The word is used by the apostle Paul to represent Jesus in 1 Corinthians 10: 4— “And all drink the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.”
Jesus, firm and stable as a rock, is “Petra.” Peter, unstable and dependent on God’s grace for firmness, is “Petros.” The true meaning of Jesus’ statement to Peter, then, is this: “I say to you that you are Petros (a rolling stone), and upon this Petra (Myself, a solid rock) I will build My church.”
Furthermore, when the original Christian church met in Jerusalem (Acts 15: 13-19), it was Jesus’ brother James who presided. Peter, it seems, was not the leader of the disciples at that time.
Moreover, when one looks at the structure of the New Jerusalem, representing God’s church of all time, the city is built upon twelve foundations. On these twelve foundations are the names of the twelve apostles (Rev. 21: 12-14); not just Peter’s. Of course, Jesus is the chief cornerstone and head of His church.
If my explanation of Matthew 16: 18 is correct, that means the pope’s lineage is based on an erroneous premise. If that’s the case, then the self-proclaimed authority of the popes is false; a role as theirs shouldn’t even exist; and the Catholic Church’s claim to be God’s true church isn’t true.