My Opening Statement

Well, I'd first like to thank my (and I use this word not in a pejorative sense) opponent, Perplexity, for inviting me to this debate. This will be my first "official" one, so I'm bound to look like a dork at one point or another. At this point, I will address Perplexity as "opponent", not in a pejorative way, but in a friendly one. I hope that experience is a good way for us to learn as Christian brothers.

In this essay, I will lay out my argument for why Jesus instituted the Papacy in Matthew 16. To start, I will quote this verse. Matthew 16:18 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” These are what we could call the “key” verses which are used to establish three things:

1) Peter was given a new authority.
2) Peter’s authority would be what the Church is built upon.
3) Peter would be the temporal representative of Jesus as leader of the Church.

Now, by looking at the text, we see there are three things to note:

1) Simon is given a new name, Peter.
2) Simon (now Peter) is given the “keys of the kingdom.”
3) Simon is given the power to “bind and loose”, which was a term signifying authority [1].

Now, in order to establish that Peter was, as it is said, “prince of the Apostles”, then we must note a few interesting facts:

1) From the Gospel of Matthew to the Book of Revelation, Peter is mentioned 155 times, and the rest of the Apostles are mentioned a total of 130 times.
2) Numerous times in the Gospels, Peter speaks for the Apostles ( Matt. 18:21; 19:27; Mark 10:28, 11:21, Luke 8:45; 12:41, for example) and is the only one of the Apostles who receives divine revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 16:17)
3) Peter is almost always (with two exceptions) listed first when the Apostles are listed.
4) Peter is addressed by Jesus in personal moments before all of the other Apostles (Matt. 17:24-27, Mark 14:37, Luke 22:31-32, John 21)

In Matthew 16, we see the first New Testament example of an Old Testament action: the giving of a new name. We know of two very, very good men who were given new names: Abraham (who was formerly Abram) and Israel (who was formerly Jacob). Though this is not the only time that someone is given a new name, I have looked (and if I have missed it, I am open to polite rebuke) and I have not found any other time where Jesus directly gave someone a new name, other than Peter. When a person has their name changed in the Scriptures, this was always a sign of a new characteristic of that person, of what they would be. For example, Abram became Abraham, which is “Father of Many Nations” (Genesis 17:5), and Jacob becomes Israel (Genesis 32:28; 35:10) which means “One who has wrestled with God”. And we see that what occurs is true, Abraham does become the Father of many nations, and all believers of Jesus Christ and also, that Jacob actually does wrestle with an Angel (God’s representative). What they are named is because of something that has happened or because of something which will happen. This is the same with Peter, who is also called Cephas (a transliteration of the Aramaic word Kepha, which simply means rock: John 1:42, 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22, 1 Corinthians 9:5 (which is an interesting verse, considering it makes a significant note of mentioning Cephas distinctly after he mentions the Lord); 1 Corinthians 15:5, Galatians 1:18, 2:9,11,14).

To demonstrate that premises 1) Peter was given a new authority, 2) Peter and his authority would be what the Church would be built on and 3) Peter would be the representative of Jesus on earth, we must look at what Jesus is said to have given to Peter. We have shown that Simon was given the new name Peter (or Cephas) after Peter reveals that he has been given divine revelation, that God chose Peter to express that Jesus is the Son of God. We have shown the examples of others receiving names because of what happened/would happen, and at this point I would like to now point towards the “keys of the kingdom”. Where does this come from? I point now to Isaiah 22:

“Come, go to this steward,
To (X)Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household,
16 ‘What right do you have here,
And whom do you have here,
That you have (Y)hewn a tomb for yourself here,
You who hew a tomb on the height,
You who carve a resting place for [r]yourself in the rock?
17 ‘Behold, the LORD is about to hurl you headlong, O man.
And He is about to grasp you firmly
18 And roll you tightly like a ball,
To be (Z)cast into a vast country;
There you will die
And there your splendid chariots will be,
You shame of your master’s house.’
19 “I will (AA)depose you from your office,
And [s]I will pull you down from your station.
20 “Then it will come about in that day,
That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 And I will clothe him with your tunic
And tie your sash securely about him.
I will entrust him with your authority,
And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 “Then I will set the key of the)house of David on his shoulder,
When he opens no one will shut,
When he shuts no one will open.
23 “I will drive him like a)peg in a firm place,
And he will become a )throne of glory to his father’s house.

We know that Jesus is the rightful heir of the Davidic Kingdom, and this is why in the Scriptures he is called the Son of David (Matthew 22:42, for one example). And in the Davidic Kingdom, there was the steward, who was the King’s Representative. Though the key belonged to the King, it was to show that the steward had authority over the Kingdom. This has actually occurred earlier with the Scriptures, with Joseph, son of Israel, who is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. The Pharaoh makes him overseer over his kingdom (Genesis 41:41-44). This notion of the keys is directly given to Peter, as we can see by the way Matthew 16:18-19 is written: Matthew 16:18 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Unless we’re willing to convince ourselves that all of the Apostles were named Peter, we can see that this is speaking to Peter directly. Furthermore, we also know that later, in Matthew 18, Jesus speaks to the Apostles, giving them the ability to bind and loose. I do not believe that Jesus, or the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures, would have made a repetitive statement for no reason, as if the reader has forgotten the giving of the power to bind and loose two chapters later. Thus, I see this as showing that it was Peter alone who was given the power to bind and loose first, as well as the keys of the kingdom. This would explain why Peter was mentioned so many times in the Scriptures, as well as why he was given the name change.

To summarize, I believe that Matthew 16:18 clearly shows that Peter was the Kepha or Rock from which Jesus would build his Church, it’s the only sensible meaning if we simply read scripture. Peter is mentioned many times, often as a representative of the Apostles, or in an individual context. Matthew 16 demonstrates that Peter was given the keys to the kingdom, which was given to the stewards of the Davidic Kingdom. Jesus would, as the new King from the line of David, give Peter the keys in order to shepherd his Church, which are his lambs and sheep (John 21). We know that it is only for Peter does Jesus pray for, that his faith would not fail, for him to strengthen his brothers (the Apostles) in Luke 22:32. The prominence of Peter is striking throughout the Scriptures, and in this way is rather clear, that Matthew 16 (particularly verses 18-19) express the new authority of Peter, which we see expressed by Pope Benedict XVI today.