Was Peter the First Pope?

On February 23, 2013 Pope Benedict XVI resigned. At age 85, he no longer had the mental or physical strength to fulfill his duties as pontiff for the Catholic Church. This is the first time in six hundred years that someone has resigned from the papacy. Many popes retained their position until the day they died. However, there were some who were murdered. Believe it or not history tells us some of them were married. Others had affairs with illegitimate kids. When it was discovered that one of the popes was pregnant she was murdered by followers because she hid her gender. Some other popes were executed in various ways including being hung. Now, that is what I call “pope on a rope.”

All this is interesting, but what is really important to remember about the authority of these popes is that it was derived from the apostle Peter whom Catholics claim to be the first pope. Before Peter can be accepted as the first pope four things must be proven. 1) Christ had to establish such an office. 2) Christ had to have appointed Peter to this office. 3) Christ ordained that there be a succession of the office of pope. 4) And finally, show an unbroken succession from Peter to the present Pope. If it cannot be shown that Jesus authorized the office of Pope than the foundation for the papacy is built upon a groundless assumption without any divine authority.

Did Christ Establish the Office of Pope?

There is no mention of an office of pope in the New Testament. New Testament local congregations do have elders and deacons. Paul said Christ “gave some men as apostles; and some as prophets, others again as evangelists, and others as pastors, and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). Not one mention of the office of pope is found. The Pope is said to be the head of the church on earth. Christ is the only one said to be the head of the church. “Let wives be subject to their husbands as to the Lord; because the husband is head of the wife, just as Christ is head of the Church, being Himself savior of the body. But just as the Church is subject to CHRIST, so also let wives be to their husbands in all things” (Eph. 5:22,23; cf. Col. 1:18). The Pope is said to be the High Priest of the church. The Levitical priesthood had only one High Priest. Christ is the High Priest of the Kingdom. Today, Christ is not “a” high priest, but “the” high priest – leaving no room for another.

Did Christ Appoint Peter as the First Pope?

Catholics appeal to Matthew 16:18,19 as a proof text that Peter was the first pope: “And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Peter is said to be the “rock” Jesus was to build His church upon. The Greek terms for “Peter” and “rock” are two different words. Christ did not say, “Thou art Peter and upon Peter I will build my church.” Nor did He say, “thou art Peter and upon THEE I will build my church.” The term petros for Peter is masculine gender. The term in Greek for rock is petra which is feminine gender. Whereas petros means a pebbles, petra means a mass of stone, a cliff or ledge of rock. They are two different words with two different meanings. In fact Peter himself declared Christ to be the foundation of the church (Acts 4:11). Which is what is implied in Matthew sixteen. Paul said the same. “For other foundation no one can lay, but that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 3:11).

Notice that in Matthew 16:18,19 the terms “thou” and “this” are talking about two different things in the text. “Thou” modifies “Peter” and “this” modifies “rock.” The rock was the truth that Peter has just confessed, and not on Peter himself.

The Catholic church does not just recognize the Bible for authority but also the early Christian writers. These writers do not back up the idea of the papacy based on their interpretation of Matthew 16. John Chrysostom of Constantinople (345-407 AD) and a canonized saint by the Catholic church lived from 345-407, wrote, “He (Christ) did not say Petrus, but Petra, because He did not build His Church upon the man, but upon the faith of Peter” (I. Sermon. Pentecost). And Cyril of Alexandria and also a canonized Catholic saint, died in 444, says, “to my mind it appears evident that the rock, here intended by Christ is nothing else than the disciple’s unshaken faith, on which the church was built, that it might not be in danger of falling or of surrendering to the powers of darkness” (Lib. iv de Trinit.)

Another proof text used to authorize the papacy is John 21:15,16: When Jesus mentioned “these” He was talking about fish. Catholics say it refers to his fellow apostles. Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep, that is, His disciples. Catholics say He commanded Peter to feed the clergy. Note, Paul commanded elders to feed the flock. Yet that did not make them popes (Acts 20:28)?

Jesus said, “…and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” (John 10:16). Catholics think that Peter is the One Shepherd. The Lord Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” This does not prove that Peter was the Pope, but rather disproves it. Another argument is the assumption that Peter was superior to other Apostles. Yet there is no proof in the Bible that he has authority over and above the other apostles. The apostles sought this position in their rivalry on a couple of occasions during the ministry of Jesus. Prominence does not prove pre-eminence. The office of Pope is founded on an assumption.

Did Christ Ordain That There Be a Succession of this Office from Peter?

Apostles had to have qualifications. An apostle of Jesus Christ had to have miraculous power (Acts 2:4,6). Power to drink deadly poison, be bitten by deadly vipers with no harm, and power to raise the dead (Mk. 16:17,18; Acts 9:40; 20:9,10). These miracles enabled the Apostles to confirm, prove, establish the word they preached (Mk. 16:19,20; Heb. 2:3,4.). An Apostle had to have the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13; Acts 1:5). Today there is only one baptism (Eph. 4:5). It is water baptism for remission of sins. An Apostle could impart miraculous power to others (Acts 8:17,18; 19:6). An Apostle was an eyewitness to the resurrected Jesus. No Pope could qualify to succeed Peter.

Has This Succession Been Complete and Uncorrupted unto the Present Pope?

The idea or proof of succession of popes from Peter is based on the assumption of Apostolic Succession. Matthias succeeded Judas as apostle it is claimed. Yet Peter shows that this was not a matter of succession but of another taking the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away (Acts 1:17,20,25). When John’s brother James was beheaded by Herod Anitpas there is no mention of a successor to James (Acts 12:2).

No evidence can be found showing succession from Peter to the present Pope. Boniface III had the title of Universal Bishop conferred upon him in the year 606, by the Emperor Phocas, a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant who made his way to the throne by assassinating his predecessor. Boniface was the first Pope in history. The burden of proof is on the Catholic church to show the current Pope’s succession from Peter.

If Peter Was Pope…

If Peter was the first Pope, Christ was unaware of it. On three different occasions on which there arose an argument among the apostles as to who should be the greatest among them (Mt. 18:1-5, Mk. 9:33-37, Luke 9:46,48; Mat. 20:20-28; Lk. 22:24-30), Jesus tells us that none are greater than others in the Kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus told us to call no man “father” on earth (Matt. 23:9). The word “pope” means “father”. Hence, Christ said, “Call no man on earth your ‘pope’”.

If Peter was the first Pope, the other apostles were not conscious of this. James and John asked Christ to give them prominent places in the Kingdom (Mk. 10;35-40). Paul considered himself equal to the most chief apostles (2 Cor. 11:5). It was the other apostles who sent Peter and John to work in Samaria (Acts 8:9-25). All the apostles were equal in authority with their twelves thrones (Mt. 19:28; Lk. 22:29,30).

If the first Pope was Peter, then the early church did not know it. When Peter converted the first Gentiles the Jewish brethren took him to task on this. If he were pope, why were they permitted to question him. At the meeting in Jerusalem in Acts 15 it was the apostles and the elders who discussed whether the Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. Peter was not the source of authority on the issue. He did not speak forth authorizing a decree for the church to follow. He merely related the facts of what God commanded of him when he went to convert the first Gentiles. James, an elder at Jerusalem and brother of Jesus said, “we have decided, being assembled together…” (Acts 15:25). Even in the letter Peter is not mentioned, but the Holy Spirit determined what would be written to the churches.

Finally, Peter himself did not know he was the first pope. The popes receive worship. When Cornelius met Peter and was to worship him, Peter refused, because He was no more than a man (Acts 10:25,26). Peter never acted like modern “popes.” He had a wife (Mt. 8:14: I Cor. 9:5). Popes are not allowed to marry. Peter teaches that we should speak as oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11). The Pope takes the liberty to speak and bind the traditions of men – even though they are often in conflict with the Bible. Peter exalts Christ as the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 2:25). Today the Pope claims to be the chief shepherd himself. Peter did not claim to have power to forgive sins. In Acts 8 after Simon sinned, Peter told him to repent and pray to God. Peter did not appoint one to fill the place of Judas. God chose Matthias by lot. Peter never took on the title of a Pope. He did call himself “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:1) ; “a servant of Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:1) and “an elder” (1 Pet. 5:1).

Actually, the Word of God says nothing about anyone being Pope. H.W. Everest, LL.D., said, “The only New Testament prototype of the pope is Diotrophes, who loved the preeminence” (3 John 9).

Is the Pope Catholic? Yes. But: Is the Pope Christian? Is the Pope from Peter? Is the Pope head of the church on earth? Is the Pope the representation of God on earth? NO!

– Daniel R. Vess

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Categories: The Forum