Matthew 16.18-19

THE PRIMACY OF PETER

'You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven'. (Matthew 16.18-19)

One of the reasons why I am not a Roman Catholic is the insistence of that church upon the primacy of Peter, which is based upon the words of Matthew’s Gospel quoted above.

Put in its simplest form, the Roman Catholic church interprets those words to mean that Jesus appointed Peter to be the leader of his church on earth, and also gave him unique authority to make decisions concerning its life, on his behalf. It goes on further to suggest that this position of leadership and authority, within the church, has been handed down through the centuries to his successors and is to be found located in the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope.

Now, on the surface, that seems pretty straightforward.

No one can deny that Peter displayed leadership qualities in the life of the early church and that he was often the spokesperson of the Apostles.

One has only to look briefly at the New Testament, which is the product of the early church, to confirm this conclusion. He is mentioned 23 times by St Mark, 24 times by St Matthew, 27 times by St Luke and 39 times by St John in their respective gospels. And outside the gospels, there are no fewer than 182 references to Peter in the New Testament.

If one looks more closely at the contents of the gospels, one can also see that Peter enjoyed a unique position. He is always mentioned first in any list of the twelve apostles. Together with James and John he was part of that inner circle who were often alone with Jesus, for instance at the Transfiguration. He also finds special mention at the raising of Jairus' daughter and in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was also to Peter that Jesus first appeared after his resurrection.

So we can conclude that Peter features prominently in the New Testament and especially in the four gospels.

This should not come as too much of a surprise when one recalls that both Matthew and Luke included most of Mark's Gospel within their own gospels, and that Mark himself was dependent upon the personal memory of Peter himself when he wrote his gospel.

However, what is surprising is the exalted position which Matthew gives to Peter, as in the above passage, which is not shared by the other gospel writers. This therefore raises the whole question of the reliability of these verses

Now some scholars have suggested that Matthew never included these verses in his original gospel since they are not referred to by the second century Fathers. However, such an argument based upon silence is not really valid since the subjects which concerned them then did not include the primacy of Peter.

Perhaps a more valid question to ask is: Did Jesus actually say those words, or have they been put into the mouth of Jesus by the evangelist, reflecting the concerns of the early church?

Here New Testament scholars are divided.

For instance, the word 'church' used here, and in the next chapter of Matthew's gospel is not used by Jesus in any of the other gospels and probably reflects a later use of the word, after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

There is also considerable doubt whether Jesus ever intended to establish a church, let alone lay down a blueprint for its organisation, since he, like his contemporaries, expected the Kingdom to arrive in the very near future.

Furthermore, there is no evidence in the New Testament that Peter ever enjoyed such a position of automatic authority, as allegedly conferred upon him by Jesus. On the contrary, he had to justify his position, together with other leaders of the early church, when controversy was in the forefront.

As regards the 'power of the keys' allegedly given to Peter, this was not unique, insofar as in the next chapter of Matthew's gospel, it is extended to the other disciples, together with powers of healing.

Finally, to suggest that one of the twelve should enjoy a position of primacy over the other eleven is inconsistent with the overall teaching of Jesus. You will recall that elsewhere Jesus claims not to have authority to bestow special favours upon the Sons of Zebedee, and in the parable of the labourers in the vineyard, Jesus suggests that the twelve should not look for special rewards or recognition at the end of the day.

So although, we must acknowledge that Peter features prominently in the gospels, there is considerable doubt that Jesus gave Peter the unique position of leadership and authority, as claimed by the Roman Catholic Church and used to justify the Papacy.

Now, if Jesus did not actually use these words, we have to ask the question, why have they been put into the mouth of Jesus by the early church?

One does not have to look far to find the answer to that question.

Within two decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus, there arose disputes within the life of the early church concerning personalities.

For instance, in Paul's first letter to the Christians at Corinth, we find there were already four distinct groups. There were those who claimed to follow Paul, those who followed Apollos, those who followed Christ and those who followed Cephas or Peter.

Elsewhere, in Paul's correspondence, one becomes aware of the personal conflict that developed between Peter and Paul, with each claiming to be the 'father' of the Gentile church. In fact, Paul goes on at great length to counter such claims by suggesting that there can be no other foundation of the church but Christ.

In other words, I am suggesting that Matthew, by putting these words into the mouth of Jesus, is merely reflecting an argument which was going on in the life of the early church, for which he wrote his gospel, which concerned the primacy of Peter as opposed to Paul.

In short, whilst one would not deny that Peter played a significant role in the life of the early church, it was more by accident than design, and therefore the particular claims of the Roman Catholic church concerning the primacy of Peter, is based upon the reflections of a current argument, rather than upon fact.

However, this does not mean that we should dismiss the above gospel reading as having no significance. In particular, I would suggest that the two Petrine symbols of 'rock' and 'keys' have particular relevance.

The symbol of 'rock' speaks to us of the quality of Peter's ultimate faith.

Initially, Peter was a person of weak faith. Ever the optimist, he frequently found his faith inadequate for the task ahead, whether it was walking on water or maintaining his loyalty to Jesus when challenged by a serving maid. Yet, it was the same person who, after the resurrection, was able to stand up and boldly declare his faith to over 3000 people at one time.

You and I may not have the faith which can move mountains, more probably move only pebbles. Nevertheless, we need never give up hope. After all, from little acorns big oak trees grow, and from little acts of faith a strong Petrine faith can grow.

And it is this rock-like faith we need most in evangelism and not sand-like faith!

And this brings me to the second Petrine symbol of the 'keys'.

In order to protect our lack of faith, we often close the door upon our inner selves and lock out that which can threaten us. We only allow others into our lives - as individuals, as congregations, or even as churches - who share our own particular point of view, and exclude those with whom we would disagree. Thus we find ourselves 'permitting' or 'prohibiting', as the Good News Bible puts it. We impose rigorous policies of admission, and practice censorious excommunication in order to protect ourselves from those who would threaten us.

But, my friends, 'keys' not only lock up doors, they can also unlock doors!

Peter could so easily have remained in the Upper Room behind locked doors in Jerusalem after the resurrection. Rather, he chose to unlock the door for the Gentile world and proclaim to them the good news, and invite them into the kingdom.

Now there are many doors today that need unlocking. You and I have the 'key'. It is up to us to use the power of the 'keys' to invite others in.

So, I would suggest that, whilst the above gospel reading cannot be used to substantiate the Roman Catholic church's claim for the primacy of Peter, it does, however, remind us of the prominent role that Peter's rock-like faith played in opening up the doors for the Gentile world and inviting them into the Kingdom. It also challenges us also to grow in faith, so that we too can unlock doors for others to hear the good news with which we have been entrusted.