Scratching the Surface of a Pivotal Passage

It seems to me that many of the issues dividing Protestants and Catholics can be traced back to how we understand Matthew 16:13-19. I will lay out the two main interpretive options and then list some of their possible ramifications (but I am open to there being other possibilities as well, or a combination including elements of both).

Since this is my blog and I’m a Protestant, I will call this view Option #1, and it goes like this: The thing upon which Jesus says he will build his church is Peter’s confession of Christ. Peter’s confession is immaterial and invisible rather than material and visible, and so it would seem to follow that the church he promises to build, like that confession, would be invisible.

Moreover, the locus of unity for those who take Option #1 would be Peter’s confession (or, the gospel), and the keys of the kingdom, together with the power to bind and loose would reside in the hands of those who share that confession of Christ.

The Catholic position, or Option #2, says that the thing upon which Jesus says he’ll build his church is Peter himself. This being the case, then it would seem to follow that the church he promises to build, like Peter, would be visible rather than invisible.

Further, the locus of unity for those choosing Option #2 would be Peter himself (or, the Petrine See). The power of the keys, then, would reside in the hands of those who have visibly succeeded the man to whom those keys were originally given (i.e., Peter).

What I plan to do for the next few posts is take each of the elements of this passage (the rock, the church, the keys) and expound them via a teacher or commentator representing each of our two options.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t start weighing in now….