Peter, the Rock of the Church [cf. Mt. 16:18]

The following arguments helped James Akin, former Presbyterian minister now a Senior Apologist of Catholic Answers, to reassess his Christian faith and eventually enter into the Catholic Church.

THE ISSUE

Protestants vehemently denies the ancient tradition that Simon Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, is the ROCK mentioned by Christ on Matthew 16:18. They still insist that there is a clear play of words denoting change of subject on the pronouncements of Jesus.

Matthew 16:18

And I tell you, you are Peter["Petros"; masculine], and on this rock["petra"; feminine] I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

The transition from masculine "Petros" to feminine "petra" is where their claim revolves around. I once read a protestant article putting it in this way:

...you are ACTOR, and on this ACTRESS I will build my Church.

Although there has been no consensus as what this could really mean among them[some say it was Peter's Confession or Jesus himself], they simply either avoid or reject the idea that it was PETER HIMSELF whom Jesus was referring to as the ROCK, probably due to ANTI-PAPACY BIAS.

THE ANSWER

Aside from the fact that the underlying language behind this verse is ARAMAIC [Scholars agree that Jesus spoke ARAMAIC] and therefore any change of subject is impossible since PETROS[Gk] = KEPHA[Ar] and PETRA [Gk] = KEPHA [Ar], the preceding and succeeding verses surrounding Matthew 16:18 also give us the clue that Peter must be the ROCK.

ARGUMENT 1: As a response to Peter's correct Confession of Faith about Jesus, the Son of the Living God, our Lord pronounced BLESSINGS unto him.

Matthew 16:17, 19

...Blessed are you....

....And I will give you the keys....

These are both BLESSINGS given to Simon Peter. This denotes that verse 18 must also be a blessing directed to Peter since it is illogical and inconsistent if we say that in the midst of building up Peter as a truly blessed apostle[vv. 17 & 19], Jesus would downgrade and belittle him on the middle statement [v.18].

ARGUMENT 2: SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM--the first statement is amplified or built on the succeeding statement.

This argument fits perfectly well even when there is an acknowledged discrepancies on the meanings of "Petros" and "Petra." On that case, it could only mean that on verse 18 although Peter seems to be the "petros" [small piece stone], Jesus now elevates him to become "petra" [large rock] in preparation for the building of the Church.

ARGUMENT 3: Another thing is that those 3 BLESSINGS show SIMILAR STRUCTURAL FEATURES.

For instance, on verse 17

Matthew 16:17

...Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

**the blessedness of Peter lies on the twofold facts presented on the succeeding lines.

Therefore it could be read in this form:

PRINCIPAL STATEMENT
...Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona!

SUPPORTING STATEMENTS
1.) for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
2.) but my Father who is in heaven.

similarly on verse 19, we see

Matthew 16:19

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

**The authority of Peter, denoted by the Keys, lies on the twofold facts presented on the succeeding lines.

PRINCIPAL STATEMENT
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, 

SUPPORTING STATEMENTS
1.) and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven
2.) and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Surprisingly, this way of reading the WORDS OF JESUS also works perfectly  on verse 18

Matthew 16:18

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

In this case:

PRINCIPAL STATEMENT
...you are Peter,

SUPPORTING STATEMENTS
1.) and on this rock I will build my church
2.) and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

Clearly, Jesus' threefold pronouncements directed to St. Peter are always accompanied by two explanatory lines.

Therefore on MT. 16:18, Jesus indicates that PETER must be the rock since the twofold facts regarding the building of the Church points to PETER and no one else.

The exegetical structure of Matthew 16:17-19 available at <http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/Why_Be_Catholic.htm>

NOTE: All English scriptural references,unless otherwise specified, are takenfrom the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.