Question: Jesus installed Peter as the chief steward or
prime minister under the King of kings by giving him the keys to the
kingdom. As can be seen from Isaiah 22:22, kings appointed a chief
steward to serve under them in a position of great authority to rule
over the inhabitants of the kingdom. Jesus quotes almost verbatim from
this passage in Isaiah, and so it is clear what he has in mind. Christ
appointed Peter to lead them and guide the flock (John 21:15-17).
Answer: Christ gave Peter authority in the church and he was
certainly a prominent leader. Peter is consistently mentioned first in
the list of the apostles; he is often their spokesman; and he had the
privilege of first preaching the Gospel to the Jews at Pentecost and
then to the Gentiles at Cornelius' house.
Peter was prominent, yet that is not sufficient to prove that he was
pope. The bishop of New York is more prominent than the bishop of Malta,
yet the former does not exercise authority over the latter. Prominence is
different from primacy and predominance.
To prove the papacy, you must show that Peter was the head of the apostles and that he
exercised full, immediate and universal power in the Church. For that is
exactly what is claimed by Rome:
"The office uniquely committed by the Lord to Peter, the first
of the Apostles, and to be transmitted to his successors, abides in the
Bishop of the Church of Rome. He is the head of the College of Bishops,
the Vicar of Christ, and the Pastor of the universal Church here on
earth. Consequently, by virtue of his office, he has supreme, full,
immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church, and he can always
freely exercise this power" (The canon law, 331).
It is evident that Christ gave authority to the apostle Peter.
"And 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 16:19). At issue is whether this authority was unique to
Peter. Evidently it was not, for soon afterwards Jesus gave exactly the same
authority to all the apostles, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever
you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). Hence Peter had an
authority similar to the other apostles, and not an authority over them.
The apostles did not understand Jesus' words in Matthew 16 as Roman
Catholics interpret them. If He made him 'chief steward' and 'prime
minister' and 'the head of the college of bishops', why is it that even
up to the day before Christ suffered, they were still arguing among
themselves who should be considered the greatest? (Luke 22:24-26).
Jesus' reply is very significant. He did not remind them what He told
Peter at Caesarea Philippi, but simply scolded them for their pagan-like
reasoning. "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over
them...but not so among you." Peter knew nothing of the
"supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power" over
the other apostles and the church. Ironically, later on in history, the
bishops of Rome - who were supposedly the successors of Peter - strove
and fought to gain lordship over the universal church.
Again, it is true that Jesus commissioned Peter to feed the sheep
(John 21:15-17). However, this was not a unique office committed to
Peter alone. The apostle Paul tells the elders of Ephesus, "Therefore
take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He
purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). The apostle Peter
himself says, "The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a
fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a
partaker of the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God
which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but
willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over
those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the
Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does
not fade away." (1 Peter 5:1-4). The elders are called to feed the
sheep too.
You refer to Isaiah 22:22. "The key of the house of David I will
lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he
shall shut, and no one shall open." As a matter of fact this verse
is quoted "almost verbatim" in the New Testament, specifically
in Revelation 3:7 and not in Matthew 16. "These things says He who
is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and
no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens"
The key of the house of David is in the hand of Christ, not Peter!
Rome would make Peter the "supreme pastor" or chief
shepherd of the church (Catechism, para. 857). Peter himself would never
usurp the title of His Master. Jesus Christ alone is "the Chief
Shepherd" of the church (1 Peter 5:4).