“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Matthew 16:15-23
The Roman Catholic Church claims that its authority structure is founded in Matthew 16 where Jesus makes Peter the first Pope. And that every subsequent Pope has had the same authority and power as were given to Peter. Peter was able to speak for God, as evidenced by his letters 1 and 2 Peter. And since this passage gives the authority to Peter and all of his successors then every Pope since Peter can speak for God with the same authority.
So, did Jesus really set up this authority structure here in Matthew 16?
