When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, Jesus calls him the rock on which he will build his church. Does this mean that Peter is the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church?
While some Protestants argue that Jesus is referring to Himself as the rock rather than Peter, the wordplay on Peter’s name (which means rock) makes the connection clear. However, a key text for understanding this verse occurs just a few verses later. After Peter tells Jesus that He must not say that He’s going to Jerusalem to suffer and die, Jesus tells him to “Get behind me, Satan, because you are a stumbling block to me.” These two texts – and the way Jesus uses “rock” imagery in both – highlight Peter’s role: on the one hand, when he confesses that Jesus is the true Messiah, he is the rock on which Christ builds his church. But on the other hand, when he denies that the Messiah must suffer, he is a different kind of rock – a stumbling block.
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