Peter is the Pope

one

Matthew 16

A little more than halfway through the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus takes His apostles to Caesarea Philippi, and asks them a very basic question: “Who do people say that I am?” The answers he gets vary. Some say “Elijah, some say Jeremiah, some say John the Baptist, some say one of the prophets.” So then He asks them, and who do you all say that I am? The other apostles say nothing. But Peter gets the answer right: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus calls Him Peter – the rock – the rock on which Christ will build His Church.

two

The Three Options for Making a Church

Fulton Sheen notices that this episode gives us a way of considering the three political models Jesus might have used in establishing His Church. Would He make His Church like a democracy, governed by many? Would He make His Church like an aristocracy, governed by a small, elite group? Would He make His Church like a kingdom, governed by one?

Different denominations see the Church as corresponding to different forms of these societies. But only one of these denominations can be right.

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A Democratic Church?

When Jesus asked, “Who do people say that I am?” He’s basically asking for the popular vote. What’s the word on the street? This is the democratic model. It’s the Protestant model. Every believer basically has equal say. Everyone’s interpretation is equally authoritative.

And what’s the result? A bunch of incompatible, inconsistent, self-contradictory answers. Elijah. Jeremiah. John. And that’s the division that has resulted from the Protestant, democratic approach to the faith. Scores and scores of different denominations, all saying conflicting things about Jesus.

A democratic approach to truth doesn’t work. Truth isn’t determined by vote. And Christ didn’t set up a democratic Church. He gave us a more reliable way to recognize the truth about who He is.

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An Aristocratic Model of the Church

When Christ askes the apostles, as a group, “Who do you all say that I am?” He shows us what an Aristocratic model of the Church looks like. A Church where a small group of leaders shares authority equally between them.

But it’s very interesting to note that the Apostles, as a group, don’t say anything. Apart from Peter, their spokesman, they are silent.

The Orthodox Churches of the Christian East exhibit these same characteristics. They are led by the successors of the Apostles, but they have been cut off from the Successor of Peter – the Pope – for a thousand years. And for a thousand years, they have not said anything together, as a united group.

The Catholic Church still has Universal Councils, where the bishops come together and speak with one voice. The Orthodox Church does not. Without Peter, without the Pope, they are silent.

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The Vicar of Christ’s Kingdom

Christ didn’t go around preaching the democracy of God, or the aristocracy of God. He preached the Kingdom of God. So which Christian denomination looks the most like a kingdom? Obviously, it’s the Catholic Church

Now Christ is the High King of the Church, the Kingdom of God. But unless He rules through a visible representative, a particular individual, then the Church won’t actually function as a kingdom at all. And He has chosen His representative by choosing Peter and His successors.

Peter wasn’t a perfect man – but he was the man Jesus chose. Peter’s successors aren’t necessarily perfect men either – but they are the men who have been chosen to govern Christ’s Church as the Representative of the King

So thank God for the pope, and pray to God for the Pope. It can’t be easy to govern the kingdom of God. But because we have the King’s representative, we know we’re in the true Kingdom.