Matthew 16:18

Matthew 16:18 has been a continual battlefield for the Protestant against Catholic. It states, "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." The verse is very important to the Roman Catholic. It is a corner stone for the establishment of the papacy.

In the original Greek Bible, Matthew 16:18 contains a pun. It plays on the words petros (Peter) and petra which mean stone and rock in Greek. Catholic's interpretation insists that both petros and petraare the same. Thus, Jesus was saying, "you are Peter and on this rock I will build the church."

Since Peter was the founder of Catholic Church, all other churches not found on Peter are heretics. Catholic further argues for Peter as the rock on the ground that the words Jesus spoke to Peter was Aramaic. And both petros and petra in Aramaic are cephas, Peter's name.

The church Jesus built upon this rock is Christ vicar on the earth. The role subsequently passed to succeeding bishop as Christ vicar or pope. Ex Cathedra which means "from the throne" or the infallibility utterance of pope is accepted by Roman Catholic as the word of God from his Vicar capacity from this rock.

The Protestant protests that the rock (petras)Jesus refers to is not Peter but rather Peter's confession that Jesus is the solid rock. Christ the rock is therefore the foundation of the church. No other foundation exists (1 Cor. 3:11). Jesus alone possesses the key of death and Hedes (Rev. 1:18).

Protestants maintain that petros and petra are not the same. petros or Peter is a masculine noun whereas the word petraor the rock is feminine noun. Also, petros is not actual a rock but small stone but petra is a big rock and always feminine in Greek. The Aramaic cephas for Peter is irrelevant since the bible was recorded in Greek.

Any church that is built on Jesus the rock is the church of Christ. The Bible never presents an infallible Peter. Any one who utters the word of Jesus the rock is infallible.

It is Jesus who is the foundation of His church and His words or the Bible that is infallible.

My understanding is that Catholic is correct that the pun refers Peter as the rock, but wrong in building a papal edifice based on this single verse. Protestant is wrong in saying the rock refers to Peter's confession. But it is correct in realizing that the only ultimate foundation a church can be built is Jesus Christ.