The office of the Pope is as foundational as any teaching in the Roman Catholic Church. Without the Pope, Roman Catholicism would clearly be very different in both appearance and practice. It is a—perhaps the—basic fundamental of the Roman Catholic Church.
The concept of the Pope is based on the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18: “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.” Greek scholars from a Roman Catholic background make the argument that in this passage Jesus is declaring Peter to be the earthly head of the Church, the Pope. They believe that Jesus is establishing a precedent by naming one person as the official commander-in-chief, the guy with whom the buck stops.
Protestant Greek scholars disagree with this assessment. They argue just as vehemently that Jesus was actually talking about Peter’s statement of faith two verses earlier: “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16). Protestants say that Peter’s declaration—not Peter himself—is the rock on which Jesus established the Church.
Since honest scholars of the Greek language cannot seem to agree on exactly how this section of Scripture should be interpreted, it is then necessary to consider other sections of the Word of God. This principle of Bible interpretation is, “Let Scripture interpret Scripture.”
First, let’s look at Acts 15, the section of Scripture commonly referred to as the Counsel of Jerusalem. The apostles and elders came together to consider a very weighty matter of doctrine. Apparently everyone in leadership in the early Church was there. Peter addressed the group early in the meeting. Paul and Barnabas shared from their experiences. Finally, at the end of the meeting, after the entire case has been presented, one of the apostles rendered a final judgment on the matter, but it was not Peter. James made a lengthy statement and then finalized his remarks by saying, “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not...” (Acts 15:19). His were the last comments recorded. It seems obvious that the final judgment should be made by the person in charge of the Church, if there is such a person. Peter, however, remained conspicuously silent.
In fact the very last time that Peter is even mentioned in the Book of Acts is at this meeting. It seems odd to think that the true, earthly head of the Church is not even mentioned in the ensuing thirteen chapters of a book about the establishment of the Church. In fact, by the end of the book another person has become the Church’s most significant leader: Paul. If Peter is the head, why is Paul consistently calling the shots? Why did Paul write so much of the New Testament? Where was Peter?
Let’s look at this from a different perspective. Part of the Roman Catholic understanding of the office of the Pope is that the Pope is infallible. This is the reason that so much of the Catholic doctrine has been based on the dictates of the Pope. If he can’t be wrong then we must accept what he says. However, Paul tells us in Galatians 2:11, “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.” What?! The head of the Church, wrong? The “Pope,” fallible?!
It is obvious from these other sections of Scripture that this idea of the “Pope” and his supposed infallibility has no honest basis in the Word of God.