MATTHEW 16:13-20
YOU ARE PETER (1)

There is probably no passage in the teaching of Jesus that has called forth more discussion than Matthew 16:18. In Matthew 16:18, the Lord Jesus says this. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. As you know, this has been the most important passage in the interpretation of claims to papacy and indeed in the question of whether there should be a pope at all. Protestants have reacted very strongly to the Catholic church’s understanding of this verse.