When a Catholic looks to Scripture to defend Peter as the first visible head of the Church on Earth, or when a Protestant or Orthodox Christian also uses Scripture to attempt to refute the claim, the often most contentious passage is Matthew 16:13-19:
13 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Within this passage, most of the debate narrows down to the following three questions, based on Matthew 16:18 and the second half of 16:19:
1.) What exactly is the relationship between Simon’s name change to ‘Peter; and his authority within the Church?
2.) Does the Apostles’ shared authority to bind and loose in Matthew 18:18 mean that Peter is not higher in authority?
3.) Was Peter’s role more of an administrative function, similar to the Chief Justice role in the U.S. Supreme Court?
What surprisingly appears to be missing in many debates about Peter’s primacy is a more thorough, Scripture based examination of the first line in Matthew 16:19: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Given that a significant chunk of the Old Testament history involves an earthly, Davidic kingdom that prefigures the heavenly kingdom to be ruled by the Messiah (2 Sam 7:12-16; Is 11:1; Jer 23:5; Ps. 89:3-4), Peter’s appointment to receive the keys to the kingdom of heaven could very well be the most important passage for why the papacy is both true and necessary.
In short, the entire case hinges on the term “overseer of the house,” which this paper will show is not merely an administrative role. Rather, it is the unique voice to the earthly kings in the Old Testament — and therefore the unique earthly voice for the kingdom of heaven.
First, a disclaimer: This paper’s focus on “keys of the kingdom of heaven” in no way discounts the theological and ecclesiological significance of Peter’s name change — including Peter being one of only a few key figures in Scripture to receive a name change that had profound implications for salvation history. In fact, one of the most theologically insightful, New Testament parallels to the Old Testament is between Peter’s name change and Abraham’s name change: both receive divine blessings (Gen 14:9; Matt 16:19); both are called to a divine purpose that will forever change the spiritual landscape of believers (Heb 11:8; Gen 22; Matt 16:18-19); both receive a name change and in the context of their ultimately global purpose (Gen 17:5; Matt 16:18); and both are assured a victory over the “gate” of their enemies (Gen 22:17; Matt 16:18; ICSB 1755).
It is also important to note that Matthew 16:19 does not diminish — but in fact illuminates – Peter’s role in Luke 22:31-32 and John 21:15-16 as the sole leader and primary shepherd to the Apostles and all of Jesus’ disciples. Scholars from both Protestant and Eastern Orthodox circles generally concede that Peter had a special authority among the Apostles (Stylianopoulos 10).
Finally, given the sole focus on Scripture, this paper excludes the exhaustive look at documents from the Church Fathers and ecclesiastical writers. While the extra-biblical evidence for the papacy is equally important and can be well proven historically and ecclesiastically, the debate over Peter’s primacy and line of succession often begins with, “show me in the Bible where Peter is the first Pope.” Putting aside the ‘exact word’ fallacy, which even many Protestant scholars admit is a poor apologetic, it is nonetheless necessary to show in Scripture that Peter was given a preeminent authority — that he was indeed the first head of the visible Church.
Continuing on: to understand the crucial relationship between the king and the overseer, it begins with acknowledging both the literal and spiritual imagery related to God’s covenants. It is crucial to remember that ‘covenant’ is at the center of God’s relationship with humankind. The word ‘covenant,” coming from the Hebrew word berit, is a binding promise (Lopez 95) — the greatest oath and commitment that can be made between two parties. Between God and humankind, beginning with the Chosen People — Hebrews –> Israelites –> Jews — covenant signifies the spiritually everlasting, ‘family relationship’ that God desires.
In return, believers are to be hesed, or eternally faithful to the covenant (Routledge 180). It is a two-way, nurturing and nourishing relationship made possible through God’s love and mercy. Jesus Christ, who is the *new and everlasting covenant* (Matt 26:28; Luke 22:20), made God’s gift of grace fully present through his sacrificial death, glorious resurrection, and then exaltation as king of heaven (1 Cor. 15; Phil 2:6-11).
Consequently, Jesus epically speaks in ‘kingdom language’ throughout the Gospels, while also making his dialogue with Peter in Matt 16:16-19 foundational for how the New Covenant Church within the kingdom will operate until the Second Coming. Thus, the next step towards fully realizing Peter’s relationship to the heavenly kingdom is to analyze the following: the kingdom language in both the Old and New Testaments, the kingdom’s relationship to the Temple, Jesus as the promised Messiah and *king* to the Israelites and all humankind, and why the “overseer of the house” is necessary to Judaism and Christianity.
Again, what underpins the kingdom language are covenants, beginning more universally through Adam and Noah, and then with God’s chosen people, such as Abraham, Moses, and David. First, the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12, 15, 17) guaranteed land, descendants, and an eschatological blessing to all humankind. Next, the Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19 – 24) featured God’s moral law and that Israel would be a holy nation. Then, the Davidic covenant established a kingdom for Israel and the eventual institution of the Holy Temple.
Throughout the Old Testament stories of God’s covenants, the chosen people grew from a tribe into a nation, and then into a full-fledged kingdom. Said kingdom was first united, then divided into two kingdoms (Northern and Southern), and, finally, tragically destroyed. The Northern Kingdom met its demise around 722 BC, and the Southern Kingdom fell about two hundred years later in ~586 BC.
Before these events, and under Solomon’s reign, the Israelites built their first Temple, as described in 1 Kings. Although the Temple, along with the Southern Kingdom, was destroyed in the sixth century, causing Jews to be captured or exiled, post-Exile Jews built the Second Temple, which survived until its destruction under Roman forces in 70 AD.
Also remarkable in the Old Testament is the powerful, bridge-like role between the king and his people. That role is the ‘overseer of the house’, or from the Hebrew phrase Al Habbayit, which means “over the house.” This was a special title given to an appointed steward who, right after the owner or king, was the prime minister for the king’s entire estate and other affairs (Gen 39:4, 43:19; ICSB 533) In the book of Genesis, for example, Joseph, who was sold as a slave to the Egyptians, eventually gains the Pharoah’s favor and is made an ‘overseer’ in the kingdom. This particular role is the most important authority next to the king (Gen 41:40; ICSB 533).
Once the Davidic kingdom was established, so was the overseer’s vast authority among the cabinet of ministers who served the king. This overseer’s role involved adjudicating governmental matters (ICSB 533) and being entrusted with king’s keys to keep the kingdom ‘open or shut’ (ICSB 1198). One common example, and which will later be linked to Peter’s appointment in Matthew 16, is Isaiah 22:15-22: Hezekiah replaces Shebna, a royal steward directly identified as “over the household,” with Eliakim. In the process, Eliakim ceremoniously receives a large wooden key, indicating he has full authority over the house David and its large gate requiring such a key (ICSB 1199). Notice here that the entire cabinet of ministers is not given the key: only one individual is replaced with another individual as the overseer / prime minister.
Eliakim, then, has the highest authority, next to Hezekiah, to ‘open’ and ‘shut’ in Hezekiah’s name; he is the sole governor next to the king (ICSB 1199). This becomes even more evident when Eliakim serves as lead negotiator between Jerusalem and the increasingly hostile Assyrians (Isaiah 36 – 37): his instrumental authority is right in line with the overseer role well established in the Northern and Southern kingdoms (1 Kings 16:9, 18:3; 2 Kings 15:5; 18:18).
In fact, in Isaiah 22:22, the phrase “place on his shoulder the key of the house of David” refers to bearing the weight of the unique authority given to the overseer / prime minister (ICSB 1199). So much was the ‘overseer’ role evidentially present in the Davidic kingdom, archaeological findings have revealed other individuals — such as Gedalyahu, Aodinyahu, and Natan — who also held the same function and appear in various artifacts: “one on a seal, one on a tomb inscription, and several more on clay impressions” (ICSB 533).
Along with the royal position given to the overseer, Isaiah 22 reveals a priestly like participation in the kingdom. Here, Eliakim is described as being clothed in a special robe and belt, indicating his royal position while also having priestly implications. He is additionally given the power to ‘open and shut’ the gate and to carry out the kingdom’s affairs, thus a similar role to the binding and loosing performed within the Levitical priesthood (Isa 22:21; Exod 28:4; Barber 935).
Although Eliakim was not a direct member of the Levitical priesthood, as neither were the Davidic kings, Scripture tells of the Davidic kingship being in line with the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; 2 Sam 8:18). Davidic kings thereby carried out priestly responsibilities (2 Sam 6:13-14, 17-18; 1 Kings 8:62-64; 9:25; 1 Chron 21:26; 2 Chron 7:7).
In turn, the overseers, such as Eliakim, not only had the keys to the kingdom but could be conferred other priestly or Temple like duties, such as those pertaining to “every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons” (Isa 22:24). These items are “in connection with the descriptions of the table of the bread of presence” in the Holy Temple (Barber 945). In addition, in the Septuagint, which contains Greek translations of Hebrew scriptures, Isaiah 22:21 states that Eliakim is “crowned” — just as the high priest in the Levitical priesthood was crowned upon his appointment.
Yet priests, too, had an overseer role regarding the key to the Temple. For one, 1 Chronicles 9:27 describes the Levitical priests as gatekeepers to the Temple. Then, the Mishnah, a collection of Jewish oral law and the foundation for the Talmud, mentions that “the eldest of the father’s house used to sleep with the keys of the Temple Court in hand”.
Next, the ancient Jewish historian, Josephus, uses imagery of keys in his writings as connections to priestly duties (Barber 945, 946). Finally, in the eschatological sense, “Jewish sources repeatedly not only express a belief in an eschatological temple…but also anticipate a reformed and/or new priesthood (Isaiah 66:21; Mal 3:3; Ezek 40:45-46; Barber 936).
Now, keeping in mind the Davidic kingship, overseer role, and all related kingdom language in the Old Testament, the New Testament gospels reveal Jesus as the promised Messiah and heavenly king in the line of David. Without a doubt, Jesus emphasizes the kingdom of heaven throughout his ministry: In Matthew 4:17, Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In Mark 1:15, Jesus similarly says, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” And in Luke 4:43, Jesus proclaims, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God…for I was sent for this purpose.”
After all, if Jesus is indeed the Messiah and expected king in the line of David, then one should expect the ‘kingdom’ language in the Gospels to be widely present. What is more, because the Davidic kingdom had been destroyed several centuries prior, all while the Old Testament prophets spoke of a time when the kingdom would be restored (Is 9:6-7; Amos 9:11), Jesus, then, is the “messianic heir to resurrect the fallen kingdom in a spiritual way, ruling from this throne at his Father’s right hand” (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33-36; ICSB ).
During his ministry, Jesus explains the kingdom of heaven’s greater theological meaning in several parables within Matthew 13, as well as in Matt 18:23-25 and Matt 22:1-14. He also gives examples in Matthew 5:3, 19:14, and 19:24 of what is required to enter the kingdom of heaven. And he squarely tells Pontius Pilate in John 18:36 that his “kingdom is not of this world.”
Then there is Jesus’ royalty from the line of David, as detailed in Matthew 1:1. Jesus is not only biologically connected to the Jewish people because of his Jewish mother, Mary, but he is also adopted into the royal line through his earthly father, Joseph.
Along with Jesus’s genealogy, the Gospels reveal multiple Old Testament to New Testament parallels and prophecies linked to Jesus as a royal figure. Here are some examples:
*Micah 5:2 prophesizes that the promised ruler of Isreal will be from David’s birthplace, Bethlehem.
*The Spirt of the Lord descended upon David (1 Sam 16:13), and so did it happen with Jesus (Matt 3:16-17).
*Jesus riding on a donkey as he enters Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11 is reminiscent of Solmon’s coronation in 1 Kings 1:33, 38.
*During Jesus’ passion in Matthew 26:63-64, he proclaims his divine sonship and royalty while standing before Caiphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin, who charge Jesus with blasphemy.
*At Jesus’ crucifixion, “those at the foot of the cross appear to link his messianic role with his reputation as the Son of God” (Matt 27:42-43; Barber 939).
Still, while the Davidic kingdom is a necessary component of Salvation History, the Temple is the centerpiece fully realized through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). The New Testament tells of Jesus as the new Temple (John 2:19) who is made manifest through the Church (Col 1:18; Eph 5:23; 1 Cor 12:12-27; Roman 12:4-5; 1 Tim 3:15). Jesus even points to the Temple’s significance to support his divine claim that, “something greater than the temple is here” (Matt 12:6). This is after Jesus tells the parable of the Wicked Tenants, which relates to the vineyard imagery in Isaiah 5:1-2 to describe Israel (Barber 943). Jesus, who happens to be in the Temple when he shares the parable, then quotes from Psalm 118:22 (Matt 21:42) to indicate that he himself is the ‘cornerstone’ whom the Jewish elders will reject.
As such, Jesus, through his death and resurrection, will bring about both the heavenly temple and access to its eternal kingdom. Therefore, the once Davidic kingdom established in the Old Testament (2: Sam 7:4-17; Psalm 2:7; 89; 132), but then destroyed in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:1-21; Jeremiah 52:12-30), is now restored through the kingdom of heaven at hand, within a new covenant that fulfills the old covenant, and with Christ as the eternal king (Matt 5:17; Mark 11:10; Luke 1:32-33, 22:20; Heb 8:6, 9:15).
Nevertheless, while all four Gospels contain kingdom imagery, Matthew’s gospel is especially relevant for at least two reasons: 1.) It provides an in-depth look at Jesus’ Jewish roots and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies; 2.) It is where Jesus directly names Simon as “Peter,” followed by laying out Peter’s specific authority within the kingdom of heaven.
Indeed, in Matthew’s Gospel, “there is a shift in language from the earthly community of believers — the messianic community — to the kingdom of heaven” (Min Aye 36). In effect, Jesus, who is the foretold Messiah and King, makes known his divine authority and his plan to institute the New Covenant within the kingdom now available to all humankind. Therefore, just as a cabinet of ministers was appointed during the Davidic kingdom (2 Sam 8:15-16; 1 Kings 4:106), Jesus also appoints his Apostles as ministers to the heavenly kingdom, which they are to help bring to fruition here on Earth (ICSB…commentary on Luke 4:43).
In summary, when Jesus appoints Peter to hold the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 16:19), Jesus is blatantly speaking as the proclaimed Messiah and king in the line of David; he is announcing to Peter, You will be my new governor / royal steward / lead overseer of the house / prime minister here on Earth. It is a direct throwback to Eliakim being given the keys to the royal household: Peter is not only the rock upon which the Church will be built — he is the unique prime minister given the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Min Aye 37).
Moreover, and just three verses prior, it is only Peter who unequivocally confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16; Jose 64). Here, Peter declares Jesus as the all-encompassing prophecy fulfilled: Messiah, Son of God, and King. Yet Jesus far transcends the need for a political leader or commander-in-chief to an earthly Army. Rather, he is God incarnate, the Son of the Father, who is exalted as king of the heavenly kingdom he pronounces in the Gospels. By recognizing this, “Peter had an insight into Jesus that was unequalled among his contemporaries” (Kemp 129).
It is then incumbent upon Peter, who is both ‘rock’ and primary ‘overseer’, to build the Church that will be the new and true Israel (Jose 63) within the heavenly kingdom. Then, the People of God, within the New Covenant, help proclaim the kingdom of heaven to all humankind while honoring the divinely appointed hierarchy of clergy within the Church.
The hierarchy began with the Apostles (Jose 61), who were the first cabinet of ministers to Jesus, and who gave allegiance to the first prime minister, Peter. Additionally, Peter is the first among the new, ministerial priesthood that is prefigured in the Old Testament and then bestowed upon the Apostles (Luke 10:16; Matt 26:26-28; John 20:21-23).
Lastly, because it is both customary and necessary for the Apostles to appoint successors –the new ministers of the divinely instituted cabinet (Acts 1:20, 26; 1 Tim 4:14; Titus 1:5) — then, for the cabinet to remain whole, to continue honoring the role of primary overseer, it is only right that the Church remain obedient to Christ’s plan and wishes. Which makes Peter – ‘Pope Peter’.
Works Cited
Barber, M. P. (2013). Jesus as the Davidic temple builder and Peter’s priestly role in Matthew 16:16-19. Journal of Biblical Literature, 132(4), 935–953.
Jose T J. (2019). Matthew’s ecclesia: an exegetical study of Matthew 16:13-20. Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, 83(5), 379–389.
Kemp, I. S. (2016). The Blessing, Power and Authority of the Church: A study in Matthew 16:17-19. Evangelical Review of Theology, 40(2), 128–139.
Lopez, Rene. Israelite Covenants in the Light of Ancient Near Eastern Covenants. Click to access v9n2_6israelite_covenants.pdf
Min Aye, J. P. (2002). Peter’s Confession and Jesus’ Commissioning: Matt 16:13-19. The Dunwoodie Review, 25, 1–40.
Routledge, Robin. “ḤESED as Obligation: A Re-Examination.” Tyndale Bulletin, 1 May 1995, 10.53751/001c.30408
The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old Testament and New Testament. Edited by Scott Hahn and Curtis J. Mitch, Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic ed., Ignatius Press, 2024.