I have done quite a bit of study and have found that these questions matter. If Peter was the first pope that would mean that an authority was established out side of Christ and leave the church open to a whole raft of theology that would have to follow as a result. So, was Peter actually the first head of the church? Was Peter the first Pope and thus the papacy was born?
1. Peter was not giving the status of a Pope and there was not papacy instituted by Christ.
This is the passage used by Catholics to show that Peter was instituted as a pope. Peter is declaring that Jesus is the Christ. The one that all Jews have been looking to come, their Messiah. Jesus was the stone upon which the church would be built (Isaiah 28:16). Peter even refers to this reference himself in 1 Peter 2:4 - 9. He is proclaiming Christ as the cornerstone upon which those that oppose him will stumble. This is interesting to think that the supposed first Pope would quote something that changes the entire meaning of Matthew 16:18-20.[13] Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” [14] And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” [15] He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” [16] Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [17] And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
[18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [19] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” [20] Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
(Matthew 16:13-17; Matthew 16:18-20 ESV)
Wouldn't this question have been answered in Luke 22:24-30 where the disciples are arguing as to who would be the greatest among them. He rebukes them and lets them know that there is not specific headship in God's order to things. This would have been an appropriate time for Jesus to have responded differently and name Peter as the head of the church. "You ask who will be the greatest. I have decided and peter will be the Rock upon which I will build the church and the kingdom of God." No, that was not how he responded.
Peter does figure prominently in the new testament, however that does not show any role of there being a papacy or hierarchical structure being set up in Christ's Church. Quite the opposite since we see in several cases within scripture where Peter was either shown to be in error and even rebuked. He is sent by the apostles, questioned by the council in Jerusalem and even taken to task by Peter.
2. Jesus is the head of the Church not a Pope.
One of the words often used to describe the church is the body or the body of Christ. Based on scripture, Christ is the head of that body (Ephesians 4:15-16). Now Roman Catholicism would not contradict this because they also believe that Christ is the head of the church, however they believe that he is only the spiritual head of the church. The words used in the bible however do not lead one to believe that this is only a spiritual figurehead (My Catholic Friends please correct me if I am wrong).
Jesus is the "preeminent" head of the church (Colossians 1:18). There is to be no other. This was set out for all time upon his death, burial, and resurrection. The Catholic church has interfered with this by the way that the Roman Pontiff is exalted by all of the church's followers. I did a search for how to greet the pope. I did not find anything on Catholic Answers, however I did find a list on eHow:
http://www.ehow.com/how_11183_greet-pope.html
As can be seen in point 6 one is directed to give him edification by calling him "You Holiness" or "Most Holy Father." This is to show him supreme respect in the heirarchy of all Christandom. This is not a biblical point of view. Matthew 23:9 tells us to not call another man father, instructor and we are instructed to follow the one and only instructor Christ. Now it is not the word "father" that is objectionable it is the undue respect that is being given to the Pope.
but he prohibits his disciples from using these terms in the way the Pharisees used them, in a spirit that wrongly exalted leaders and reinforced human pride. (Excerpt from ESV Study Bible passage on Matthew 23:9)Kissing a man's ring or bowing down to him to show respect because he is the leader of the Church is wrong. There is only one that we should bow to and that is Christ, for he is preeminant.
We are not beholden to Rome. As Christians are we to submit ourselves to the local Church leaders that we attend? My answer to that is a resounding yes, however we are called as Christians to discernment. We are to search the scriptures ourselves to see if what we are being taught as Christians is true (Acts 17:10-15). The Bible is clear and understandable throughout. We are able to understnd and discern the truth from scripture. The cry of the reformation was to search the sources "Ad fontes". We are all called to search the scripture and if the Evangelical community concedes this point we should just return to Rome and shutter the doors of all protestant denominations throughout the years. The deaths of the many reformation martyrs would have been in vain and even those of the early church would be for nothing.
Grace and Peace
