THE FAMILY ALTAR
"And Jesus answered and said unto him: "Blessed art thou,
Simon Bar-Jonah; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto
thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My
Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Matt. 16:17-18.
Roman Catholics point us to this Bible-passage as the supposed
Scriptural proof for their claim that Christ has made their Pope
the head and ruler of the Church, and that the Pope, when speaking
officially, is infallible and cannot make a mistake. But this passage
teaches nothing of the kind. Christ here pronounces Peter blessed,
that is, happy. And why is he called blessed? Because he has,
perhaps, been made the head and ruler of the Church? By no
means. Why then? Because the Father who is in heaven has
revealed to him the saving truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of the living God. (Verse 16.) It is quite evident therefore that
Peter is pronounced blessed because God has revealed and made
known unto him the saving truth that Jesus is the Son of God
and the Savior. There is not a word here about Simon Peter
having been made the head and ruler of the Church. — Christ con-
tinues: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter." The
name Peter signifies Rockman, a man who is on a rock. This
rock is Christ. ( 1 Cor. 10, 4. ) Christ is the only and unshakable
rock of our eternal happiness and salvation. Now, the Lord does
not simply say: "Thou art Peter," but at once adds: "And upon
this Eock I will build My Church." If the claim of the Eomanists
were correct, then Christ would have said : "And upon thee, Peter,
I will build My Church." But this He did not say. He said:
"And upon this Rock," namely, on Me, "I will build My Church."
Christ clearly wants to say: I have called thee Peter, Rockman,
for building thy faith on Me, the Rock. But think not that thou
alone art built upon Me, the true Rock. No ; My Church, all who
truly believe in Me, shall be built on Me. And the gates of hell
shall not prevail against My Church, shall not succeed in destroy-
ing it. — From the false claim that the Pope at Rome is the head
and ruler of the Church and from the consequent fearful priest-
rule God has delivered us.
When Rome had shrouded earth in night,
God said again, Let there be light!
And Luther with the Gospel came
To spread the truth in Jesus' name.
