Oh, isn't that nice.

If you would like to know what Scripture means, or whether you even need to worry about what that passage means, just let me know, and I'll tell you.

 13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 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. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Matt 16:13-20 (KJV)

I'd rather let the legitimate successors of the apostles tell me - the bishops in union with the successor of Peter.

Matt 16: 17-19: "...Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."
 

Simply, the Pope is the fulfillment of the office of Prime Minister that existed in the Kindoms of David and his successors (as many things in the NT are fulfillments of their OT "types".)
 
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Helcias, and I will clothe him with thy Robe, and I will strengthen him with thy Sash, and will give thy Power (authority) into his hand; and he shall be as a FATHER (the word 'Pope' means 'Father') to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And I will lay the Key of the House of David (the symbol of primacy) upon his shoulder; and he shall open and none shall shut; and he shall shut and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg in a Sure Place(the Papal Office), and he shall be for a Throne of glory to the house of his Father. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his Fathers house, diverse kinds of vessels, every little vessel, from the vessels of cups even to every instrument of music." (Isaiah 22:20-24)
 
In the Davidic Kingdoms, there was the office of Prime Minister (who actually wore a key on his robe as a symbol of office). This position is what is referred to in the abouve text and in other historical documents.

So now let's fast-forward to the New Testament: JESUS is the King, the "son of David", in the line of David. These Jewish men, steeped in there Jewish culture, knew EXACTLY what it meant when Jesus gave Peter the keys. Peter was to be the Prime Minister of Christ's Kingdom, the "Keeper of the Keys".
 
So this is what the Pope is: Prime Minister of the King's Kingdom. Also, the Pope has a pastoral role, which is established in John 21: 15-17, when Christ told Peter: "feed my lambs.. ..feed my sheep.. ..tend my sheep."
 
This is the Pope: Prime Minister of Christs Kingdom, and Pastor of the flock. With that in mind, I see the Papacy is ALL THROUGH the scriptures. Now, throw into that mix the fact there is ample evidence in the New Testament that Peter was first in authority among the apostles. Whenever they were named, Peter headed the list (Matt. 10:1-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-16, Acts 1:13) ; sometimes the apostles were referred to as "Peter and those who were with him" (Luke 9:32). Peter was the one who generally spoke for the apostles (Matt. 18:21, Mark 8:29, Luke 12:41, John 6), and he figured in many of the most dramatic scenes (Matt. 14:28-32, Matt. 17:24-27, Mark 10:23-28 ) . On Pentecost it was Peter who first preached to the crowds (Acts 2:14-40), and he worked the first healing in the Church age (Acts 3:6-7). It is Peter’s faith that will strengthen his brethren (Luke 22:32) and, as I said, Peter is given Christ’s flock to shepherd (John 21:17). An angel was sent to announce the resurrection to Peter (Mark 16:7), and the risen Christ first appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34). He headed the meeting that elected Matthias to replace Judas (Acts 1:13-26), and he received the first converts (Acts 2:41). He inflicted the first punishment (Acts 5:1-11), and excommunicated the first heretic (Acts 8:18-23). He led the first council in Jerusalem (Acts 15), and announced the first dogmatic decision (Acts 15:7-11). It was to Peter that the revelation came that Gentiles were to be baptized and accepted as Christians (Acts 10:46-48 ) .

Tu
My comment about the pope being an old man who may not be in full charge of his facilities was not intended to be unkind.  He is elected for live and is usually fairly old at the time.  It is a natural part of aging.

Here are some problems with Peter being the first pope and passing it on.

1.  There is no historical or biblical evidence that he established the church at Rome.

2. If Jesus had made it clear that he was to be the leader of the church or kingdom why were the apostles still wanting to know at the last supper who was to be the greatest in the kingdom.  Jesus did not solve this argument by telling them that Peter was to be the authority that mattered but told them to become servants to be the greatest.

3. Jesus did not give Peter alone the right to bind and loose in the kingdom.  I Matt 18 speaking to all the disciples He said they the disciples not just Peter or the apostle would have the authority to bind and loose.

4.  The origin of the church was in Jerusalem not Rome and the first church council was there with James being the leader.

5. Paul did not consider Peter to be above him when he publically rebuked him in Gal. 2

6.  There is no scriptural or historical evidence that Peter was the supreme leader of the church nor that he nor any of the apostles were to have perpetual successors.

I'm sorry, but each of those points is either incorrect, or not relevant to the papacy. I will address each one in time. Now I'm getting ready to go to work. But I will address the one about Peter being in Rome for now by asking you to read this link: http://www.catholic.com/library/Was_Peter_in_Rome.asp

I'll be back.

 

Actually, bishops and councils are in the New Testament--just check your Greek concordance and look at Acts 15.  The Pope is just one title of the bishop of Rome, and the "magisteria" is nothing more than the teaching charism given to the Church's leaders which you will find in Ephesians 4.

So, yes, these things are found in Scripture.

Now, let me pose a question to which you've already given an answer:

Where do we find church boards, church buildings, PA systems, communion thimbles, communion trays, Sunday School, VBS, parachurch missions organizations, etc., etc., etc., in the Bible.


And you're right.  We don't find those things in Scripture.  They are, PROTESTANT inventions.  They are the inventions of men.

But you will argue--and I will agree--that these things are legitimate tools the Church uses to accomplish its mission.  I would also argue that while bishops, councils, magisteria, and so forth are found in the Scripture, they are not found in their present exact forms.  Why, because these are also tools that are legitimate developments the Church uses to accomplish it's mission.