Upon This Rock: Peter, the Papacy, and What Scripture Really Says About the Church

Upon This Rock explores one of the most debated statements Jesus ever made about His Church: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.”

What did Jesus mean by “this rock”? Was He referring to Peter himself, Peter’s confession of faith, Peter’s faith, or ultimately to Christ? What authority did Jesus actually give Peter when He entrusted him with the keys of the kingdom and spoke of binding and loosing? And how should those biblical passages be understood when we consider the later development of apostolic succession, the Bishop of Rome, papal authority, and papal infallibility?

Rather than beginning with a denominational conclusion, Upon This Rock follows the biblical evidence from the beginning. It examines Simon’s calling and the name Peter, Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” the meaning of the rock in Matthew 16, the keys of the kingdom, and Peter’s distinctive place among the apostles. It also considers the broader New Testament teaching about Christ as the Rock, Cornerstone, Foundation, Head, and Chief Shepherd of His Church.

The story of Peter himself becomes an essential part of the investigation. Peter was bold, faithful, impulsive, courageous, fearful, and capable of serious failure. He received remarkable authority from Christ, yet he was also corrected by Christ, corrected by Paul, taught by God concerning the Gentiles, and restored after denying Jesus three times. In John 21, Jesus entrusted Peter with the care of His sheep, but the sheep remained Christ’s sheep. Peter was a shepherd under the Shepherd.

The book then moves beyond the New Testament to examine Peter’s historical connection with Rome and the development of Roman primacy. Early Christian witnesses such as Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyons, Eusebius of Caesarea, and Augustine of Hippo are considered alongside official Catholic sources concerning the later understanding of papal authority. The discussion addresses apostolic succession, the Bishop of Rome, universal papal jurisdiction, and the doctrine of papal infallibility while distinguishing what historical sources actually establish from conclusions that developed later.

This is not simply a book about whether Peter was “the rock.” It is an examination of Peter, Matthew 16, apostolic authority, church authority, the papacy, Catholic teaching, early church history, and the relationship between Scripture and later Christian tradition. It asks an important question for every generation of Christians: when a doctrine or institution claims authority in the name of the apostles, what does Scripture actually establish, and what must be demonstrated through history and theological development?

Throughout the book, the goal is not to diminish Peter or caricature Catholic belief. Peter’s significance is taken seriously, Catholic claims are presented according to their own authoritative formulations, and early Christian history is treated as evidence rather than as a collection of convenient proof texts. The reader is encouraged to distinguish explicit biblical teaching from theological inference and later historical development.

At the center of it all stands the statement that gives this book its title: “I will build My church.”

Peter was chosen by Christ. Peter was named by Christ. Peter received the keys from Christ. Peter shepherded Christ’s sheep. But Peter never became the source of the authority he received.

Upon This Rock ultimately brings the discussion back to Jesus Christ—the One who is the true Rock, the Cornerstone, the Foundation, the Chief Shepherd, and the Builder of His Church.