Ep. 202 - Peter, the Jewish Background of the Papacy, and the Pagan Shrine at Caesarea Philippi
Mass Readings for August 23, 2026
Jesus leads his disciples deep into pagan territory—Caesarea Philippi—where an ancient temple to the Greek god Pan stands in full swing. Against this backdrop, Peter makes his game-changing confession and receives the keys of the kingdom straight from Our Lord. We’ll plunge into the original Greek and Aramaic, dig up the Jewish roots of the papacy, and uncover how a mysterious rock in the Holy of Holies sheds new light on Peter’s unique role. Join us as we crack open the connections between the Davidic kingdom, priestly authority, and the gates of Hades themselves.
Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:
The dramatic and highly symbolic setting of Caesarea Philippi—a live pagan temple where sacrifices to the Greek god Pan were conducted, right on the furthest edge of Jewish territory [10:02]
The twofold confession of Peter, unpacking what it really means to call Jesus both "the Christ" and "the Son of the living God," and where this theme resurfaces in Peter's Pentecost sermon [20:21]
The fascinating linguistic interplay between the Greek "petros" and "petra," the likely Aramaic background, and how grammatical nuances bolster or challenge interpretations about Peter as "the rock" [28:11]
The hidden heritage behind the word "ekklesia," its Old Testament roots in "qahal," and the rarely-noted fact that Jesus uses it only twice in the Gospels—both times in Matthew [30:27]
The Even Shetiyah, or "foundation stone" in the Holy of Holies, revered in Jewish tradition as plugging the mouth of Hades, and how Jesus explicitly connects Peter to this rock and to the gates of Hades [33:08]
The deeply Jewish symbolism of "the keys," their connection to the chief steward in Isaiah 22, priestly roles in the temple, and even the physical keys being literally chained to a slab of marble [42:09]
The technical rabbinic meaning of binding and loosing, how it signified authoritative interpretation in the first century, and why Jesus' bestowal of this authority on Peter is loaded with temple, kingdom, and priestly significance [46:08]
References
Among these is also the following wonder. At Cæsarea Philippi, which the Phœnicians call Paneas, springs are shown at the foot of the Mountain Panius, out of which the Jordan flows. They say that on a certain feast day, a victim was thrown in,4 and that through the power of the demon it marvelously disappeared and that which happened was a famous wonder to those who were present. Astyrius was once there when these things were done, and seeing the multitude astonished at the affair, he pitied their delusion; and looking up to heaven he supplicated the God over all through Christ, that he would rebuke the demon who deceived the people, and bring the men’s delusion to an end. And they say that when he had prayed thus, immediately the sacrifice floated on the surface of the fountain. And thus the miracle departed; and no wonder was ever afterward performed at the place.” (Eusebius, Church History 7.17.1)
Matthew 12:29 - “How can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.”
Matthew 23:4 - “They [the Pharisees] bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders.”
“Scholars have debated precisely what Jesus means by the ‘rock’; Protestants, following Augustine and Luther, have sometimes contended that the rock in this passage is only Jesus himself. Thus they have sometimes argued that Peter’s name in Greek (petros) differs from the Greek term for rock used here (petra). But by Jesus’ day the terms were usually interchangeable, and the original Aramaic form of Peter’s nickname that Jesus probably used (kephas) means simply ‘rock.’ Further, Jesus does not say, ‘You are Peter, but on this rock I will build my church’; the weak adversative de sometimes means ‘and,’ but the copulative kai almost always means ‘and’ (exceptions like Tob 4:17 are very rare).” (Keener 426-427)
“The world did not come into being until God took a certain stone, which is called the ‘foundation stone’ [even shetiya], and cast it into the abyss so that it held fast there, and from it the world was planted. This is the central point of the universe, and on this point stands the holy of holies. […] This stone is compounded of fire, water, and air, and rests on the abyss.” (Zohar, Vayechi 43.445-446)
“The altar is placed extremely precisely and may never ever be placed anywhere else as it says ‘This is the Altar for the offerings of Israel.’ And it was in the temple that Isaac was bound as it says ’and go to the land of Moriah’ and it says ‘Solomon built the temple on Mt. Moriah.’ And it is a tradition accepted by all, that the place where David and Solomon built the altar at the threshing floor of Arauna was the place that Abraham built the altar and bound Isaac upon it, and that was the place that Noah built upon when he left the ark, and that was the altar upon which Kain and Abel sacrificed, and upon which Adam the First sacrificed when he was created. And from there was born the saying of the sages that ‘Man was created from the place of his atonement.’" (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Chosen Temple 2:1-2)
“For although there be four courses of the priests, and everyone of them have above five thousand men in them, yet do they officiate on certain days only; and when those days are over, other priests succeed in the performance of their sacrifices, and assemble together at midday, and receive the keys of the temple.” (Josephus, Against Apion 2.108)
“And there was a place there… whereon lay a slab of marble in which was fixed a ring and a chain on which hung the keys. When the time was come to lock up [the Temple Court] he lifted up the slab by the ring and took the keys from the chain. The priest locked [the gates] from inside while a Levite slept outside. When he had finished locking [the gates] he put back the keys on the chain and the slab in its place, put his mattress over it, and went to sleep.” (Mishnah Middoth 1.9)
“Thus also, before the Jews rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war [in 67-70 A.D.]… the eastern gate of the inner [court of the] Temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavey, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron… was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now, those that kept watch in the Temple came hereupon running to the captain of the Temple [segan ha-kohanim (deputy/assistant of the High Priest)], and told him of it: who then came up there, and not without great difficulty, and was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these publicly declared that this signal foreshadowed the desolation that was coming upon them.” (Josephus, War 6:293-96)
“The term ‘assembly’ - in Greek, ekklesia - is a translation of the Hebrew term qahal, a word used several times in the Psalms to refer to the worshipping assembly of Israel gathered in the Temple.” (Bergsma 176-177)
“These terms ‘bind’ and ‘loose’ had a very specific meaning in the Judaism of Jesus’ day. They referred to the act of making an authoritative decision about the interpretation of God’s law. In Judaism, the interpretation of the law is called halakhah, and the authority to interpret is halakhic authority. To ‘bind’ was to forbid something, to ‘loose’ was to permit it. For example, the law of God says to rest on the Sabbath, and not to work. But is starting a fire ‘working’? Most rabbis said yes, so starting a fire was ‘bound.’ By contrast, getting an animal our of a pit was not considered ‘work,’ so it was ‘loosed’ (see Matt 12:11).
“In the time of Jesus, the party of the Pharisees did most of the ‘binding’ and ‘loosing’ for the common Jews in Judea. Josephus says of them that, when they enjoyed royal favor, ‘they banished and reduced whom they pleased; they bound and loosed at their pleasure’ (War 1:111). Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler says, ‘This does not mean that … they merely decided what … was forbidden or allowed, but that they possessed and exercised the power of tying or untying a thing by the spell of their divine authority.
“The Scriptures, however, had not given this authority to the Pharisees or the rabbis generally, but to the Levitical priests. Moses commanded that if there was a dispute about the interpretation of the law, one was to travel to the sanctuary and get the decision of the Levitical priests, and their decision was absolutely binding on pain of death (Deut 17:8-13) - in other words, the priests’ interpretation of the law was as binding as the law itself. In keeping with this principle, God commands Haggai the prophet to go consult the priests about the interpretations of the law of cleanliness (Hag 2:10-13). The Hasmonean (i.e., Maccabean) dynasty, however, unlawfully took over the high priesthood around 150 B.C., which shook the confidence of the people in priestly authority. The Pharisees moved in to fill this religious authority vacuum, and especially when they had political backing from the king, they effectively usurped the priestly role of ‘binding’ and ‘loosing.’” (Bergsma 177-178)
“The Pharisees, a body of Jews with the reputation of excelling the rest of their nation in the observances of religion, and as exact exponents of the laws […] became at length the real administrators of the state, at liberty to banish and recall, to loose and to bind whom they would. In short, the enjoyments of royal authority were theirs.” (Josephus, War 1.5.2)
Bibliography
Bergsma, John. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Image, 2019.
Davies, W. D., and Dale C. Allison Jr. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. International Critical Commentary. London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004.
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009.
Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
Pitre, Brant. “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Papacy.” Catholic Productions, n.d. https://catholicproductions.com/products/jesus-and-the-jewish-roots-of-the-papacy.
Discussion Questions
The introduction focused on the significance of the setting of Caesarea Philippi. Why do you think Jesus chose this pagan location to ask his disciples about his identity, and how does that impact the meaning of the passage?
One concept discussed was the twofold nature of Peter’s confession—calling Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” What do each of these titles signify in the Jewish and early Christian context?
A key theme that emerged was the biblical and Jewish roots of the papacy. What connections were drawn between the Davidic kingdom, the Jewish priesthood, and Peter’s role as “the rock”?
The episode explored the linguistic nuances of “Petros” and “petra” in Greek, and why the distinction between these words matters in debates about Peter’s authority. How does exploration of the original Greek clarify this issue?
Several points were raised, including the meaning of the word “ekklesia” and its Old Testament counterpart, “qahal.” How does understanding this connection shape our view of the Church’s nature and mission?
The episode examined the tradition of the Even Shetiyah, the “foundation stone” in the Jewish temple. What parallels were drawn between this stone and Peter’s role in the Church?
The conversation focused on the imagery of the “gates of Hades” and how it relates to the authority and mission given to Peter. How does this imagery inform our understanding of the Church’s offensive—not just defensive—role?
The significance of “keys” in Jewish tradition and their symbolism in Isaiah 22 and temple practice were explored. How did this deepen your insight into Jesus’ words to Peter about the “keys of the kingdom”?
A key theme that emerged was the role of “binding and loosing” in first-century Judaism as terms of interpretation and authority. How does this illuminate the understanding of papal infallibility and teaching authority?
After hearing the argument that Peter’s office—and not just his personal authority—was established by Jesus, how does this shape Catholic beliefs about apostolic succession and the ongoing role of the Pope?