Gavin Ortlund recently made the case that the papacy is not from God, but a human development within the Church. In this Catholic apologetics response, I want to take that claim seriously and ask whether the Catholic understanding of Peter, the pope, Matthew 16, Isaiah 22, and the keys to the kingdom is really a later invention — or whether it belongs to the larger biblical story of the kingdom Christ came to establish.

Most Catholic vs Protestant debates about the papacy begin with Matthew 16: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” And yes, that passage matters. But I think Catholics and Protestants often start this conversation in the middle of the story.

Before we ask whether Peter is the rock, or whether the pope is biblical, we need to ask a deeper question:

What kind of kingdom did Jesus come to establish?

If Jesus is the promised Son of David, then His kingdom should fulfill what God had already revealed in the Old Testament. That means Matthew 16 cannot be separated from the Davidic kingdom, Isaiah 22, the key of the House of David, the office of steward, and the way Jesus repeatedly singles out Peter throughout the New Testament.

In this video, we walk through the biblical case step by step. We look at Isaiah 22 and the office behind the keys. We look at Matthew 16 through Jewish eyes. We look at Luke 22, where Jesus tells Peter to strengthen his brothers. We look at John 21, where Jesus restores Peter and tells him to feed His sheep. We look at Acts 1, Acts 2, Acts 10, and Acts 15 to see how Peter actually functions in the earliest life of the Church.

And then we briefly look at early church history: Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus, bishops, apostolic succession, and the visible unity of the Catholic Church.

This video is not claiming that one verse alone proves every detail of Catholic teaching on the papacy. That would be too simplistic. But when you step back and look at the whole picture — Isaiah 22, Matthew 16, Luke 22, John 21, Acts, and the early Christians — a consistent pattern begins to emerge.

This is not just about Peter being “the rock.”

It is about the kingdom, the keys, the office, the Church, and the authority Christ gives for the sake of His people.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Gavin Ortlund’s claim about the papacy
00:18 Are Catholics and Protestants starting in the wrong place?
02:34 How the New Testament reads the Old Testament
05:54 The kingdom behind the keys
08:46 The office behind the keys
11:19 Isaiah 22 and the key of the House of David
16:03 Matthew 16 through Jewish eyes
20:48 Peter’s mission was not canceled by his failure
24:00 Jesus strengthens Peter before the Cross
27:25 Jesus restores Peter after the Resurrection
31:39 Peter begins living the mission in Acts
39:15 Peter opens the door to the Gentiles
39:59 Acts 15: Did James replace Peter?
45:28 What did the early Christians believe?
48:23 The kingdom changes everything
51:43 Next video: Mary, the New Eve, and the Ark of the New Covenant

SCRIPTURE DISCUSSED

Matthew 5:17
Isaiah 22:15-25
Matthew 16:13-20
John 1:40-42
Luke 22:31-32
John 21:15-17
Acts 1:15-26
Acts 2:14, 36-41
Acts 3:1-10
Acts 5
Acts 10
Acts 15:1-21
Romans 5:14
1 Corinthians 5:7
John 3:14
Genesis 22
Luke 1:39-56

If this video helped you understand the Catholic case for Peter, the keys, and the papacy more clearly, please like, comment, subscribe, and share it with someone who has questions about Matthew 16, Catholic teaching, Protestant objections, or the authority of the Catholic Church.

What do you think? Does Matthew 16 make more sense when we begin with the kingdom?