Did Jesus build the Catholic Church on Peter's rock?

Mathew 16: 18-19 is quoted by church authorities when they want to prove that Jesus founded the Catholic church.

Before we discuss Mathew 16: 18-19, let us take a quick look at the history of the four Gospels of the New Testament (NT) and its authors.

Dr. James Gardner’s book Jesus Who? Myth vs Reality in the Search for the Historical Jesus is helpful in this context.

When were the NT books written? There are various ways of dating manuscripts. Reference to contemporary historical events, type of material used to write, script analysis, language analysis, carbon dating etc. are some of them. Using such techniques, experts have concluded that the four Gospels (meaning ‘good news’) of the NT were probably composed/compiled between AD 80 and AD 180. They are regarded as ‘biographies’ of Jesus. The four biographers – Mark, Mathew, Luke, and John - are called ‘evangelists’ (meaning ‘bringing good news’). As opposed to popular myth, these four were not apostles or disciples of Jesus who followed him around and jotted down his every word and act. In fact, no one knows the real identity of these four.

The first three Gospels of Mark, Mathew, and Luke are similar and are referred to as “Synoptic Gospels” (from a Greek word meaning ‘with one eye’). In fact, they are so repetitive that some believe the second evangelist copied from the first and the third from the first and second!

Let us now come back to the issue at hand. Here is Mathew 16: 18-19 from Good News Bible:

18: And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.

19: I will give you the keys of the Kingdome of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. 

Church authorities quote these two verses as evidence of Jesus founding Christianity and to support the doctrine of Apostolic Succession.  This doctrine says that the pre-eminence attributed to Peter among the twelve apostles is the basis for the primacy of the bishop of Rome over other bishops throughout the church.

For a deeper contextual understanding of these verses, one needs to examine (a) the situation leading to making these statements by Jesus; (b) what follows afterward; and (c) how the other evangelists, Mark and Luke, report this incident.

Mathew 16: 13-16, Mark 8: 27-29 and Luke 9: 18-20

Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do people say I am?”. This question was asked while they were all traveling to Caesarea Philippi. They answered: “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others say, one of the prophets.” Then he asked them: “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered: “You are the Messiah.”

Mathew 16: 17-19

Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock on which he will build the church and hand over to him the keys to heaven.

There is no mention at all in both Mark and Luke about this part of the conversation.

Mathew 16: 20, Mark 8: 30 and Luke 9: 21:

Jesus tells his disciples not to mention to anyone that he is the Messiah.

Mathew 16: 21-23 and Mark 8: 31-33:

From that time Jesus started telling his disciples about his suffering and death. Peter was upset, and he took Jesus aside and told him: “God forbid it, Lord! That must never happen to you.” Then Jesus rebuked him: “Get away from me, Satan. Your thoughts don’t come from God but from man.”

Luke simply skips this part. It looks as though he is a big fan of Peter.

The omission of the conversation between Jesus and Peter regarding building the church and handing over the keys to heaven in both Mark and Luke could either be accidental or purposeful. Some church historians believe that this inclusion in Mathew alone was intentionally done as a postscript. Others argue that these verses were distorted in translation from Greek to Latin by St. Jerome to suit the political agenda of his time.  A quick reading of the church history of the 4^th and 5^th centuries will shed more light on these arguments.