Was there any early Christian writing that said the rock in Matthew 16:18 was not Peter?

No, the Bible, history and the patristic evidence all testify to St. Peter being the 'Rock" that Jesus called him.

I truly appreciate the efforts to defend the Protestant opposition to Christ’s Church using the original languages as a weapon against what Christ and the disciples have founded. The defense with the following verse:

Matthew 16:18: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church."

Of course this is the verse where our Lord appointed Simon as the leader of the disciples, head of the Church on earth and the Pope. It is believed by some Protestants that they can defend their position of Simon not receiving the authority from Jesus by using the original Greek.

The claim made is that there is a difference between the Greek words “petra” and “petros”. Now, if this discussion between Jesus and Simon had occurred a few centuries earlier before Attic Greek had ceased to be and lost in antiquity it might be a valid argument. However, in the first century when this discussion occurred the Greek language was Koine Greek instead. In Koine Greek there is no difference in the meaning between “petra” and “petros” except in Koine Greek “petra” is feminine and “petros” is the masculine form. So what I am saying is that one is making a great error in interpretation to assign the Attic Greek meanings large stone and small stone, which was used in ancient Greek poetic writings, when that language was gone for centuries in usage.

Now, let us look at the Aramaic which is the familial language spoken by Jesus and the disciples which is the language which this discussion recorded in the Scriptures in Koine Greek occurred. We know that Jesus spoke in Aramaic because His words on the cross are in Aramaic (Matt 27:46). In fact, the book of Matthew was originally written in Aramaic according to most scholars including myself. Also in the St. Paul’s letters to the Galatians and to the Corinthians we see the word Cephas a total of eight times which is the English equivalent of kepha. Kepha always means rock. So, in Matthew 16:18 it would read using the Aramaic “You are Kepha and on this Kepha I will build my Church.” There is no big rock and pebble as evidence was given in the then dead Attic Greek. So in the original language Jesus does not offer a contrast but instead He clearly is calling Simon the rock.

If one is not yet convinced that the rendering in Attic Greek is improper let us look at Matthew 16:18 with the Attic Greek interpretation and see which one makes the most sense…. “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father in heaven. And I tell you, you are just a little pebble and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Instead of the Koine Greek “you are Rock (Petros) and upon this rock (petros) I will build my Church. He goes on to give Simon Peter the keys to heaven showing the authority of the rock named Peter. As the King of Kings Jesus is making Peter His prime minister of His kingdom and we can see the foreshadowing from Isaiah 22: 21-22 and the leader of the flock from John 21:15-17. It shows in Isaiah the passing on of the keys from one to another for authority of the kingdom just as the authority of the papacy is passed on.

In Christ

Fr. Joseph

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:1)

Jesus said he would build His church (not Peter's church) "upon this rock" (not "upon you")! "This rock" is the truth (foundation) in the confession Jesus made; "Thou art the Christ the son of the Living God"!

You mentioned the difference between pebble and foundation stone, but did you note the difference in gender between the two words? "Peter" is masculine. "Rock" is feminine, therefore could not have referred to the man Peter.

Even IF one could show from this verse, however, that the church was founded upon Peter, this verse does not teach any secession of authority to subsequent "Popes" that the Catholic Church claims. If it does, where does it teach this authority is passed along to others?

Jesus said He (Jesus) has "ALL authority" and the apostles authority was to teach the things Jesus had commanded (Mat. 28:18-20)!

As for quotes, I would think 1 Corinthians 3:1 would be enough!

Also, in Galatians 2:11, Paul rebuked Peter. If Peter was the "Pope", the ultimate leader of the church on Earth, then how could Paul have done this?

Finally, consider the words of Paul. He said: “For in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing” (2 Corinthians 12:11). From this verse, we conclude that Paul was inferior to none of the apostles, and that Peter was neither lesser nor greater than Paul.

For additional discussion and evidence, please see the first link below.

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Not one

lithos would be pebble or little stone not petra

Petros is "Rock Man"

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Catholic Apologetics

Tim Staples"Peter the rock"

There is another interpretation of this verse, look at the previous verses, particularly verse 15 and 16 where Jesus asked Peter "Who do you say that I am?". Peter answered "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then in verse 18 said that that idea is the rock on which He will base his church, an idea, not Peter.

Great question, John, but an uncomfortable one. I held the protestant position most of my life until I came to the realization it was based on the assumption that theologians 2,000-years removed from the event had a better understanding of it than the disciples of those present at the event. It left me grasping at straws; couldn't find any, tho.

The Early Church Fathers saw the Patriarch of Rome as being "First among equals."

The problem came when Pope Leo IX decided to drop the "among equals" part of it in order to obtain absolute rule over the Council of Patriarchs. This was one of the key issues in the Great Schism of 1054.

"Peter gave all the Glory to Jesus"

You bet he did, but Jesus gave Peter the Keys to heaven and the power to bind and loose sins of the people.

Jesus left us the Church, the Catholic Church to guide us with the Holy Spirit to the end of time.

That does not mean that every member of the Church has to be perfect.

Peace and God Bless.

There is none, because all the Early Church Fathers acknowledged that Peter was indeed the Rock. There is no other way to interpret it.

JESUS IS the Rock, always was and will always Be...Peter (Greek: Pebble) this false teaching by the RCC is very much a deception by you know who, as are MANY of their teachings :-( do not fall prey to these teachings, for they have fatal and lethal consequences, Jesus warns in Rev. 18:4 to come out of "her"..Peace/Love God Bless

It was Peter. Jesus was making a pun on his nickname, which means rock.