Crash Goes the Da Vinci Code/Part 13
| By: Dr. Wayne Barber; ©2005 |
| There can only be one head of the church, and that is Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:23 tells us that “Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior”. |
by Dr. Ron Rhodes, Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries, P.O. Box 2526, Frisco, TX, 75034. 214-618-0912. www.ronrhodes.org (Used by permission.)
Did Jesus Intend Mary Magdalene to be the Head of the Church?
DAN BROWN’S POSITION:
“The rock on which Jesus built His Church … was not Peter … It was Mary Magdalene.” (Page 248) Jesus “intended for the future of His Church to be in the hands of Mary Magdalene.” (Page 248)
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER:
This is wishful thinking. Dan Brown’s statement alludes to Matthew 16:18. In this passage Jesus was not even saying that Peter was the rock upon whom the church would be built. Rather, He was saying that Peter’s previous confession that Jesus was the Christ would be the rock upon which the church would be built. There are a number of factors in the Greek text that argue against the interpretation that Peter was the rock. First, whenever Peter is referred to in this passage (Matthew 16), it is in the second person (“you”), but “this rock” is in the third person (verse 18). Moreover, “Peter” (petros) is a masculine singular term and rock” (petra) is a feminine singular term. Hence, they do not have the same referent. What is more, the same authority Jesus gave to Peter (Matthew 16:18) is later given to all the apostles (Matthew 18:18). So Peter is not unique.
Ephesians 2:20 affirms that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” Two things are clear from this: (1) all the apostles, not just Peter, are the foundation of the church; (2) the only one who was given a place of uniqueness or prominence was Christ, the capstone. Indeed, Peter himself referred to Christ as “the cornerstone” of the church (1 Peter 2:7) and the rest of believers as “living stones” (verse 4) in the superstructure of the church. There can only be one head of the church, and that is Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:23 tells us that “Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior” (see also Col. 1: 18).
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