Source: "The Essential Catholic Survival Guide" by Catholic Answers: Ch. 2, pp. 35 – 39
Audio: FF - Papacy_01 - Aramaic Language Kepha.mp3
Catholics acknowledge the papal authority of Peter through Jesus’ three-fold blessing over Peter in Matthew 16:15 – 19. Jesus gives Peter a new name, “Rock”, upon which He will build His Church and gives Peter the keys to the kingdom, quoting nearly verbatim from Isaiah 22:22.
Yet Protestants claim by getting behind the English to the Greek that Jesus was the “petra” (or large stone) and Peter was a mere “petros” (or little pebble in Greek). However, when you get behind the Greek to the Aramaic, the language Jesus and the Apostles spoke, Jesus says in both places “You are Kepha (Aramaic for rock), and on this kepha I will build my Church.” Four times in Galatians and four times in 1 Corinthians Paul preserves Peter’s new Aramaic name by calling him Cephas.