The Scandalous Rocks
A cool insight from Joe Heschmeyer’s book “Pope Peter” is found in Matthew 17. I’ve noted before how this chapter opens with a callback to the transfiguration of Moses on Mt. Sinai, thereby identifying Ss. James and John with Nadab and Abihu (the brothers), and St. Peter with Aaron the High Priest. Heschmeyer points out that this “high priestly” role for Peter is continued at the end of the chapter when the following is recounted:
On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? ” “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the sons are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” (Matthew 17:24-27)
In this often overlooked story about paying taxes to the Temple, Jesus affirms that both He and Peter are exempt from the tax, “because the sons are free.” Heschmeyer argues that “the sons” here cannot refer to the sons of Israel, who were certainly not exempt from the Temple tax (Ex. 30:12), but it can refer to “the sons of the Temple,” i.e. the Levitical priests, who most likely were exempt from the tax due to living off of the peoples’ tithes (cf. Heb. 7:5). Jesus being the true High Priest explains why He’s exempt (Heb. 7:26-28), and the fact that Jesus speaks to Peter with an inclusive “we” here (which He rarely ever does in the Gospels) strongly suggests that Peter is exempt from the Temple tax due him also being a High Priest.
This interpretation is further supported by the fact that, despite being exempt, Jesus insists that both He and Peter pay the tax anyways, because “we don’t want to offend (σκανδαλίσωμεν) them.” The word “offend” here is the verb-form of the word “σκάνδαλον,” or “scandal,” which is important because this very word was used in the previous chapter when Jesus said to Peter, “You are a scandal to me” (Matt. 16:23). In context, Peter being called a “scandal” is used as an ironic contrast to Him being called the “rock” (πέτρᾳ) of the Church just a few verses earlier (Matt. 16:18); and as Heschmeyer notes, the only other person the NT describes as both a “rock” (πέτρα) and a “scandal” (σκάνδαλον) is Jesus Christ, and it’s none other than St. Peter himself who literally says that Jesus is a “πέτρα σκανδάλου,” that is, “a rock of scandal” (1 Pet. 2:8).1 In addition to its profound theology, I also like to think this was a little inside joke between these two friends.
Circling back to Matthew 17, Jesus’ usage of the inclusive “we” with respect to Him and Peter being a “scandal,” in the context of both of them sharing a high priestly status, tells us with little doubt that St. Peter shares a special relationship to Jesus that the other disciples lack. The exact nature of this relationship, however, definitely requires further articulation.
This phrase is quoted from Isaiah 8:14, however it seems that Peter intentionally translated the text himself to solidify the “rock” and “scandal” connection. I'm not an expert on biblical manuscripts so I can't confirm this for sure, but in 1 Peter 2:6-8 Peter quotes three OT passages, two of which seem to be near direct quotations from the LXX:
1 Peter 2:6
Ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον ἀκρογωνιαῖον ἐκλεκτὸν ἔντιμον, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ
LXX Isaiah 28:16
Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμβαλῶ εἰς τὰ θεμέλια Σιων λίθον πολυτελῆ ἐκλεκτὸν ἀκρογωνιαῖον ἔντιμον [...] καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ
1 Peter 2:7
λίθος ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας
LXX Psalm 118:22
λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας
1 Peter 2:8
λίθος προσκόμματος καὶ πέτρα σκανδάλου
LXX Isaiah 8:14
λίθου προσκόμματι [...] πέτρας πτώματι
For the most part, it seems Peter sticks incredibly close to the LXX text, however when quoting Isaiah 8:14 he changes "πέτρας πτώματι" (a rock of downfall) to "πέτρα σκανδάλου" (a rock of scandal). Once again, this suggests that Peter was intentionally trying to create the “rock” and “scandal” association