The apostle Peter

• Fisherman to fisher of men

  • John 1:35-42

  • Matthew 4:18-20 – start of the process

• Hot and cold

  • Mark 8:31-33

  • John 13:6-9

  • John 13:31-38; Matthew 26:74-75, 57-58

  • First gospel sermons in Acts 2 and Acts 3

  • Withstood persecution of the council – Acts 4:1-31

  • Influences others into hypocrisy – Galatians 2:11-14

• Was he the rock on whom the church was built?

  • John 1:42 – Peter or rock?

  • Matthew 16:13-20 – Is Peter this rock?

  • From Peter himself: I Peter 2:4-8

  • Backed up by Paul: I Corinthians 3:9-11

• Was Peter the “Head Apostle” or “Chief Apostle”?

  • Hebrews 3:1 – Someone greater than Peter

  • Galatians 2:6-10 – not exclusive

• Peter not always “preeminent”

  • James took front and center in much of Acts

    • Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18

  • Who sends the boos on a mission? Acts 8:14-15

  • No doubt, Peter was a prominent apostle

  • No indication that he ruled over them

  • With no position held, it couldn’t be passed down

Apostolic succession

• Several schisms teach and follow this

  • Roman Catholicism

  • Eastern Orthodoxy

  • Mormonism

• Hinges on two ideas

  • Peter was the head apostle

  • His authority was passed on to subsequent generations

  • New apostles replace those who pass on or step down

• Matthias

  • Added to the eleven to make twelve again

  • Criteria defies continual replacement – Acts 1:21-22

    • Be a witness “with us”

    • Must have been present along with apostles

• What about Paul?

  • Special mission, special apostleship

  • Mission determined by God, not man

  • Appointment directly from Jesus

• Some call selves apostles but are not – Revelation 2:2

Veneration

• Adulation bordering on worship

  • To apostles

  • To select or prominent saints

  • Special places of worship

    • Bearing saints’ names

    • Some containing their remains – Matthew 23:27

  • Contrast with apostles’ attitudes

    • Where did early church gather in Jerusalem?

    • What made place of worship holy? Matthew 18:20

    • We keep the things we do and places we do when we do them by the authority of Jesus Christ

  • Would the apostles approve?

• Scriptures to consider

  • I Thessalonians 2:5-7

  • Acts 14:11-18

  • I Corinthians 15:9-10

  • II Corinthians 11:7-15

  • Acts 10:25-26

  • Matthew 17:4-5

Peter in tradition

• Executed in Rome by Nero

  • Crucified upside down

  • Same time as Paul’s execution

  • Remains in St. Peter’s Basilica along with Paul’s

• Count Joseph’s Commission in the fourth century

  • From Emperor Constantine

  • Martyrium built on site of Peter’s and Andrew’s home

The apostles – in closing

• Single most convincing evidence

  • Never sought power or wealth

  • Unfailing witnesses of the gospel

  • Endured much discomfort and cruelty

  • Died for the faith, what they knew to be true

    • Deaths often by cruel means

    • Could have renounced faith

• Why would they do this for a lie?