Recently we saw stories in the news that the relics of St. Peter would be on display. Coincidentally (if you believe in that sort of thing) the other day in Bible study we were reading Matthew 10. In this chapter, Jesus commissions his Apostles. As is always the case with Scripture, there is a lot here that I learned, things that I have been missing for years just reading it on my own or hearing it at Mass.
First, there is the word “Apostle.” It comes from the Greek ἀπόστολος (ap-os’-tol-os) which means an envoy, delegate, one commissioned by another to represent him. These men are not just followers of Jesus, they are His chosen representatives here on Earth, representing Him, and deriving authority from Jesus.
In the list given, and indeed every time the Apostles are named, Peter is listed first. Why? He is not the first one called (that would be Andrew). As far as I know, Peter doesn’t come first alphabetically in ancient Greek. He comes first because of his importance, and preeminence among the Apostles.
In fact, Peter isn’t even his name, originally. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter, and gave him a special commission – several of them, in fact. Im Matthew 16 Jesus says:
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
In John 21 Jesus speaks to Peter:
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
In Luke 22 Jesus says to him:
“Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.”
And these aren’t the only places. In John 20 the women come back and tell Peter that the tomb is open. When John runs ahead and gets to the tomb first, he waits for Peter before going in. In Acts 4 it is Peter who addresses the Sanhedrin on behalf of the Apostles. In Acts 15 it is Peter who leads the Council of Jerusalem.
And so we see that the Apostles have been given the authority of Jesus, but Peter has been given authority even among the Apostles. Peter is the only one who has the keys, who must tend the sheep, whose faith will not fail, who will strengthen his brother Apostles. He is the spokesman for the others, the one who leads them.
Our Protestant brethren will tell you that Peter was just one of the Apostles, but that is not a Biblical position. We can see every time the Apostles are named that he holds a special place. Our Orthodox brethren will tell you that Peter was just “first among equals,” but again, Scripture does not support that.
As Catholics, we recognize what Jesus gave us. We have a Pope.
Copyright © 2013, Michael Lindner
Michael Lindner
Mike is a scouter, a science geek, a dad, a husband and a Catholic. He earns a living as a software engineer in beautiful New Jersey. In his spare time (ha ha) he muses at his blog What Does Mike Think? He is not a writer (which will be painfully obvious after reading his posts) but feels called to apologetics and evangelization anyway. You have been warned.
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