This is the discussion for Lesson 9: A Pillar of Mission: The Apostle Peter
Was Peter the First Pope?
This part of the discussion centres on the following saying of Jesus:
“I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18 NKJV).
Many have interpreted this text as conferring a special status upon Peter, and have him as the first in a long line of ‘Popes’, which have become seen as Christ’s supreme and infallible representative on earth.
Peter was undoubtedly a great leader of the early Christian church. But I don’t believe that he was the sole human upon which Jesus built His church. The Bible repeatedly makes the claim that Jesus is the rock, and the cornerstone upon which the church is built. And so we interpret the text above as Jesus referring to Himself as the rock, not Peter, despite the word play with Peter’s name meaning a type of stone or rock. Note the following:
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone… Eph 2:20 (NKJV)
This text shows that the foundation of the church is primarily Jesus, but to a lesser extent a multiplicity of apostles and prophets, not just one. It’s interesting that Peter himself refers to Jesus as the ‘cornerstone’ in Acts 4:11.
Peter also made mistakes and was openly criticised by Paul for his poor actions towards the Gentiles – so he was definitely not infallible. Peter also doesn’t seem to wield supreme power amongst the disciples.
Moving on, we note that the last part of Jesus’ saying is notable: ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against [the church]…’. The study guide this week notes that:
Many have tried to crush Christianity, but the church comes back stronger and more vital. Peter succeeded after some of his darkest moments— shouldn’t that inspire us to be dedicated soldiers of the cross?
What do you think about this statement? Has the church flourished in times of persecution? Does trial really strengthen our resolve? Conversely do we suffer in times of relative comfort and ‘acceptability’?
Popularity and Fame
Peter’s fame spread far and wide. Note how far this reached:
…so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Acts 5:15 (NKJV)
As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. Acts 10:25 (NKJV)
Such fame and power have been mortal traps for some religious figures in history. Luckily this didn’t seem to be a factor for Peter. This can be put down to the great lessons Peter learned from Jesus. Notably the humiliation of Peter’s betrayal of Jesus led him to never glory in his own power. The result was that the focus of Peter’s ministry was squarely on Christ. Look at the following evidence:
Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? Acts 3:11,12 (NKJV)
And to Cornelius he replied: “Stand up; I myself am also a man.” Acts 10:26 (NKJV)
Can we also say that we are grounded to the same degree? Do we give God the glory for the good works we do?
The study guide asks the question “How does the Lord help keep His servants humble?”. But do you think that God acts to keep us humble? If so, why?
Peter the Evangelist
Peter had been transformed from a genuine but outspoken and weak disciple, to being a humble and courageous servant, as well as a powerful orator and evangelist for Jesus.
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NIV).
There is much to learn about Peter’s willingness to follow the commands of his Lord, even when they led in a direction he didn’t like. None more so than the command to go to the Gentiles and treat them as brethren. – the famous ‘kill and eat the unclean animals’ vision in Acts 10. Much as it would have grated, he obeyed, and much success and blessing resulted.
Further it appeared that the early Christian church in Jerusalem, had a great missionary policy whereby new churches were supported by sending out the leaders to support and encourage the new plants:
Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them… Acts 8:14 (NKJV)
In response, the study guide asks:
What more could you do to help new members be better grounded in Jesus and our message?
We can’t just assume that this is the job of the pastor or elders, we all have a responsibility to be ‘ministers’ for God.
And a final question to ponder, also from the study guide:
Is your church organized more as a club than a mission organization? If so, what can you do to help restructure the church for its central mission?
I’d add that it’s not just whether our church is organised for mission – it’s whether us as individuals are structured around mission. That’s a tough question if directed at myself. It’s all too easy to see evangelism as something that just occurs in between family and work and leisure time, not something that these things are all subservient to.
Well that’s it for this week. Look forward to any comments you might have, and we’ll see you again next week…
