All that Jesus preached and worked were all very good. But today's man might ask, "How about me? Is that grace only for the people of Jesus' time?" Many persons regard Jesus Christ as an outstanding Person, and may even believe that He is God. But for them, all that is a thing of the past. Is it really so? In this lesson we will ask the following questions:
1. He picked out some men to whom he gave special training.
St Matthew (10:1-4) narrates:
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
St Mark (3:13-19) says:
13 And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons: 16 Simon whom he surnamed Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
St Luke (6:12-16) tells us:
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Not only are the Evangelists unanimous in the list of choices. They also list the apostles according to a certain order. The most striking of this order is that Simon Peter is always at the head. Note also that the names in the list can be divided into three groups, and each foursome is the same for all three Gospel accounts and the list given by the Acts (see next quotation below).
The list is given again when, after Jesus' resurrection, the remaining eleven were gathered together. The Acts of the Apostles (1:13) tells us:
13 and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.
The Acts (1:15-16) also mentions that Judas used to be one among them:
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brethren (the company of persons was in all about a hundred and twenty), and said, 16 "Brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David, concerning Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us, and was allotted his share in this ministry.
Furthermore, the twelve were to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. This is why, when they had to choose someone in place of Judas, Peter spoke and said (Acts 1:21-26)
21 "So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us--one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection." 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two thou hast chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place." 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles.
In chapter 10 of the Acts of the Apostles, St Peter stresses that the ones who had a special mandate to preach were chosen and that they personally saw Jesus Christ alive once more.
39 And we are witnesses to all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest; 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
2. He commissioned them to spread his teaching.
2.1 Jesus Christ sent off his apostles to preach, baptise, help people observe His teachings.
This can be seen in the passages cited above.
Furthermore, after his resurrection, Jesus Christ told them (Matthew 28):
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
The Apostles, in fact, set out right away after Jesus commissioned them. In Chapter 16 of his gospel, Saint Mark tells us:
15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ... 20 And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.
St Luke (chapter 24) adds more details: that the minds of the apostles were opened, that they are to be witnesses of the things that have been accomplished, and that they are to wait for the Holy Spirit:
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high."
St Luke completed and reiterated the points in his Gospel narrative with his opening words in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles:
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me, 5 for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."
2.2 The apostles were sent, just as Jesus was sent.
Jesus passed on to the apostles his mission (the word "mission" comes from the Latin mittere, which means "to send"). Jesus Christ passes his being-sent on to the apostles. They were to be witnesses not of themselves, but of Jesus Christ, and of the Father.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." (John 20:21)
2.3 They will have the same authority as Jesus Christ.
Jesus' words in the Last Supper, as recorded by John, show us that Jesus was conferring the same authority on His apostles:
20 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me." (John 13:20)
In chapter 17, as Jesus prays to the Father, He speaks about His apostles:
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, 2 since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent...."
"6 I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word 7 Now they know that everything that thou hast given me is from thee; 8 for I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me...."
"18 As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world."
This authority comes from the Father, so that just as
19 "[T]he Son can do nothing of his own accord...." (John 5:19)
likewise, Jesus Christ tells His chosen apostles,
5 "[A]part from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)
Jesus further says that a person who wishes to accept Him must accept the teaching of the apostles:
16 "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." (Luke 10:16)
2.4 The mission did not end with the apostles: they, in turn, sent out men to succeed them.
The apostles commission other apostles in turn by the laying on of hands. The Acts of the Apostles (chapter 6) tell us of the choosing of seven men to serve as deacons:
5 ...they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them.
St Paul, in his two letters to Timothy, mentions this laying on of hands as well:
14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the council of elders laid their hands upon you. (I Timothy 4:14)
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man's sins; keep yourself pure. (I Timothy 5:22)
6 Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands. (II Timothy 1:6)
3. They were not to be freelance apostles. He established an institution to preserve unity.
3.1 Jesus' prayer for unity
Jesus Christ, in the Last Supper, prayed for the unity of his apostles. St John records the words of Jesus in chapter 17 of his Gospel:
"11 And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ... 22 The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me."
3.2 Visible Church with a visible head
3.2.1 Peter is chosen
Jesus Christ established a church to guarantee this unity. This church will have a visible head. Chapter 16 of St Matthew records the words of the Lord:
"18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
The name "Peter" is Petros in Greek, and it means little stone; while "rock" is petra, referring to a rock. Petros is a masculine noun, petra is feminine. Masculine nouns are applied to men, and thus the name Petros, not petra is used for him. But in the original Aramaic version of St Matthew's Gospel, the term used to refer to both Simon Peter and the rock is kepha, or cephas. This name is confirmed by St John in his Gospel:
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter). (John 1:42)
"Kepha" or "Cephas" in Jesus' times was not used as a name. Hence Jesus Christ's usage of the name is unique. Peter's role in the continuation of Jesus' mission is supported by the number of times he is mentioned in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. (See the table at the last page for a comparison with the other apostles).
On another occasion, St Luke (chapter 22) records some words Jesus addressed to Simon:
31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you [plural], that he might sift you [plural] like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you [singular] that your [your] faith may not fail; and when you [singular] have turned again, strengthen your [singular] brethren."
The contrast between the first "you" (in plural) and the second "you" (in singular) is not apparent in the modern English translation. Older English versions have used "thee", "thy", "thou", and "thy", thus making the meaning clearer. Jesus guarantees that Peter will truly be a steadfast rock. Though he will fall (he will deny Jesus), he will experience a new conversion ("and when you have turned again").
Our Lord frequently addresses Peter only. In the agony in the garden, we are told
40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41)
Mark's account, which came from Peter's preaching, records that our Lord picks out Simon among the three.
37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14:37-38)
The Lord seemed to have a particular preference for Simon. St Luke (chapter 5) narrates to us how Jesus chose Simon's boat to preach to the crowd, and how he foretold that Simon will be a fisher of men.
3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, 7 they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men."
Peter's special role among the apostles is shown in the dialogue with Jesus Christ after the resurrection, where Jesus gives him charge of both young and old in the Church (chapter 21 of John).
15 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." 16 A second time he said to him, "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." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the 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."
3.2.2 Peter grows into his role
We have already noted how, in the list of apostles, Peter is mentioned first. St Matthew (10:2) even adds the word "first", to emphasise Peter's position.
2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter....
Peter takes the lead on many occasions: he asks the Lord to explain the parables to them (Matthew 15:15); he asks if the parable is only for the group or for everyone else (Luke 12:41); he professes Jesus to be the Messiah (Matthew 16:16; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20); he rebukes Jesus when the latter foretells his passion and death (Matthew 15:22; Mark 8:32), of the three apostles Jesus takes with him to the mountain during the transfiguration, it is Peter who proposes to set up three tents (Matthew 17:4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33); after Jesus says that whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, and whatever they bound on earth will be bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18), Peter is the one who asks how many times they ought to forgive (Matthew 18:21); he promises to be faithful in the midst of persecution (Matthew 26:33; Mark 14:29; John 13:37); he felt it his duty to defend our Lord when the soldiers came to arrest him (John 18:10); he runs to the tomb after being informed by the women about the resurrection (Luke 24:12; John 20:3) and John lets him get in first, even if John reached the tomb earlier (John 20:4-5).
Peter speaks on behalf of the apostles:
27 Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" (Matthew 19:27; also in Mark 10:28, Luke 18:28)
When Jesus was being followed by a huge crowd and a sick woman touched Him, Jesus asked who it was who touched Him. It was Simon who answered:
45 ...Peter said, "Master, the multitudes surround you and press upon you!" (Luke 8:45)
When Jesus Christ speaks about giving His flesh as food and His blood as drink, many people no longer wanted to listen to him and left. When our Lord asks His apostles if they would leave as well, Simon answers on their behalf:
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68)
Other people also recognised Peter as the leader of the twelve, as when the collectors of the half-shekel tax approach him (not Matthew, the former tax collector!) to ask whether Jesus paid tax (Matthew 17:24).
After Jesus rose from the dead, the angels at the tomb told the women to "go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." (Mark 16:7). The two disciples to whom Jesus appeared on the way to Emmaus went back to Jerusalem and were informed that "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" (Luke 24:34)
3.2.3 Peter heads the early Church after Jesus ascends to heaven
This is borne out by many events. As they meet to fill in the place of Judas Iscariot, it is Peter who speaks and leads the assembly of 120 believers in choosing replacement for Judas (Acts 1:15); it is Peter who addresses the crowd after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36) and when they asked what they were supposed to do (note that they asked "Peter and the rest of the apostles"--Acts 2:37) it is Peter who gives instructions (Acts 2:38-40). When Peter and John were asked by the lame man for alms, it is Peter who speaks and acts, curing the man (Acts 3:4-8); when the crowds saw the miracle, it was Peter who spoke to them (Acts 3:12-26). It was Peter again who explained to the scribes and elders what they had done (Acts 4:8-12). It was Peter who confronted Ananias and Sapphira and brought about their death (Acts 5:3-11). Such was Peter's power that the people were contented with just letting his shadow fall on them for them to be cured (Acts 5:15). St Peter is recorded as the first one who gave the sacrament of Confirmation (Acts 8:14). The 9th chapter of the Acts (verses 32-41) also highlight two other miracles that Peter made (the cure of Aeneas and the raising of Dorcas) and the conversions that resulted. It was Peter who was shown a vision that made him see that the Church was not only for the Jews but for all men (Acts 10 and 11).
Peter's leadership is also shown in the fact that the Christians prayed for him when he was arrested. This is narrated by chapter 12 of the Acts of the Apostles.
1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword; 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
Peter was released by an angel, and when he visited those who were praying for him, he gave them instructions to tell the other disciples that he has been freed (Acts 12:17).
A very clear sign of Peter exercising his primacy is found in chapter 15 of the Acts of the Apostles.
1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, reporting the conversion of the Gentiles, and they gave great joy to all the brethren. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up, and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses." 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." 12 And all the assembly kept silence....
Note that once Peter spoke, the matter was considered resolved, and the assembly moved on to speak of other matters.
3.2.4 Peter's successors continue Peter's work
St Ireneaus of Lyons (ca 130/140-203 A.D.), in his work Adversus Haereses (Book III, 3, 3) tells us about Peter's successors to the year 180 A.D.
The blessed Apostles, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate...to him succeeded Anacletus, and after him in the third place, Clement was allotted the bishopric...to this Clement there succeded Evaristus. Alexander followed Evaristus. Then sixth from the Apostles Sixtus was appointed; after him Telesphorus who was gloriously martyred; then Hyginus, after him Pius, then after him Anicetus, Soter having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius does now in the twelfth place from the Apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate. In this order and by this succession the ecclesiastical tradition from the Apostles and the preaching of the truth has come down to us.
St Optatus, in De Schismate Donatistarum (Book II, 1-3) extends the list to the year 366 A.D.
You cannot deny that you know that the episcopal Chair was first assigned to Peter, in the city of Rome, in which sat Peter, the head of all the Apostles. Peter, therefore, first filled that pre-eminent Chair, which is the first of the marks of the Church; Linus succeeded Peter, Clement succeeded Linus (then these succeeded each other in the following order): Anacletus, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Anicetus, Pius, Soter, Eleutherius, Victor, Zepherinus, Callixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Anterus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephan, Sixtus, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, Caius, Marcellinus, Marcellus, Eusebius, Miltiades, Sylvester, Marcus, Julius, Liberius, Damasus. The successor of Damasus was Siricius, who is now our fellow bishop and with whom the whole world, together with us, is in agreement in one fellowship of communion by mutual exchange of formal correspondence.
St Augustine (354-430 A.D.) (Ep. 53 ad Generosum) takes the list all the way to 400 A.D.
For if the lineal order of the succession of bishops is to be taken into account, with how much certainty and true benefit do we begin to count from Peter himself, to whom, as bearing the figure of the whole Church, the Lord said, "Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."... The successor of Peter was Linus, Clement [succeeded] Linus, [the other unbroken succcessors were] Anacletus, Evaristus, [Alexander--mentioned after Soter], Sixtus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Anicetus, Pius, Soter, Alexander, [Eleutherius--not mentioned], Victor, Zepherinus, Calixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Antherus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephan, Sixtus, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, Caius, [Marcellinus--not mentioned], Marcellus, Eusebius, Melchiades, Sylvester, Marcus, Julius, Liberius, Damasus, Siricius, Anastasius.
Click here for the complete list of Popes from Peter to Benedict XVI.
4. Jesus promised that this institution and its leadership will last till the end of time.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
Jesus promises another Advocate or Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who will make sure that the teaching is handed down faithfully.
"16 And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you." (John 14:16-18)
As for the leadership of Peter and his successors, we should not forget the promise of enduring assistance Jesus made to Simon Peter:
18 ...the powers of death [some versions translate "the gates of hell"] shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
APPENDIX: TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE APOSTLES APPEAR IN THE GOSPELS AND ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
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