What is interesting about Saint Peter?

Answer 1

A:

We know from Paul's epistles that Peter was one of the three leaders ('pillars') of the Christian church and that he chose to preach to the Jews and not to the gentiles. The gospels tell us that Peter was previously one of Jesus' disciples. Like all the disciples (except Judas Iscariot), he was later recognised as a saint. However, what makes Peter really interesting is how he grew in tradition to become the greatest apostle and leader of the Catholic Church.

We first learn that Peter was someone special in Matthew's Gospel, when he walked on water (Matthew 14:29), even if not very successfully. This gospel was originally anonymous and we now know that it was based on Mark's Gospel, which has the same account of Jesus walking on water, much of it in almost the same words in the original Greek language, but without any evidence that Peter also did. When the most original account lacks an important event, there must always be some doubt whether that event really occurred.

Acts of the Apostles compares Peter to Paul in great detail, attributing many miracles to each of them, and always portraying Peter as the more worthy apostle. One view of Acts would be that it is an extreme form of hagiography in the way it portrays Peter as being able to perform miracles at will. New Testament scholars say that Acts of the Apostles is a book of supposed miracles rather than of facts, with Uta Ranke-Heinemann (Putting Away Childish Things) going as far as to say that the whole of Acts is a simply a work of Propaganda. Once again, faith may have substituted for facts.

Quite the reverse process is found in John's Gospel. This tells us that another disciple "whom Jesus loved," traditionally referred to as John, was a greater disciple than Peter. When the beloved disciple appears in this gospel, he is compared to Peter and the comparison always shows him to be the more worthy disciple. John chapter 21 also shows quite vividly that Peter was not the best disciple, when the risen Jesus questioned Peter three times, just as Peter had previously denied Jesus three times.

The first time Jesus questioned Peter, he asked , "Do you love (agape) me more than these (the other disciples)?" Peter answered that he loves him, but only using the Greek word for friendly or brotherly love (philia). In exasperation, Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." Jesus again asked Peter, "Do you love me?" Again, sacred love (agape), but this time did not ask whether Peter loved Jesus more than the others. And again, Peter replied with the Greek word for brotherly love (philia), and again Jesus said in exasperation, "Feed my sheep." In the third questioning, Jesus asked only whether Peter had brotherly love for him (philia). He accepted that this was the most that Peter would give. The Greek distinction of sacred love (agape) and brotherly love (philia) could not be translated into Latin and so the meaning was lost for the western church, as it also is in English translations. The western church interpreted the statement, "feed my sheep" as a sign of approval, quite the opposite of the disapproval that was originally intended.

A Christian tradition says Peter went to Rome and became the first bishop of Rome, appointing Linus as his successor, with subsequent bishops appointed continuously down to the present day. This continuous succession from an appointment made by Peter himself was important to the church of Rome in claiming primacy over all other Christian bishops. However, Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that there is a general agreement among scholars that the church of Rome was led by a council of presbyters until well into the second century, with no evidence of a ruling bishop. It is therefore no longer possible to say that the pope is literally the successor of Saint Peter, whether or not he actually visited Rome. Nevertheless, this remains a Catholic Church teaching, because without it the legitimacy of the pope could be questioned.