THE APOSTLE PETERChristology

Key Terms• Disciples• Apostles• Rabbi• Rob Bell “Dust”

• Student Teacher Relationship• Beit Sefer• Beit Talmud• Beit Midrash

• “Come Follow Me”• “MAY YOU BE COVERED IN THE DUST OF YOUR RABBI”• Fishermen- Rejected student

• MT 14:22-33• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f-ElAGxcc4

Who is Peter in the Gospels?• Read Mark 1:14-20• Peter was originally named Simon.  • Jesus was the One Who changed Peter’s name. Peter

means “rock.” Mt. 16:18 • He was a Galilean fisherman and was the brother of

Andrew.  The brothers came from the village of Bethsaida (John 1:43, 12:21). • To become ‘fishers of men’—evokes an OT prophecy from

Jeremiah (Jer. 16:16) in which God promised to send out many fishermen to gather in the Israelites who had gone astray.

• "But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them," says the LORD…” Jer. 16:16

Who is Peter in the Gospels? (Con’t)

• Peter and the other disciples probably had their own business, probably were not elite in society but doing well enough to have a family business Mk. 1:20

• The people who lived around the sea or made their living from the Sea of Galilee knew the unpredictability of this usually tranquil body of water.

• Strong winds could arise suddenly and without warning. The sailors on the Sea of Galilee had no opportunity to check the latest weather report. 

Characteristics of Peter

• Peter’s name is mentioned 195 times in the NT• That is more than all the other Apostles

combined

• Peter’s name always heads the list of Apostles• Mt. 10:1-4, Mk. 3:16-19, Lk. 8:45, 12:41, Acts

1:13

• Often Speaks for the for the Disciples• Mt. 18:21, Mk. 8:29, Lk 8:45, 12:41, Jn 6:66-69

• Headed up the First Ecumenical Council in Jerusalem• Acts 15

• Led the Apostles in Preaching after Pentecost • Acts 2:14

Peter’s Confession of Christ• Read Mt 16:13-20• The Catholic Church uses this Scripture

passage as support for its teaching on the Pope’s position as leader of the Church.

• Tertullian "Was anything withheld from the knowledge of Peter, who is called ‘the rock on which the Church would be built’ with the power of ‘loosing and binding in heaven and on earth’ [Matt. 16:19]?" (Against the Heretics 22 [A.D. 200]).

• Jerome: "I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none but your blessedness [Pope Damasus I], that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that this is the rock on which the Church has been built." (Letters 15:2 [A.D. 396]).

• Origen: "Look at [Peter], the great foundation of the Church, that most solid of rocks, upon whom Christ built the Church [Matt. 16:18]. And what does our Lord say to him? ‘Oh you of little faith,’ he says, ‘why do you doubt?’ [Matt. 14:31]" (Homilies on Exodus 5:4 [A.D. 248]).

Peter’s Denial

• Mt. 26:69-74• Why would Jesus

establish His church on someone who denied the Lord three times?

• Peter’s blunders make him more appropriate to become the leader of the Church and an image of what God can make of any one.

After Jesus’ Resurrection • Read John 21:10-19• This exchange reminds us of the time when Peter was

questioned for his professed loyalty to Jesus. Three times bystanders questioned Peter's association with the Master, and he denied Jesus. Now Jesus questioned Peter three times about his love for and loyalty to Him. Christ's gentle rebuke no doubt made a huge impression on the disciple.• Christ then hands the Church over to him to lead the church.• How does Peter’s life end?

Peter’s Crucifixion• Peter is said to have been crucified

under Emperor Nero. • 1 Clement written 96 A.D. In that letter,

Clement, the bishop of Rome, says, "Let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most just pillars of the Church were persecuted, and came even unto death … Peter, through unjust envy, endured not one or two but many labors, and at last, having delivered his testimony, departed unto the place of glory due to him.“

• The historian Eusebius, a contemporary of Constantine, wrote that St. Peter "came to Rome, and was crucified with his head downwards,"

St. Andrew, St. Matthias• In the church of St. Andrew in Patros,

Greece, there is a book written in Greek which sheds light on his martyrdom.  The following is written:

• "Aigeatis who was the governor of Patros became enraged at Andrew for his preaching and ordered him to stand before the tribunal in his attempt to do away with the Christian Faith.  When Andrew resisted the tribunal, the governor ordered him crucified.  Andrew remained tied to the cross with thick tight ropes for three days and his last words were:

• "Accept me, O Christ Jesus, whom I saw, whom I love, and in whom I am; accept my spirit in peace in your eternal realm.“

• It is believed that Matthias was one of the "Seventy" disciples sent out by Jesus (Luke 10:1), 

St. James, St. John, St. Phillip, St. Thomas, St Jude, St. Simon• Not much is known of his ministry after Jesus'

resurrection.  It is believed, however, that he lived another 14 years before his martyrdom.  In fact, the apostle James was the first apostle to suffer martyrdom.  By order of Herod Agrippa I, James was beheaded in Jerusalem about the feast of Easter, 44 AD.

• While in Ephesus, by order of the Roman emperor Domitian, John was exiled to an island called Patmos.  In what is known as the cave of the Apocalypse (located on this island), the sacred text of the book of Revelation was given to the apostle John by Jesus (it is here that John recorded what is written in the New Testament book of Revelation.)

•  Philip was crucified, however, Bartholomew escaped martyrdom, when for some special reason, the magistrates caused him to be taken down from the cross and dismissed.  Philip's tomb is still to be found in the Turkish city of Hierapolis.

• It is also believed that the apostle Thomas evangelized as far as China, and while in India, he suffered martyrdom (he was killed with a lance and buried in Mylapore, India, which is now a suburb of Madras.)  It is believed that he died on the 21st of December.

• Matthew, It is also possible that he traveled to the Ethiopia in Africa as the Roman Catholic tradition indicates and there is also a belief that Matthew was martyred in Egypt upon his return from Ethiopia in Africa but this is not certain.  

• One can, also, believe that Jude spent his years of evangelization in Syria and northern Persia.  It is likely that he was martyred there and buried in Kara Kalisa near the Caspian Sea, about 40 miles from Tabriz, in modern day Iran.

• Another strong Church tradition says that Simon was crucified by the Romans in Caistor, Lincolnshire, Britain and subsequently buried there on May 10, circa 61 AD. 

• "The Catholic Church is the work of Divine Providence, achieved through the prophecies of the prophets, through the Incarnation and the teaching of Christ, through the journeys of the Apostles, through the suffering, the crosses, the blood and the death of the martyrs, through the admirable lives of the saints.  When, then, we see so much help on God's part, so much progress and so much fruit, shall we hesitate to bury ourselves in the bosom of that Church?  For starting from the Apostolic Chair down through successions of bishops, even unto the open confession of all mankind, it has possessed the crown of teaching authority." - St. Augustine of Hippo ("The Advantage of Believing" 4th century A.D.

• PETER KREEFT STORY

Apostolic Succession: The unbroken line of descent from the Apostles to the current Bishops ; and the one who hears them, hears Christ. Lk. 10:16

The Role of Bishop

• Paul told Timothy, "[W]hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). • First three generations of

apostolic succession—Paul’s own generation, Timothy’s generation, and the generation Timothy will teach. 

 

"It is possible, then, for everyone in every church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the apostles which has been made known to us throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the apostles and their successors down to our own times, men who neither knew nor taught anything like what these heretics rave about" (Against Heresies  [A.D. 89]).

Papal Infallibility • DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE POPE IS W/O SIN

• Infallible, not Impeccable

• Infallible Church Bible verses: JN 14:26, 16:13; 1 Tim 3:15; Acts 15:28, Speaking with Christ’s own voice.

• St. Irenaeus “For where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God, there the Church and every Grace. The Spirit, however, is Truth.” AH 3, 24, 1.

•  "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. . . . The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical Council.418 When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed,"419 and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of faith."420 This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.421

• 418 LG 25; cf. Vatican Council I:DS 3074. 419 DV 10 § 2. 420 LG 25 § 2. 421 Cf. LG 25.•  "In fact, since the Middle Ages, Papal Infallibility has only been invoked twice -- in the 19th century to

affirm the Immaculate Conception, and in the 20th Century, to affirm Church teaching regarding the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.“

• ESSENTIALLY: THE POPE WILL NEVER COMMAND YOU TO BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT IS FALSE.

Peter’s Tomb: The Graffiti Wall• Peter’s tomb was found by

archeologists in 1938 who were creating another tomb for Pius XI.• One of them accidently fell into a

hole and found a tomb

• Subsequent testing indicated that these were the bones of a 60-70 year old man. • THERE WERE NO FEET BONES

• Because of the persecutions of Nazi’s, the Vatican had keep the excavations secret• Individuals who were digging would

place the dirt in Vatican Gardens to keep the mission top secret

In abbreviated form, St Peter's name is present on the wall at least twenty times, usually accompanied by prayers for the dead person named - in one case expressing joy that the lost relative lay in the same

cemetery that held Peter's own body. 

Vicar of Peter: Pope Francis

Biography

• Born: 12/17/1936• Birth Name: Jorge Mario

Bergoglio• Motto:

• Miserando atque eligendo• With mercy and choosing

• 266th Pope• Some Firsts:

• First Jesuit Pope• First Pope from New World• First Pope to choose name

Francis

Why the Name Change?• A pope does not have to change

his name but most do. It is symbolic of Jesus changing the name of Simon to Peter at the time he named him as leader of his Church and the first pope. • No Pope is obligated to change his

name. This is a pious tradition (not Sacred Tradition). 

• The practice arose when a pagan convert to Christianity became Pope and changed his name from Mercury (after the pagan Roman god) to John II in 533 C.E. 

• Between John II (#56) and Sergius IV (#142) in 1009 C.E. only a few Popes changed their names. 

Pope Francis

• There are a lot of great saints Named Francis throughout the Church history.• Francis Xavier, Francis

De Sales, Francis Borgia, Francis Caracciolo

• Cardinal Bergoglio stated he choose his name after Francis of Assisi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtSvwOOOTBI

Great Francis stories• Francis’ Early life• the Wolf• Rebuild this Church-Sit down with the

Pope• Nativity Scene• Calling of new brothers• Longing for Martyrdom• stigmata

• He was penniless, he was parentless, he was to all appearance without a trade or a plan or a hope in the world; and as he went under the frosty trees, he burst suddenly into song.

• He said: “If we had any possessions, we should need weapons and laws to defend them.” That sentence is the clue to the whole policy that he pursued.

• If there is one person who actually followed Christ it would be Francis

• ~G.K. Chesterton,

One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves. “Feed my sheep”, says Christ to Peter, and now, at this moment, he says it to me as well. Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God’s truth, of God’s word, the nourishment of his presence, which he gives us in the Blessed Sacrament. My dear friends – at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more – in other words, you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. B. XVI