We conclude our series on St. Peter that is taken from visionary Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and from scripture with “Peter “The Rock” Leader of the Church—the First Pope. Truth of the Spirit also discusses the authority of the Church leaders given by God that has continued from ancient to modern times. For audio, video and the script of this episode please continue reading.
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In our first episode of this series we shared the vision of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich which showed the fisherman Peter as extremely humble but also as a community leader who provided support for many families through his fisheries and other endeavors. She said that the first time Jesus met with Peter he renamed him “The Rock”. In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 16 we read the words when Jesus asked his disciples, “15 ‘Who do you say I am?’ 16 Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’17 Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 18 So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’”
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit and “Peter the Rock”. I am your host, Patti Brunner. Today’s episode explores the need for a “Rock” in the kingdom of God on earth and how Peter fulfilled that role. Today’s scriptures are excerpts from the Jerusalem Bible. This Catholic Bible is a phrase by phrase translation from Greek and Hebrew. The New Testament was originally written in Greek. This episode completes the series: “Peter: Fisherman, Apostle & Pope”.
When Jesus announced that He was to give Peter the keys, it was not a new thing to have organized authority in the Church. God set up continuing authority through the Mosaic priesthood as evidenced by 2 Chronicles Chapter 19. The King[i] of Judah set up Judges in each fortified town, “6 saying to the judges, ‘Be careful what you do, since you are judging not by any human power but in the name of Yahweh, who will be with you.” King “8 Jehoshaphat also appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families in Jerusalem to settle disputes.” The King told them, “11 the chief priest himself will be your president in all religious cases,” and the “leader of the House of Judah, in all civil ones, while the Levites will act as officers of the court. Be firm, put this into practice and may Yahweh protect the right!’” At the time that Jesus gave the keys of authority to Peter, the Jewish leaders were comprised of Elders, Chief Priests, and Scribes. The three groups of leaders composed the Sanhedrin with the lay leaders of the Elders[ii]. Jesus, as Messiah was a complete leader. He was priest, prophet and king. As Jesus predicted his own death he then set up the continuation of leadership in the Church starting with Peter.
To prepare Peter to lead the Church, Jesus often took Peter as well as his co-workers, the brothers James and John, to witness special events. In Matthew Chapter 5, they witness the raising of Jairus’ daughter from death. In Matthew 17, Jesus had the three accompany Him to a mountaintop for the Transfiguration[iii]. The last time was during the Agony in the Garden in a secluded area to pray for strength shown in Matthew Chapter 26. Each of these taught Peter truths about the death of Christ. Peter often spoke for the rest of the Apostles; scripture at times refers to “Peter and his companions”. Peter’s name always heads the list of the Apostles, and his name is mentioned more than all the other apostles added together. St. Paul, who at first seemed to be very independent and teaching by personal revelation during his conversion, speaks of going to Jerusalem to confer with Peter in Galatians Chapter 1.
In promising the keys to Peter, Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy spoken by the Lord to Isaiah in Chapter 22, “21 I shall dress him in your tunic, I shall put your sash round his waist, I shall invest him with your authority; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah. 22 I shall place the key of David’s palace on his shoulder; when he opens, no one will close, when he closes, no one will open.” In Beginning Apologetics, Father Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham teach, “The keys are a symbol of the authority given to the chief official—the Prime Minister—of the Kingdom of David. The Prime Minister is a father-figure. Remember, “Pope” comes from the Italian word for “Papa”—father. The office implies dynastic succession. The office of Prime Minister continued as long as the Kingdom of David continued. Catholics believe that Christ is the King, and that the Pope is the “Prime Minister” of His heavenly kingdom, the Church. Christ is the Head of the Church; the Pope is His earthly representative.”[iv]
St. Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 how the resurrected Jesus appeared to Peter before the other apostles. Paul writes, “The tradition I handed on to you in the first place, a tradition which I had myself received was that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried; and that on the third day, he was raised to life, in accordance with the scriptures; and that he appeared to [Peter of] Cephas; and later to the Twelve; and next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still with us, though some have fallen asleep; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.”
Peter is often shown to be the leader. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit In the days after the Ascension of Jesus, the Apostles and disciples gathered for prayer. Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1 tells us, “14 With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. 15 One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers — there were about a hundred and twenty people in the congregation”. Peter proclaimed scripture[v] calling for filling the vacancy of Judas’s position as an apostle. Peter led them as they narrowed it down to two, then they invoked the Holy Spirit to make the final choice.
We see Peter acting with authority and with the charisms of Discernment of Spirits and Word of Knowledge in the story in Acts Chapter 5 of someone trying to pull the wool over the eyes of God’s appointed leader. In order to appear sacrificially generous, a man called Ananias “1 and his wife, Sapphira, agreed to sell a property; 2 but with his wife’s connivance he kept back part of the price and brought the rest and presented it to the apostles. 3 Peter said, ‘Ananias, how can Satan have so possessed you that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land? 4 While you still owned the land, wasn’t it yours to keep, and after you had sold it wasn’t the money yours to do with as you liked? What put this scheme into your mind? You have been lying not to men, but to God.’ 5 When he heard this Ananias fell down dead. And a great fear came upon everyone present. 6 The younger men got up, wrapped up the body, carried it out and buried it. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had taken place. 8 Peter challenged her, ‘Tell me, was this the price you sold the land for?’ ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that was the price.’ 9 Peter then said, ‘Why did you and your husband agree to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Listen! At the door are the footsteps of those who have buried your husband; they will carry you out, too.’ 10 Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in they found she was dead, and they carried her out and buried her by the side of her husband.” After this happened [11b] “the people were loud in their praise 14 and the numbers of men and women who came to believe in the Lord increased steadily.” They could see that God was leading Peter to protect the Church from deceivers!
Letting Gentiles join the Church continued to be difficult for some of the early Jewish Christians to accept. When they had the opportunity to double check with the head leader on earth they approached Peter to verify. In Acts Chapter 11 we read, “1 The apostles and the brothers in Judaea heard that Gentiles too had accepted the word of God, 2 and when Peter came up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers protested to him 3 and said, ‘So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them!’ 4 Peter in reply gave them the details point by point,” sharing the visions both he and Cornelius had and the Church’s discernment of them. They accepted Peter’s authority. “18 This account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God, saying, ‘God has clearly granted to the Gentiles too the repentance that leads to life.’
Another time we see the Church authority in action is in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 15 after “1. Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ 2 This led to disagreement and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the question with the apostles and elders.” “4 When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders, and gave an account of all that God had done through them. 5 But certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had become believers objected, insisting that gentiles should be circumcised and instructed to keep the Law of Moses. 6 The apostles and elders met to look into the matter, 7 and after a long discussion, Peter stood up and addressed them. ‘My brothers,’ he said, ‘you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the gentiles were to learn the good news from me and so become believers. 8 And God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. 9 God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith…11 But we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.’ 12 The entire assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the gentiles.” Then James the Less affirmed Peter’s proclamation and said, “’My brothers,’ he said, ‘listen to me. 14 Simeon (Peter) has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the gentiles. … 19 ‘My verdict is, then, that instead of making things more difficult for gentiles who turn to God, 20 we should send them a letter.” We know from Church history that James was the Bishop of Jerusalem.
Acts Chapter 15 continues, “22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose delegates from among themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, 23 and gave them this letter to take with them: ‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of gentile birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. 24 We hear that some people coming from here, but acting without any authority from ourselves, have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds; 25 and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with our well-beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have committed their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written. 28 It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to impose on you any burden beyond these essentials: 29 you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from illicit marriages. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’” This gathering is now known as the first Church council, the Council of Jerusalem. They lead through the inspiration and power of the Holy Spirit and through the authority given them by Jesus.
Peter was the spokesman for all the apostles before the Sanhedrin, which was the religious governing body of the Jews. Acts Chapter 5, it says, “27 When they had brought them in to face the Sanhedrin, the high priest demanded an explanation. 28 ‘We gave you a strong warning’, he said, ‘not to preach in this name, and what have you done? You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt for this man’s death on us.’ 29 In reply Peter and the apostles said, ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; 30 it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, whom you executed by hanging on a tree. 31 By his own right hand God has now raised him up to be leader and Saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel. 32 We are witnesses to this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’”
The early Church always accepted the Bishop of Rome as head of the Church. St. Peter was martyred in Rome. Even though St. John the Apostle outlived the next popes, after Peter died the keys of the Church were given to St. Linus, followed by St. Cletus, then St. Clement. Pope Clement was selected several years before John died.[vi] “For 250 years, the Roman Emperors tried to destroy Christianity, through persecution. In the first 200 years every Pope but one was martyred—the Romans certainly knew who the head of the Church was!”[vii] For the past 2000 years the Catholic Church has been led by an earthly Father, the Pope, who has been selected through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to lead the people of God as we journey towards heaven.
When Peter first took the role as Pope, the Church thought that Jesus was coming back soon and very soon. When the Church realized the day was not soon they began recording the Gospels to share the truth with those who would not get a chance to speak with eyewitnesses of the ministry of Jesus. The letters, especially Paul’s, were copied and circulated. Eventually the Church chose a New Testament Canon that was inspired by the Holy Spirit. In the last chapter of the 2nd Letter of Peter we receive the advice to be patient, to remain faithful and to continue working to evangelize all who do not yet know Christ. It says, [2 Peter Chapter 3] “8 But there is one thing, my dear friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance. 10 The Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then with a roar the sky will vanish, the elements will catch fire and melt away, the earth and all that it contains will be burned up. 11 Since everything is coming to an end like this, what holy and saintly lives you should be living 12 while you wait for the Day of God to come, and try to hasten its coming: on that Day the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. 13 What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and new earth, where uprightness will be at home.” In 2 Peter Chapter 3, we are encouraged to study Paul’s letters which now are part of the New Testament in the Bible, but to also be vigilant in interpreting difficult passages not to distort their meaning[viii]. The Church continues to guide us in understanding the public revelation of the scriptures by passing down her teachings to us through catechisms.
[i] Resource for all scripture quotes in this episode is the New Jerusalem Bible
2 Chronicles 19:1-11
[ii] The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1990, p.660.
[iii] Peter, James and John (bible.ca) Peter, James and John The Front Page [captured 8/31/2022]
[iv] Beginning Apologetics 1, Father Frank Chacon & Jim Burnham, 2010, p.17.
[v] Acts Chapter 1: 16-26
[vi] St. Peter (32-67), St. Linus (67-76), St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88), St. Clement I (88-97)
[vii] Beginning Apologetics 1, Father Frank Chacon & Jim Burnham, 2010, p.19
[viii] 2 Peter Chapter 3:15-16
