[Under Construction]
The Denial of Saint Peter (1610)
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) |
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The following has endeavored to reproduce all passages in the New Testament of the Bible which single out the Apostle Peter for mention or in which Peter speaks, with the exception of the two epistles which are attributed to Peter, as of course in these two cases it would be necessary to reproduce these two entire books. Those Bible passages in which Peter is referred to together with other Apostles are reproduced on the sister pages of this website: Apostolicity- the Three or Apostolicity - the Twelve. And please see also Apostolicity- the Seventy(-two). Quotes are taken from the Revised Standard Version English-language translation of the Bible, except where otherwise indicated.
And how often is Peter singled from the other disciples of Christ, from the Twelve or even from the Three, of which he was one?
And are there New Testament passages in which some other disciple or Apostle, other than Peter, is singled out by name? Obviously, yes.
And from this weight of authority -- and can one image there being greater weight of authority -- is it possible to conclude otherwise then that God intended that there be one main spokesperson among His followers? And would the later Church, the Church after the conclusion of Apostolic Times, after the repose of the last of the Apostles chosen by Jesus while He walked on earth, would we then be in less need of such a unifying spokesperson for the Church, of equal need or of greater need than was the Church during Apostolic Times?
The present writer believes that reasonable minds can hardly differ. Obviously our need for a unifying spokesperson is at least as great -- indeed it seems obvious that our need is greater -- than was the need within the Church while the Apostles still walked the Earth. This being the case one hardly need add that our need is greater than was the community of Christ's followers that walked with Him in their midst, and yet it was at this time of least need that Jesus was already commissioning Peter, and tolerating Peter, as the spokesman among Jesus' disciples.
In this far the "big C" Catholics are obviously right in their dispute with some, not all, "big O" Orthodox. The leadership role, the primacy of the successors of Peter did not only flow from imperial considerations. The Primacy of the Popes flows from God's own commission.
As an aside one might mention that the rank of other metropolitan sees within the agreed understanding of the hierarchy of honor among them was based almost exclusively on considerations of the political importance of the city within the Imperial Roman Empire. Beyond Rome, where SS. Peter and Paul were martyred, the matter was imperial, and little more. The taxis within the primacy of honor was first Rome, Alexandria and Antioch, in that order. Later, after Emperor Constantine moved the imperial capital to the city newly renamed in his honor, the ranking became Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch, in that order, with Jerusalem then added as the fifth within the Pentarchy. The idea that it is obviously wrong to rank Rome or any city above Jerusalem is itself obviously flawed for these purposes, for although Jerusalem is the holiest city on earth, where God the Son walked and died, Jesus can have no successor, Peter can. And there is something fixed about a city, while even holy people die.
As for the other leading metropolitan sees, ranking Alexandria, where the local Church was founded by Saint Mark, a disciple of Saint Peter, above Antioch, where the local Church was founded by Saint Peter himself, was obviously not for religious reasons. Alexandria was the second most important city in the Roman Empire at the time. There are many cities named in the New Testament narrative that would out rank Constantinople on religious grounds. The Pentarchy in fact was never a functioning basis for ecclesiastic administration. The idea that these five sees would universally rule the Church only came about with Emperor Justinian I (r. 527-565). Rome never considered herself only the first among equals with Constantinople, the New Rome, and Alexandria never much liked being bumped from second to third place by Constantinople.
Moreover by 451 and the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon, the vast majority of the bishops and faithful in both Alexandria and Antioch broke with the larger body of the Church lead by Rome and Constantinople over Christological definitions, becoming the core of the Oriental Orthodox family of Churches. These disputes are now understood to have arisen from mutual linguistic misunderstandings arising under the heat of meddling in the work of the council by the temporal authority -- always a bad idea -- and yet the Schism of 451 remains unhealed as of 2012. These schisms develop a momentum all their own. Both sides canonized the Church leaders who anathematized the other side's Church leaders. And of course the Rome-Constantinople team on the Chalcedonian side then divided among each other in the Great Schism, traditionally dated to 1054, so now the non-Chalcedonian or Oriental Orthodox side has no single interlocutor with which to dialogue about healing that sixteen-centuries-long schism, and from the Oriental Orthodox perspective they stayed together in Communion, while the Chalcedonian side of Rome plus Constantinople did not.
Be this as it may, from 451 to 1054 within the Constantinopolitan and Imperial "big O" Orthodox understanding of the Pentarchy, the Patriarchal offices of the sees of Alexandria and Antioch were filled not by the Coptic and Syriac Patriarchs, respectively, who were the Church leaders of the overwhelming majority of Christians in those territories. Rather parallel Church structures evolved among the minority of bishops who remained with Constantinople and Rome, and the break in the vital ecclesiastic standard of One Bishop in One Territory -- some say the definition of schism -- was born in earnest.
This this bad enough? Of course not.
Jerusalem, the holiest city on Earth, fell to the invading Muslims in 638. After the Great Schism of 1054 the "Latins" and the "Greeks" set up parallel and competing Church structures within Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem whenever they could. Then came that seminal and definitive case study in the costs of the Schism, the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the French and Venetian and other forces with allegiance to the Church under Rome (to however the horror of the then reigning Pope, Innocent III, and one should also add within the context of chaos and internecine violence of the Byzantines' own making and also with the Byzantines' Massacre of the Latins in 1182 still fresh enough). The Latin victors, if such is the word, then set up the Latin Empire of Constantinople, which lasted from 1204 to 1261. And in parallel, a Latin Patriarch of Constantinople was also established, but unlike the short-lived political aberration, the Church in Rome continued to maintain the pretext of a Latin Patriarch of Constantinople until 1964!
Then with the invasion of Constantinople by the Muslim Turks and the final collapse of the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire in 1453, the Church and Christendom were confronted with the reality that four of the five Patriarchates which made up the Pentarchy (four out of four of the "Eastern" Patriarchates) were in cities and lands controlled by the Muslim invaders. By 2012, 559 years later, the Muslim Turks have succeeded in religio-ethnically cleansing from not only Constantinople but all of "Turkey" of all Greek Christians but a token remnant of about 2500 souls. This is the Patriarch of Constantinople - the Ecumenical Patriarch's flock, about 2500 people under the hostile watchful eyes of a Turkish government, which has not killed or expelled those remaining few because of European Union membership aspirations. Although he is also the senior hierarch over a diaspora of about 2 million believers, the Orthodox Churches Cyprus and of Greece are Autocephalous and not under his jurisdiction.
Considering the foregoing, is it strange to find in 2012 that the fourteen autocephalous Orthodox Churches all continue to hold that (not counting the separated Rome) Constantinople is first among them ... Alexandria second, Antioch third and Jerusalem fourth, all this being based on an imperial reality that finally ended being real 559 years ago and that largely ended being real almost 1400 years ago?
Even "little t" traditions should not be lightly parted with when it come to vital matters affecting the Church. But, if it ever was, the Pentarchy model has not been viable for more than a thousand years. Perhaps we can now conclude that the trial period has reached its conclusion. Some decisions of Ecumenical Councils were intended to be and are eternally applicable as they announce eternal truths. Other decisions only fix problems of their day and can and should be abandoned when circumstances decisively change.
Though few of the most learned would continue to do so, for the "big O" Orthodox to posit that that "big C" Catholics are clinging to a model of ecclesiastic primacy which was not God ordained but only imperial is not only wrong, it fails to acknowledge that the reverse is the case. The "big O" Orthodox are clinging to an ecclesiastic model which is imperial for an empire which does not exist.
If we can move beyond this nostalgia, and for some the pain in pride over losing something we imagine we have, a model for primacy at the universal level can be embraced which is both canonical and workable in a world which is no longer able to get any smaller.
Those who might conclude that the Standing Apostolic Synod model proposed in this present endeavor adds little to a solution beyond a recitation of some Old Testament and New Testament numerology fail utterly to understand what is necessary. What is necessary is a public and published acknowledgement on the part of the Orthodox that the Successors of Peter have a leadership role within the Church universal which is God ordained together with presentation by the Orthodox of a detailed collegial model which is acceptable to them and which is enduringly viable to replace the absolute monarch model of primacy which is not acceptable to the Orthodox (or Oriental Orthodox). Vague and amorphous references to collegiality coupled with the reality of a dysfunctional Orthodox model of primacy and a complete abandonment of the principle of one bishop in one territory in favor of multiple overlapping and often hostile competing Church structures together with the widespread reality of nominally Orthodox Christians in fact embracing an heretical mixed faith of Orthodox Christianity plus idiotic nationalism, these things are not going to prompt the current or any future Pope to "step down" from an absolute monarch's throne and return to the way that things were done by the Apostles.
And the "big C" Catholics, what do they have to do? Given the realities of the Catholic Church since the First Vatican Council at least, the only man who can solve this problem and serve God in re-creating the reality of a unified Orthodox-Catholic Church is a Pope. The Pope must acknowledge that papal absolute monarchy is non-canonical and the doctrine of papal infallibility can most charitably be described as an understandable interim measure propagated at a time when an Ecumenical Council could not be formed.
It is a much tougher job, but the Patriarch of Rome, the Pope to be true to the model God revealed and recorded in the Holy Scriptures must work together with his other senior metropolitan brother bishops, on rare occassions during the event of an Ecumenical Council, we await the Eighth, and during the decades or centuries between Ecumenical Councils as the leader and spokesperson of the Standing Apostolic Synod. He must persuade and obtain fraternal consensus, listen and give his consent on all questions of Christian doctrine, pertaining to the content of The Faith. Any new doctrine announced by the Catholic Church or the Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox Churches in the time since the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 stands as theological opinion - theologoumenon until it is approved and adopted as doctrine by the bishops of the world gathered in the Eighth Ecumenical Council (the Oriental Orthodox and the Catholics will have to yield on the point of agreeing that the next Ecumenical Council will be the Eighth, not the Fourth and not the Twenty-Second). How much do you want this unity? Only Oriental Orthodox, Orthodox and Catholic bishops, priests and laity can participate in the Eighth or any other Ecumenical Council, though after the Eighth Ecumenical Council the Catholics and the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox will all just be Orthodox-Catholic Christians, or for short, Christians.
Well, this is the view of the present commentator. For the authoritative view to come out of the present project, that of the senior Churchmen, you will have to watch the film United European Christendom - Heal the Schism Now.
| From the Gospel According to Saint Matthew |
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| And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying, and sick of a fever; And he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them. |
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Matthew 8:14-15 (Douay Rheims) |
| And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." (emphasis added) |
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Matthew 14:25-33 (passage also at the Twelve) |
Then the Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" He answered, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us." And he said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." |
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Matthew 15:1-2, 15-20 |
As at the Twelve, so too on this webpage, these two ecclesiologically vital passages from Matthew's gospel narrative, the statement recorded in Luke 10 of Christ when he commissions seventy others, "the Seventy", and the passage from John Chapter 20 must be presented together and read together:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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. 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."
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At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ... "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (emphasis added)
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"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
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On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
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Matthew 16:13-19 speaking to Peter
Matthew 18:1-3, 15-20 speaking to the Twelve
Luke 10:16 speaking to the Seventy (and note, it is seventy others, in addition to the Twelve)
John 20:19-23 (speaking to a group of disciples; ten of the Eleven almost certainly present; "Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came." John 20:24)
(Note that Mark 8:27-33 and Luke 9:18-27 also record Saint Peter's monumentous statement, but without the Lord's commission found only in Matthew 16.
Please note though with respect to Peter's statement, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", we already see the Apostles confessing this central truth of the Christian faith earlier in Saint Matthew's narrative. In Matthew 14, recorded above on this webpage, after Jesus walks on water and calms the wind, the disciples "worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.' " Does this circumstance undermine the argument that in Matthew 16:13-19 Jesus is establishing His Church on Peter's confession of faith only -- a confession earlier made by the group of Apostles -- and not on the person and office of Peter or on the person and office of Peter and the confession of faith? And note also in this connection that in John's Gospel narrative we see an Apostle confessing Jesus' Divine Sonship in an exchange which can be understood as having been made well before Peter's confession in Matthew 16. At John 1:49 we see Nathan'a-el/Bartholomew/Nathanael Bar-tholomew confessing to Jesus, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!", while John records Simon-Peter meeting Jesus at John 1:42) |
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." |
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/ewtn/bible/search_bible.asp#ixzz1cQi27u31
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Matthew 16:21-23
(Mark 8:31-33 also records this exchange, but Luke (Chapter 9) does not.) |
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Eli'jah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah." He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead." |
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Matthew 17:1-9
(The Miracle of the Transfiguration is presented also at Mark 9:2-13 and Luke 9:28-37) |
When they came to Caper'na-um, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?" And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself." |
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Matthew 17:24-27 |
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." (emphasis added) |
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Matthew 18:21-22
(Seven, like Twelve, symbolizing here again fullness in Christian numerology; sometimes either seven or twelve is raised an order of magnitude, as here with seventy, or even several orders of magnitude as in the symbolic number 144,000 of Revelation Chapter 7: twelve times twelve times one thousand, that is, fullness times fullness raised three orders of magnitude, that is, a really big number.)
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And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first. " |
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Matthew 19:23-30 and Mark 10:23-31 and Luke 18:24-30 (passage also at the Twelve) |
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." Then the mother of the sons of Zeb'edee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." |
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Matthew 20:17-28 (passage also at the Three and the Twelve)
(See Pius IX)
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| And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of me this night; for it is written, `I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter declared to him, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away." Jesus said to him, "Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you." And so said all the disciples. |
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Matthew 26:30-35 (passage also at the Twelve)
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| Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsem'ane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go yonder and pray." And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zeb'edee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done." And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand." |
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Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14: 32-42
(This passage recounting the Agony in the Garden of Gethsem'ane is also reproduced on this website at the Three and the Twelve; unlike in Matthew and in Mark, in Luke's account, at 22:39-46, the Three are not separated from the Twelve.
In this passage we find the basis for the Dyothelitism-Miatheletism-Monotheletism controversy on the two-united wills of Christ, which was in turn the basis of the Schism of 451 after the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the Council of Chalcedon, when large portions of the communities of the faithful centered around Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem found themselves separated from Rome and Constantinople ... as we also find the basis for the resolution of this controversy, but for the authoritative view one will have to look, not to this website, but to the discussion of H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy in the film.)
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| Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Ca'iaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter followed him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death ... Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a maid came up to him, and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." And when he went out to the porch, another maid saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. |
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Matthew 26:57-59, 69-75
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dalla Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco a Venezia |
Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus.
May Peace be with you, Mark, my evangelist. |
| From the Gospel According to Saint Mark |
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| Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zeb'edee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him. And they went into Caper'na-um; and immediately on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. |
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Mark 1:14-21 (passage also at the Three and the Twelve). See also John 1:35-51 and the discussion of the same, below.
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| And immediately he left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him of her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them. |
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Mark 1:29-31 (passage also at the Three)
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| And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him pursued him, and they found him and said to him, "Every one is searching for you." |
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Mark 1:35-37
(In connection with the present discussion it might be said that Mark delays not. Simon-Peter is recorded here in the first chapter of the first written Gospel as the spokesperson for Christ's disciples even before Mark records Jesus' calling of the other eight Apostles. Spokesperson that is, not absolute monarch with the only voice and vote that actually counts. From this point in the New Testament until the last verse of Revelation the reader will find no verse in which Simon-Peter is commissioned by the Lord as, or understood by the other Apostles or disciples as, an absolute monarch, much less an infallible conduit for God's voice.)
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| And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons: Simon whom he surnamed Peter; James the son of Zeb'edee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Bo-aner'ges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. |
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Mark 3:13-19
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| And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesare'a Philip'pi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Eli'jah; and others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." |
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Mark 8:27-38
(Luke 9:18-27 also records Saint Peter's monumentous statement, as seen here at Mark 8:27-33. Neither Mark nor Luke record the Lord's commission of Peter, which is found only in Matthew 16:13-19.
As in Mark 8:31-33, Jesus rebuke of Peter is recorded in Matthew 16:21-23, but Luke (9:18-27) does not record this exchange.)
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| And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Eli'jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah." For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. And they asked him, "Why do the scribes say that first Eli'jah must come?" And he said to them, "Eli'jah does come first to restore all things; and how is it written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Eli'jah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him." |
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Mark 9:2-13 (passage also at the Three)
(The Miracle of the Transfiguration is presented also at Matthew 17:1-9 and Luke 9:28-37)
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| And they came to Caper'na-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward." |
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Mark 9:33-41 (included here although Peter is not mentioned because of Christ's words, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."; passage also reproduced at the Three and at the Twelve)
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| And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Peter began to say to him, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first." |
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Mark 10:23-31 and Matthew 19:23-30 and Luke 18:24-30
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| And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise." And James and John, the sons of Zeb'edee, came forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." |
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Mark 10:32-45 (emphasis added, and passage also at the Three and the Twelve)
(In Matthew 20:17-28, reproduced above, it is the mother of James and John who approches Jesus with this request.
Does this sound like Jesus, His Father and Their Spirit was bestowing on Peter (and on his successors) the authority and power, the right and indeed the obligation to announce from his chair, by himself and consulting no one if he so chooses, doctrine -- pronouncements on the content of the faith -- infallibly true and eternally binding on all, including of course the other eleven (and their successors), as essential elements of the faith, without acceptance of which there is no salvation?)
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| And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away; for it is written, `I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter said to him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not." And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." But he said vehemently, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same. |
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Mark 14:26-31
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| And they went to a place which was called Gethsem'ane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I pray." And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch." And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt." And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time, and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand." |
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Mark 14: 32-42; Matthew 26:36-46 (This passage recounting the Agony in the Garden of Gethsem'ane is also reproduced on this website at the Three and the Twelve; unlike in Matthew and in Mark, in Luke's account, at 22:39-46, the Three are not separated from the Twelve.)
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| And they led Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes were assembled. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council sought testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, and their witness did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, "We heard him say, `I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'" Yet not even so did their testimony agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?" But he was silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am; and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his garments, and said, "Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to strike him, saying to him, "Prophesy!" And the guards received him with blows. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, "You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus." But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you mean." And he went out into the gateway. And the maid saw him, and began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." But again he denied it. And after a little while again the bystanders said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean." But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know this man of whom you speak." And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept. |
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Mark 14:53-72
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| And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." |
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Mark 16:5-7
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From the Gospel According to Saint Luke |
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| And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region. And he arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought him for her. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she rose and served them. |
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Luke 4:37-39, Matthew 8:14-15
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| While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennes'aret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 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. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, 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. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zeb'edee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (emphasis added) |
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Luke 5:1-11
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| And there came a man named Ja'irus, who was a ruler of the synagogue; and falling at Jesus' feet he besought him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As he went, the people pressed round him. And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years and could not be healed by any one, came up behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased. And Jesus said, "Who was it that touched me?" When all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the multitudes surround you and press upon you!" But Jesus said, "Some one touched me; for I perceive that power has gone forth from me." And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." While he was still speaking, a man from the ruler's house came and said, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more." But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not fear; only believe, and she shall be well." And when he came to the house, he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and bewailing her; but he said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, "Child, arise." And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had happened. |
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Luke 8:41-56 (passage also at the Three); Mark 5:22-43
(There are of course stories of two miracles within these verses. Regarding the Lord's healing of the woman with the hemorrhage, it is curious that in the account of Mark -- a disciple of Peter -- we see disciples of the Lord answering His question, "Who touched my garments?", while in the account of Luke -- a disciple of Paul -- Peter is singled out as having answered the Lord.)
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| Now it happened that as he was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?" And they answered, "John the Baptist; but others say, Eli'jah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen." And he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God." But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." |
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Luke 9:18-27 (passage also at the Twelve)
(Mark 8:27-38 and Matthew 16:13-19 also record Saint Peter's monumentous confession of faith in Jesus. Unlike Luke, Matthew and Mark also record Jesus' rebuke of Peter. Of the three, only Matthew's account records Jesus' commissioning of Peter.)
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| Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli'jah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah" -- not knowing what he said. As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. |
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Luke 9:28-37 (passage also at the Three)
(The Miracle of the Transfiguration is presented also at Matthew 17:1-9 and Mark 9:2-13)
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| "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour." Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, `My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will, but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating. Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more. " |
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Luke 12:35-48
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| Jesus looking at him said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." And Peter said, "Lo, we have left our homes and followed you." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no man who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive manifold more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." |
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Luke18:24-30 and Matthew 19:23-30 and Mark 10:23-31 |
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Luke 22:14-62 is reproduced below and at the Twelve.
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And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!" And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this.
A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves.
"You are those who have continued with me in my trials; and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren." And he said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." He said, "I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you three times deny that you know me."
And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." He said to them, "But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, `And he was reckoned with transgressors'; for what is written about me has its fulfilment." And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough."
And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?" And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house. Peter followed at a distance; and when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a maid, seeing him as he sat in the light and gazing at him, said, "This man also was with him." But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him." And a little later some one else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not." And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.
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Luke 22:14-20
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(The institution of the Eucharist.)
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Luke 22:21-23
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(Jesus tells the Twelve that, though He knows He must be betrayed "woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!")
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Luke 22:24-27
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(The Twelve have the audacity to stray again into a discussion of which among them is the greatest (see Luke 9:46, also reproduce on this page), and Jesus answers, the greatest is the "one who serves.")
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Luke 22:28-30
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Luke 22:31-34
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(Knowing that Peter will deny Him, but before he does, Jesus commissions Peter: "when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren." What does the Lord intend by this? Did Jesus intend to resolve in favor of Peter, here as recorded at 22:32 by Luke, the dispute among the Twelve which Luke recorded only a few lines earlier at 22:24? And why did the dispute among the Apostles arise at all? Do groups of holy men spend their time arguing among each other which of them is the greatest, the more so when their shared Lord is standing steps away? Was Peter's role as chief spokesman for the Apostles not already clear enough to the other eleven here as Luke records the events near the end of Jesus' earthly ministry? And of course the fact of one Apostle appearing, again and again, as the chief spokesman among the Apostles while in the presence of the Lord, and thereby one might conclude with the Lord's approval, need not necessarily mean that the Lord commands that that same Apostle will be the leader among the Apostles after the Lord's Ascension, yet it does seem hard to dispute that, if the Apostles needed, and the Lord approved of, a single chief spokesman among the Apostles during the Lord's earthly ministry, and indeed in the presence of the Lord, the need for a single leader among the Apostles after the Lord's Ascension would not be less. In understanding how dense the Apostles appear to have been in this matter, perhaps we also need to consider the earlier occurrence of this same dispute as recorded by Luke at 9:46. While the Evangelists, Luke included, are not necessarily recording all events in the same order as those events occurred chronologically, Luke does record this dispute among the Apostles as to which of them is greatest, after he records the confession of faith of Peter at Luke 9:18-20 which is parallel to Matthew's 16:13-19)
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Luke 22:35-38
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Luke 22:39-46
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(The Agony in the Garden of Gethsem'ane is also recounted in Matthew 26:36-46 and Mark 14: 32-42, but Luke's account the Three are not separated from the Twelve. In this passage we find the basis for the Dyothelitism-Miatheletism-Monotheletism controversy on the two-united wills of Christ ... as we also find the basis for the resolution of this controversy, but for the authoritative view one will have to look, not to this website, but to the discussion of H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy in the film.
Regarding the portion of this passage, "And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.", the note in the New American Bible translation reads: "These verses, though very ancient, were probably not part of the original text of Luke. They are absent from the oldest papyrus manuscripts of Luke and from manuscripts of wide geographical distribution." The writer of this webpage is not an authority, but it would seem strange to have God the Son being strengthened in a matter of the spirit or of the heart by one of His creatures.)
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Luke 22:47-53
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Luke 22:54-62 |
(Three times Peter denies Jesus. Let us meditate on the evangelist's recounting of both Peter's denial of Christ and Peter's commission from Christ.) |
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| The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid; then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise." And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Mag'dalene and Jo-an'na and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home wondering at what had happened. That very day two of them were going to a village named Emma'us, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cle'opas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see." And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them. But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." (emphasis added) |
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Luke 23:55-56 through 24:1-39
(We see here something of the relationship between the Twelve, now temporarily reduced to Eleven, the One, Peter, already the leader again -- Peter ran to the tomb, and the Eleven inform the other two that "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" -- and the other disciples (elsewhere, in Luke 10:1-24, we are told that Seventy were particularly singled out by Jesus). Here we see one of these other disciples identified by name as being Cle'opas, and by tradition the other one of these two is Saint Luke the author of this Gospel. These two had intimate knowledge of Jesus ministry and the expectations surrounding Him, perhaps approaching that of the Eleven. And after these two disciples realized that it was the resurrected Lord Himself who they had met, although it was evening at least and seven miles back by foot, they left immediately, "that same hour and returned to Jerusalem" to find and tell the story to the Eleven.) |
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From the Gospel According to Saint John
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| The next day again John [the Baptist] was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). 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). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Beth-sa'ida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathan'a-el, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathan'a-el said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathan'a-el coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathan'a-el said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathan'a-el answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." (emphasis added) |
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John 1:35-51 (passage also at the Three and the Twelve)
Here in the first chapter of Saint John's Gospel we are introduced to five of the Twelve Apostles:
two disciples of John the Baptist who followed Jesus:
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, from the city of Beth-sa'ida, and
an un-named disciple of John the Baptist turned Apostle of the Lord Jesus, who, by tradition, is the author of this same Gospel According to Saint John, John, one of the sons of Zeb'edee. And note that in this first chapter of the Gospel account by John, John's brother James, another son of Zeb'edee is not mentioned, although in the other three Gospels James and John are introduced together, with the older brother James mentioned first (Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19-20; and Luke 5-10, where it is also mentioned that James and John, sons of Zeb'edee, were partners with Peter and where Andrew is not mentioned);
Simon Peter, the son of John, who Jesus named Cephas, which means Peter, like his brother Andrew from the city of Beth-sa'ida;
Philip, also from Beth-sa'ida; and
Nathan'a-el, about whom Jesus said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" (identified in the three synoptic Gospels as Bartholomew, possibly Nathanael Bar-tholomew).
As noted above on this webpage at the discussion under Mark 1:14-21, in Mark's Gospel, written before the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Luke and John, Andrew is not the "first called" Apostle. In Mark, as in Matthew, the Lord apparantly sees Simon-Peter and Andrew together, and Simon is mentioned first. In the first mention of an Apostle in Luke, at Luke 4:38, we are introduced first to Simon (and Simon's mother-in-law) : "And he arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought him for her." Only in the Gospel According to John is any Apostle mentioned before Simon-Peter, and there, in John 1:37, we find two disciples hearing Jesus and following him. So, no where is Andrew alone the "first called".
Was any kind of primacy of Andrew among the Apostles implied by the Lord in this one passage, be it only a "primacy of honor" without additional authority?
This first chapter of John's Gospel is noteworthy also for another statement touching directly on the subject matter of this webpage: Nathan'a-el's statement to Jesus: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! Consider this statement in connection with the statement made by Saint Peter to Jesus in Matthew 16:16, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." It is true that in his Gospel account, Matthew also records earlier, before Matthew 16:16, a confession by the group of Apostles that Jesus is the Son of God, see Matthew 14:33 and the disciples in the boat saying to Jesus, "Truly you are the Son of God." It is also true that in John the Evangelist's Gospel account there is a confession of Jesus' Divine Sonship even before Nathan'a-el's confession. In his unique Divinely-ordained role John the Baptist first confesses that Jesus "is the Son of God" (John 1:34) before Nathan'a-el does so (John 1:49). But in this passage at John 1:35-51 the Apostles including Peter are just being introduced, and one of them, Simon Peter's fellow Apostle Nathan'a-el, already confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. Does or should this fact inform the Church's understanding of Jesus' commission to Peter as recorded in Matthew 16:13-19? Was Jesus announcing His commission to Peter at that time and in those circumstances only on the basis of Peter's confession of faith, with that confession of faith being the rock on which Jesus would build His Church, when we see that same confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of God being made (much) earlier and by another Apostle? Or did Jesus mean something else or additional by His statements in Matthew 16:13-19, that God had decided from all eternity to establish an hierarchical Church and that Saint Peter was (and his successors were?) to serve some kind of leadership role within that hierarchy -- the Church being built on Peter plus the confession of faith, not on Peter with or without right faith, but also not emphasizing only the confession of faith, which had been made earlier and by others?
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| "I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever." This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper'na-um. Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him. (emphasis added) |
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John 6:48-71
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Editor's Note:
The Institution of the Eucharist, which is described in the other three, Synoptic Gospels, is not described in John's narrative.
The named Apostles have not been especially prominent in John's Gospel narrative up to this point, but beginning with John Chapter 13 and continuing through the end of John Chapter 17 an intense interaction between the Lord and His named Apostles, the Twelve, becomes central, though from John 13:27, if not earlier, Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot can no longer be numbered with the Twelve. The Twelve become, for a time, only eleven in number, until we see in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, the eleven elevating one of Jesus' other disciples, Matthias, to Apostleship in the Twelve. More on this later.
Most of the text of those five chapters is taken up by Jesus' Farewell Discourse. In His Farewell Discourse Jesus reveals to the Apostles central elements of Christian Theology, including revelation relating to the Third Person of the Trinity - God the Holy Spirit. This Farewell Discourse may be held to begin at the beginning of Chapter 14 (or indeed in Chapter 13), but in Chapter 14 the revelation given by Jesus is thrice interrupted by named Apostles, firstly by a question by Thomas, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?", then by a request by Philip for Jesus to, "[S]how us the Father, and we shall be satisfied," and thirdly by a question from Judas (not Iscariot): "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" (First introduced in his Gospel here in Chapter 14, Judas (not Iscariot) becomes the eighth Apostle whom John names.)
Considering these circumstances, and it not being desirable to either "interrupt" the Lord's speeches or to interrupt the flow of this Biblical narrative on Apostolicity, Chapters 13 and 14 of John's Gospel are reproduced on the sister webpage of this website, Apostolicity - the Twelve. On this webpage John Chapter 13, in which Peter figures so prominently, is reproduced. Then the entirety of John's Gospel from the beginning of Chapter 13 though the end of Chapter 17 is reproduced on the webpage, Jesus' Farewell Discourse.
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| Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "You are not all clean." When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of you all; I know whom I have chosen; it is that the scripture may be fulfilled, `He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' I tell you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 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." When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks." So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the money box, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel, he immediately went out; and it was night. When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified; if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward." Peter said to him, "Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times." |
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John Chapter 13
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| When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, procuring a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to befall him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When he said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he; so, if you seek me, let these men go." This was to fulfil the word which he had spoken, "Of those whom thou gavest me I lost not one." Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?" So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas; for he was the father-in-law of Ca'iaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Ca'iaphas who had given counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. As this disciple was known to the high priest, he entered the court of the high priest along with Jesus, while Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the maid who kept the door, and brought Peter in. The maid who kept the door said to Peter, "Are not you also one of this man's disciples?" He said, "I am not." Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves; Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together; I have said nothing secretly. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me, what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Annas then sent him bound to Ca'iaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, "Are not you also one of his disciples?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the servants of the high priest, a kinsman of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Peter again denied it; and at once the cock crowed. (emphasis added) |
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John 18:1-27
(Here in John's Gospel, the Apostle who cut off the ear of the high priest's slave (the slave of Ca'iaphas) with his sword is identified as Saint Peter, although in Luke's account an unnamed disciple is indicated (Luke 22:47-53). All four Gospels recount Peter's three-times denial of Jesus.)
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| Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her. |
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John 20:1-18 (passage also reproduced at the Three, the Twelve, the Seventy and Christian Women Leaders)
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After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe'ri-as; and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'a-el of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. 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." 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." 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. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go." (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me." Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" The saying spread abroad among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. |
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John Chapter Twenty-One (also reproduced at the Three and the Twelve) |
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Deliverance of Saint Peter (1514) part of a fresco in
Raphael Rooms in Vatican, by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino |
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This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. |
the Holy Spirit |
Man proposes, God disposes |
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