Where is the Magisterium in the Bible? Part 2: Was James or Peter the Leader of the Early Church?
“ How can Catholics believe Peter was the first pope?” My Protestant friends say. “Wasn’t James was the true leader of the early church?” The answer really being with a more fundamental questions. If Jesus established the office of the papacy and it is an office that speaks for him, then all Christians should submit to it. If not, no Christian should. Let’s look at scripture to see if there is any evidence of a church office with authority to speak for Jesus.
Let’s start with Jesus giving his apostles his authority and saying, “whoever hears you, hears me”.
WE see the apostles following his command in live action in Acts 15
Tim Staples explains that there was a big problem in the early church. Paul and Barnabus couldn’t resolve it. So they did what Jesus told them to do-they took it to the church.
In Acts 15-16:4: We read of an enormous problem in the early Church, the heresy of the Judaizers. They taught believers in Christ must not only believe and obey the New Testament law as given by Christ and the apostles, but they must keep the Old Testament law given by Moses as well, especially circumcision.
Notice, St. Paul and Barnabas could not quell the upheaval.
Even more importantly, however, is the manner in which the problem is dealt with. Do they get out their Bibles and start arguing passages? No! They respond decisively, but not in the way a “Bible Christian” would today. They respond to the difficulty in obedience to the command of our Lord in Matthew 18:15-18. Jesus gives us authoritative instructions on what to do in the case of a disagreement over doctrine or discipline in the Church. First, go to your brother. Second, if he won’t hear you, take two or three witnesses with you. If he won’t hear them, the final arbiter of the situation will be the Church.
The Christians in Antioch, no doubt, tried to handle the problem on a local level first. That is what the text indicates. But they couldn’t take care of the dispute. Then they brought in the big guns—Paul and Barnabas—a pretty formidable “one or two” to employ!
It did not work!
This problem was so enormous, St. Paul could not even settle it. Where do they go then? Just as our Lord said, they “take it to the Church.” The church at Antioch obeys our Lord and takes it to the Church in Jerusalem. Whence cometh the first Church Council. Tim Staples
Do you notice how using sola scriptura to settle debates is nowhere to be found here?
So Do we see that James is the true leader of the early Church and not Peter?
If you examine the text of Acts 15 carefully, you will see this is not the case. In verses six and seven, we see all of the apostles and elders gathered together and doing what? Disputing!
Notice, it is Peter who speaks first, in verses 7-11. After so much disputing in Antioch that St. Paul and Barnabas could not settle the difficulty:
And afterthere had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them… “But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And all the assembly kept silence…
“After much debate” here at the Council, Peter declares the truth and then—“the whole assembly fell silent” in verse 12. The issue was settled.
James starts out by saying “peter has spoken” noting that Peter spoke for all. James spoke for himself, NOt for everyone like Peter did
Tim Staples also points out that the Council of Jerusalem simply gave its approval to a decision already made by Peter—or, rather, to a decision made by God and communicated to the Church through Peter (Acts 10 and 11). This is the pattern followed by all the early ecumenical councils.
When James stands up to speak, the first thing he says after getting the attention of the Council is, “Symeon has related…” In other words, Peter has spoken… He repeats what Peter has already said definitively. Then, rather than speaking for all, St. James says, “It is my judgment…” ‘
James starts out by saying, “Peter has spoken”.
A little over 400 later, the fathers of the Council of Chalcedon would similarly declare, “Peter has spoken through Leo, the question is settled” after hearing a written declaration of St. Peter’s successor, Pope St. Leo the Great, read at that great Ecumenical Council. In AD 451, the issue was concerning the monophysite heresy and the nature of the God-man Jesus Christ. But both times, the same Principle was in effect. God spoke definitively through the authority He established on this earth to Shepherd his people. -Who Was at the Helm in Acts 15? Peter? James?
:And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them… “But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And all the assembly kept silence…
“After much debate” here at the Council, Peter declares the truth and then—“the whole assembly fell silent” in verse 12. The issue was settled.
The Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) is an example of concordant judgment
At that council James echoed the policy established through Peter by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10),
explained by Peter to the leaders in Jerusalem (Acts11),
and enunciated by Peter at the council (Acts 15). -Papal Infallibility and the Council of Nicea
Keep in mind that James was the leader at Jerusalem.
The content of Peter’s speech was a matter of divine revelation. It was God who chose to reveal that the Gentiles could be saved, for he had given them the Holy Spirit just as he did the apostles, cleansing their hearts by faith and making no distinction between the circumcised and the uncircumcised (Acts 15:8-9). Based on that revelation, Peter makes a doctrinal statement that is more than mere opinion: “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they [the Gentiles] will” (v.11). Peter doesn’t offer this view as what he thinks should be believed. He offers it as what isbelieved.
James’s speech stands in stark contrast with Peter’s. First, it was for the most part pastoral in nature, intended to address the problem of how to unify Jewish and Gentile Christians (Acts 15:1-5). It’s a practical problem that only arises because of the theological issue already settled by Peter.- James Led the Council
The 50 passages of scriptures Protestants often miss
When God changes someone’s name-that person serves a unique purpose.
When Jesus speaks, we should use his words to interpret the rest of scripture instead of finding other scriptures that fit our view and using them to interpret Jesus. Read the 50 passages and see:
Unique Prerogatives Directly Applied to St. Peter from Jesus.
Profound Significance of St. Peter's Name. He alone among the apostles received a new name,
St. Peter's Unique Actions, and “Historical Firsts”
Preeminence of St. Peter Acknowledged by Others
Examples of St. Peter's Singular Christian Authority
Tim Staples shares the verses that show st. Peter as the visible head of the Church in the Book of Acts here:
“When you consider the inspired author of Acts was St. Luke, a companion of St. Paul, it is quite telling that for the first 15 of 28 chapters, Peter is the center of attention rather than Paul. Why this focus on Peter?
1. Acts 1:15-26: It is St. Peter who is clearly in charge in choosing and ordaining a new apostle to replace Judas when he gives an authoritative interpretation of Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. And I might add that these texts do not have an obvious interpretation. Psalm 69:25, for example, speaks of the messiah’s persecutors (plural) who “give him gall for (his) food and sour wine to drink” – in 69:21. Then in verse 25 it says “May their (plural) camp be a desolation, let no one dwell in their tents.”
There is never a question from the rest of the apostles, “Hey, Peter, that’s a pretty shaky interpretation of those two texts. What hermeneutical principles are you using, anyway?”
2. Acts 2:14-41: It is St. Peter who is in charge at Pentecost and preaches the first sermon whereby 3,000 are baptized.
3. Acts 3:1-4:4: It is St. Peter who performs the first miracle in Acts, healing the man with withered feet and ankles. He then preaches again and, this time, 5,000 are converted in chapter 4:4.
4. Acts 4:3-12: When St. Peter and St. John are arrested and called before the Sanhedrin, it is St. Peter, in verse 8, who speaks for both and preaches boldly of Christ and the name of Jesus.
5. Acts 5:1-29: It is St. Peter who is in charge of the Church in collecting funds for world evangelism and pronounces God’s judgment on Ananias and Sapphira. It is then, in verse, 15, the people desire St. Peter’s shadow to pass over them that they may be healed. Then, in verse 29, after the apostles were arrested and miraculously set free by the angel of the Lord, they are before the Sanhedrin for the second time. St. Luke records:
Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men.”
St. Peter is set apart. It’s “Peter and the apostles.”
6. Acts 8:14-24: We see St. Peter leading (listed first) when he and St. John confirm new converts in Samaria after the evangelistic efforts of St. Phillip. And it is St. Peter who pronounces judgment on Simon the sorcerer who wanted to buy the power to convey the Holy Spirit.
7. Acts 9:32,40-43: Here we have an interesting little passage most pass over too quickly.
As Peter was passing through every region, he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda (NAB).
Here we have St. Peter making his pastoral rounds. To what part of the Church? All of it! He then proceeds to do another first. He raises Tabitha from the dead in Joppa.
8. Acts 10-11:18: It is St. Peter to whom God gives a vision to lead the Church in allowing the gentiles to be baptized and enjoy full membership in the Church. This was a radical move! If you think we have a problem with racism in the 21st century, we have nothing on first century opinion of the gentiles! Notice, after the other apostles and other disciples heard Peter declare what God had done, they say, in 11:18:
When they heard this they were silenced. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life.”
They heard St. Peter speak and the question was settled.
9. Acts 12:1-17: St. Peter is arrested again. Notice that the entire Church then goes to “earnest prayer” (vs. 5) and into the night (vs. 6, 12) until he is released miraculously. This is not recorded to have been the case when St. James or any others were arrested.
10. Acts 15-16:4: We read of an enormous problem in the early Church, the heresy of the Judaizers. They taught believers in Christ must not only believe and obey the New Testament law as given by Christ and the apostles, but they must keep the Old Testament law given by Moses as well, especially circumcision.
Notice, St. Paul and Barnabas could not quell the upheaval.
Even more importantly, however, is the manner in which the problem is dealt with. Do they get out their Bibles and start arguing passages? No! They respond decisively, but not in the way a “Bible Christian” would today. They respond to the difficulty in obedience to the command of our Lord in Matthew 18:15-18. Jesus gives us authoritative instructions on what to do in the case of a disagreement over doctrine or discipline in the Church. First, go to your brother. Second, if he won’t hear you, take two or three witnesses with you. If he won’t hear them, the final arbiter of the situation will be the Church.” - Who Was at the Helm in the Book of Acts? Peter? James?
Jesus gave Peter a new Name
First, the new name that Jesus here gives to Simon (Peter, Gk. Petros) means rock. Elsewhere in the New Testament we see Peter referred to by the Aramaic equivalent of this name, Cephas (e.g. John 1:42). Why would Jesus change Simon’s name to “Rock” if he had nothing to do with the metaphorical Church-foundation rock Jesus is talking about in the very same sentence?
Second, Jesus uses the second-person singular pronoun (“you)” in reference to Peter seven times in the three verses that constitute the immediate context of the passage (Matt. 16:17-19). If everything applies to Peter both before and after the statement about the metaphorical rock, then it’s reasonable to conclude that the statement about the rock applies to Peter as well.
Denying that Peter is the rock also conflicts with the interpretation of writers in the first four centuries of Christianity, such as Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian of Carthage, Ephraim, and Hilary of Poitiers, all of whom affirm that Peter is the rock in Matthew 16:18.
Even major Protestant sources acknowledge that the Catholic interpretation is correct. For example, the New Bible Dictionary and the New Bible Commentary both acknowledge that the rock in Matthew 16:18 refers to Peter. The late Presbyterian professor Robert McAfee Brown, in A Pope for All Christians, admits that “Protestants are learning that the crucial passage in Matthew 16 about the ‘rock’ on which the church will be built almost certainly refers to Peter himself rather than to his faith.” That We May Be One
The non-Catholic may admit that Peter has some sort of primacy but still protests, “There is no evidence that Peter’s ministry will be successive.
Stop for a moment and ask yourself, Are we out to prove Catholicism wrong here or are we looking to see if we may be missing something that Jesus wants us to know? Did Jesus intend to create a ministry that would be successive? Or didn’t he?
“The whole context and meaning of the imagery from the beginning to the end show it to be a ministry that must be successive. First of all, the image of the rock is, by its very nature, a timeless and everlasting image. That’s why the image of the rock was chosen. That’s how rocks are. They’re there to stay. Then in Matthew 16 Jesus himself says that the steward’s ministry will have an eternal dimension. He holds the keys to the Kingdom of God and the gates of hell will never prevail against it. Finally, the image of the shepherd, as we have seen, is an eternal one because God himself is the ultimate Good Shepherd. If the rock, the steward, and the shepherd are eternal ministries, then for it to last that long, the ministry must be successive. How could this eternal ministry have died out with Peter himself and still have been eternal?” -Fr Dwight Longenecker
WHy did some of the church fathers disagree about what When Christ meant when he said He’ll build His Church upon the Rock in Matthew 16:18?
The strongest answer from Scripture is Peter (because of his faith), and this has plenty of Patristic Support. That said, some Fathers claimed it was Peter’s faith or Jesus Himself.
But bear in mind always that these Fathers didn’t reject the papacy. On the contrary, you’ll hear these very same men proclaim Peter as the Prince of the Apostles and Shepherd of Rome, and the Apostolic See as head of the earthly Church. This wasn’t a battle between Catholic and Protestant Church Fathers. This is a dispute over between Catholic Church Fathers over how to understand a single word in Matthew 16:18. -St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine on Matthew 16:18 and the Papacy
Jesus prayed specifically for Peter
Luke 22:31-32. Jesus informs the apostles that Satan desires to sift all of them like wheat. We know this because the Greek text uses the second-person plural pronoun, humas. However, when Jesus then speaks of his protection prayer, the Greek switches to the second-person singular sou. Jesus singles Peter out when he makes the promise: “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.”
So here Jesus gives Peter alone a special pastoral role to keep the apostles united in the faith by strengthening them. In order for the apostles to benefit from Jesus’ prayer of protection in faith, then, they have to stick with him! Therefore, Peter is the visible principle of unity. That We May be One
What about the first two chapters of Galatians, where Paul mentions Peter. Didn’t Paul rebuke Peter?
Popes don’t have infallible behavior-they are sinners too. So if Paul did rebuke Peter it has no bearing on Peter’s authority to speak for the Holy Spirit. But a careful reading shows that Paul in no way belittled Peter. On the contrary! He used Peter as an example precisely because Peter was the chief apostle. Peter In Galations
Jimmy Akin explains more. Watch the video here:
Peter, Paul and the Cirsumcision Controversy
At the heart of all divisions among Christian traditions is the basic issue of doctrinal and moral authority. By what means do we determine what is the Christian faith and how are we supposed to live it?The Catholic Church always has taught that the magisterium (the pope and the bishops teaching in harmony with him) is Jesus Christ’s provision for determining and preserving Catholic truth. -Fr Ray Ryland Council Minus Papacy Equals Chaos
Paul correcting Peter in Galations doesn’t contradict the authority of the pope.
but I’ve heard that the Catholic Church built its claims to papal authority on one verse taken out of context?
Hardly. The three strands of rock, steward, and shepherd are woven in and through the whole of Scripture, coming into focus in the life of Jesus Christ who is the true Rock, the King of the Kingdom and Good Shepherd, and who hands his authority on earth to Peter until he comes again. Fr Dwight Lonegnecker
So what did our initial look at scripture reveal? James was the leader of the Church in Jerusalem, but Peter was the leader of the church as a whole. As Tim pointed out St. Peter made his pastoral rounds. To what part of the Church? All of it! Jesus singled out Peter to feed his sheep. Jesus prayed specifically for Peter to strengthen the brethren. Jesus changed Peter’s name. Peter is listed first on lists of apostles. Like, “Peter and the 11”. Peter has a long list of firsts and uniques. To name a few of the 50 passages.
What about the church fathers? A few of them disagreed about what ‘rock’ meant but none of them rejected the papacy. “These very same men proclaim Peter as the Prince of the Apostles and Shepherd of Rome, and the Apostolic See as head of the earthly Church”.
Popes are fallible. They sin. They go to confession. But Jesus said that there are mere men who can he his authority to and they speak with the authority of Christ. Whoever hears you, hears me” is what he said. All Protestants implicitly accept this concept whether they know it or not if they believe that scripture is the inspired word of God. Fallible men wrote it. Those men said, “follow the traditions we have taught you whether oral or written”. So the idea of a mortal and fallible man speaking for Christ isn’t the problem The problem is that Protestants reject the papacy. But what if they are wrong? If the pope has the authority to speak for Christ, would you listen?
This is the second in a 3 part series “Where is the Magisterium in the Bible?”.Part 1 answers : Is the Church Just an Invisible Collection of Believers? and Part 3 answers : How did Jesus Provide for the Transmission of the faith?
For further reading:
50 Biblical Indications of Petrine Primacy and the Papacy
The Papacy: Answering Common Objections (#6-#8)
Peter, Paul and the Cirsumcision Controversy