EDUCATION AND FINAL DESIGNATION OF PETER TO BE THE RULER WHO SHOULD
CONFIRM HIS BRETHREN.
Having promised[1] and bestowed on Simon a new name, prophetic of
the peculiar position which he was to occupy in the Church, and
having set forth the meaning contained in that name in terms so
large and magnificent, that, as we have seen, the greatest saints
and fathers have felt it impossible to exhaust their force, our Lord
proceeded to _educate_ Peter, so to say, for his especial charge of
supreme ruler. He bestowed upon him, in the course of His ministry,
tokens of preference which agree with the title thus solemnly
conferred; and He instructed him with all the care which we should
expect to be given to one who was to become the chief doctor of
Christians. Such instruction may be said to consist in two things, a
more complete knowledge of the Christian revelation, and a singular
apprehension of its divine proofs.
Now, innumerable as are the particulars in which the Christian
revelation consists, they may yet be gathered up mainly into two
points, which meet in the Person of our Lord, and are termed by the
ancient fathers who have followed this division, the _Theology_, and
the _Economy_. There is the Divine Nature, that "_form of God_,"
which our Lord had from the beginning in the bosom of the Father;
and there is the human nature, that "_form of a servant_," which "in
the economy or dispensation of the fulness of times" He assumed, in
order that He might purchase the Church with His blood, and[2]
"re-establish all things in heaven and on earth." All, therefore,
in the Christian faith which concerns "the form of God" is termed
the Theology; all which contemplates "_the form of a servant_," the
Economy.
But the heavenly origin and certain truth of both these parts of
Christian faith are proved partly by the fulfilment of prophecy, and
partly by the working of miracles. To both our Lord perpetually
appealed, and His apostles after Him, and those who have followed
them. One, then, who was to be the chief ruler and doctor of
Christians, needed especial instruction in the Theology, and
Economy, especial assurance of the fulfilment of prophecy, and the
working of miraculous power. Now Peter was specially selected for
this instruction and that assurance.
The whole teaching of our Lord, indeed, and the innumerable acts of
power and words of grace with which it was fraught, were calculated
to convey these to all the Apostles. But while they were witnesses
in common of that teaching in general, some parts of it were
disclosed only to Peter and the two sons of Zebedy. Perhaps there is
no incident in the Gospel history, which set forth in so lively a
manner, and so convincingly proved, the mysteries concerning the
union of "the form of God" and "the form of a servant," as the
Transfiguration. The retreat to the "high mountain apart," and in
the midst of that solitary prayer, "the face shining as the sun,"
and "the robes white as light," the presence of Moses and Elias,
conversing with Him on the great sacrifice for sin, "the bright
cloud which encompassed them," and the voice from out of it,
proclaiming "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear
Him;" so impressed themselves on the great Apostle, that after long
years he appealed to them in proof that he and his brethren had not
taught "cunningly devised fables, when they made known the power
and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, but had been eyewitnesses of
His majesty, when He received from God the Father honour and glory,
this voice coming down to Him from the excellent glory, 'This is my
beloved Son, in whom I have pleased myself: hear ye Him.' And this
voice we heard brought from heaven, when we were with Him in the
holy mount." Among all the Apostle's experience of the three years'
ministry, by the shore and on the waves of the lake of Galilee, in
the cornfields, or on the mountain side, in the noon-day heat, or
midnight storm, even in the throng which cried 'Hosannah!' and
'Crucify Him!' this stood out, until "the laying aside of his
fleshly tabernacle," as "the Lord had signified to Him."[3] For[4]
what indeed was not there? the plurality of persons in the Godhead,
the Father and the Son, the true, and not adopted, Sonship of the
latter, His divine mission unto men; the new order of things
resulting from it, and the summing up under one head of all things
in heaven and in earth; the sealing up and accomplishing of the law
and the prophets, by the presence of their representatives, Moses
and Elias, a most wonderful and transporting miracle; and the
command implicitly to obey Him in whom the Father was well pleased.
Thus the Transfiguration may be termed the summing up of the whole
Christian revelation.
But now of this we read that "after six days Jesus taketh unto Him
_Peter_, and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into
a high mountain apart." These three alone of the twelve. Yet does He
not associate the sons of Zebedy with Peter in this privilege?
Needful no doubt it was that so splendid an act should have a
suitable number of witnesses, and that as His future glory should
have[5] three witnesses from heaven, and as many from earth, so
this, its rudimental beginning, should be attested by three as from
heaven, God the Father, Moses, and Elias, and by three from earth,
Peter, James, and John. Dear to Him likewise, next to Peter, and
most privileged after Peter, were the sons of Zebedy; yet a
distinction is seen in the mode in which they are treated even when
joined together in so great a privilege. For in all the three
accounts Peter is named first; "He taketh to Him Peter, and James,
and John." They likewise are called by their birth-name, he by his
prophetic appellation of the Rock; they are silent, but he speaks;
"Peter answering, said;" nor only speaks, but in the name of all;
"It is good _for us_ to be here," as if their leader. And, fifthly,
he is named specially, they as his companions; "but Peter, _and they
that were with him_, were heavy with sleep."[6] Thus even when three
are associated in a special privilege above the Twelve, Peter is
distinguished among the three.
But if there was one other occasion on which above all "the form of
the servant" was to be set forth in the most awful, and the most
endearing light, it was on that evening, "the hour" of evil men and
"the power of darkness," when "the righteous servant who should
justify many" was about to perform the great, central, crowning act
of His mediation. Then we read that "He said to His disciples, Sit
you here, till I go yonder and pray."[7] And then immediately
"taking with Him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedy, He began to grow
sorrowful and to be sad." Yet here again, even in the association
with the sons of Zebedy, Simon is distinguished, for he is named
first; and by the illustrious name of Peter, the Rock; and as the
leader of the others, for, says Matthew, Christ after His first
prayer, "comes to His disciples, and finds them sleeping, and _says
to Peter_, What, could _ye_ not watch with me one hour?" Why the
change of number, Peter in the singular, _ye_ in the plural? Why the
blame of Peter, involving the blame of the rest? Because the members
are censured in the head.
In these two signal instances our Lord, while preferring Peter and
the two sons of Zebedy to the rest of the Twelve, yet marks a
gradation likewise between them and Peter. And these two set forth
the Theology and Economy, in the most emphatic manner.
And as the supreme preceptor must not only be acquainted with the
truth which he has to deliver, but with the evidence on which it
rests, so is Peter specially made a witness of his Lord's "power and
presence" and "the works which no other man did." In that remarkable
miracle of raising to life the ruler of the synagogue's daughter we
read, "He admitted not any man to follow Him, but Peter and James,
and John the brother of James;"[8] where, as before, and always,
Peter is mentioned first, and by the prophetic name of his Primacy.
From[9] all which we gather four points; 1. Several things are
mentioned in the Gospels which Christ gave to Peter, and not to the
rest of the Apostles: 2. But nothing which He gave to them together,
and not to Peter with them. 3. What He seemed to give to them in
common, yet accrue to Peter in a special manner, who appears among
the Apostles not as one out of the number, but their destined head,
by the name, that is, of Peter, so markedly promised, bestowed, and
wonderfully explained by our Lord, of which, as we have seen, S.
Chrysostome, an eastern Patriarch, as well as a great Saint and
Father, observed, "When I say Peter, I mean the impregnable Rock,
the immovable foundation, the great Apostle, the first of the
disciples." 4. Either we are not to take Christ's dealing as the
standard of Peter's dignity, and destination, or we must admit that
he was preferred to the rest, and made the supreme teacher of the
faithful.
S. Matthew records the incidents of the officers asking for the
payment of the didrachma which all the children of Israel were bound
to contribute to the temple; and his words show us a fresh instance
of honour done to Peter, and a fresh note of his superiority. "When
they were come to Capharnaum, they that received the didrachma came
to Peter and said to him, Doth not your master pay the didrachma?"[10]
But why should they come to _him_, and ask, not if _his_ master, but
"your" master, the master of all the Apostles, paid the census, save
that it was apparent, even to strangers, that Peter was the first and
most prominent of the company? Why use him rather than any of the
others, for the purpose of approaching Christ? "As Peter seemed to be
first of the disciples," says S. Chrysostome, on the text, "they go to
him." The context naturally suggests this reason, and the ancient
commentators remarked it. But what follows is much more striking.
Peter answered, Yes, that is, that his master observed all the laws of
Moses, and this among the number. As he went home he purposed, no
doubt, to ask our Lord about this payment, but "when he was come
into the house Jesus prevented him," having in His omniscience seen
and heard all that had passed, and He proceeded to speak words
involving His own high dignity, followed by a singular trial of Peter's
faith, and as marked a reward of it when tried. "What thinkest thou,
Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or
custom? of their own children or of strangers? And he said, Of
strangers. Jesus said to him, Then the children are free." Slight
words in seeming, yet declaring in fact that most wonderful truth
which had formed so shortly before Peter's confession, and drawn
down upon him the yet unexhausted promise; for they expressed, I am
as truly the natural Son of that God, the Sovereign of the temple, for
whom this tribute is paid, as the children of earthly sovereigns, who
take tribute, are their sons by nature. Therefore by right I am free.
"But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea and cast in a hook;
and that fish which shall first come up, take; and when thou hast opened
its mouth, thou shalt find a stater; take that and give it to them for
Me and thee." Declaring to His favoured disciple afresh that He is
the true, and not the adopted, Son of God, answering his thoughts by
anticipation, and expressing His knowledge of absent things by the
power of the Son of God, He tries his faith by the promise of a
fresh miracle, which involved a like exercise of divine power.
Peter, in proceeding to execute His command, must make that
confession afresh by deed, which he had made before by word, and
which his Lord had just repeated with His own mouth. How else could
he go to the lake expecting to draw at the first cast a fish in
whose mouth he should find a coin containing the exact amount due to
the temple for two persons? But what followed? What but a most
remarkable reward for the faith which he should show? "Take that and
give it to them for Me and thee." There are looks, there are tones
of the voice, which convey to us more than language. So, too, there
are acts so exceedingly suggestive, that without in any _formal_ way
proving, they carry with them the force of the strongest proof. And
so, perhaps, never did our Lord in a more marked manner _associate_
Peter with Himself than here. It was a singular distinction which
could not fail to strike every one who heard it. Thus S. Chrysostome
exclaims,[11] "You see the exceeding greatness of the honour;" and
he adds, "wherefore, too, in reward for his faith He connected him
with Himself in the payment of the tribute;" and he remarks on
Peter's modesty, "for Mark, the disciple of Peter, seems not to have
recorded this incident, because it pointed out the great honour
bestowed on him; but he did record his denial, while he was silent
as to the points which made him conspicuous, his Master perhaps
begging him not to say great things about him." Indeed, _how_ could
one of the disciples be more signally pointed out than by this
incident, as "the faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord would set
over His household, to give them their portion of food in due time?"
Other fathers, as well as S. Chrysostome, did not fail to see such a
meaning in this passage; but let us take the words of Origen as
pointing out the connection of this incident with the important
question following. His words are: "It seems to me that (the
disciples) considering this a very great honour which had been done
to Peter by Jesus, in having put him higher than the rest of His
disciples, they wished to make sure of what they suspected by asking
Jesus and hearing His answer, whether, as they conceived, He judged
Peter to be greater than them; and they also hoped to learn the
cause for which Peter was preferred to the rest of the disciples.
Matthew, then, wishing to signify this by these words, "take that
and give it to them for Me and thee," added, "on that day the
disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who, thinkest thou, is the greater
in the kingdom of heaven?"[12]
For, indeed, why should they immediately ask this question? The
preceding incident furnishes a natural and sufficient cause. The
Apostles, it seems, were urged by the plainness of Christ's words
and acts to inquire who among them should have the chief authority.
Who will not agree with S. Chrysostome: "The Apostles were touched
with a human infirmity, which the Evangelist too signifies in the
words, 'in that hour,' when He had honoured him (Peter) before them
all. For though of James and John one of the two was the
first-born," (alluding to an opinion that the tax was paid by the
first-born,) "He did nothing like it for them. Hence, being ashamed,
they confessed their excitement of mind, and do not say plainly, Why
hast thou preferred Peter to us? Is he greater than we are? For this
they did not dare; but they ask indefinitely, Who is the greater?
For when they saw three preferred to the rest, they felt nothing
like this; but when one received so great an honour, they were
pained. Nor were they kindled by this alone, but by putting together
many other things. For He had said to him, 'I will give to thee the
keys,' and 'Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona,' and here 'Give it to
them for Me and for thee;' and also they were pricked at seeing his
confidence and freedom of speech."[13]
Thus their question, if it did not express, at least suggested this
meaning, "Speak more plainly and distinctly whether Peter is to be
the greater and the chief in the Church, and accordingly among us,"
and so they seem to have drawn from our Lord's act a conclusion
which they did not see in the promising or bestowing the prophetic
name of Peter, nor even in the promises conveyed in explaining that
name, and were vexed at the preference shown to him.
And if [14]any be inclined to conclude from hence that our Lord's
words and acts to Peter had not been of any marked significancy,
they should be reminded that the very clearest and plainest things
were sometimes not understood by the Apostles, before the descent of
the Holy Spirit on them. This was specially the case with the things
which they were disinclined to believe. Thus our Lord again and
again foretold to them His passion in express terms, but we are
told, "they understood none of these things."[15] He foretold, too,
His resurrection, yet they did not the least expect it, and they
became at length fully assured of the fact before they remembered
the prediction. Strange as these things seem, yet probably
everyone's private experience will furnish him with similar
instances of a veil being cast upon his eyes, which prevented his
discerning the most evident things, towards which there was
generally some secret disinclination.
But [16]how did our Lord answer their question? Did He remove at
once the ground of their jealousy by declaring that in the kingdom
of heaven no one should have pre-eminence of dignity, but the
condition of all be equal? On the contrary, He condemns ambition and
enjoins humility, but likewise gives such a turn to His discourse as
to insinuate that there would be one pre-eminent over the
rest.[17] "Jesus calling unto Him a little child, set him in the
midst of them, and said, Amen I say unto you, unless you be
converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven." Then He adds, "whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the
kingdom of heaven." Thus He did not exclude the pre-eminence of that
"greater one," about which they asked, but pointed out what his
character ought to be. But this will be much clearer from a like
enquiry, and the answer to it, recorded by S. Luke.
For even at the last supper, our Lord having told them that He
should be betrayed, and was going to leave them in the way
determined for Him, there was not only an enquiry among them which
of them should do that thing, but also, so keenly were their minds
as yet, before the coming down of the Holy Spirit, alive to the
desire of pre-eminence, and so strongly were they persuaded that
such a superior had not been excluded by Christ, but rather marked
out and ordained, "there was a strife among them which of them
should seem to be greater." Now our Lord meets their contention
thus: "The [18]kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and they
that have power over them are called beneficent. But you not so; but
he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and
he that is the leader, as he that serveth. For which is greater, he
that sitteth at table, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at
table? But I am in the midst of you as he that serveth. And you are
they who have continued with Me in my temptations; and I dispose to
you, as My Father hath disposed to Me, a kingdom; that you may eat
and drink at My table in My kingdom; and may sit upon thrones
judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Now [19]in this speech of our Lord we may remark four points:--
1. What is omitted, though it would seem most apposite to be said;
2. What is affirmed, if not expressly, yet by plain consequence;
3. What comparison is used in illustration;
4. What meets with censure and rejection.
1. First, then, though the Apostles had twice before contended about
pre-eminence, yet our Lord neither there, nor here, said openly that
He would not prefer any one over the rest, nor appoint any one to be
their leader. Yet the importance of the subject, His own wisdom, and
His love towards His disciples, as well as His usual mode of acting,
seemed to demand, that had it been His will for no one of them to be
set over the rest, He should plainly declare it, and thus extinguish
all strife. No less a matter was at issue than the harmony of the
Apostles with each other, the peace of the Church, and the success
of the divine counsel for its government. Moreover, the Gospels
represent Him to us as continually removing doubts, clearing up
perplexities, and correcting wrong judgments among His disciples.
Let us recall to remind a very similar occasion, when the mother of
the sons of Zebedy with her children came before Him asking "that
these my two sons may sit the one on thy right hand and the other on
thy left, in thy kingdom." He rejected their prayer at once, saying,
"To sit on My right or My left hand is not mine to give to you, but
to them for whom it is prepared by My Father."[20] The silence,
therefore, of Christ here, under such circumstances, is a proof that
it was not the divine will that all the Apostles should be in such a
sense equal that no one of them should hold a superior authority
over the rest.
2. But eloquent as this silence is, we are not left to trust to it
alone, for our Lord's words point out, besides, the institution of
one superior. "The kings of the Gentiles," He says, "lord it over
them; and they that have power over them are called benefactors. But
you not so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as
the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth." _A
greater_ and _a leader_, then, _there was to be_. Our Lord's words
contain two parallel propositions repeated. 1. There is among you
one who is the greater, let him, then, be as the younger. 2. There
is among you one who is the leader, let him be as he that serveth.
Thus our Lord's meaning is most distinct that they should have a
superior.
But in the very similar passage about the sons of Zebedy, lest any
should conclude that no one of the Apostles was to be superior to
the rest, He called them to Him and said, "You know that the princes
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and they that are the greater
exercise power upon them. It shall not be so among you, but
whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister;
and he that will be the first among you shall be your servant. Even
as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give His life a redemption for many." Where He
tells them His will, not that no one of the Apostles should be
"great" and "first," but what the type and model should be which
that "great" and "first" one should imitate, even the Son of man who
came to minister.
3. For to make this quite certain, there, and here too, He directs
us to a particular comparison, by which He explains and concludes
His discourse, "For who is greater, he that sitteth at table, or he
that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at table? But I am among you as
he that serveth.--And I dispose unto you as My Father disposed unto
Me, a kingdom." Here our Lord sets Himself before His Apostles as
the exemplar both of the rule which the superior was to exercise,
and of the temper and character which he was to shew. As He had been
speaking of the kingdoms of the Gentiles, so He now points out to
them in contrast the true kingdom which He was disposing unto them.
The Church as it had been from the beginning, was to be the model of
what it should be to the end. Now all confess that in that Church
Christ had held the place of "the First," "the Great one," "the
Ruler." And now He explains that one of His Apostles should occupy
that place of His, and occupying it should be of a like temper with
Himself, who had been the minister and servant of all. And it may be
remarked that the same word is here applied to him who should _rule_
among the disciples, which expresses the dignity of Christ Himself
in the prophecy of Micah, quoted in Matt. ii. 6, "Out of thee shall
go forth[21] _the ruler_, who shall be shepherd over my people
Israel." For Christ says, "He that is the greater among you let him
be as the younger; and _he that ruleth_ as he that serveth. _For_,
who is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he who serveth? But I am
among you as he that serveth." "I dispose to you a kingdom: as My
Father disposed to Me:" let him who follows Me in place, follow Me
in character.
But, 4, what does our Lord censure and reject from His Church? It is
plain that He compares kingdom with kingdom, and the kingdom of
heaven, which is the Church, with human kingdoms, and, moreover,
that the negative quality as to which, in the clause, "But you not
so," the two are compared, is, _not_ the fact that there is
pre-eminence and rule in both, but a certain _mode_ of exercising
them. This is, the pomp and ambition expressed in the words,
"lording it," "exercising authority," "are called benificent." As
again is shewn in the repeated declaration that what had been most
alien from the spirit of His own ministry, should not appear in the
ministry that He would establish after Him. Now He had shown no pomp
and pride of dominion, but yet He had shown the dominion itself in
the fullest sense, the power of passing laws, enjoining precepts,
defining rites, threatening punishments, governing, in fine, His
Church, so that He had been pre-eminently "the Lord." Lastly, this
is shown in the words recorded by S. John, as said shortly after on
this same occasion. "You call Me Master and Lord, and you say well,
for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another's feet: _for I have given you an
example_, that as I have done unto you, so you also may do."[22]
Now nothing can show more strongly than this discourse the
pre-eminence and authority which our Lord was going to establish in
one of His Apostles over the rest. For here we have His intention
disclosed that in His kingdom, which is the Church's, some one there
should be "the Great," "the First," and "the Ruler," who should
discharge, in due proportion and analogy, the office which He
Himself, before He returned to the Father, had held. But before we
consider further who this one was, let us look at the subject from a
somewhat different point of view.
And [23]here we must lay down three points, the _first_ of which is,
that our Lord, during His life on earth, had acted in two
capacities, the one, as the Author and Founder, the other, as the
Head and Supreme Ruler of His Church. His functions in the former
capacity are too plain to need enlarging upon. He disclosed the
objects of our faith: He instituted rites and sacraments: He
provided by the establishment of a ministry for the perpetual growth
and duration of the Church. It was in this sense that He spoke of
Himself to His apostles, as "the Master," who could share His
prerogatives with no one: "But be not you called Rabbi, for one is
your Master, and all you are brethren."[24] Thus is He, "the
Teacher," "the Master," throughout the Gospel.
But He likewise acted as the Head of His Church, with the dignity
and authority of the chief visible Ruler. He was the living bond of
His disciples: the person around whom they grouped: whose presence
wrought harmony: whose voice terminated contention among them: who
was ever at hand to solve emergent difficulties. Thus it is that
prophecy distinguished Him as "the Lord," "the King," "the
Shepherd;" "on whose shoulders is the government," "who should
_rule_ His people, Israel." And His Church answers to Him in this
capacity, as the family, the house, the city, the fold, and the
kingdom.
Thus His relation to the Church was twofold, as Founder, and as
Supreme Pastor.
_Secondly_, the Church shares her Lord's prerogative of
unchangeableness, and as He is "Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever," so She, His mystical Body, in her proportion,
remains like herself from the beginning to the end. The Church and
Christianity are bound to each other in a mutual relation; the
Church is Christianity embodied; Christianity is the Church in
conception: the consistency and identity which belong to
Christianity belong likewise to her; neither can change their
nature, nor put on another form.
But, _thirdly_, the Church would be unlike herself, if, having been
from her very cradle visibly administered by the rule of One, she
fell subsequently, either under no rule at all, according to the
doctrine of the Independents, or under the rule of the multitude,
according to the Calvinists, or under the rule of an aristocracy, as
Episcopalians imagine. A change of government superinduces a change
of that substantial form which constitutes a society. But this holds
in her case especially, above all other societies, as she came forth
from the creative hand of her Lord, her whole organization instinct
with inward life, her government _directly_ instituted by God
Himself, in which lies her point of distinction from all temporal
polities.
For imagine, that upon our Lord's departure, no one had been deputed
to take the visible headship and rule over the Church. How, without
ever fresh revelations, and an abiding miraculous power, could that
complex unity of faith, of worship, and of polity, have been
maintained, which the[25] Lord has set forth as the very sign and
token of His Church? A multitude scattered throughout the most
distant regions, and naturally differing in race, in habits, in
temperament, how could it possibly be joined in one, and remain one,
without a powerful bond of unity? Hence, in the fourth century, S.
Jerome[26] observed, "The safety of the Church depends on the
dignity of the supreme Priest, in whom, if all do not recognise a
peculiar and supereminent power, there will arise as many schisms in
the Church as there are priests." And the repentant confessors out
of Novatian's schism, in the middle of the third century, "We know
that Cornelius (the Pope) has been elected Bishop of the most holy
Catholic Church, by Almighty God, and Christ our Lord.--We are not
ignorant that there is one God, one Christ the Lord, whom we
confessed, one Holy Spirit, and that there ought to be one bishop
in the Catholic Church."[27] And these words, both of S. Jerome, and
of the confessors, if they primarily apply to the diocesan bishop
among his priests and people, so do they with far greater force
apply to the chief bishop among his brethren in the whole Church.
Now, as our Lord willed that His Church should do without fresh
revelations, and new miracles, such as at first accredited it, and
that it should preserve unity; and as, when it was a little flock,
which could be assembled in a single room, it had yet one visible
Ruler, how can we doubt that He willed this form of government to
remain, and that there should be one perpetually to rule it in His
name, and preserve it in unity, since it was to become co-extensive
with the earth?
Again, we may ask, was the condition of fold, house, family, city,
and kingdom, so repeatedly set forth in Holy Scripture, to belong to
the Church only while Christ was yet on earth, or to be the visible
evidence of its truth for ever? Do these terms exhibit a temporary,
or a perpetual state? Each one of these symbols by itself, and all
together, involve one visible Ruler: therefore, so long as the
Church can be called with truth, the one house, the one family, the
one city, the one fold, the one kingdom, so long must it have one
visible and supreme Ruler.
But once grant that such a one there was after our Lord's departure,
and no one can doubt that one to have been Peter. It is easier to
deny the supreme Ruler altogether, than to make him any one but
Peter. The whole course of the Gospels shows none other marked out
by so many distinctions. Thus, even those who wish to refuse a real
power to his Primacy, are compelled by the force of evidence to
allow him a Primacy of order and honour.
But nothing did our Lord more pointedly reject than the vain pomp of
titles and honours. In nothing is His own example more marked than
in that He exercised real power and supreme authority without pomp
or show. Nothing did He enjoin more emphatically on the disciple who
should be the "Great one," and "the Ruler," among his brethren, than
that he must follow his Master in being the servant of all. A
Primacy, then, consisting in titles and mere precedency, is of all
things most opposed to the spirit and the precepts of our Lord. And
so the Primacy which He designated must be one of real power and
pre-eminent authority.
And this brings us back to the passage of S. Luke which we were
considering, where four things prove that Christ had such a headship
in view. First, the occasion, for the Apostles were contending for a
place of real authority. The sons of Zebedy expressed it by sitting
on His right hand and on His left, that is, holding the second and
the third place of dignity in the kingdom.
Secondly, the double comparison which our Lord used, the one
negative, the other affirmative: in the former, contrasting the
Church's ruler with the kings of the Gentiles, He excluded pomp and
splendour, lordship and ambition; in the latter, referring him to
His own example, who had the most real and true power and
superiority, He taught him to unite these with a meekness and an
attention to the wants of his brethren, of which His own life had
been the model.
Thirdly, the words "the First," "the Greater," and "the Ruler,"
indicate the pre-eminence of the future head, for as they appear in
the context, and according to their Scriptural force, they indicate
not a vain and honorary, but a real authority, one of them being
even the very title given to our Lord.
And, fourthly, this is proved by the object in view, which is,
maintaining the identity of the Church, and the form which it had
from the beginning, and preserving its manifold unity. As to its
identity, and original form, it is needless to observe that Christ
exercised in it not an honorary but a real supremacy, so that under
Him its government was really in the hands of one, the Ruler. As to
the preservation of its unity--and especially a unity so
complex--the very analogy of human society will sufficiently teach
us that it is impossible to be preserved without a strong central
authority. Contentions can neither be checked as they arise, nor
terminated when they come to a head, without the interference of a
power to which all yield obedience. And the living example of those
religious societies which have not this power is an argument whose
force none can resist. Where Peter is not, there is neither unity of
faith, nor of charity, nor of external regimen.
No sooner [28]then had our Lord in this manner pointed out that
there should be one hereafter to take His place on earth and to be
the Ruler of his brethren, expressing at the same time the toilsome
nature of the trust, and the duty of exercising it with the spirit
which He, the great model, had shown, than turning His discourse
from the Apostles, whom hitherto He had addressed in common, to
Peter singly, He proceeded to designate Peter as that one, to assure
him of a singular privilege, and to enforce upon him a proportionate
duty.
And first a break in the hitherto continuous discourse is ushered in
by the words, "And the Lord said," and what follows is fixed to
Peter specially, by the reiteration of his name, "Simon, Simon,
behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as
wheat:" to have _you_, that is not Peter alone, but all the
Apostles, the same you, whom in the preceding verses He had so often
repeated, "you not so," "but I am in the midst of you," "but you are
they that have continued with Me," "and I dispose to you a kingdom,"
"that you may eat and drink with Me;" and what follows? What was the
resource provided by the Lord against this attack of the great enemy
on all His fold? "But I have prayed for _thee_, that _thy_ faith
fail not: and thou being once converted confirm thy brethren." Not
"I have prayed for _you_," where all were assaulted, "that _your_
faith fail not," but I have prayed for _thee_, Peter, that _thy_
faith fail not! Nothing can be more emphatic than this change of
number, when our Lord throughout all His previous discourse had used
the plural, and now continuing the plural to designate the persons
attacked, uses the singular to specify the person for whom He has
prayed, and to whom He assures a singular privilege, the fruit of
that prayer. Nothing could more strongly prove that this address was
special to Peter.
Nor less evident is the singular dignity of what is here promised to
him. First of all, it is the fruit of the prayer of Christ. Of what
importance must that be which was solicited by our Lord of His
Father, and at a moment when the redemption of the world was being
accomplished, and when His passion may be said to have begun? Of
what importance that which was to be the defence of not Peter only,
but all the disciples, against the most formidable assault of the
great enemy, who had[29] demanded them as it were to deliver them
over to punishment? And this was "that thy faith fail not." How is
it possible to draw any other conclusion here than what S. Leo in
the fifth century expressed so clearly before all the bishops of
Italy? "The danger from the temptation of fear was common to all the
Apostles, and all equally needed the help of the divine protection,
since the devil desired to dismay all, to crush all; and yet a
special care of Peter is undertaken by our Lord, and He prays
peculiarly for the faith of Peter, as if the state of the rest would
be more sure, if the mind of their chief were not conquered. In
Peter, therefore, the fortitude of all is protected, and the help of
divine grace is so ordered, that the firmness which through Christ
is given to Peter, through Peter is conferred on the Apostles."[30]
And if such is the importance of the help secured, no less is the
charge following: "And thou, being once converted, confirm thy
brethren." To confirm others, is to be put in an office of dignity
and authority over them. And his brethren were those whom our Lord
till now had been addressing in common with him; to whom He had just
disclosed "a Greater" and "a Ruler" "among" them; that is, the
Apostles themselves. Among these, then, when our Lord's visible
presence was withdrawn, Peter was to be the principle of stability,
binding and moulding them into one building. For one cannot fail to
see how this great promise and prophecy answer to those in Matthew.
There our Lord, as Architect, promised to lay Peter as the
foundation of the Church, against which the gates of hell should not
prevail: here, being about to leave the world, when His own work was
finished, to ascend unto His Father, and to assume His great power
and reign, He makes Peter as it were the Architect to carry on the
work which was to be completed by _His_ grace and authority, but by
human co-operation. So exact is the resemblance that we may put the
two promises in parallel columns to illustrate each other:
Thou art Peter, and upon But I have prayed for
this Rock I will build My thee that thy faith fail not;
Church; and the gates of hell and thou, being once converted,
shall not prevail against it. confirm thy brethren.
But light is thrown on the greatness of this pre-eminence thus
bestowed on Peter of confirming his brethren, if we consider that
the term is applied to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as
bestowing by inherent power what is here granted by participation.
Of the Father it is said, "To Him that is able to _establish_ you
according to my Gospel--the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be
honour and glory." And again, "Now He that _confirmeth us_ with you
in Christ, and that hath anointed us, is God;" and again, "The God
of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory in Christ
Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will Himself perfect you,
_confirm_, establish you."[31] Of Christ likewise: "As therefore you
have received Jesus Christ the Lord, walk ye in Him, rooted and
built up in Him, and _confirmed_ in the faith." And "waiting for the
manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who also will _confirm_ you
unto the end without crime." And again: "Now our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself exhort your hearts, and _confirm_ you in every good word and
work."[32] And the Holy Spirit is continually mentioned as the
author of this gift, when, for instance, to Him is ascribed "the
teaching all truth," "the leading into all truth," "the bringing to
mind" all things which Christ had said. And S. Paul prays "that He
would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be
_strengthened_ by His Spirit with might unto the inward man."[33]
What, therefore, is proper to the most Holy Trinity, and given in
the highest sense by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, it was
the will of Christ should be shared by Peter, according as man is
capable of it. That is, it was His pleasure that the same man, whom
He had intimately associated with Himself by communicating to him
His prerogative to be the Rock, should be closely joined with the
Blessed Trinity by participating in that privilege, whereby,
together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He is the confirmation
and stability of the faithful. But if any rule there can be whereby
to measure pre-eminence and dignity, it is surely that which is
derived from participation of divine properties and offices. And the
closer that by these Peter is shown to have approached to God, the
higher his exaltation above the rest of his brethren, who, as it has
been observed, are the Apostles. To them he is the Rock, and them he
is to confirm. Thus Theophylact, in the eleventh century, commenting
on this text, says: "The plain meaning of this is, that, since I
hold thee as the ruler of My disciples, after thou shalt have wept
over thy denial and repented, confirm the rest. For this belongs to
thee as being after Me the rock and support" (literally,
confirmation) "of the Church. Now one may see that this is said not
only of the apostles, that they are confirmed by Peter, but also
concerning all the faithful until the consummation of the world."
But looking more closely into the nature of this dignity, since
Christ, by the bestowal of heavenly gifts, caused Peter to be
conspicuous through the firmness of his own faith, and through the
charge of confirming the faith of his brethren, we can call it by no
fitter name than a Primacy of faith. For it has these two
qualities: it cannot fail itself; and it confirms others. And for
the authority which it carries, such a Primacy of faith cannot even
be imagined without at the same time imagining the office by which
Peter was bound to watch over the firmness and integrity of the
common faith. In this office two things are involved; first, the
right to, and therefore the possession of, all things necessary for
its fulfilment; and secondly, the duty by which all were bound to
agree in the profession of one faith with Peter. So that Peter's
dignity, rightly termed the Primacy of faith, mainly consists in the
supreme right of demanding from all an agreement in faith with him.
It[34] remains to explain the proper force of the word _confirm_.
Now this is a term of architecture, and as such is joined with other
terms relating to that art, as by S. Peter, "the God of all
grace--Himself fit you together" (as living spiritual stones,)
"confirm, strengthen, ground you."[35] It means, to make anything
fit so firmly that it cannot be shaken. Thus in Holy Writ it
frequently bears metaphorically a moral signification, such as
encouraging, supporting, as we say, confirming the resolution, as in
the passage just quoted; and again, "Be watchful, and _confirm_ the
things that remain, which are ready to die."[36] Now it cannot be
doubted that the phrase "confirm thy brethren," carries a moral
sense very like that in which the word _confirm_, when applied to
the spiritual building of the Church, is used of God and of
Christ,[37] from whom the Church has both its being and its
perseverance to the end, and again of the Apostles, who strengthen
the flock entrusted to them by the imparting spiritual gifts, as S.
Paul says, "I long to see you that I may impart unto you some
spiritual grace to strengthen you;"[38] or, again, of Bishops, who,
as sent by the Apostles, and charged by the Holy Spirit with the
government of the Church, are bid to be watchful, and see that those
who stand do not fall, and those who are in danger do not
perish.[39] Accordingly, when it is said to Peter, "And thou in thy
turn one day confirm thy brethren," _the charge and office are laid
upon him, as an architect divinely chosen, of holding together,
strengthening, and keeping in their place, the several parts of the
ecclesiastical structure_.
But what are these _parts_ to be confirmed, and what is the _nature_
of the confirmation?
As to the first question there can be no controversy, it being
determined by the words, "confirm _thy brethren_:" and it is plain
from what is said above, that, by brethren, are meant the Apostles.
He had, therefore, the Apostles committed to his charge
_immediately_: but likewise, the rest of all the faithful,
_mediately_. When a person has been named by Christ to confirm the
Apostles expressly, the nature of the case does not allow that the
whole congregation of believers be not in their persons committed to
him. The care of the flock is manifestly involved in the care of the
shepherds: and no one in his senses can doubt that the man who is
charged to support the pillars, is charged to keep in their place
the inferior stones.
And as to the _nature_ of the confirmation, it is for protection
against the fraud of the great enemy. And the danger lay in losing
the faith. Peter, then, is charged to confirm, in such sense that
neither the pillars of the Church, nor its inferior parts, may, by
the loss of faith, be moved from their place, and so severed from
the Church's structure. No charge can be higher than such an office
of confirmation; nor for any thing need we to be more thankful to
our Saviour; but, particularly, nothing can more distinctly shew the
divinely-appointed relation between Peter on the one hand, and on
the other, the rest of the Apostles, and the whole company of the
faithful; nothing define more clearly the special authority of
Peter; that is, to protect and strengthen the unity of the faith,
and to possess all powers needed for such protection.
This charge was given after that by the prayer of Christ the
privilege had been gained for Peter's faith, _that it should never
fail_. Hence, that faith is become, in virtue of such prayer, the
infallible standard of evangelical truth: as S. Cyprian expressed it
of old, "that faith of the Romans, which perfidy _cannot_
approach."[40] It follows that all the faithful owe to it obedience.
And Peter's authority rests on a double title, _external_ of
mission, _internal_ of spiritual gift: the former contained in the
words of Christ the legislator, "And thou,[41] in thy turn, one day
confirm thy brethren:" the latter, in the words of Christ, the
bestower of all gifts, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith
fail not."
More than a thousand years ago two Easterns seem to have expressed
all this, one the Bishop Stephen, suppliantly approaching Pope
Martin I., in the Lateran Synod of A.D. 649, and speaking of "the
blessed Peter, in a manner special and peculiar to himself, having
above all a firm and immutable faith in our Lord God, to consider
with compassion, and confirm his spiritual partners and brethren
when tossed by doubt: inasmuch as he has received power and
sacerdotal authority, according to the dispensation, over all, from
the very God for our sakes incarnate."[42] And Theodore, Abbot of
the Studium, at Constantinople, addressing Pope Paschal I., A.D.
817, in the midst of persecution from the state, as if he were Peter
himself: "Hear, O Apostolic Head, O shepherd of the sheep of Christ,
set over them by God, O door-keeper of the kingdom of heaven, O rock
of the faith, upon which the Catholic Church is built. For Peter art
thou, who adornest and governest the See of Peter. To thee, said
Christ our God, 'and thou, in thy turn, one day confirm thy
brethren.' Behold the time, behold the place, help us, thou who art
ordained by God for this. Stretch forth thy hand as far as may be:
power thou hast from God, because thou art the chief of all."[43]
Now let us[44] view in its connexion the whole scope of our Lord's
discourse. We shall see how naturally the contest of the Apostles
arose out of what He had told them, and how well the former and the
latter part of His answer harmonize together, and terminate that
contest. We learn from S. John's record of this divine conversation,
that our Lord besought His Father, saying: "While I was with them in
the world, I kept them in Thy name--but now I come to Thee:" that
is, so long as I was with them visibly in the world, (for invisibly
I will always be with them, and nurture them with the spiritual
influx of the Vine,) I kept them united in Thy name: "but now I come
to Thee," I leave the world, I relinquish the office of visible
head. It remains, that by the appointment of another visible head,
Thou shouldst entrust him with My office, provide for the
conspicuous unity of all, and preserve them joined to each other and
to Us. So S. Luke tells us, that no sooner had our Lord declared to
the Apostles, "the Son of man indeed goeth according to that which
is determined," than they began to have a strife among them, "which
of them should seem to be the greater." For they had heard that
Christ would withdraw His visible presence, and they had heard Him
also earnestly entreating of the Father to provide for their visible
unity. Accordingly, the time seemed at hand when another was to take
this office of visible head; hence their questioning, who should be
the greater among them. Now our Lord does not reprove this inference
of theirs, but He does reprove the temper in which they were
coveting pre-eminence. For, engaged as they were in this strife, He
warned them that the person who should be "the Greater and the
Ruler" among them, must follow in the discharge of his office the
rule and the standard which _He_ had set up in His own conduct, and
not that which the kings of the Gentiles follow. Thus, setting these
in sharp contrast, He proceeds. "The kings, indeed, of the nations,
lord it over their subjects, and love high titles, and to be called
benefactors: but I, though Lord and Master amongst you, have dealt
otherwise, as you know. For I have exercised, not a lordship, but a
servitude: I have not sat at table, but waited: I have not cared for
titles, but called you friends and brethren. Let this example then
be before you all, but specially before him who is to be the greater
and the ruler among you. For I appoint unto you, and dispose of you,
as My Father hath disposed of Me; of Me He hath disposed that
through humiliation, emptying of Myself, ignominy, and manifold
temptations, I should gain the kingdom, reach the joys of heaven,
and obtain all power in heaven and on earth. So likewise dispose I
of you, that, through humility, sufferings, reproaches, hunger,
thirst, and all manner of temptations, you may reach whither I have
come, being worthy, after your hunger and your thirst, to eat and
drink at My table in My kingdom; after being despised and
dishonoured, to sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Now, hitherto you have trodden with Me this royal way full of
sorrows, and have continued with Me in My temptations. But little
will it profit to begin, if you persevere not to the end. None shall
be crowned, save he who has contended lawfully; none be saved, but
he who perseveres to the end. Will you remain with Me still in your
temptations to come, and when I am no longer present with you visibly,
to protect and exhort, will you preserve your steadfastness? Simon,
Simon, behold! I see Satan exerting all his force to overcome your
purpose, and to destroy the fidelity which you have hitherto shewn Me.
I see the danger to your faith and your salvation approaching. But I,
who, when visibly present with you, left nothing undone to guard,
protect, and strengthen you visibly, so, too, when separated from
your bodily sight, will yet not leave you without a visible support.
Wherefore, Peter, I have prayed for thee, that thou fail not, and
thou, in thy turn, one day confirm thy brethren. Remember that thou
hast to discharge that part visibly towards thy brethren, which I,
while yet mortal, and visible, discharged: remember, that I
therefore had special care of thee, because it was My will, that
thou, confirmed by My prayers, shouldst confirm thy brethren, My
disciples, and My friends."[45]
Now from[46] what has been said, it appears that Peter in Holy
Scripture is set forth as the source and principle of ecclesiastical
unity under a double but cognate image, as Foundation, and as
Confirmer. Of the former we will here say nothing further, but a few
consequences of the latter it is desirable here to group together.
I. The unity, then, which consists in the profession of one and the
same faith, is conspicuous among those[47] modes of unity by which
Christ has willed that His Church should be distinguished. Now,
first, S. Paul declares that the whole ministerial hierarchy, from
the Apostolate downwards, was instituted by our Lord, for the sake
of obtaining and preserving this unity. "He gave some Apostles, and
some Prophets, and other some Evangelists, and other some pastors
and doctors, for the perfecting" (literally, the fitting in
together, the same word which S. Peter had used in his prayer, ch.
v. 10,) "of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ; until we all meet into the unity of
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ."[48] To this
living hierarchy he expressly attributes preservation from doctrinal
error, proceeding thus: "That henceforth we be no more children
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by
the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness by which they lie in
wait to deceive." And, secondly, this hierarchy itself was knitted
and gathered up into a monarchy, and its whole force and solidity
made to depend on association with Peter, to whom _alone_ was said,
"But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not;" to whom alone
was enjoined, "And thou, in thy turn, one day confirm thy brethren."
II. Accordingly the pre-eminence of Peter is well expressed by the
words,[49] "Primacy of faith," "chiefship of faith," "chiefship in
the episcopate of faith," meaning thereby a peculiar authority to
prescribe the faith, and determine its profession, and so protect
its unity and purity. This is conveyed in the words of Christ,
confirm thy brethren. Thus[50] S. Bernard addressed Innocent II.,
"All emergent dangers and scandals in the kingdom of God, specially
those which concern the faith, are to be referred to your
Apostolate. For I conceive that we should look especially for
reparation of the faith to the spot where faith _cannot_[51] fail.
That indeed is the prerogative of this see. For to whom else was it
once said, 'I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not?'
Therefore what follows is required of Peter's successor: 'And thou
in thy turn one day confirm thy brethren.' And this is now
necessary. It is time for you, most loving father, to recognise your
chiefship, to approve your zeal, and so make your ministry honoured.
In that you clearly fulfil the part of Peter, whose seat you occupy,
if by your admonition you confirm hearts fluctuating in faith, if by
your authority you crush those who corrupt it."
III. All who have received the ministry of the word, and the charge
of defending the faith and preserving unity, and are "ambassadors in
Christ's name," have a claim to be listened to, but he above all who
holds the chiefship of faith, and who received the charge, "Confirm
thy brethren." He therefore must be the supreme standard of faith,
which is just what S. Peter Chrysologus, in the fifth century, wrote
to Eutyches: "We exhort you in all things, honourable brother, to
pay obedience to what is written by the most blessed Pope of the
Roman city; for S. Peter, who both lives and rules in his own see,
grants to those who ask for it the truth of faith."[52]
IV. And in this prerogative of Peter, to be heard above all others,
we find the meaning of certain ancient expressions. Thus
[53]Prudentius calls him, "the first disciple of God;" [54]S.
Augustine, "the figure of the Church;" [55]S. Chrysostome, "the
mouthpiece of the disciples, and teacher of the world;" [56]S.
Ephrem Syrus, "the candle, the tongue of the disciples, and the
voice of preachers;" [57]S. Cyril of Jerusalem, "the prince of the
Apostles, and the highest preacher of the truth." In these and such
like continually recurring expressions we recognise his chiefship in
the episcopate of faith, his being the standard of faith, and his
representing the Catholic faith, as the branches are gathered up in
the root, and the streamlets in the fountain.
V. Our [58]Lord has most solemnly declared, and S. Paul repeated,
that no one shall be saved without maintaining the true and
uncorrupt faith. Of this Peter's faith is the standard and exemplar.
Accordingly by the law of Christ unity with the faith of Peter is
necessary to salvation. This law our Lord set forth in the words,
"Confirm thy brethren." And to this the Fathers in their expressions
above quoted allude.
VI. The true faith and the true Church are so indivisibly united,
that they cannot even be conceived apart from each other, faith
being to the Church as light to the sun. But the true faith neither
is, nor can be, other than that which Peter, "the first disciple of
God," "the teacher of the world," "the mouthpiece of the disciples,"
and "the confirmer of his brethren," holds and proposes to others.
No communion, therefore, called after Christ, which yet differs from
that faith, can claim either the name or dignity of the true Church.
VII. If any knowledge have a special value, it is surely that by
which we have a safe and ready test of the true faith and the true
Church. It is of the utmost necessity to know and embrace both, and
the means of reaching them are proportionably valuable. Now that
test abides in Peter, by keeping which before us we can neither miss
the true faith nor the true Church. For no other true faith can
there be than that which he delivers, who received the charge of
confirming his brethren, nor other true Church than what Christ
built, and is building still. Hence the expression of S.
Ambrose,[59] "where Peter is, there is the Church;" and of
Stephen[60] of Larissa, to Pope Boniface II. (A.D. 530.) "that all
the churches of the world rest in the confession of Peter."
VIII. With all these agrees that famous and most early testimony of
S. Cyprian,[61] that men "fall away from the Church into heresy and
schism so long as there is no regard _to the source of truth, no
looking to the head_, nor keeping to the doctrine of our heavenly
Master. If any one consider and weigh this, he will not need length
of comment or argument. It is easy to offer proofs to a faithful
mind, because in that case the truth may be quickly stated." And
then he quotes our Lord's words to Peter, Matt. xvi. 16, and John
xxi. 17, adding, "upon him being one He builds His Church."
Therefore that Church can neither be torn from the one on whom she
is built, nor profess any other faith, save what that one, who is
Peter, proposes.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Passaglia, p. 68.
[2] Eph. i. 10.
[3] 2 Pet. i. 14.
[4] Passaglia, p. 69.
[5] 1 John v. 6, 7.
[6] Luke ix. 32.
[7] Matt. xxviii. 36.
[8] Mark v. 35.
[9] Passaglia, p. 72.
[10] Matt. xvii. 23.
[11] On Matt. Hom. 58, n. 2.
[12] Origen on the text, in Matt. Tom. xiii. 14.
[13] S. Chrysostome on the text, Hom. 58, Tom. 7, p. 587.
[14] Passaglia, p. 77, note 38.
[15] Luke xviii. 34.
[16] Passaglia, p. 78.
[17] Matt. xviii. 2.
[18] Luke xxii. 25.
[19] Passaglia, p. 77.
[20] Matt, xx. 20.
[21] Hegoumenos.
[22] John xiii. 13.
[23] Passaglia, p. 82.
[24] Matt. xxiii. 8.
[25] John chps. x., xiii., xvii.
[26] Dialog. cont. Lucif. n. 9.
[27] St. Cyprian, Ep. 46.
[28] Passaglia, p. 89.
[29] Exetesato. The word in classic Greek has this force.
[30] Serm. 4, c. 3.
[31] Rom. xvi. 25; 2 Cor. i. 21; 1 Pet v. 10.
[32] Col. ii. 6; 1 Cor. i. 7; 2 Thess. ii. 16.
[33] John xvi. 13; xiv. 16, 26; Eph. iii. 16.
[34] Passaglia, p. 563.
[35] 1 Pet. v. 10.
[36] Apoc. iii. 2.
[37] Rom. xvi. 25; 1 Thess. iii. 13; 2 Thess. ii. 17; 1 Pet. v. 10.
[38] Rom. i. 11.
[39] Apoc. iii. 2.
[40] S. Cyprian, Ep. 55.
[41] As far as the _words_ by themselves go, it is the opinion of
the best commentators that they may be equally well rendered, "And
thou, when thou art converted," or, "And thou, in thy turn, one
day," &c. But as it is impossible to bring a discussion turning on a
Hebrew idiom conveyed in a Greek word before the English reader, we
must here restrict ourselves to the proof arising from the _sense_
and _context_. And here one thing alone, among several which may be
urged, is sufficient to prove that the sense preferred in the text,
"And thou in thy turn one day confirm thy brethren," is the true
one. For the other rendering supposes that the time of Peter's
conversion would also be the time of his confirming his brethren;
whereas this was far otherwise. He was converted by our Lord looking
on him that same night shortly after his denial, and "immediately
went out and wept bitterly." But he did not succeed to the charge of
confirming his brethren till after our Lord's ascension. It must be
added that the collocation of the original words kai su pote
epistrepsas sterixon is such as absolutely to require that the
joint action indicated by them should belong to the same time, and
that an _indefinite_ time expressed by pote. Now this would
be false according to the rendering, "And thou, when thou art
converted, confirm thy brethren," for the conversion was immediate
and definite, the confirmation distant and indefinite; whereas it
exactly agrees with the rendering, "And thou in thy turn one day
confirm thy brethren."
Those who wish to see the whole controversy admirably drawn out may
find it in Passaglia, b. 2, ch. 13.
[42] Mansi. Concilia, x. 894.
[43] Baronius, Annal. A.D., 817, xxi.
[44] Passaglia, p. 545.
[45] Passaglia, p. 547.
[46] Passaglia, p. 571.
[47] For which see hereafter, ch. 7.
[48] Eph. iv. 11.
[49] Petrus uti audivit, vos autem quid me dicitis? _Statim loci non
immemor sui, primatum egit_; primatum confessionis utique, non
honoris; primatum fidei, non ordinis. Ambros. de Incarn. c. 4, n.
32, Tom. 2, p. 710.
[50] Ep. 190, vol. 1, p. 649.
[51] Observe the exact identity with S. Cyprian's expression nine
hundred years earlier, quoted p. 55.
[52] Twenty-fifth letter among those of St. Leo.
[53] Con. Symmachum, Lib. 2, v. 1.
[54] Sermon 76.
[55] Hom. 88, on John.
[56] Encom. in Petrum et coeteros Apostolos.
[57] Cat. xi. n. 3. ho protosthates ton Apostholon kai tes
ekkleshias koryphaios kheryx.
[58] Mark xvi. 16; John iii. 18; Rom. iii. 3, &c.
[59] Ambros. in Ps. 1. n. 30.
[60] Mansi, Tom. viii. 746.
[61] De unitate Ecclesiae, 3.