Strengthen your brothers and sisters
Jan Styka (1858–1925), Saint Peter preaching the Gospel in the Catacombs. Public Domain.
Read Matthew 16:13-20
Simon Peter seems to have been ‘a larger than life’ personality, a born leader. Matthew calls him ‘the first’ of the twelve disciples (10:2). We know he was married (Mark 1:29-31; 1 Corinthians 9:5). We also know that he was impetuous, inclined to ‘foot in mouth disease.’ Sadly, he denied his Lord three times. But the risen Lord graciously forgave him and restored him to his leadership role among the Twelve (John 21:15-17). In Luke 22:31-32 we read: ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’
We see Peter standing up and strengthening his brothers and sisters in the faith, beginning on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2) and continuing to do so, often together with the beloved disciple John, through Acts chapters 3 – 12. And some years later, we see this leading apostle of Jesus Christ strengthening the ‘elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia’ through his first letter to them (a favourite of Luther’s), then following up with 2 Peter.
High up in the ceiling of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome you can see, written in Latin, this quotation from Matthew 16, verses 16 and 18: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.’ On this basis, down through the centuries to Pope Leo 14th in our day, the popes claim to be St Peter’s successors and the vicars of Christ on earth. In our Book of Concord, we find Philip Melanchthon’s response to these grand claims, entitled, ‘The power and primacy of the Pope.’ On the basis of Scripture and church history Melanchthon argues persuasively that these claims are spurious; the rock on which the Christian church is built is ‘the preaching and teaching office’ entrusted to all pastors.
During my seminary years in Adelaide, we became familiar with the writings of Dr Oscar Cullmann (1902-1999), a faithful French Lutheran theologian. Cullmann contributed to some of the dialogues in Europe between Roman Catholics and Lutherans. In his book, Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr, he argues that we cannot get around the fact that in Matthew 16 Jesus is speaking directly to Simon Peter himself; you cannot separate Peter’s confession to Christ from Peter the Confessor himself. At the same time, Cullmann maintains that there’s nothing in Matthew 16 about a successor to Peter in his unique leadership role. The church will always be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone (1 Corinthians 3:10-12; Ephesians 2:20).
And, in the holy city, the new Jerusalem, when we are invited to share in the great marriage supper of the Lamb, we will see that the ‘wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb’ (Revelation 21:14).
This marvellous vision of what’s in store for those who stay ‘faithful unto death’ (Rev 2:10) can sustain us in these days when we see how small, and in some ways unattractive, is Lutheran Mission-Australia. Nonetheless, our Lord has promised to keep building his church, and has assured us that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ These days may, indeed, be ‘the day of small things’, as they were when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were encouraging God’s people to return to the Lord and rebuild his temple (Zechariah 4:10). But he has promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Joshua 1:5).
St Peter winds up his first letter with these words of encouragement:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Greg Lockwood