Reflection to the Word on the Sunday of May 4, 2025
FOLLOW ME, PETER
JOHN 21: 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. … (18)
19 ... When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
The Roman Church built a system on the reputation of the apostle Peter. However, the heavily edited books of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, after centuries of removals, alterations, additions here and there, and well documented interpolations, they are still hinting that the ancient reputation of the Apostle Peter was not quite Rock solid, as we usually and normally assume it today.
The Roman Empire domesticated Christianity as its own, like they owned it after full nationalization as early as the 4th century, and they needed a scriptural authorization why the Bishop of Rome must rule over all the other patriarchs in Jerusalem Alexandria, Antiochia Constantinople, the traditionally equal centers of Christianity regarding authority and ruling in faith doctrines.
The Roman Church maintains that Jesus told Peter that you are The Rock and then on that rock I will build my church and it will not be overcome by the gates of Hades.
First of all that Jesus did not use the church word at all, but the word assembly, and it would have been indeed an oxymoron to talk about an institutionalized church at Jesus time. The confusion comes with the Greek ecclesia phrase which could mean both today, especially as it became a part of the Latin phraseology.
However, Jesus spoke to them on the Aramaic tongue, which is very close to the ancient Hebrew so probably he used the Hebrew word of Cahal or Knesset.
Nonetheless, Peter many times behaved less than a rock, still Jesus could have pointed out, that faith makes you strong like a Rock, and it appears as devotion, zeal, enthusiasm, in Hebrew it is called emunah.
And indeed though the emunah exists in different levels and on differing intensity, without emunah, hardly anything is achievable.
If one wishes to built a house, he must believe that the house will be standing one day.
Other than the occasional emunah surge the Gospels are not silent how Peter practically ran away from the Gethsemane garden where Jesus was captured by the Roman Cohort and the Temple guards, how during the night Peter three times denied that he knew Jesus, at all.
The Bishop of Rome claimed all authority over Christianity based on Peter's reputation, as allegedly Peter was the first bishop of Rome, thus he was the first Pope figure.
However, after the crucifixion not Peter but the brother of Jesus, became the leader of the Jerusalem congregation have well known personality called James the Tzadiq, or James the Just.
In the early forties Peter left Jerusalem for antiochia Syria escaping persecution and in fact not in Rome but in Antiochia he became the first Bishop like supervisor person of non-Jewish Christianity.
Nonetheless his authority as such was questioned by the Apostle Paul, who, togeteher with Barnabas practically founded the Antiochian congregation.
Paul in Antioch rebuked Peter that his actions are inconsistent, as it is written in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 2:
"11. But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12. For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
13. And the rest of the Jews joined him in his hypocrisy; so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy."
It means that when Peter was in Jerusalem he fully observed the Jewish Laws, as every one else in the Jerusalem congregation, but in Antioch in the gentile environment he got quotation mark lousy regarding observing the law and he practically followed after Apostle Paul rulings.
First Paul obtained the permission from James and the Jerusalem congregation that there is no need for the Antioch gentiles to keep the Jewish law like circumcision and the dietary laws in order to get baptized and join the group of the Jews followers but secondly Paul and further and begin to stay in his letters but even for the juice there is absolute no necessity to keep the Jewish laws it is enough if somebody believes in Jesus and getting baptized to be saved and to get to heaven.
Technically this theological opinion became the Antioch stream of Christianity and it actually became Christianity proper has even the book of The Acts says that the Jesus followers were called Christians first in Antioch.
However, the leadership of the Jerusalem congregation and its head James the brother of Jesus never but never agreed on behalf of Jesus that the proper Jews should not keep the Jewish law never stated that it is enough to believe in Jesus and get baptized in order to be saved and go to heaven. Quite the opposite.
Jesus said and the gospel of Matthew, famously actually, in chapter 5:
"17. 'Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18. For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
19. Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."
It is not very well known that the "Gentile" theology of Antioch, Syria, basically, was invented by Apostle Paul with some help of the Greek philosophy, especially the stoicism, and it was in a profound contradiction with the theology of the Jerusalem congregation. Paul's Antioch challenged Jerusalem.
It is odd to think about it, but it looks like a competition between the gentile Antioch Christianity and the theology of the Jesus followers observing Jews in Jerusalem, who kept the Jewish law in its entirety including James the brother of Jesus and of course John the Baptist, before we died.
observing Judaism.
This tension between Paul and the Jerusalem leadership is depicted in Paul's letter as well:
12. For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
13. And the rest of the Jews joined him in his hypocrisy; so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
It means that when Jews from Jerusalem congregation came to Antioch, challenged Paul's ruling of the complete abandoning the Jewish Law even by the Jews in Antioch in the name of the faith in Jesus.
Thus, Paul rebuked Peter for ambiguous behavior, and defended his theology, which is practically mainstream Christianity today against the theology of the Jerusalem congregation, including James the Just, the brother of Jesus.
The wishy-washy behavior of Peter stayed in the memory, and the author of the Gospel of John, makes Jesus to ask Peter three times:
Peter, are you sure that you love me, and you want to serve the people?
Finally, Jesus told him, that you just follow me.
But how to follow Jesus?
That is a 2k years old questions.
One thing looks certain, that Apostle Paul’s ruling went too far, and James the Just’s ruling was right. James ruled, that the gentiles in order to get baptized and join the community of the Jesus followers do not need to convert to Judaism, it is enough to keep the Seven Noahide commandments, which is practically the Ten Commandments, minus the Sabbath Law.
However, Paul did not have the authority to erase the Law of Moses among the Jews on behalf of Jesus, as we can see, that Jesus did not support that direction, nor James, his brother. To both Jews and gentiles Jesus say that You shall keep the commandments for the sake of God’s love and then you are a part of the salvation, AMEN.
