PART II.

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIFTH.

OF THE FIRST GENERAL EPISTLE OF ST. PETER.

I. HISTORY OF PETER. II. GENUINENESS OF THIS EPISTLE. -III. TO WHOM IT WAS

ADDRESSED.

IV. WHENCE IT WAS WRITTEN. V. ITS DATE. VI. DESIGN AND SUBSTANCE OF IT.

I. SIMON PETER was born at Bethsaida", a city of Upper Galilee. His father's name was Jonas, and he had a brother called Andrew, but it is not known which was the elder." He was a married man, and lived at Capernaum, and he and his brother were fishermen upon the lake of Gennesareth. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, and hearing him declare Jesus to be the Lamb of God, he followed Jesus, and continued with him the rest of that day. Andrew, having found his brother, carried him to Jesus, who when he saw him, said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas" or Peter, "which is by interpretation a stone" or rock." Though Peter and Andrew seem to have been now convinced that

C

Epiphanius says that Andrew, and Chrysostom and Jerome say that Peter, was the elder brother.

Jesus was the Messiah, yet they continued to carry on their trade of fishing, till Christ called them to attend constantly upon himself, and promised to make them "fishers of men "," in allusion to the success which they should have in making converts to the Gospel. They were afterwards appointed of the number of the twelve Apostles. Peter enjoyed the favour of his divine Master in a peculiar degree; and the many remarkable circumstances recorded concerning him in the Gospels and Acts seem to point him out as the chief of the twelve Apostles. Our Saviour is supposed to have had no other fixed residence, after he began his ministry, but with St. Peter at Capernaum; and probably upon that ground application was made to him for the tribute money due from Christ. In the history of St. John I have mentioned three occasions on which only Peter and the two sons of Zebedee were allowed to accompany our Saviour; namely, when he restored to life the daughter of Jairus ̊, when he was transfigured on the Mount, and when he endured his agony in the Garden. Peter was one of the four Apostles to whom our Saviour delivered his predictions relative to the destruction of Jerusalem. Peter and John were sent to prepare the last passover for Christ. The angel at the holy sepulchre commanded that the disciples, and

g

b

e Matt. xxvi. 36. Mark, xiv. 32, &c.

f Mark, xiii. 3.

8 Mark, xiv. 13. Luke, xxii. 8.

Peter in particular, should be informed of Christ's resurrection; and Peter was the first man”, as Mary Magdalene was the first woman, to whom Christ appeared after he rose from the dead. Our Saviour said to him, in explanation of the name which he himself had given him, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church h; and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." d And after his resurrection, three several times, and with great earnestness, he commanded him to feed his sheep. When Christ put any question to the Apostles at large, Peter always gave the answer; and he frequently addressed our Saviour when the other disciples were silent; as when he rebuked him for speaking of his own sufferings; when he inquired how often a brother might offend and be forgiven; and when he objected to his washing his feet. It was Peter who proposed that another Apostle should be chosen in the room of Judas Iscariot'; who preached to the multitude, when they were astonished at the gift of tongues communicated by the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost; who questioned Ananias and Sapphira concerning the price of their land, and in a miraculous manner punished their falsehood with instant death"; and who spoke in the name of the Apostles, when they were apprehended

and accused by the Sanhedrim. Through Peter and John, the Samaritan believers received the Holy Ghost; but it was Peter alone, who, by the immediate command of God himself, admitted Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, into the Christian faith; and his account of the circumstances attending that important event convinced the Apostles and other disciples, that "to the Gentiles also God had granted repentance unto life." And thus, as St. Peter had been the first Apostle who preached to the Jews immediately after the descent of the Holy Ghost, so, about eight years afterwards, he was also the first who preached to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius at Cæsarea. By these means he may be said to have founded the Universal Church of Christ; and this is supposed to have been the meaning of our Lord's words, "Upon this rock will I build my church, and I will give thee the keys of heaven;" for by being the first person who explained the Gospel both to Jews and Gentiles after the ascension of our Saviour, he, as it were, opened the doors of heaven to all mankind. He seems to have performed more miracles than any other of the Apostles, for the people "brought their sick for the purpose of having his shadow pass over them."e When he was imprisoned by Herod Agrippa, prayer was made for him without ceasing by the Church, and he was miraculously delivered out of prison by an angel, though Herod

a

Acts, v. 29.

b Acts, viii. 14.
Acts, x. 1, &c.

d Acts, xi. 18.

e

Acts, v. 15.

a

had been permitted to put James the Great to death. The speech of Peter, at the council of Jerusalem, so often mentioned, is recorded, but of no other person except of James the Less, bishop of Jerusalem; and St. Paul tells us, that to St. Peter was committed the Gospel of the circumcision, whence he is called the Apostle of the Jews, as St. Paul is called the Apostle of the Gentiles. And, lastly, in all the catalogues of the Apostles, and whenever he is mentioned in conjunction with others, in the Gospels or Acts, the name of Peter stands first. Though these facts may lead us to consider Peter as the chief, or the most distinguished, of the twelve Apostles, yet they by no means prove that he had any superior dignity or jurisdiction over the rest; "One is your master, even Christ; but all ye are brethren." e

d

f

No mention is made of Peter in the Acts, after the council at Jerusalem; nor is any subsequent circumstance recorded of him in the Epistles, except that he was at Antioch not long afterwards. The only authentic account, which we have of the remaining part of his life is from Origen, as quoted by Eusebius, who says in general terms, that Peter is supposed to have preached to the Jews of