A Closer Look at Apostolic Succession: The Successor of St. Peter

Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus changes Peter’s name from Simon to Peter Peter means Rock He gives Peter the Keys. In Jewish tradition keys symbolized authority. Have a student stand and read aloud Matthew 16:13-20. Then, explain the following to your students: Jesus was believed to be the new Davidic King. Every Davidic King had a Prime Minister. The Prime Minster’s job was to oversee the day to day affairs of the Kingdom while the King was away. The symbol for the office of the Prime Minister was keys. Symbolically, they were given the keys to the Kingdom. As we read in this story from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gave to Peter the keys to the Kingdom of God. It is after this event that Jesus starts to slowly make His way to Jerusalem. What happens in Jerusalem? He dies. It is clear that Jesus is making Peter his Prime Minister. The role of Prime Minister was an office and something handed down. Jesus is still the King today and He will always need a Prime Minister to oversee the day to day affairs of the Kingdom. This office is now held by the Pope, who is the successor of St. Peter.

The Primacy of Peter Jesus worked in small groups. There were the 72. Then he had the 12. Among the 12 he had the trio of Peter, James, and John. Among the trio, Peter had special significance and importance. This is made clear throughout the scriptures Explain the following: It is clear that Jesus had a special mission for the Twelve Apostles, but among the Twelve it is also clear that Jesus had a particular role for St. Peter. He chose St. Peter to be the head of the Twelve and the other Apostles recognized this. Throughout Scripture there are several instances that show that St. Peter had primacy over the Apostles. In the following slides we will go through the different ways Sacred Scripture proves that St. Peter had primacy over the others.

Peter is Always the First Listed in Any List of the Apostles Matthew 10:1-4 Mark 3:16-19 Luke 6:14-16 Acts 1:13 Luke 9:32 Have students take turns reading each of these out loud and then discuss the example of Peter’s primacy these passages give to us. Point out the slight difference in Luke 9:32: here the whole list of Apostles isn’t even given. It simply states, “Peter and his companions…”

Peter Generally Spoke For the Group Mt 16:13-20 Mt 18:21 Lk 12:41 Jn 6:68,69 Mk 10:17-31 Have students take turns reading each of these out loud and then discuss the example of Peter’s primacy these passages give to us.

Peter is the Main Figure in Most of the Dramatic Gospel Scenes Mt 14:28-32 – Walking on water Mt 17:24-27 – The Temple Tax Last Supper, Passion of Christ, Resurrection scenes - Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, and John 13-21 Have students take turns reading each of these out loud and then discuss the example of Peter’s primacy these passages give to us.

St. John waits for St. Peter Both run to tomb St. John arrives first but waits for St. Peter to go in first and then he follows. Have students take turns reading each of these out loud and then discuss the example of Peter’s primacy these passages give to us. Explain that it seems St. John knew that St. Peter had primacy over him just from this simple act of waiting for him to go into the tomb first even though he arrived before he did.

Things Were Revealed to Peter Rather than Anyone Else Acts 10:9-16 Acts 10:44-49 Have students take turns reading each of these out loud and then discuss the example of Peter’s primacy these passages give to us. Acts 10:9-16 – revealed that they could eat unclean animals Acts 10:44-49 – Revealed that the Gentiles should be baptized

The Primacy of Peter Peter was the first to preach - Acts 2:14-40 Peter was the first to work a miracle - Acts 3:1-7 – Healing of the crippled Peter’s shadow heals people- Acts 5:15 Peter was the first to raise someone from the dead - Acts 9:36-43 – Raised Tabitha from the dead Have students take turns reading each of these out loud and then discuss the example of Peter’s primacy these passages give to us.

Conclusion Based on this evidence we can logically conclude that not only did St. Peter have a special role among the Apostles, but that it makes sense for his authority and primacy to be handed on. This authority continues today through the Pope.