St Peter and St Paul, Apostles

Matthew 16:13-19 (Acts 15:1-12; Galatians 2:1-10)| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| June 29, 2025

The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul is one of the oldest feast days in the church. The early church records that St. Peter and St. Paul were executed in Rome under Emperor Nero on the same day, June 29, probably in the year 68 AD. Peter was crucified, reportedly upside down as he did not consider himself worthy to be executed in the same manner as his Lord. Paul on the other hand, being a Roman citizen, was spared the torture of crucifixion and was beheaded by a sword. That is why artwork commemorating this feast day depict Peter carrying an upside down cross and Paul a sword.

Though they died on the same day, Peter and Paul came from very different backgrounds. Peter was one of the first of Jesus’ twelve disciples, following Him from His Baptism to His ascension. He witnessed miracles few others saw, including the transfiguration of Christ. Paul was not called to be an apostle until after Christ ascended into heaven, being visited by Jesus and even taken to heaven to learn from Jesus (2 Cor. 12:1-6). Peter quickly became a leader among the disciples, preaching the first Pentecost sermon. Paul called Peter one of the pillars of the church, yet he calls himself the least of the apostles because he persecuted the church. A lowly fisherman, Peter was considered illiterate and uneducated, which is why the Jews were so shocked at his powerful preaching (Acts 4:13). Paul, on the other hand, was exceedingly educated, a Pharisee who studied under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), so that the Roman official Festus declared that Paul’s great learning had driven him out of his mind. Furthermore, Scripture records that Paul was sent primarily to evangelize to the Gentiles, while Peter was sent to preach the Gospel to the circumcised Jews.

Peter and Paul certainly were different and God used each of them for His own special purpose. However, many think that Peter and Paul are not only different, but that they conflict with each other and that they preach a different Gospel. And the history of the church over the past five centuries has only exasperated this perception. The Lutherans have used the writings of St. Paul more than any other Apostle or Prophet to prove from Holy Scripture that a sinner is justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone apart from works of the Law (Romans 3-4; Galatians 2-3). Lutherans hold to Sola Scriptura, which means that Scripture alone is the source of Christian teaching. The Roman Catholics, however, point to this Gospel lesson from Matthew 16 to prove that the pope in Rome is the head of the church on earth. They claim that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, and that when Jesus said, “You are Peter (Peter means rock), and on this rock, I will build my church,” that Jesus was saying that the church was built on the authority of Peter and his successors as the bishops of Rome, that is, the pope. So, the pope is the vicar of Christ, the head of the church on earth, and he has authority to interpret and determine teaching in the church. So, because of the great praise and use Lutherans have for St. Paul and because of the Roman Catholic’s claim to the authority of Peter and the popes after him, people perceive a rift between these two great Apostles.

However, there is absolutely no division between St. Peter and St. Paul. They and their teaching are in complete unity. First, let’s consider the words of Jesus, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The Roman Catholic Church interprets this to mean that Jesus made Peter the head of the church on earth and gave him the exclusive right to forgive and withhold forgiveness of sins. Peter sounds like the Greek word for rock. Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. This is why artwork frequently depicts Peter with keys. Binding means to withhold forgiveness of sins. Loosing means to forgive sins. As a key binds or looses shackles, so forgiving or withholding forgiveness of sins opens or closes the gates of heaven. The Catholic Church teaches that the authority to forgive or withhold forgiveness of sins rests with the pope, who delegates it to the rest of the church. But is this true?

First, it is true that Jesus said to Peter specifically, whatever you bind on earth and loose on earth will be bound and loosed in heaven, using the singular form of the pronoun you. Yet, two chapters later, Jesus says the same thing to all his disciples, using the plural form of the pronoun you, meaning that they all had the authority to bind and loose sins, not just Peter. Furthermore, Jesus clarified by saying, “If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” Here, Jesus is speaking specifically about binding and loosing sins. So, the authority to forgive and withhold forgiveness of sins does not rest in Peter alone or in the pope, but Christ has given this authority to His entire Christian Church. He has charged His entire church to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to the whole world, so you should believe that when your pastor declares your sins forgiven, it is as valid and certain in heaven, even if the pope does not approve.

Second, Jesus does not say that Peter is the rock on which He will build His church. Jesus calls Peter a rock, not because he himself or his office is the rock on which the church is built, but because of Peter’s confession. Peter said that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is the rock on which the Church is built, Christ Jesus, the Son of the living God! And this is not an interpretation that could go either way. It is inconceivable that Jesus would call Peter the rock on which the church is built, because it would conflict with all of Scripture. In Matthew 7, Jesus says that whoever hears His words and does them is like a man who built His house on a rock. This shows that Jesus’ word is the rock, not Peter. Peter Himself does not call Himself the rock, but he calls Jesus the rock when He declares before the Jewish Council in Acts 4, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” And again, St. Peter quotes the Prophet Isaiah in 1 Peter 2, “For it stands in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.’ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’” It is upon this Rock, who is Christ, that Peter says we are built as living stones.

And St. Paul agrees with Peter’s claim that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church! St. Paul writes in Ephesians 2, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” And in 1 Corinthians 3, St. Paul writes, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” So, both Peter and Paul agree that the rock on which Christ builds His church is not Peter, but upon Himself and His Word. This of course is because Scripture cannot be broken. And God makes it clear that Christ is the rock in Isaiah 44, “Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

If Christ built His church on any other rock than Himself, His church would not withstand the gates of hell. Peter himself denied Christ’s death and resurrection immediately in Matthew 16. Later, he denied Christ three times. How less stable would St. Peter’s successors be as foundations for the church? But because Christ is God Himself, and His work of salvation is certain and true, and His Word cannot fail, Christ is the perfect foundation, and His Word is firm ground to stand on.

And because Christ Jesus is the Rock on which the church stands, Peter and Paul could not have contrary teachings, because they both stood upon this rock and were inspired by the same Holy Spirit. Peter himself extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul when he heard Paul’s preaching of the Gospel (Gal 2). In 2 Peter 3, St. Peter includes Paul’s letters with the rest of Holy Scripture. Both Peter and Paul state that Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). Both Peter and Paul confess Jesus to be the Son of God (Matthew 16:16; Romans 1:1-4). Both Peter and Paul confess that Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the whole world (Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 3:18). Both Peter and Paul confess the resurrection of Christ Jesus (Acts 3:15; 4:10; 1 Cor. 15). Paul teaches in Ephesians 2, that a person is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. St. Peter declared in Acts 15 that God cleanses the hearts of both Jews and Gentiles through faith, and that both are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.

Paul was sent to preach to the Gentiles, but Peter was sent to the Gentiles first. And the same grace and Holy Spirit that worked through Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles worked through Peter’s ministry to the circumcised, for they preached the same Gospel, the same Lord, the same Baptism. One cannot drive a wedge between Peter and Paul any more than one could split the rock which is Christ. St. Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 1 and 3, that we should not be followers of Peter or Paul, but of Christ Jesus, whom they proclaim.

It is not enough that you believe that Peter and Paul agree. You should read the words of Peter and Paul in Holy Scripture to see it for yourself. Both Peter and Paul are Apostles, who were called directly by Jesus, to proclaim the Gospel. There is no other Gospel that saves than the one Peter and Paul preach. Yet, when you read about the lives of Peter and Paul, you see the tremendous good the Gospel did for them and what it can do for you. Both Peter and Paul committed horrendous sins that would bring anyone into despair. Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus after he had pledged to die for Him. St. Paul was a persecutor of the church, holding the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen and hunting down Christians to put them in prison, so that Paul confessed himself to be the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, and the chief of sinners. Yet, Jesus forgave Peter and He forgave Paul, and sent them to proclaim the Gospel.

Likewise, Peter and Paul both suffered tremendously for the name of Christ, each being imprisoned multiple times and coming close to death many times before their ultimate martyrdoms. In John 21, Jesus told Peter how he would die for His sake. And in Acts 9, Jesus spoke of Paul to Ananias, “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name.” And as we just learned, Peter was crucified and Paul was beheaded to bring them into their blessed retirement from earthly ministry.

And so, you learn that God calls sinners and forgives them. Peter and Paul preach so passionately about the Gospel, because they themselves were sinners saved by the blood of Christ. And you learn that the Gospel is worth suffering and dying for. St. Paul tells us that the suffering of this present life is not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us, and St. Peter teaches us to rejoice when we suffer with Christ. The treasure Peter and Paul proclaim to the church is a treasure that death cannot take away from you. So, we poor sinners join the sinners Peter and Paul by standing on the Rock, Christ Jesus, who forgives our sins and grants us eternal life, just as He did for them. Amen.