"Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough."
In today's lesson Jesus began to prepare His Apostles for life without Him near.
Jesus came as redeemer for the whole world but He was sent among the Jews first giving them first opportunity to repent and return to God, knowing all along that His people would reject Him.
When His mission among the Jews was completed, He turned their fate over the the twelve Apostles; "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Jesus clearly intended that Peter and the others were to continue preaching to their own people, He even appointed part of His kingdom to them, seeing that they were to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus again singled out Peter and said to Him, "and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." This meant that Peter, after He and the others received the power of the Holy Ghost, was to strengthen his "brethren". Who were Peter's "brethren"? They were not just those other eleven Apostles, Peter's "brethren" were ALL the Jews. Jesus assigned Peter as the Apostle to the Jews just as He appointed Saul of Tarsus (Paul) to be the Apostle to the Gentiles.
This did not men that Peter could no longer teach the Gentiles any more than Paul's appointment prevented him from preaching to the Jews, it simply meant that Peter's primary purpose was to teach the Jews.
Referring again to the authority of each of the Apostles, Peter was the first selected and was considered among the others to be and elder but had no particular authority over the other Apostles, or the Church. That intent was made evident when Jesus, once again in today's quote, referred to Peter's lack of faith, He said, "Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me."~
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