04 — Peter in Acts
The restored apostle in action: Peter stands up at Pentecost to preach the first Christian sermon and three thousand are baptized (Acts 2); he leads the Jerusalem church through its first signs, trials, and conflicts (Acts 3–5); and at Joppa and Caesarea, taught by a vision and the descent of the Spirit on Cornelius’s household, he opens the door of the Church to the Gentiles (Acts 10–11). These files follow Peter through the first half of Acts, where he is the foremost figure of the apostolic mission.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke makes Peter the leading figure of chapters 1–12. He proposes the replacement of Judas (Acts 1), preaches at Pentecost (Acts 2), heals and is arrested (Acts 3–4), confronts Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), is delivered from prison by an angel (Acts 12), and — most consequentially — is made by God the one who first admits the Gentiles to baptism without circumcision (Acts 10), a precedent he defends before the Jerusalem church (Acts 11) and at the Apostolic Council (Acts 15). This section treats two great moments: Pentecost and Peter’s leadership of the mother church of Jerusalem, and the Cornelius episode that opened the faith to the nations.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Pentecost and the Jerusalem Church | The choosing of Matthias (Acts 1:15–26); the Pentecost sermon and the three thousand baptized (Acts 2); the healing at the Beautiful Gate and the sermon in Solomon’s Portico (Acts 3); the arrests and “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 4–5); Peter as spokesman and leader of the apostolic community. |
| Cornelius and the Gentiles | The vision of the sheet at Joppa (Acts 10:9–16); the meeting with the centurion Cornelius at Caesarea; the Spirit falling on the Gentiles and their baptism (Acts 10:44–48); Peter’s defense before the circumcision party (Acts 11) and his witness at the Apostolic Council (Acts 15:7–11). |
See Also
- The Restoration — the commission that sends Peter to feed the flock
- Antioch and Concord — the same Gentile question, at Antioch
- First Peter — the apostle’s own pastoral voice
- The Church Fathers — the patristic reading of Acts
References
- The Holy Bible — Acts 1–5; 10–12; 15:7–11.
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles. Trans. NPNF I/11.
- Bockmuehl, Markus. Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.