to understand the role of Peter we have to link different scriptures scattered in the ot and the nt....and first we are going to start from the book of Ezekiel chpters 34 verses 10 and verses 17 through to 24 "
Verse 10 "Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I
am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
10 And
as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18
Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the [
c]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And
as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”
20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken."
Now from verse 10 we get one new thing...the work of a shephered was snatched from the humans and God himself was to feed his own flock....Humans do not have any responsibility to Lord over the sheep, that work is only for God however God has given the responsibility to feed the sheep to other sheep who have been given the gift and thats where the apostles, evangelists, overseers come from...from verse 10 God is judging between his sheep to distinguish between the fat sheep and the lean and scrawny sheep...the fat sheep did not let the lean sheep eat well...this can be the overseers who have neglected their duty to ensure that the church is nourished or the apostles or the evangelists who kept the message to themselves without sharing the whole word of God to other members of the Church and thats why before Jesus ascended to Heaven he tells peter to feed his sheep
John 21:15-17
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon,
son of [
b]Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [
c]love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon,
son of [
d]Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [
e]love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon,
son of [
f]Jonah, do you [
g]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
now Peter is not being told to feed the lambs as a shephered rather as a member of the flock but with the gifts given to him by the shephered ....so he's not above the other sheep rather he has been tasked to take care of the other sheep ....so when he adressed the elders as fellow elders this was a clear indication that even the other elders were equal to him in his satus as a sheep ....now in regards to the rock...Peter is not the rock...Jesus is the rock upon which the church is built and that rock can never be shaken ever....1st Corinthians 3:9-11
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field,
you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. .....
so putting peter on a pedestal is actually very wrong and even blasphemous....even michael the ark angel relied on God when h fought with satan over the body of Moses...he says the Lord rebuke you and this is an arch angel....John was about to bow to an agel who revealed everything to him but the angel said Rev 22:8-9 "
Now I, John, [
c]saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9 Then he said to me, “See
that you do not
do that. [
d]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God" ....he says he's a fellow servant imagine that...an angel who has seen God's glory first hand and is calling himself a servant...the pope is a title created by man....a hireling whose work was snatched long before.....peter is a sheep...The pope is a hired shehered John 10:11-13 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a [
b]hireling,
he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep....
and this doesnt fall on just the pope....any authority or person claiming to be an apostle pastor, bishop ....they should know that those words are not titles rather gifts
Ephesians 4:7-8
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”...
(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also [
d]first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some
to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [
e]edifying of the body of Christ,....
the pastors, teachers evangelsists are gifts given to men not titles, because if the gift was snatched from you....can you still boast of being an apostle....apostles, evangelsits prophets, pastors...these are gifts given to help feed the sheep not titles....be blessed....questions are accepted be blessed