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  • From: "Kym Smith" <khs AT picknowl.com.au>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Did Paul know Peter's travel locations?
  • Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 22:13:36 -0400


Dear Clive, Runar and Dave,

Clive wrote,

<<<Pardon my intruding into this conversation but I do have a question about
this interesting but admittedly speculative reconstruction of Peter's
movements and ministry. My question relates to your suggesting that after
"the Jerusalem Conference" (of 49) that Peter went into more gentile areas
and instead of restricting his evangelism to Jews as previously that he began
to "preach to the gentiles," in effect sharing with Paul this type of
missionary ministry. This is what I perceive you are saying…>>>

No need to feel you are intruding. Yes, it is speculative, as I have made
clear, so must be treated with caution. Then again, there are few who do
not speculate to some degree about the movements of the apostles and the
origins of their writings.

I see no problem with Peter going working in areas that were ‘more’
Gentile. There certainly would also have been many Jews in the region, as
there were in Asia. (Around that time Laodicea had about ‘7000 adult male
Jews (who)…were granted the right to preserve there own customs’ -
Morris). While it is true that the apostles had a ‘general’ division of
labour, Peter, John and James to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles as per
Gal 2:7-9, they may not have seen the division as clearly as we might wish
to see it. How do you explain Paul’s practice, for instance, of always
beginning his work among the Jews in the local synagogue? Was he
infringing on the other apostles’ territory? Clearly he did not think so.


In response to Runar, David wrote

<<<Yes, this is a problem. Why would Paul not consider that sending the
letter was building on "someone else's foundation"? It would seem to make
sense only if the letter was addressed to people with whom Peter had not yet
had any contact, but in that case why include the explanation?

Another problem is that if Peter had been in Corinth, how could Paul go to
Corinth as well? Perhaps this indicates that Paul was first in Corinth
before Peter, which would mean that it was Peter (and also Apollos, Acts
18:27, 19:1) who was building on Paul's foundation, not the other way
round.>>>

It seems that we create problems if our conception is that the apostles,
especially Peter and Paul, were in tension with one another. If, on the
other hand, they were quite at peace with each other and understood that
they were joined in the same work with the same gospel (cf Acts 15; Gal
2:1-10), then there is no problem with them ‘sharing pulpits’, as it were.
If Peter understood and respected Paul’s understanding of the Gentiles
equal place with the Jews in God’s plan - he had been at it a lot longer
than Peter – why should he not request Paul to write to the believers at
Rome (who, for a long time, had been almost exclusively Jews) to help them
come to grips with this. Their common desire was to proclaim Christ and
salvation in him, they were not opposed to each other! The fact that Peter
was not mentioned was simply because Paul knew that he was not there at
the time. That a number of associates of Paul (e,g. Priscilla and Aquilla,
Epaenetus: the first convert in Asia, etc) were mentioned in the greetings
of the final chapter may indicate that Paul had sent some of his team to
help Peter in the new ‘Gentile’ phase of his ministry in Rome.

Peter’s visit(s) to Corinth was after Paul’s mission there. Paul began his
mission in Corinth probably late in 49, perhaps 50. My suggestion is that
Peter passed through - probably spent a few weeks there (just as Paul
wished to spend time in Rome) – in 55 on his return to Rome after
Claudius’ death in late 54. 1 Corinthians was written following Peter’s
visit there. It was not that Peter had caused problems but the factional
Corinthians were keen to splinter into different groups and champion one
leader against another.


Kym Smith
Adelaide
South Australia
khs AT picknowl.com.au






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