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Vol.  9  No. 7 July 2007  Page 20

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Since You Asked By Louis Rushmore

Was Peter Married When He Became an Apostle?

Do you know if Peter was married when he first met Jesus ? Do you know some fact related to his age and family at this time ? god bless Xavier Chardonnens

    I am not aware of any particular significance as to when Peter was married, just that he was married. However, it appears that Peter was married before his first meeting with Jesus Christ. There is no record of festivities associated with the marriage of Peter after his first acquaintance with Jesus Christ. Not only so, but evidently Peter was already married when Jesus appointed him to be an apostle, and he was still married, his wife supported by church funds among which supported Peter (1 Corinthians 9:5), throughout the apostolic ministry of the apostle Peter.

It would seem that Simon was married before he became an apostle. His wife’s mother is referred to (Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38). He was in all probability accompanied by his wife on his missionary journeys (1 Cor. 9:5; comp. 1 Pet. 5:13). He appears to have been settled at Capernaum when Christ entered on his public ministry, and may have reached beyond the age of thirty. His house was large enough to give a home to his brother Andrew, his wife’s mother, and also to Christ, who seems to have lived with him (Mark 1:29, 36; 2:1), as well as to his own family. It was apparently two stories high (2:4). (Easton)

J.W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton in their commentary, The Four-Fold Gospel, place the acquaintance of Peter and Jesus as well as the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law in the same year, the first year of our Lord’s ministry, A.D. 27. B.W. Johnson and Don DeWelt in their commentary, The Gospel of Mark, mark the first acquaintance of Jesus Christ with Peter and the subsequent healing of Peter’s mother-in-law about a year apart.

    Though humble fisherman on an inland lake, Peter, his brother and their partners were nevertheless hardworking and successful businessmen.

Brought up to his father’s business as a fisherman on the lake of Galilee. He and his brother Andrew were partners with Zebedee’s sons, John and James [Luke 5:10], who had “hired servants” [Mark 1:20], which implies a social status and culture not the lowest. He lived first at Bethsaida, then in Capernaum, in a house either his own or his mother-in-law’s, large enough to receive Christ and his fellow apostles and some of the multitude who thronged about Him [Mark 1:29-30]. (Fausset’s)

Works Cited

Easton, M.G., Easton’s Bible Dictionary. CD-ROM. Oak Harbor: Logos, 1996.

Fausset’s Bible Dictionary. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1998.

Johnson, B.W. and Don DeWelt. The Gospel of Mark. Joplin: College P., 1965. CD-ROM. Indianapolis: Faith & Facts, n.d.

McGarvey, J.W. and Philip Y. Pendleton. Four-Fold Gospel. Cincinnati: Standard, 1914. CD-ROM. Austin: Wordsearch, 2004.

Communion to Shut-Ins

    Some object to taking the Lord’s Supper to the sick and shut-ins. The Claim is made that it can only be taken when the saints are gathered together.  But there seems to be no objection to taking it on Sunday night, and most certainly “all the brethren” are not back for Sunday night. Do you have a view on this subject??? Joe Mitchell

    The communion is one of the five acts of worship in the Lord’s Day assembly. Any child of God unable to attend the assembly on the first day of the week is no more required to observe the Lord’s Supper outside of that assembly than he or she is required to participate in the other four acts of worship. However, I am unaware of any reason why any of the acts of worship cannot also occur outside of a particular assembly of the saints; if it is not permissible to observe the Communion outside of the worship assembly, then it is the only act of worship with this restriction. Further, if the Communion or Lord’s Supper may not be observed outside of a particular assembly of saints, it is the only act of worship requiring a quorum to observe.

    The principle of Matthew 18:20 seems to validate the possibility of two or more Christians being a sufficient quorum that when circumstances require that all of the acts of worship on the first day of the week may be engaged. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). In addition to application to the infirm, suppose Christians are traveling in parts of the world where there are no congregations of the Lord’s church assessable; may they worship on the Lord’s Day, including observance of the Lord’s Supper? Were the missionary teams of Paul, Barnabas and others in the first century or more recently able to worship on the Lord’s Day in the absence of a congregation nearby?

    Personally, I do not encourage taking the Communion to Christians unable to attend, anymore than I insist the collection plate be taken to them, they be preached to and that they sing hymns. Yet, neither do I refuse the request of brethren for the Lord’s Supper to be brought to them, as I know that it is a matter of conscience and peace of mind with them.

    Incidentally, the saints are never all gathered at one time in one place, though that is the goal. Someone is always missing for one reason or another (or for no reason at all). If we waited for all of the saints to gather, we never would observe the Lord’s Supper, and the Lord’s Supper is only one of five acts of worship. Shall we refrain from worship altogether until all saints show up at the same time; we would never worship!

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