. . . .as if it even needs to be said, those customs developed much later, when signs of respect given to any authoritative figure in the Roman and/or Gothic world (e.g. kissing a ring of office; kneeling, etc.) were directed toward the Papacy as well. We should not expect to see the same cultural expressions of respect given to a Jewish Apostle in the 1st Century. However, with that said, we do see Peter treated with special respect. For example, as I already mentioned above, in Acts 5:15, the sick of Jerusalem are brought out and placed on the ground so that Peter’s shadow might pass over them as he walks by. That doesn’t sound like just a regular guy, does it? Also, the other Apostles are not treated this way. Likewise, in Gal 1:18, Paul says how he spent fifteen days “conferring” with Kephas (Peter); and the Greek word here (“historesai”) means “to ask of a higher authority” --the same word which the pagan Greeks used when they consulted the Oracle of Delphi and other “divine” authorities. If Paul was merely meeting with an equal, he would have used the word “heiden.” Likewise, in Acts 15:12, after Peter gives the definitive teaching at the Council, it says that everyone “fell silent” (meaning that they remained silent: the past-tense aorist “esigese” in Greek, not “sigesai,” as used later in v. 13), and there is no more room for debate after Peter had spoken. And we could cite other examples as well.
