Verse 15 Peter stood up. Peter was one of the first called among the apostles, (Matthew 4:18,) and his name is always placed at the head of the catalogue: he was prominent among his brethren during the lifetime of Christ: he was one of the first to believe and to acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah, as recorded Matthew 16:16,--and on that occasion Jesus spoke of him as in some peculiar sense the foundation of the future church; (Matthew 16:17-19;) and now, after the ascension, he appears among the disciples as their acknowledge leader. It is on these grounds that the Roman Catholics maintain that he was constituted by Christ the head of the church, and claim for his supposed successors, the popes of Rome, supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction throughout the world. But there is no evidence that Peter's preëminence was official. In this case only he does not act; he only proposes action. He does not appoint; he simply recommends an election.