St. Peter and Jesus: Vatican Museum Sarcophagus 31546

Circa 300-325
Stone
Museo Pio Cristiano, The Vatican

As usual, Jesus is pictured as a young man without a beard. The rooster at his feet refers to his prediction that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed (John 13:38). Although that is precisely what happened, he nevertheless hands Peter the scroll that represents his authority as a teacher, an allusion to his charge to Peter after the resurrection: "feed my sheep" (John 21:17).

Read how this panel fits in the iconographic program of this sarcophagus.
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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.