Peter is adressed three times by name, and is told to feed the sheep (with variations in proper name and in the verb used and the gender of the sheep) in John 21. Peter was not alone when Jesus spoke, but the speech is addressed to Peter alone. Which gospel do you read where a similar charge was given someone else?
I would say the food is the word of God
It is a valid interpretation, however the Eucharist is also described as "food indeed".
I can't imagine where you got that opinion [that Peter and James authorised Paul]
There is NOTHING in [Gal 2:9) you refer to that puts James, John and Peter above Paul
"18 Then, after three years, I went to Jerusalem, to see Peter, and I tarried with him fifteen days. 19 But other of the apostles I saw none, saving James the brother of the Lord" (Gal 1)
"9 And when they had known the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship: that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision" (Gal 2:9).
The reference to "pillars", and the imperative "that we should" shows that it was a decision taken by Peter and James. We also know that the decision "to go into Gentiles" originated with Peter alone: "in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh justice, is acceptable to him." (Acts 10).
We are the Gentile church
We owe our conversion to the Father who coverted us to Christ, to Peter who decided to prozelytize among the Gentiles, to Paul who did most of that work, and to the Catholic Church which maintained the deposit of faith for us for centuries and fought off heresies.
if the three would have disapproved that Paul would have halted his ministry to the Gentiles, which God commanded him to do???
They wouldn't have disapproved, -- this is an impossible hypothetical that three apostles of Christ would disapprove of the work done for Christ. However, Paul felt it necessary to establish his credentials as an adoptive apostle as one sent by the natural apostles. It was indeed important for him, because "how shall they preach unless they be sent?" (Rom 10:14).
As you likely know, the we should was found in no manuscripts and was inserted by faith from the translaters...
Paul's commission to go to the Gentiles was already established by God...
to the Catholic Church which maintained the deposit of faith for us for centuries and fought off heresies.
= = =
Not sure how the balance sheet will look vis a vis the Roman group.
Glad I don't have to calculate it. God had His remnants in lots of places unsupervised by Rome.
Am reminded of God noting to the prophet that God had still 20,000 who had not bowed the knee to baal that the prophet didn't know anything about. Getting puffed up about one's own importance leads to lots of different kinds of blindness.