Peter the Apostle - Character Profile - Make Disciples with Our Best Story

Simon Peter the Apostle was one of the original twelve apostles of Jesus. Jesus selected him to be one of his inner circle of 3. He was known as Cephas in some places in scripture, (Aramaic form of Peter.)

Peter’s first appearance in the Bible was in John 1:35-42 when Andrew “brought him unto Jesus.” Andrew, his brother, proclaimed “We have found the Messiah” (see John 1:41.) When he appeared before Jesus, Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, Peter.) (see John 1:42) Cephus or Peter is translated as “rock” or “stone.” Jesus referenced this “nickname” in Matthew 16:18 when he said, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Many believe by that proclamation, Jesus assigned Peter as the leader of the New Testament Church that would arise out of Jesus’ death and resurrection and the continued work of the Apostles into the 1st century AD.

Rabbi/Disciple Relationship Between Peter and Jesus

Jesus, as a Rabbi or master teacher, initiated both Peter and his brother Andrew as an official follower with a very creative and relevant calling, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (see Mark 1:17.) These two sons of a fisherman named Jonas became the first two official followers and servants of Jesus, the Messiah.

In contrast to the first words Jesus spoke to Peter, we have recorded his last words as well – “You must follow me” (see John 21:22.) The story of Peter’s life was one of the tension between what our personal desire to do things our way and the discipline and patience to follow the plan of Jesus even when it seems irrational.

The key verse that speaks to the life of Peter is Matthew 16:18 – “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Early Years

Peter the Apostle’s Early Years

Peter the Apostle was the son of a fisherman named Jonas (or John) in the town of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. He most likely attended the first level of Hebrew school called Beth Sefer, which focused on reading and memorizing the Torah (1st 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures) before dropping out and helping his father with the family fishing business. Further evidence that Peter and Andrew dropped out of school early is in Acts 4:13 when Peter is mentioned as an “unschooled, ordinary” man. Bethsaida is most probably the location of the feeding of the 5,000 that is recorded in all four of the Gospels.

It is thought that Simon Peter and his brother Andrew may have been disciples of John the Baptist. (John 1:35-41) Andrew, Peter’s brother, was definitely named as a disciple of John the Baptist. It would be assumed that Peter was too since they were so closely related and followed Jesus together.

Andrew was the person who introduced Peter to Jesus when he witnessed Jesus walking among John the Baptist’s followers and John proclaimed him as the Messiah. Andrew immediately went to his brother and declared that they had “found the Messiah.”

Peter’s Early Adulthood Years

At sometime as he grew into a young man, Peter moved to Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. (see Matthew 4:18 Matthew 8:14). He was married and working his fishing career with his brother, Andrew. As far as we know, Peter was the only one of the original twelve Apostles of Jesus who was married. We read of Peter’s mother-in-law being healed by Jesus in Matthew 8:14-17, Mark 1:29-31, and Luke 4:38. 1 Corinthians 9:5 also suggests Peter was married. One interesting aspect of Peter’s career was that, by nature of fishing, he must have touched dead fish on a daily basis. This would have made him ceremonially unclean almost daily in the standards of the temple. Peter should have been one of the least likely candidates for Apostleship in Jesus’ day, but he became the leader of the entire movement after Christ ascended.

Peter’s Ministry with Jesus

In Capernaum he first received his call to discipleship of Christ (AD 26-27) with subsequent calls 3 more times. (see Matt 4:19 and Mark 1:17 for the call to discipleship, Luke 5:10 for the call to evangelism, Matt 10:2-4, Mark 3:14, Luke 6:13-14 for the call to Apostleship, and John 21:!5-19 for the call to martyrdom.)

Peter often served as a spokesman for the original twelve apostles of Jesus (Matthew 16:16-18, John 6:68-69.) He not only belonged to the original 12 Apostles, but also was selected into an inner circle of Jesus’ closest followers. Peter, along with James and John, accompanied Jesus during times of private prayer and was also given special attention by Jesus to ingrain the teachings at a deeper level.

Peter’s greatest regret must have been to deny his association with Jesus out of fear of persecution. Jesus predicted this 3-fold denial in Mark 14:27-31. Even though promised Jesus, “Even though all may [b]fall away, yet I will not,” he quickly denied his association on the night Jesus was being tried for heresy. Jesus quickly forgave Peter and

Peter was probably (according to tradition) martyred in Rome by being crucified upside down around 67 or 68 and after the burning of Rome and increased persecution by Nero.

These appear to be an initial plea to follow Christ, a subsequent call to become fishers of men (call to share), and a third which officially “appointed” him as apostles.

Four Calls of Peter the Apostle

Follower of Christ – The Call to Become a Disciple

The first call of Peter by Jesus was a rabbi/disciple call. It was the general call to leave behind the life he had created in his father’s family business and to take on the responsibility of following Rabbi Jesus and embracing a different way of life. The rabbi/disciple relationship was less about a transfer of information and more about the rabbi multiplying his way of thinking and behaving in the life of his followers (talmidim.) This first call was as soon as Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus after witnessing John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. (see John 1:42)

Constant Companion of Christ – The Call to Share the Good News

It can be confusing that the gospel accounts record more than one instance where Jesus called James and Andrew to follow him. The first calling when Jesus first engaged Peter and changed his name was not the same calling when sons of Jonas caught the miraculous catch of fish (see Luke 5:1-11.) At this point Jesus had already changed the name of Peter and there was a following Jesus, but not yet a departure from the family business. This second call was to a life of ministry – leaving the family business and committing to sharing the gospel.

Leader of the Christian Movement – The Call to Apostleship

The third call that Peter received from Jesus was the call to leadership in the movement that would follow Christ’s death and resurrection. As the Holy Spirit came upon those gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem, the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ was birthed. Jesus specifically appointed the 12 Apostles to the leadership of that movement in Matt 10:2-4, Mark 3:14, and Luke 6:13-14 when the specifically appointed the 12 to a place of leadership.

To Die a Death Similar to Jesus – The Call to Martyrdom

In John 21:15-19 we see one final “Follow Me” from Jesus to Peter. This follows Jesus’ death and resurrection and led to the restoration of Peter’s relationship with Jesus after his tri-fold denial just days earlier. As Jesus asked 3 times if Peter love Jesus’ sheep, John says that Jesus foretold the type of death by which Peter would die. After he shared this with Peter, he said for the last time, “Follow Me” and encouraged Peter to never turn back. Peter did die by crucifixion like Jesus, however, tradition says he chose to be hung upside down because he felt unworthy to die exactly like Christ died.

Peter’s life divided into 3 Periods

From Call to Passion of Christ

Healing of Wife’s Mother at Capernaum (Matt. 8:14)
Great Draught of Fishes and Full Surrender to Jesus(Luke 5:1-11)
Call to Apostolic Office (Matt. 10:2)
Attachment to his MASTER in attempt to walk on waves (Matt. 14:28)
Attachment as shown in at “a certain crisis” “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (John 6:68)
Noble confession of Jesus as the Christ and the rebuke (AD 29) (Matt 16:13-23)
Exalted privileges he enjoyed with James and John as witness to raising Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37)
Exalted privilege to witness the transfiguration of the Lord (Matt 17:1-5)
Incident of tribute money (Matt 17:24)
Washing of His Feet by Jesus and 2 Mistakes of missing importance of that act (John 13:1-10)
His first boasting as to his strength of commitment to Jesus and the warning of Satan’s assault on him (Luke 22:31-34)
Second mention of betrayal (Matt. 26:31-35)
Failure to watch and pray with Jesus on the mount (Matt. 26:36-46)
Mistaken courage in severing Malchus’ ear (John 18:10-12)
Multiple verbal denials of Christ (AD 30) followed by his tears of bitterness (Matthew 26:56-58)

From Passion to Ascension

Runs to the tomb of Jesus to find him missing (Luke 24:12)
Returns to fishing after Jesus is raised and appears to the disciples (John 21:3)
Experiences the second miraculous catch of fish on the Sea of Tiberius (John 21:6)
Peter leapt into the water and swam to shore after spotting Jesus on the bank (John 21:7)
Peter challenged to follow Jesus to his death (John 21:19)

From Ascension to Conversion of Saul

Waited in the Upper Room for the Holy Spirit to come (Acts 1:13)
Initiated the choosing of Matthias for Judas’ replacement (Act 1:20)
Preached the first Gospel sermon after the Holy Spirit descended (Acts 2:14-36)
Peter’s first healing – the Crippled Beggar (Acts 3:6)
Preached his 2nd sermon to the crowd gathered (Acts 3:11-26)
Imprisoned for the first time as he saw 5,000 come to Christ (Acts 4:4)
Questioned by religious leaders (Acts 4:7)
Witnessed the death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)
Healed many and drew great crowds (Acts 5:12)
Persecuted by religious leaders (Acts 5:29-32)
Rejected Simon’s offer of money for the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:8:20)
Discipled Paul (Acts 9)
Heals Aeneas who was bedridden for eight years (Acts 9:34)
Raised Tabitha from the dead! (Acts 9:40-41)
Dreamed of a sheet coming down from heaven making all animals clean to eat and opened access to the Gospel to Gentiles (Acts 10:15)
Begins to preach repentance to the Gentiles in Joppa (Acts 10:34)
Miraculous escape from prison (Acts 12:7)
Led the Jerusalem Council determine what laws are followed by the Gentiles (Acts 15:1ff)

Peter’s Accomplishments

Became the leader of the New Testament Church
Invited into Jesus’ inner circle of 3
Overcame many failures and stupid mistakes
Applauded by Jesus as “the Rock”
Healed sick and raised dead people
Overcame his lack of education and training to become a preacher of the Gospel
He wrote 2 books of the New Testament

Peter’s Weaknesses

He often spoke without thinking, often brash and impulsive
Seemed to be a people pleaser when in the flesh
Later found it hard to treat gentile Christians as equals
Fickle and not always fully committed to abandon himself

Lessons from Peter’s Life

Enthusiasm is backed up by faith and understanding or it fails
God’s faithfulness can compensate for our greatest unfaithfulness
It is better to be a follower who fails than one who fails to follow

Peter and Paul as Leaders of the New Testament Church

Peter spent 15 intentional days discipling Paul in Jerusalem (Gal 1:18) Peter preached Jesus to the Jews. Jesus tasked Paul to preach Jesus to the Gentiles.

Both of these apostles were brash, potentially had a short temper, were aggressive with their communication, probably high D’s.

They seemed to have a dislike for each other’s style of teaching.

The most ironic thing about these two was that Peter was an uneducated, poor fisherman and Hebrew school flunkie and his primary ministry was to the jews and to challenge the religious leaders while staying in wealthy and progressive Jerusalem. On the other hand, Paul was from the religious elite and on his way to political success and ended up ministering to the poor irreligious Gentiles. They experienced Holy Spirit role reversal.

Peter the apostle’s Books of the Bible

1 Peter

Fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction that Peter would someday “strengthen” his fellow believers (Luke 22:32)
- One theme – encouragement to the persecuted (1 Peter 2:12)
- 1 Peter 3:16
- 1 Peter 4:4
Written about 63-4 AD
Writing from Babylon (1 Peter 5:13), we don’t know if it was the actual city or the popularly used code word “Babylon” for Rome
Written To Christians (both Jew and Gentile) scattered abroad Asia Minor by persecution 1 Peter 1:1
Purpose – encourage Christians persecuted and to instruct regarding salvation and subjection. Also to confirm Peter’s agreement with Paul. (2 Peter 3:14-15)
The Polished Greek style sometimes makes one wonder about authorship
Every chapter mentions Christ sufferings – encouragement for persecuted
He shows somewhat uncharacteristic tenderness in language to church
For it’s length, 1 Peter contains more OT quotes than any other book

2 Peter

Written about 67 AD approximately 3 years after 1 Peter
Warned Christians about false teachers and to exhort them to grow in their faith in and knowledge of Christ.
Written to the Church at large and ALL believers
High urgency in this book as Peter knew his life was about to come to an end
Last book admitted into the Canon because the authorship was in question
Themes are perseverance, heresies and Christ’s return