Peter: Originally called Simon (=Simeon ,i.e., "hearing"), a very common
Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona
(Matthew 16:17)
His mother is nowhere named in Scripture. He had a younger brother
called Andrew, who first brought him to Jesus
(John 1:40-42) His native
town was Bethsaida, on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee, to
which also Philip belonged. Here he was brought up by the shores of
the Sea of Galilee, and was trained to the occupation of a fisher.
His father had probably died while he was still young, and he and his
brother were brought up under the care of Zebedee and his wife Salome
(Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; 16:1) There the four youths, Simon, Andrew, James,
and John, spent their boyhood and early manhood in constant
fellowship. Simon and his brother doubtless enjoyed all the
advantages of a religious training, and were early instructed in an
acquaintance with the Scriptures and with the great prophecies
regarding the coming of the Messiah. They did not probably enjoy,
however, any special training in the study of the law under any of
the rabbis. When Peter appeared before the Sanhedrin, he looked like
an "unlearned man"
(Acts 4:13) "Simon was a Galilean, and he was that
out and out...The Galileans had a marked character of their own. They
had a reputation for an independence and energy which often ran out
into turbulence. They were at the same time of a franker and more
transparent disposition than their brethren in the south. In all
these respects, in bluntness, impetuosity, headiness, and simplicity,
Simon was a genuine Galilean. They spoke a peculiar dialect. They had
a difficulty with the guttural sounds and some others, and their
pronunciation was reckoned harsh in Judea. The Galilean accent stuck
to Simon all through his career. It betrayed him as a follower of
Christ when he stood within the judgment-hall
(Mark 14:70) It betrayed
his own nationality and that of those conjoined with him on the day
of Pentecost
(Acts 2:7) It would seem that Simon was married before he
became an apostle. His wife's mother is referred to
(Matthew 8:14; Mark 1:30)
(Luke 4:38) He was in all probability accompanied by his wife on his
missionary journeys
(1 Corinthians 9:5) comp.
(1 Peter 5:13) He appears to have
been settled at Capernaum when Christ entered on his public ministry,
and may have reached beyond the age of thirty. His house was large
enough to give a home to his brother Andrew, his wife's mother, and
also to Christ, who seems to have lived with him
(Mark 1:29,36; 2:1)
as well as to his own family. It was apparently two stories high
(Mark 2:4) At Bethabara (R.V.,
(John 1:28) "Bethany"), beyond
Jordan, John the Baptist had borne testimony concerning Jesus as the
"Lamb of God"
(John 1:29-36) Andrew and John hearing it, followed
Jesus, and abode with him where he was. They were convinced, by his
gracious words and by the authority with which he spoke, that he was
the Messiah
(Luke 4:22; Matthew 7:29) and Andrew went forth and found Simon
and brought him to Jesus
(John 1:41) Jesus at once recognized Simon,
and declared that hereafter he would be called Cephas, an Aramaic name
corresponding to the Greek Petros, which means "a mass of rock
detached from the living rock." The Aramaic name does not occur again,
but the name Peter gradually displaces the old name Simon, though our
Lord himself always uses the name Simon when addressing him
(Matthew 17:25; Mark 14:37; Luke 22:31) comp.
(Luke 21:15-17) We are not told
what impression the first interview with Jesus produced on the mind of
Simon. When we next meet him it is by the Sea of Galilee
(Matthew 4:18-22)
There the four (Simon and Andrew, James and John) had had an
unsuccessful night's fishing. Jesus appeared suddenly, and entering
into Simon's boat, bade him launch forth and let down the nets. He did
so, and enclosed a great multitude of fishes. This was plainly a
miracle wrought before Simon's eyes. The awe-stricken disciple cast
himself at the feet of Jesus, crying, "Depart from me; for I am a
sinful man, O Lord"
(Luke 5:8) Jesus addressed him with the assuring
words, "Fear not," and announced to him his life's work. Simon
responded at once to the call to become a disciple, and after this we
find him in constant attendance on our Lord. He is next called into
the rank of the apostleship, and becomes a "fisher of men"
(Matthew 4:19)
in the stormy seas of the world of human life
(Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:13-19)
(Luke 6:13-16) and takes a more and more prominent part in all the
leading events of our Lord's life. It is he who utters that notable
profession of faith at Capernaum
(John 6:66-69) and again at
Caesarea Philippi
(Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-20) This
profession at Caesarea was one of supreme importance, and our Lord in
response used these memorable words: "Thou art Peter, and upon this
rock I will build my church." "From that time forth" Jesus began to
speak of his sufferings. For this Peter rebuked him. But our Lord in
return rebuked Peter, speaking to him in sterner words than he ever
used to any other of his disciples
(Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33) At the
close of his brief sojourn at Caesarea our Lord took Peter and James
and John with him into "an high mountain apart," and was transfigured
before them. Peter on that occasion, under the impression the scene
produced on his mind, exclaimed, "Lord, it is good for us to be here:
let us make three tabernacles"
(Matthew 17:1-9) On his return to
Capernaum the collectors of the temple tax (a didrachma, half a sacred
shekel), which every Israelite of twenty years old and upwards had to
pay
(Exodus 30:15) came to Peter and reminded him that Jesus had not
paid it
(Matthew 17:24-27) Our Lord instructed Peter to go and catch a
fish in the lake and take from its mouth the exact amount needed for
the tax, viz., a stater, or two half-shekels. "That take," said our
Lord, "and give unto them for me and thee." As the end was drawing
nigh, our Lord sent Peter and John
(Luke 22:7-13) into the city to
prepare a place where he should keep the feast with his disciples.
There he was forewarned of the fearful sin into which he afterwards
fell
(Luke 22:31-34) He accompanied our Lord from the guest-chamber
to the garden of Gethsemane
(Luke 22:39-46) which he and the other
two who had been witnesses of the transfiguration were permitted to
enter with our Lord, while the rest were left without. Here he passed
through a strange experience. Under a sudden impulse he cut off the
ear of Malchus
(Luke 22:47-51) one of the band that had come forth to
take Jesus. Then follow the scenes of the judgment-hall
(Luke 22:54-61)
and his bitter grief
(Luke 22:62) He is found in John's company early
on the morning of the resurrection. He boldly entered into the empty
grave
(John 20:1-10) and saw the "linen clothes laid by themselves"
(Luke 24:9-12) To him, the first of the apostles, our risen Lord
revealed himself, thus conferring on him a signal honour, and showing
how fully he was restored to his favour
(Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5) We next
read of our Lord's singular interview with Peter on the shores of the
Sea of Galilee, where he thrice asked him, "Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me?"
(John 21:1-19)
(See LOVE)
After this scene at the lake we hear nothing of Peter till he again
appears with the others at the ascension
(Acts 1:15-26) It was he who
proposed that the vacancy caused by the apostasy of Judas should be
filled up. He is prominent on the day of Pentecost
(Acts 2:14-40) The
events of that day "completed the change in Peter himself which the
painful discipline of his fall and all the lengthened process of
previous training had been slowly making. He is now no more the
unreliable, changeful, self-confident man, ever swaying between rash
courage and weak timidity, but the stead-fast, trusted guide and
director of the fellowship of believers, the intrepid preacher of
Christ in Jerusalem and abroad. And now that he is become Cephas
indeed, we hear almost nothing of the name Simon (only in)
(Acts 10:5,32; 15:14) and he is known to us finally as Peter." After
the miracle at the temple gate
(Acts 3:1) persecution arose against
the Christians, and Peter was cast into prison. He boldly defended
himself and his companions at the bar of the council
(Acts 4:19,20) A
fresh outburst of violence against the Christians
(Acts 5:17-21) led
to the whole body of the apostles being cast into prison; but during
the night they were wonderfully delivered, and were found in the
morning teaching in the temple. A second time Peter defended them
before the council
(Acts 5:29-32) who, "when they had called the
apostles and beaten them, let them go." The time had come for Peter to
leave Jerusalem. After labouring for some time in Samaria, he returned
to Jerusalem, and reported to the church there the results of his work
(Acts 8:14-25) Here he remained for a period, during which he met
Paul for the first time since his conversion
(Acts 9:26-30; Galatians 1:18)
Leaving Jerusalem again, he went forth on a missionary journey to
Lydda and Joppa
(Acts 9:32-43) He is next called on to open the door
of the Christian church to the Gentiles by the admission of Cornelius
of Caesarea
(Acts 10:1)ff After remaining for some time at Caesarea,
he returned to Jerusalem
(Acts 11:1-18) where he defended his conduct
with reference to the Gentiles. Next we hear of his being cast into
prison by Herod Agrippa
(Acts 12:1-19) but in the night an angel of
the Lord opened the prison gates, and he went forth and found refuge
in the house of Mary. He took part in the deliberations of the council
in Jerusalem
(Acts 15:1-31; Galatians 2:1-10) regarding the relation of the
Gentiles to the church. This subject had awakened new interest at
Antioch, and for its settlement was referred to the council of the
apostles and elders at Jerusalem. Here Paul and Peter met again. We
have no further mention of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles. He seems
to have gone down to Antioch after the council at Jerusalem, and there
to have been guilty of dissembling, for which he was severely
reprimanded by Paul
(Galatians 2:11-16) who "rebuked him to his face."
After this he appears to have carried the gospel to the east, and to
have laboured for a while at Babylon, on the Euphrates
(1 Peter 5:13)
There is no satisfactory evidence that he was ever at Rome. Where or
when he died is not certainly known. Probably he died between A.D. 64
and 67
