In John 1:42, Jesus Peter’s name with the word "rock". Sometimes we see Peter referred to as, Simon Peter, Simon, or Cephas. Sometimes Jesus referred to him as Peter, other times Simon, and sometimes by both names.
Jesus refers to Peter as Simon as He tells of his upcoming denial of Him (Luke 22:31-34): “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you men like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
As Jesus is praying in the garden, He mildly rebukes Peter for sleeping during the time and calls him Simon (Mark 14:32-42). Verses 37f: “And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’”
Then, when Peter makes his great confession of faith about Jesus in Matthew 16:16-18, Jesus refers to him as Simon-Bar-Jonah and Peter.
We also see Jesus referring to Peter as Simon as He reestablishes him in John 21:15-19. You remember the whole Feed My Sheep line of questions there.
Whatever the name Jesus uses, whether to praise him or rebuke him, Jesus knows Peter through-and-through.
Peter is usually located within the villages of Bethsaida and Capernaum. Along with another city, Chorazin, these villages lie within an area of approximately five miles on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter and his brother Andrew work in this area as fishermen
Capernaum is also Peter's home and becomes a central headquarters out of which Jesus will operate in the region. Even so, Jesus pronounces woes upon these cities in Matthew 11:20-24.
We know that Peter has a wife and mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15). Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law, then she gets up and serves them.
Peter is credited with writing two books of the New Testament, I & II Peter. Scholars also believe he influenced Mark's gospel.
Key Events from Scripture
First, we see Peter's calling. First, in John 1 we read where John the Baptist points out Jesus to two of his disciples, Andrew and John. They spend the rest of the day with Jesus, after which Andrew goes to Peter and exclaims "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41). Later, in Matthew 4:18-19, Jesus is walking beside the Sea of Galilee, and He calls Peter Andrew to follow him. They immediately leave their work and follow Jesus. After the resurrection of Jesus, Peter and some of the others return to fishing as they try to process the reality that Jesus had risen (John 21:1-3).
Next, we see that Peter provides the correct answer to an open-ended question from Jesus. In Matthew 16, Jesus is with his disciples in the region of Caesarea Philippi. It’s interesting to note that this area is dedicated to idol worship. There are all kinds of pagan gods associated with the place, including a cave that has been turned into a shrine to the Greek god, Pan. The cave is known as "The Gates of Hell".
This is where Jesus chooses to ask that all-important question of His apostles: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They reply to Him: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Jesus then asks a more direct question: “But who do yourselves say that I am?” Peter is quick to speak, blurting out the answer like an eager fourth grader: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
That response has to be one of the most rewarding times in Peter’s life. Jesus acknowledges that these words are not Peter’s own, but that it is God Himself who reveals Christ's true identity. Peter is clearly growing in his faith and developing a deeper awareness about who Jesus is. Jesus reveals to the apostles a significant insight into His ministry and their role and authority in supporting it, telling them, “upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19).
Although Peter provides the answer that Jesus uses to drive the discussion, these words of binding and loosening were addressed to the apostles as a group. The apostles will have leading roles in delivering the gospel to the world. In fact, Peter himself is only first in carrying out the Lord's directive to take the gospel to all the world. Through his life, Peter is the first to reveal God's plan for our salvation:
- Acts 2 – Pentecost
- Acts 8 – To the Samaritans
- Acts 10 – Converting the first non-Jews
If that is the brightest spot in his life, however, the darkest moment has to be his denial of Jesus. In Luke 22:31-34, Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him, even as Peter declares he is ready to go to prison or even death with him. Then in verses 54-60 we read about Peter denying even knowing Jesus. He does so three times just like Jesus said he would.
In John 21:15-17, we read about Peter sitting with Jesus after his resurrection. Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. Peter strongly states he does. The process of asking three times is a reflection of the three times Peter denied our Lord. The event can’t be lost on Peter as he would spend the rest of his life completely dedicated to Jesus.
It takes a lifetime of growth for Peter to reach his full potential in his service to the Lord. From him, we learn how to reach our potential in the Lord's service.
Lessons from Peter
There are more recorded questions by Peter than from all the other apostles combined. He’s usually the one who asks the Lord to explain His parables (Matthew 15:15; Luke 12:41). He’s often also the first one to answer questions asked by Christ. I likened Peter to a ten-year-old who blurts out an answer while everybody else in the class is still processing the question. He’s often wrong, but he always tries to be the first. He talks more than the rest, and Jesus speaks to him most often. He is the most rebuked by the Lord, and he most boldly confesses the Lord. In education, we would say that Peter is constantly engaged in learning. Perhaps we see some of our best and our worst personality traits in the character of this apostle.
How then do we engage as courageously as Peter? Being a fisherman carries a high level of danger and requires courage. David Laton wrote, “Later Peter changed his natural courage into a mature, settled, and quietly confident and unshakable type of courage where he truly was willing to suffer anything for Christ. One key piece of evidence is that he had the courage to return to our Lord when he realized his failures. That courage and humility was rewarded by reinstatement by our Lord.”
With the keys to the kingdom firmly in hand, Peter stands before crowds, boldly proclaiming Jesus the Savior, revealing to them how to gain salvation. Later we see:
- Peter and John speaking courageously before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4)
- Peter arrested but continuing to preach Jesus (Acts 5)
- Peter taking the Gospel to the Samaritans and Gentiles and later defending them before the brethren in Jerusalem (Acts 8, 10, 11, 15)
The lesson here is, do not hesitate to return to our Lord in repentance and continue courageously to fulfill our mission to bring Jesus to others.
We learn to develop humility. Peter is clearly displayed in Scripture as confident, impetuous, pretentious, and even aggressive. All of the events during His time with Christ transform Peter's overconfident and aggressive nature resulting in a humble servant giving him the insights to write in 1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time…” Like Peter, we learn that life is not about us, but about the Master, whom we serve humbly and faithfully.
From Peter, we also learn compassion. Compassion means we care about other people. Because we know about his personal weaknesses and our Lord's forgiveness, Peter can teach us that no matter the sin in our lives, we can turn to our Lord and receive that same forgiveness. Look for that kind of growth in your life - the type of growth that comes in elevating others and diminishing self.
Conclusion
There is, in the book of Acts, a point at which the writer, Luke, changes the focus of the narrative. This happens when Peter is rescued from Herod in Acts 12:6-17. Luke ends here, saying, “Then he left and went to another place.” We don’t know where he goes from there, but this is where Paul becomes the focus in the book.
There is no mention in Scripture of where Peter continued to teach, his death, or his burial. There is strong evidence from the secular writings of historians and early church leaders that Peter was eventually killed by crucifixion in Rome during the reign of Nero around 64 to 66 AD. Tradition holds that he was crucified upside down because he did not want to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus.
In fact, in John 21:18, Jesus predicts Peter’s death. He says, “Truly, truly I tell you, when you were younger, you used to put on your belt and walk wherever you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will put your belt on you, and bring you where you do not want to go.” And in case you missed it, John clarifies in the next verse, “Now He said this, indicating by what kind of death he would glorify God…”
The Overview Bible notes some extra-Biblical references. Clement of Rome, for example, an early church father who personally knew the apostles, wrote in his famous letter known as 1 Clement, “Let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most just pillars of the Church were persecuted, and came even unto death…Peter, through unjust envy, endured not one or two but many labours, and at last, having delivered his testimony, departed unto the place of glory due to him.”
Then there is Eusebius, the so-called “father of church history”, who quotes Origen (a second/third-century scholar) as saying, “Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer”
That’s certainly a possibility. Roman soldiers were known to experiment with variations of crucifixion. According to the Jewish-Roman historian, Josephus, who lived in the first century, Roman soldiers didn’t always crucify people “right-side up,” and they tried different positions for entertainment.
Aside from the example of being faithful unto death, Peter's life is of primary importance. He became all that our Lord expected of him because he regained and sustained his focus on obeying and serving Jesus.”
In II Peter 3:18, we see his life summed up in his final recorded words: “...but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
That is exactly what Peter does. He is the epitome of a person who always tries to keep things real, but he is also a prime example of how God can take a rough-and-tumble person, an ordinary and flawed individual, and change him or her into a productive servant in the kingdom. Like us, Peter needed desperately to understand who Jesus is and how he could receive the salvation that Jesus offers.