Peter Follows Jesus

Of all the disciples that Jesus called to follow him (Luke 5: 1 - 11), we see the most change in Peter.

Peter was a commercial fisherman, with his brother Andrew, on the Sea of Galilee, owning his own boat. He, Andrew, James, and John were the first followers Jesus called, promising that he would make them fish for people instead of fish.

Jesus nicknamed Simon, Cephas, the rock (in Aramaic) or Peter, the rock (in Greek) perhaps because he changed his mind and his enthusiasms so quickly. Peter seemed to accompany Jesus on Palm Sunday and through the events of Holy Week, but he denied knowing Jesus three times before the sun rose on Good Friday (Luke 22: 54 - 62).

But Jesus was right about Peter's steadfastness, because Peter's declaration of faith (Matthew 16: 13 - 20) and his assumption of leadership immediately after Jesus' death became the firm foundation that Christians still rely on.

The vision Peter received in Acts 11: 5 - 18 changed the entire outreach of early Christians, as God revealed to Peter that none of his creation nor any of the people on earth were ritually unclean.

After the execution of James the Elder, Peter was imprisoned by Herod Agrippa I.

Peter wrote nothing in his own hand. He may have been the primary source for the Gospel of Mark, and he dictated the book of First Peter to a secretary. He was a proud witness to the Transfiguration of Jesus (2 Peter 1: 16 - 18). The book called Second Peter was probably written after his death.

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