While the three of them struggle and fail to stay awake, Jesus prays fervently, asking God to find another way to save his people. Yet not as I will, but as you will. Peter, James, and John are the only ones who see Jesus suffer in the garden, and his desire to be vulnerable with them but not the others further demonstrates their privileged relationship with him.
When major decisions needed to be made, these three weighed in. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas [Peter] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 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. The Catholic church regards Peter as the first pope, and argues that the Bible supports this position as well as early church writings. After Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus says:. For them, Jesus was merely stating that the church would be built upon the rock of confessing Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
Catholics and Protestants debate about whether Scripture and church history show that early Christians recognized Peter and the bishops who succeeded him as a higher authority than other apostles and bishops. In fact, when the church needed to make a major decision in Acts 15, the apostles appear to defer to another pillar of the church: James the Just brother of Jesus and author of the Book of James.
Not to mention, in Galatians 2, Paul says he publicly corrected Peter, which would be difficult if Peter had total authority over the church. Ultimately, Protestants believe that Peter was clearly not the first pope, and Catholics believe he clearly was. Peter is one of the most prominent figures in the gospels and Acts, and Paul refers to him throughout his letters. After Jesus fed the five thousand, he told the disciples to get into their boats and head to the other side of the lake.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record that Jesus later walked on water to catch up with their boats Matthew —36, Mark —56, John —24 , but Matthew adds an exchange between Peter and Jesus:.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. But people recognized him. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Before the resurrection, in spite of all he had witnessed and believed, Peter cowered at a comment from a servant girl, fearing his own well-being for being associated with Jesus.
After the resurrection, Peter willingly gave his life for following Jesus. Following the resurrection, Jesus appears to his disciples several times. One of those appearances is only found in the Gospel of John, and Jesus specifically speaks to Peter. Some find it significant that Jesus and Peter use different Greek words for love. The first two times Jesus asks Peter for agape love and Peter responds with phileo love.
The third time, Jesus asks for phileo love. Jesus formally forgave Peter and restored him to his position. After the disciples received the Holy Spirit, Peter preached a sermon to the Jews, explaining how their history and Scriptures all pointed to Jesus.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.
Kill and eat. This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. Shortly after, Peter was invited to stay with Cornelius the centurion—a Gentile—who God had told to find Peter and listen to him.
But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. He had James executed Acts , and when he saw that this pleased the Jews whom he was trying to win favor with , he arrested Peter, too, and assigned 16 guards to watch him. The night before Peter was going to stand on trial, an angel appeared, woke Peter up, loosed his chains, and led him to safety.
Despite the vision and experience he had with the Gentiles in Acts 10, Peter struggled to disentangle himself from the cultural prejudice and favoritism of his fellow Jewish believers. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
Paul goes on to explain how he lectured Peter in front of the others. This passage is often used to illustrate that even Peter was clearly capable of making poor decisions, and received correction from other apostles. Both of them claim to have been written by him 1 Peter , 2 Peter Tradition has held that Peter is the author of these books.
While 1 Peter claims to be written by Peter, its style and language suggest the author had a formal Greek education. Acts 4 specifically tells us that Peter had no such education, which made his boldness as a teacher all the more impressive:.
In the closing remarks, the author clearly indicates that a man named Silas helped write the letter:. In 2 Peter 1, the author clearly refers to his impending death, which would fit with Peter:.
Perhaps the Gospel writers want us to make this personal connection with Peter. In their accounts they appear to purposely preserve more of his experiences and conversations with Jesus than with any of the other original Twelve. That is to say his testimony, like ours today, came through his head, his hands, and his heart. Reason alone could have provided ample intellectual evidence to Peter that Jesus of Nazareth was more than a mere man, for if he were an imposter, if he were not the very Messiah, how then could he give sight to the blind, cleanse the leper, cause the lame to walk, or raise the dead see Matthew —5; see also John ; ; —31?
Those witnesses to his head and his hands would have significantly supplemented the most powerful witness provided Peter—the witness revealed to his heart. Jesus helped the humble fisherman recognize the source of that witness. On another occasion, Peter bore a similar Spirit-inspired testimony. Many who had followed Christ were confused, shocked, and even offended by his bread of life sermon given at the synagogue in Capernaum see John — In answer to their questions, the three, joined by Andrew, also received privileged instruction from Jesus concerning the signs that would precede the Second Coming see Mark — When Peter asked how often he should forgive his brother, Christ taught him that there should be no limit to our forgiveness of others, and that as we forgive, we can expect to be forgiven see Matthew — Remarkably, in spite of the regular reprimands he received from Jesus, Peter chose not to be affronted, but rather continued following the Master, daily adding to his witness and learning of him.
During those last days, he would have seen Lazarus raised from the dead see John — He also would have joined in the celebration of the triumphal entry see Matthew —11; Mark —11; Luke —40; John — He was sent to prepare the Passover and received the sacred ordinances, teachings, and commandments given at that Last Supper see Matthew —35; Mark —25; Luke —38; John 13— To allay their fears and to affirm the reality of the Resurrection of his tangible body, he invited them to feel the wounds in his body and ate with them.
Just as it took time, teaching, and experience for Peter to fully understand the atoning mission of the Messiah, comprehending his mission as a special witness of Christ was a gradual process. Yet after all this, and indeed after having followed Jesus throughout his three-year ministry, the Savior perceived that his chief Apostle still needed help in understanding his calling.
It seems the full realization of what was to be required of him came to Peter as the Lord taught him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Peter and some of the other Apostles had traveled to Galilee, surely with the memory of having twice felt the wounds of crucifixion on the resurrected body of their Master fresh on their minds.
He had been a fisherman before forsaking his nets to follow Christ, but now that Jesus was no longer with them, Peter seemed resigned to returning to his old life and livelihood. His brethren followed. Toiling through the night, they caught nothing.
Nearing the shore, likely exhausted and discouraged, they saw someone standing there whom they did not recognize bidding them to cast their nets again. Perhaps recalling an earlier occasion when obedience to similar advice had yielded a great catch, they complied, this time without protest or question see John —6; Luke —9. As they drew in their nets teeming once again with a multitude of fish, recognition came to John.
When the others arrived, they found a meal of fish and bread awaiting them. Of course he loved the Savior more than fish—or fishing.
Perhaps there was a touch of incredulity in his answer to such an absurd question. Peter was grieved as Jesus asked a third time for the disciple to affirm his love. Following that day in Galilee, Peter went forth to fulfill his commission from Christ with remarkable faith, courage, and rigor.
Ball, professor of ancient scripture at BYU. Ball, professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, as he addressed the 43rd annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium October That growth can give us hope and perspective in our personal journeys to faith.
We understand him. We empathize with him.
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