Understanding the Twelve-Peter

“16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.”

Mark 3:16-19

Twelve men are named in this passage. Twelve men of different backgrounds and personalities were chosen to walk with Jesus Christ throughout His ministry. Why these men? When you look at scripture, there doesn’t appear to be anything that sets them apart from anyone else. These twelve men were prone to fears, angry outbursts, doubts, and even moments of pride. And yet, it is because of their faith in Jesus Christ and the work that He did for us that the budding church began to grow. So today, we are going to discuss one of these men, a man with two names. Simon Peter.

While Matthew and Mark both describe this event, I prefer the way Luke describes it.

“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

Luke 5:1-11

In this passage, we see not only Jesus calling Peter to follow Him but also a glimpse of his personality. We see that Peter is a fisherman by trade, but that he is also a straightforward man. Throughout scripture, we see that Peter has no issue speaking his mind, but that does not hinder his willingness to follow Jesus. In this passage, we also see how quickly Peter recognizes that he is a sinful man in the presence of God, but when the call come he leaves everything behind him and follows Jesus.

This seems almost contradictory to the interaction between Peter and Jesus in Matthew 14:22-33. In this passage, Jesus is walking on water and surprises his disciples. Peter is among them, claiming that the image they see is a ghost, not the Son of God that he left everything to follow. However, in this passage, we see the same personality that tells Jesus that by His word, Peter will let down the net again, except this time it is Peter saying, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Matthew 14:28. Yet only a few steps out of the boat, and Peter begins to focus on the wind and the waves, causing him to sink. Not to mention Mark 14, in which Peter denies knowing Jesus three separate times.

Again, we see Peter speaking his mind in Matthew 16:21-23 when he tells Jesus that it would “far be it” for him to see Jesus be crucified for the sins of the world. This passage isn’t even the only time that we see Jesus correct Peter. In John 21:15-17, Peter is asked three times whether he loves Jesus.

Despite all of this, Peter is given a great blessing.

“13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Mathew 16:13-19

I want to focus less on who Simon Peter was and more on what he ultimately did for the Kingdom of God. In the above passage, Simon Peter is told that he will be the rock on which Jesus will build his church. A man who doubted, who sought to have his will prevail and not God’s, who failed time and time again. And yet, he was a man who chose to follow Jesus over everything else. Jesus knew all the events that would transpire, would choose who would see Him during His transfiguration in Mark 9:2-8, and He still chose Peter from the very beginning. Peter was not born with this name; it was Simon, but Jesus gave him the name Peter (which means "rock"). Jesus, the Son of God, knew from the very beginning the strong faith that Peter would grow into and identified it early on. Now, some will argue that this means that Peter is “better” than the others, or that he was the “leader” of the disciples. I would caution you against anyone who makes this claim. Luke 22:24-30 shows Jesus arguing against the disciples ranking themselves.

However, this does not mean Peter is unimportant. The two books he wrote might be small, but they address very important topics: encouraging believers not to remain infants in the faith, serving God willingly, avoiding false prophets, and reminding readers of the coming rapture for the church. Peter preached in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Betania, Italy, and Asia. He was in prison in Rome (although he was never identified as a bishop at the church of Rome, despite what some believe) before he was eventually crucified. However, his faith was so strong that he requested that he be crucified upside down so as not to be treated the same as the Lord and Savior.

Peter shows us that we can come to God with our questions and live with courage, seeking to live as Christ lived. Peter shows us that our strength is not within ourselves, but in Jesus Christ.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex