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PETER

(Gk. Pétros)

Simon bar Jonah, nicknamed Cephas or Peter (Aramaic and Greek for “rock”) by Jesus. Since Simon was a common Jewish name and a number of others are mentioned in the Gospels and Acts, the nickname became the common designation for the man, although the Gospels report Jesus often calling him Simon.

Peter was the son of a Galilean fisherman, Jonah (Matt. 16:17) or John (John 21:15), who never appears in the Gospel narratives. Peter and his brother Andrew were themselves fishermen and partners of another pair of brothers, James and John bar Zebedee (Luke 5:10). The Gospels introduce the reader to Peter three different ways: as called by Jesus while fishing (Mark 1:16-17 par.), as called by Jesus through a miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11), and as a disciple of John the Baptist introduced to Jesus by his brother (John 1:35-42). All three stories agree that Peter became a committed disciple of Jesus. The Synoptics also mention that Jesus later visited Peter’s house in Capernaum (Mark 1:29), where he healed Peter’s mother-in-law. The picture painted of Peter, then, is that of a somewhat better-off Galilean peasant who was a semi-observant Jew in the eyes of the Pharisees (i.e., he was one of the ʿam hāʾāreṣ) and yet religious (or nationalistic) enough to follow Jesus, having perhaps first followed John the Baptist.

Despite, or maybe because of, his humble origins, Peter is pictured as a disciple who was chosen to be one of the Twelve (Mark 3:16 par.; he is on every list of the Twelve), and then one of the inner core of three, a group which excluded his brother Andrew (Mark 5:37; 9:2 par.). All four Gospels record Peter as expressing the Twelve’s conviction that Jesus was the Messiah, although they place it in different contexts (Mark 8:29 par.; John 6:68-69). All agree that Peter was present during some of the core events of Jesus’ ministry. Futhermore, there is agreement that Jesus predicted that Peter would betray him and that in the courtyard of the high priest’s home Peter did in fact three times deny that he knew Jesus. Three of the Gospels place Peter among the disciples during the resurrection appearances, Luke 24:34 agreeing with Paul (1 Cor. 15:5) that Jesus also appeared separately to Peter.

It is obvious that the early Church did not disqualify Peter because of his denial of Jesus, for in both Acts (esp. chs. 1–5) and Paul (Gal. 1:18; 2:1-10) one discovers Peter as an acknowledged central leader of the early Church, along with Jesus’ brother James and the bar Zebedee brothers. Yet since Peter had a traveling ministry (again confirmed by both Acts and Paul), Jesus’ brother James soon became the main leader of the Jerusalem church. Indeed, Acts 15 (ca. a.d. 49) pictures James as the chief leader even when Peter was present.

Peter’s life was not without controversy. The Gospels report that Jesus had to correct him on occasion (e.g., Mark 8:32-33 par.). Acts pictures him as the center of controversy over his acceptance of table fellowship from the gentile Cornelius (Acts 11:2-3, although the story also indicates his vindication). Paul reports that when Peter visited Antioch Paul censored his behavior in public (Gal. 2:11-14). In this case Peter appears to have had no personal scruples about table fellowship (probably meaning celebrating the Lord’s Supper, which for the first two centuries was a full meal) with Gentile Christians. This fits the picture of Peter as a semi-observant Jew (including his willingness to live with a tanner in Acts 9:43). However, when “some from James” appeared he withdrew from that table fellowship to a strictly Jewish mealtime practice. According to Paul, this was due to his “fear of the circumcision,” meaning either Jewish Christians or Jews in general. We are not informed whether these people from James were sent by James with a message which caused Peter’s behavior or whether they arrived on other business and on their own caused Peter’s behavior, but it is clear that Peter was sensitive to what Jews or Jewish Christians thought about him. This fits with Paul’s description of him as a missionary to the Jews (Gal. 2:7-8). In the light of this it is somewhat surprising to discover that 1 Peter is addressed to gentile converts, although the letter comes from a different period of Peter’s life and is probably co-authored by one of Paul’s companions.

Other than the attribution of two letters to Peter, he disappears from the pages of the NT ca. a.d. 50. It should be noted, however, that when it came to writing the Gospels, the author of Matthew showed a special interest in him, including in his Gospel five blocks of unique material about Peter (Matt. 14:28-31; 15:15-20; 16:18-19; 17:24-27; 18:21-22).

According to tradition Peter eventually traveled to Rome, although the church there arose well before his arrival. In Rome, tradition adds, his evangelistic preaching became the basis of Mark’s Gospel, although there is disagreement as to whether or not this pre-dated or followed Peter’s death (Papias in Eusebius HE 3.39; Irenaeus Adv. haer. 3.1.1). Finally, as John 21:18-19 implies, Peter is said to have been martyred by crucifixion, probably after the great fire in Rome in 64 and certainly before Nero’s death in 68 (Acts Peter 30–41; Eusebius HE 2.25.5-8; 3.1.2–3; Tertullian Scorpiace 15; cf. Apoc. Peter; 1 Clem. 5:4). He would most likely have been in his mid-60s at the time. While this tradition is the strongest, some scholars argue that Peter survived Nero and lived into his 80s, even ordaining Clement as his successor (Tertullian De praescr. haer. 32; Epistle of Clement to James 2). However, this latter tradition may be simply an attempt to support Roman primacy.

Bibliography. R. Bauckham, “The Martyrdom of Peter in Early Christian Literature,” ANRW 26,1 (Berlin, 1992): 539-95; R. E. Brown, K. P. Donfried, and J. Reumann, eds., Peter in the New Testament (Minneapolis, 1973); O. Cullmann, Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia, 1962); W. R. Farmer and R. Kerestzy, Peter and Paul in the Church of Rome (New York, 1990); J. R. Michaels, 1 Peter. WBC 49 (Waco, 1988); “Peter,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. G. H. Hawthorne and R. P. Martin (Downers Grove, 1993), 701-3.

Peter H. Davids

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PETER

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)