21. Peter: Fisherman with a Foot in His Mouth

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PETER

Fisherman with a Foot in His Mouth

Peter is impulsive and domineering, short tempered and stubborn. Subtlety is not his strong suit. Neither wise nor winsome is a term that applies. He simply does not have the traits one would immediately look for in choosing a leader. If permitted to enroll in seminary at all, he would no doubt be sent to group therapy. Jesus, however, does not require a personality makeover for his disciples. His demands on Peter will be far greater than anything group therapy can offer.

Anyone other than Peter might have gone back to his fishing business for good after Jesus makes plain what discipleship entails. But Peter, the rock, manages to stumble along a rocky road of discipleship. He takes one misstep after another, only to find his footing after Pentecost as he leads the followers of Jesus into a new era.

In fact, after Pentecost, when Jesus is no longer with him in person, he demonstrates maturity and self-assurance that had not been evident earlier. As brash as he was, his actions had often shown him weak and tentative. Jesus had expected more of him.

On one occasion, a man comes up to Jesus. He’s beside himself. His beloved son is afflicted with a dreadful malady. He has severe seizures, losing consciousness and control of his limbs, sometimes falling into the fire and even into the river. Is there anything at all that Jesus can do for him? The man is pleading for help. He tells Jesus that he has already brought his son to the disciples, but this case was too hard for them.

Jesus is exasperated. Why? Why? Why don’t his disciples get it? He’s gone over this time and again with them. They aren’t like generations of old—Moses, Joshua, Elijah. No, his disciples are a different breed: “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus laments, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?”[1] He then turns to the stricken boy and orders the demon to come out of him. In an instant the boy is entirely normal.

When they are alone with him, the disciples ask Jesus why they could not do the very same thing he had done. Jesus lays into them, telling them they don’t have sufficient faith. Indeed, if they had even a tiny seed of faith—a mustard seed, for example—they could move a mountain, perhaps even a mountain of problems these people are enduring.

This seems like a tall order. Will any of them ever meet the criteria? And how can thinking, rational people submit themselves to this kind of extraordinary faith? Peter does, and apart from Jesus, he ranks alongside Paul as the most astounding miracle worker in the New Testament, both of them equaling the great prophets of old.

A significant difference between Peter and Paul, however, is that Paul is introduced to Jesus by way of a miracle (smitten with blindness and hearing a voice from heaven), whereas Peter joins the fold with a simple name change. Peter’s miracles do not begin until after Pentecost.

In many respects the miracles of Peter and Paul, as recorded in Acts, are very similar. Both performed many signs and wonders: Peter, primarily before Jewish audiences; Paul, before Gentiles. They both heal men who have been lame from birth, and both preside over punitive miracles (the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira and the blinding of Elymas). Both are able to perform miracles without being personally cognizant of what is going on. Some people are apparently healed merely by walking in Peter’s shadow; others through contact with aprons and handkerchiefs presumably touched by Paul. Both men restore to life one who has died (Dorcas and Eutychus), and both are miraculously freed from jail when their chains are loosened.

Practically all the types of phenomena narrated in the Gospels are duplicated in the Acts of the Apostles: the lame walk, the blind see, paralytics are cured, and the dead are restored to life. . . . But the most striking difference is the number of punitive miracles in the Acts, of which there is not a single clear example in the Gospels. Ananias and Sapphira are suddenly struck dead for having lied to the Holy Ghost; Saul is struck blind on his way to Damascus in search of Christians; Herod is suddenly killed by an angel for arrogating to himself the honors due to God; Paul curses the false prophet Elymas who tried to turn the pro-consul Sergius Paulus from the faith, and immediately “there fell upon him a mist of darkness” (13:10–11). . . . More significant than the number or type of miracles is the manner in which they were performed in the Acts of the Apostles. All the miracles of Christ were wrought by His own power and in His own name. . . . But in the Acts, whenever the Apostles performed a miraculous sign and the full details are given, they invoked the name of Jesus as a regular prelude to the occurrence.

Though often given short shrift by Protestants (who typically favor Paul), Peter is in many ways Paul’s equal. Paul, of course, is the prolific writer. The uneducated Peter is not. But Peter walked and talked with Jesus for three years. After Pentecost he is the main speaker at mass evangelistic rallies and the one who presides over the infant Jewish church. Paul will focus on Gentiles, and bitter differences will arise between them. Paul will set the stage for a worldwide church, but never without building on Peter’s rock foundation.

Everyday Life

The Fishing Business

“I’m going fishing”—three little words from the most celebrated fisherman of all time. History and literature offer a vast array of fishermen, but none whose fame is as far-reaching as that of the apostle Peter—ever associated with his vocation.

Fishing was hard work—no lazy-day sitting on a shady riverbank with a cane pole and a can of worms. Only muscular men with their calloused hands were suited for the long days of arduous labor. With little education and few social skills, their manners were rough, their speech crude. The job involved lifting heavy nets and hoisting the catch into the vessel. But that was only the beginning. There were dangerous squalls and crashing waves. Then too there were the fierce negotiations involving transport and marketing and, at the end of the day, there were always nets to mend and boats to repair.

Days were long, with few opportunities for relaxation apart from the banter and coarse humor that came with the work. But fishing was very serious business. Jewish religious regulations and Roman laws of trade and commerce combined to place stringent controls on the industry. Only those with at least modest wealth owned boats and were able to hire laborers. In fact, the majority of fishermen barely eked out a living.

Capernaum, according to Josephus, was the site of a fertile spring which enabled perch especially to thrive there. This made the village an integral part of the Galilean fishing industry which was rapidly expanding in the first century. Apart from the Passover lamb, meat is never mentioned in the Gospels. It was fish that formed the protein in most people’s diet. . . . Fresh fish could command high prices and it was usually beyond the means of the poor; they ate cheaper dried and salted fish, usually broiled to make it taste better. . . . Lake Galilee was and still is a huge freshwater fish pond, and fishing was big business in the first century.

Simon Peter: Leader of the Disciples

Neither educated nor sophisticated, Simon Peter is the de facto vice president of the Jesus band. He shoots from the hip—a personality trait that gets him in trouble more than once. A rugged fisherman, he pushes others around when they get in his way.

Born in the town of Bethsaida (a town that will later factor into Jesus’—and his own—ministry), Peter and his brother Andrew may have grown up with Philip, who also resided there. At a later date Peter and Andrew relocate in the nearby fishing town of Capernaum. Peter hears about Jesus through his brother Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist. He and Andrew, along with Zebedee and his sons James and John, have been working together in a prosperous fishing business along the Sea of Galilee. The work is hard, but he is determined to make a go of it, and he returns to this family business even after Jesus has called him to be a disciple.

In Capernaum Peter resides with his wife and mother-in-law. Indeed, Peter’s wife is apparently active alongside him in the ministry. The apostle Paul slips this fact in while defending his own ministry to the Corinthians, implying that fellow Christians are gladly supporting both Peter and his wife (as well as other disciples and their wives), while at the same time being stingy with him and Barnabas.[2] Peter is the only one of the Twelve who is known to be married.

When Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus, it is unlikely they are strangers. Rather, it is an introduction to the now recognized Messiah, as John the Baptist had announced. Almost nothing is recorded of this meeting except that, with no fanfare, Jesus gives Peter a new name. He is now Cephas (meaning “rock”)—in the Greek, Petros. At this point, however, he and Andrew do not immediately follow after Jesus. They return to their nets.

Sometime later, when they are casting their nets close to shore, they see Jesus coming. He approaches and tells them to come with him—that he will teach them how to fish for people. There is no indication that they were expecting him to stop by. They might have said they needed time to think about the proposition. Or they might have volunteered to give him only a few hours a week. But to just pick up and leave their business behind? That would seem to be out of the question. But they drop their nets and follow Jesus. That same day, farther down the shore, Jesus offers the same opportunity to James and John.

Peter and Andrew lived in Capernaum and were business partners with Zebedee and his sons James and John at the time that the four were called to become followers of Jesus. There is some evidence that Zebedee’s wife Salome was Jesus’ aunt. Since Capernaum was only about a day’s journey from Nazareth, it is entirely possible that Jesus knew Zebedee, his sons James and John, and their friends Peter and Andrew for many years before Jesus called them to be his disciples. Jesus and Peter may have played together when they were boys.

Peter with keys to the kingdom

Their training begins immediately, as they follow Jesus throughout Galilee, listening to him teach in the synagogues. They go with Jesus to Cana when he turns water into wine and later when he begins healing the sick, and they have front-row seats for his Sermon on the Mount. After that they are on the road again. When they arrive in Capernaum at Peter’s house, they find his mother-in-law sick in bed with a high fever. With a touch from Jesus, the fever is gone and she is up and about waiting on him. All the while Peter is being slowly transformed from fisherman to apostle.

A natural-born boss, Peter quickly becomes the titular head of the Jesus band. His name always comes first on the list of disciples. Indeed, any consideration of the other eleven seems to make Peter the obvious choice. But his foibles are just as evident as his force of personality.

On one occasion, when the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee to meet Jesus on the other side, a sudden storm threatens to capsize their boat. As they are struggling to keep the craft upright against the waves, they fear for their very lives. Then, amid all the commotion, they glimpse someone walking toward them on the rough seas. Now they are more frightened by this ghost than by the gale-force winds.

Even though Jesus identifies himself, doubt remains. Peter then calls out, Lord, if it’s actually you, let me walk to you on the water. Jesus bids him come, but he no more steps in the water than he begins to sink like a rock. Jesus pulls him out, chiding him for his lack of faith.

Not long after this the disciples are alone with Jesus, and he asks them what the word is on the street regarding his identity. They chime in saying they’ve heard people suggest he is John the Baptist or Elijah—even Jeremiah or another prophet returned from the dead. Then Jesus asks them pointedly who they think he is. Is there a long pause as they all sit on their hands, afraid to answer? Peter is the spokesman. He answers for himself, perhaps for the other disciples as well. His memorable lines indicate the progress in discipleship that he has already made: You are Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

Peter could not have known that this would be his most defining moment. Jesus singles him out and sets him apart from the others. In front of the other disciples, he blesses him and again reminds him of his new name Peter—a name that signifies his future ministry as foundational to the infant church.

Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.[3]

But hardly have these words been uttered when this same Peter is being rebuked by the very one he had called the Son of God. Jesus discloses to the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, where he will be put to death and on the third day rise again. Peter comprehends only the first half of the sentence. He’s horrified. Jesus suffer a torturous death? No way, he cries. If Jesus can calm the sea and work other incredible miracles, surely he can prevent this from happening. Peter’s head is spinning. Does Jesus have a martyr complex? What’s going on?

During the Transfiguration of Jesus, which the gospels portray as a spectacular, visually dazzling event, Peter responds with the words, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (NASB). Given the nature of the setting, Peter’s statement appears irrelevant, even foolish. What on earth was he thinking, to offer to build three shelters at a time such as this? . . . From childhood, I was always puzzled by Peter’s strange response, and simply concluded he firmly placed both feet in his mouth. Several commentators concur. Some suggest Peter was so awed by the occasion that he did not know how to respond. Others believe his ineptitude was the result of being only half-awake. . . . Yet explanations based on ineptitude or semi-consciousness appear inadequate. . . . It is while he is confronted with this majestic Christ that Peter immediately offers to build three tabernacles (Gk. skēnē, meaning tabernacle, or booth). This is far from a blundering fool making an irrelevant statement. After the Exodus, the Mosaic Law details how the Jews were instructed to build the Tabernacle. (In fact, we know from the book of Hebrews that the Tabernacle is a type of heaven, see 9:1–6, 11–14). When it was finally completed and pitched for the first time, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle (Exod. 40:32–35). Jews refer to this glory, the presence of God, as the shekhinah, the “dwelling of God.”

But Jesus doesn’t mince words: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”[4] Peter is jolted. This time he has no response. Does he realize that he has become the tempter—that he is tempting Jesus no less than Satan himself had tempted him?

Less than a week later Jesus invites Peter, along with James and John, to go with him up a mountain. Peter and the others are stunned when they see Jesus become almost translucent, shining with a bright, supernatural glow. They have no idea what is happening and are nearly bowled over when Moses and Elijah suddenly appear. Peter is utterly awestruck by the event and wants to capture the moment by constructing three shelters, one for each of them: Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.

Jesus ignores him. All Peter can see is a cloud enveloping Jesus and the heavenly visitors. Then he hears the voice of God declaring that Jesus is truly his Son. Peter and the other two disciples fall flat on the ground, but Jesus tells them to get back up. When they do, they see only Jesus in his normal state. They return with him down the mountain, utterly mystified. Jesus orders them to tell no one until he has risen from the dead.

Peter continues to follow after Jesus, and it just seems that one crazy thing happens after another. Peter and the others are given power to heal, but they’re impotent. They simply can’t do it—weak faith, Jesus tells them. Perhaps that is to be expected, but what happens next is truly bizarre. Officials had inquired of Peter whether Jesus had paid the required Temple tax. Peter said he did, but when he is behind closed doors Jesus asks him what seems to be an easy question about who really owes taxes. When Peter answers correctly, Jesus tells him to go out and catch a fish, open its mouth, pull out a coin, and pay the taxes for them all. What’s this all about? Peter’s head must be spinning.

It is time for the annual Passover celebration, and Jesus with his disciples travels from Galilee to Jerusalem. Peter and John are instructed to secure a room and prepare the ritual Passover meal. At this Last Supper, as Peter is seated with the other disciples, Jesus, without warning or explanation, kneels down to wash their feet, hardly a routine occurrence. The disciples are mute—but for Peter. No way is Jesus going to wash his feet. Jesus is the Master. It should be the other way around. Peter is adamant about this. Jesus responds that if he doesn’t relent, he will have no part of the ministry. Always quick on the draw, Peter responds, Well, then go ahead and wash my whole body!

Peter holding coin from fish’s mouth

If we take a full account from the pages of the New Testament, we begin with Peter being led to converse with Jesus by his brother (John 1:35–42), and then, after his return to Galilee, we find Peter embarrassingly converted by learning from a nonfisherman, Jesus, how to fish and be wildly successful (Luke 5:1–11)—Peter confesses his sinfulness, drops his nets, and follows Jesus. But Peter’s faith was not all smooth sailing: only later does he confess Jesus as Messiah (Mark 8:27–30), but he does so with less than a clear understanding of who Jesus is. In fact, here we see Peter squaring off with Jesus, looking him straight in the eyes, and asking to be taught by the master—but with his ears corked! Later he abandons Jesus in his most important hour (Mark 14:66–72).

As the Supper is coming to a conclusion, Jesus is again talking about his death and how he will be betrayed. Peter is incensed by the thought. He insists that even if everyone else in the room were to betray him, he would not. Not a chance. Never. Jesus responds that he ought not to be so cocksure of himself, for this very night, before the rooster crows at dawn, he, Peter, will deny him, not once but three times. Peter responds that such talk is ridiculous—that he would die with Jesus rather than deny him.

In the ensuing hours, Peter, James, and John follow Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane. They wait while he goes alone to pray. It’s a terrible time of anguish for Jesus, but Peter and the other two are exhausted and fall asleep. Suddenly Peter is awakened. Jesus is staring down at him with a look of utter disappointment. Can’t you stay awake with me, he pleads, even for a single hour?

After having fallen asleep a second time, Peter is jolted awake and hears the sound of scuffling feet and tense voices. Up in a flash, he is in a frenzy when he realizes that a band of armed thugs, religious leaders among them, are rough-handling Jesus. He jumps into the fray, sword in hand, and slices off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus mends the ear and tells Peter to put his sword away. Chastened and frightened, Peter then flees with the other disciples.

All Peter knows is that Jesus has been arrested and taken away. He’s numb with fear. What will happen next? Has it all been for nothing? It’s pitch dark, and he goes into the courtyard and sits down, warming his hands by a fire. Among those crowded around, a young female servant spots him and accuses him of being one of Jesus’ followers. Peter acts insulted by this servant’s claim and insists he doesn’t have a clue what she’s talking about. Minutes later a man makes the same accusation. Again Peter denies being with Jesus, cursing and swearing that he’s had nothing to do with the man of whom they speak. But still another makes a similar charge: Aren’t you one of his followers? You speak just like a Galilean. Peter is adamant that he does not know Jesus. Only then does he hear the rooster crow. He gets up and makes a hasty exit, bowed over in sobs of despair.

Dear Lord, your disciple Peter wanted to know who would betray you. You pointed to Judas but a little later also to him. Judas betrayed, Peter denied you. Judas hanged himself, Peter became the apostle whom you made the first among equals. Lord, give me faith, faith in your endless mercy, your boundless forgiveness, your unfathomable goodness. Let me not be tempted to think that my sins are too great to be forgiven, too abominable to be touched by your mercy. Let me never run away from you but return to you again and again, asking you to be my Lord, my Shepherd, my Stronghold, and my Refuge. Take me under your wing, O Lord, and let me know that you do not reject me as long as I keep asking you to forgive me. Perhaps my doubt in your forgiveness is a greater sin than the sins I consider too great to be forgiven. Perhaps I make myself too important, too great when I think that I cannot be embraced by you anymore. Lord, look at me, accept my prayer as you accepted Peter’s prayer, and let me not run away from you in the night as Judas did.

Bless me, Lord, in this Holy Week, and give me the grace to know your loving presence more intimately. Amen.

Events now move very quickly, all of the disciples having fled, perhaps realizing they are powerless to prevent the crucifixion of Jesus. The whereabouts of Peter during this time are unknown. Like the other disciples, he is hiding from authorities. Surely he and the others are aware of all of the gory details of the crucifixion. John was right there. How is Peter dealing with the tragedy—and his own guilt? In part by hiding out with his closest friends.

That is exactly where he is when Mary Magdalene comes running in, out of breath, telling them that Jesus is no longer in the tomb—that he’s risen from the dead. To Peter and the others it seems like utter nonsense. But he and John nevertheless race to the tomb. When Peter arrives, he finds it empty. He bends down and sees the linen burial clothes, and then he leaves, completely mystified.

Others soon confirm that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead, and twice Peter is present when Jesus comes right through the locked door of the Upper Room.

Peter’s most personal encounter with Jesus during this time occurs at the Sea of Galilee. He is out in his boat with several other disciples. They had been out all night fishing, but with no luck. A man comes walking along the shore—someone they don’t recognize in the predawn darkness. He greets them and asks if they’ve caught anything. They haven’t. He tells them to throw the net on the other side of the boat. They do and the net fills up with fish, loaded to the breaking point.

No character of the Bible, we may say, no personage in all history, has been so much magnified, misrepresented and misused for doctrinal and hierarchical ends as the plain fisherman of Galilee who stands at the head of the apostolic college. . . . He was the strongest and the weakest of the Twelve. . . . He had all the excellences and all the defects of a sanguine temperament. He was kind-hearted, quick, ardent, hopeful, impulsive, changeable, and apt to run from one extreme to another. He received from Christ the highest praise and the severest censure. . . . With all his weakness he was a noble, generous soul, and of the greatest service to the church.

When Peter realizes the man on the shore is Jesus, he dives in the water and swims to greet him. By the time the other disciples arrive—pulling the net full of fish behind them—a breakfast of fish and bread is already on the fire.

After they have eaten, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him more than these—perhaps referring to the fish and his fishing venture. Three times he asks the same question. (Three times Peter had denied him.) But Peter expresses his love as tender affection (philia) rather than responding with love as sacrificial devotion (agape) as Jesus asks and wants to hear.

Later on Jesus again appears to Peter and the disciples as well as other close followers—this time on the Mount of Olives. He gives them a final commission to spread the good news and then ascends into heaven. Peter and the others immediately make the fifteen-minute walk back to Jerusalem, where Peter presides over the naming of a replacement for Judas. From a short list of two, Matthias is chosen.

Sometime later the disciples are all together on the Feast of Pentecost. Without warning they are suddenly caught up in the sound of a fierce wind accompanied by slashes of fire streaking down and settling upon them. Before they can even begin to comprehend what is happening, the Holy Spirit descends on them and they all start speaking at once in strange tongues—actual languages understood by foreigners who happen to be in town. People are stunned, and some wonder if these Galileans are drunk.

Peter now takes the stage and preaches up a storm. These men are not drunk, he insists, and begins quoting from the prophet Joel. These are the Last Days, and what you see is God pouring out his spirit on both sons and daughters. He then focuses on Jesus, whose ministry was authenticated by miracles—how he was betrayed, crucified, and raised from the dead.

He accuses his listeners of killing this very Messiah sent from God. But it’s not too late for them to turn their lives around, be baptized, and follow him. It’s a long sermon, and by the time it’s over some three thousand people have signed up and are being baptized into the Way, this new fellowship of Jesus. In fact, the new followers share their wealth and live together in community even as their numbers continue to grow.

Having previously been unable to work miracles like Jesus and having been chided for lack of faith, Peter now ministers to others with strength and authority. He’s on his way to the Temple one day, accompanied by John. They see a disabled man who from birth has been unable to walk. He’s been there year after year begging for handouts. When he looks over to Peter, hoping to get some coins, Peter says to him: “I don’t have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!”[5] He pulls the man off his pallet, and the man starts walking. More than that, he dances around the Temple, singing and praising God.

People are awestruck. This man was paralyzed. How can he now walk? Peter has their attention, so he launches into another powerful sermon. Again he accuses the crowd of putting Jesus to death. But, he concedes, they didn’t realize what they were doing, even though his coming had been foretold by the prophets. It’s not too late, however, to repent and partake in his blessings. This is truly one of the most remarkable sermons ever delivered. Some five thousand embrace his message and unite with the other believers.

The religious leaders are not taking this lying down. They are distressed by the rapid expansion of this cult of Jesus. They take Peter and John into custody, and the next morning they summon them from their jail cell to answer questions. For Peter this is a grand opportunity before a captive audience. When they begin to question him, he seizes the opportunity to deliver another masterful sermon. The authorities are amazed by his speaking ability as well as his ease and confidence. They confer privately, concluding that this man and his sidekicks have to be stopped, but they fear taking drastic measures.

Peter and John are sent back to jail, only to be summoned again and ordered not to preach. The apostles respond with boldness, saying that, in the name of God, they cannot stop witnessing to what they have seen and heard. The authorities are not amused by their answer, but they reluctantly let them go.

So once again Peter is drawing large crowds, preaching and healing people. In fact, Peter is regarded as almost a god. People with infirmities believe they will be healed if they can only get close enough so that his shadow falls on them. Again he is arrested, along with the other disciples who are ministering with him. But they miraculously walk right out of the locked jail past the guards and resume their preaching the following morning. Peter and the others continue to be harassed by the religious leaders, but they take it all in stride.

Up to this point, Peter’s audience is primarily Jewish—his own people, with whom he is most comfortable. But Jesus’ last instructions to the disciples were explicit: Take the gospel into all the world. Peter will need an extraordinary reminder for those words to sink in.

He is on his rooftop praying before the noonday meal. He’s hungry, but he carries on with his daily devotions. Without realizing it, he falls into a trance. He has a vision of a huge tarp filled with animals being lowered from heaven. A voice tells him to kill the animals and eat them. But these are unclean animals—reptiles, birds, pigs, and wild rodents of all kinds. As a good Jew, he can’t possibly eat something so unclean as these alien creatures. But the voice from God insists otherwise.

A critical moment in the gospel’s initial movement from the domain of ethnic Judaism into the Gentile arena comes in the story of Cornelius and Peter. . . . Without this forward leap in the life of the church the translation of the gospel into new cultures and milieus would not be possible. . . .

For Jewish Christians like Peter, the problem focused on how they could maintain their purity and distinctiveness and at the same time eat with unclean Gentiles. Luke painstakingly describes each step in the process of breaking down social and ritual walls. Peter has a vision of a “nonkosher picnic” that announces the divine decontaminating of unclean foods. . . .

It is striking that at each stage of the story the primary adjustment needed for the gospel to bridge social and religious boundaries comes not from the Gentile “outsiders” but from Jewish “insiders,” who must let go of their ethnocentric attitudes and practices.

He comes out of the trance just as the tarp has retreated to heaven. What on earth does this mean? he thinks to himself. But even as he is puzzling over his vision, the Holy Spirit tells him there are strangers at the door and that he is to do what they ask of him. When he greets them, the men explain their mission, and the next day they take him to Joppa to meet Cornelius, a devout, God-fearing man and a centurion of an Italian regiment, a commander in the Roman military.

Here at the home of Cornelius, Peter’s life is transformed. He realizes the gospel is good news not only for Jews but for Gentiles as well. Before he leaves, Peter baptizes everyone in the household.

Upon his return, he finds that word had already found its way to some of the disciples who are now leaders in Jerusalem. They are not pleased that Peter has baptized anyone who is not circumcised. But Peter repeats the whole story to them, beginning with the trance and ending with how the Holy Spirit had descended on Cornelius and his household. With that, the Jerusalem leaders agree that this was certainly the work of God.

Until now Peter and the disciples have endured little more than harassment. Suddenly that changes when King Herod orders the execution of James, son of Zebedee, brother of John. Peter is then incarcerated and placed under heavy guard. It is Passover season, and the Jewish leaders decide to deal with Peter after Passover to avoid inciting the crowds. Peter is shackled and guarded by four armed soldiers. There is no way he can possibly escape. But in the dead of the night he is awakened by an angel, who unshackles him and leads him right past the sleeping guards through the now miraculously unlocked doors.

He goes straightaway to a residence where the other disciples are waiting in fear. There is a cloud of terror hanging over them. Are they all going to be killed? They mull things over in tense whispers. Then there’s a knock at the door. They send the servant Rhoda to see who is there while they hover in the back room. When she excitedly reports that it is Peter, they don’t believe her, imagining she has seen a ghost. But it is Peter all right. From that point on he is on the run until the death of Herod, not long hence.

Despite his prominence in the New Testament story, the Apostle Peter has been whisked away from the center of Christian reflection. He’s become one of the “Lost Boys,” orphaned by turns in ecclesiastical history, the pen of the critics, and the popular consciousness of Christians. Protestants were separated from Peter by no less a figure than Martin Luther who discovered the true Gospel in the writings of Paul. . . . In recounting the biblical narrative, Luther had his eye on Rome. The Reformation put Paul in Protestant hands, gladly leaving Peter with the papacy. “Good riddance to you, Peter, and your successors!” was the cry. While Roman Catholics inherit Peter and the Holy See, Protestants end up with Paul and the true gospel. . . . Peter gets at best a few lines in our books where he is portrayed as the confused theologian who serves as the perfect foil for our beloved Paul.

Sometime later, Peter finds himself in the midst of a heated meeting in Jerusalem, where leaders of the Jesus movement are debating matters of the law. Must Gentile converts be required to undergo circumcision? Peter stands up and makes a case for cross-cultural evangelism, insisting that new converts not be forced to live by the letter of Jewish law. In the end, the council sides with Peter, and they determine that no unnecessary demands should be placed on new converts who are not Jewish.

But the matter does not end here. Peter and Paul will butt heads as Paul makes large numbers of converts among uncircumcised Gentiles. When Peter was residing in Antioch, he enjoyed fellowship with uncircumcised Gentiles—that is, until Jewish Christians from Jerusalem pay a visit. In order to impress them he avoided the uncircumcised like a plague. Peter even influenced Barnabas to keep his distance from Gentiles.

Although there is no clear scriptural evidence, it is assumed that Peter returns to his previous position of fellowshiping with Gentiles. In fact, the Jerusalem church would clarify the matter by tearing down religious and legal barriers between Jews and non-Jews, although tensions would linger and become more explosive with every passing generation.

Peter and Paul

The Gospels and Paul’s writings are all silent about Peter’s later years. Where he traveled, with whom he associated, and how he died are pure speculation.

Concluding Observations

Peter is the rock on which Jesus will build his church. But is he the founder and head of the church at Rome? Indeed, did he ever even visit Rome?

In his letter to the Romans, Paul emphasizes how much he has been longing to visit them and promises to do so soon. He ends his letter with a lengthy series of personal greetings, making no mention of Peter. Indeed, there is no biblical evidence at all that Peter ever visited Rome, much less was the founder of that church. Whether he visited Rome or not, it is safe to say that as a Jewish fisherman, he, far more than Paul, would have felt out of place in that cosmopolitan, imperial city.

Paul further emphasizes in his letter to the Galatians, “It was soon evident that God had entrusted me with the same message to the non-Jews as Peter had been preaching to the Jews.”[6]

Nevertheless, it is no exaggeration to say that Peter played an unprecedented role in the early church. His tenure lasts for years, stretching all the way from his fishing nets in Galilee to his leadership in Jerusalem and Antioch. Except for his failure to stand by Jesus at the sham trial and the terrible agony of the cross, Peter was front and center for every important event.

According to tradition, Peter was martyred in Rome during Emperor Nero’s reign. He, to use Paul’s words, had “fought the good fight” and “finished the race.”[7] Writing in the third century, Clement of Rome spoke of Peter’s hardships in life and his martyrdom that launched him into “the glory due to him.”

Whether Peter was the first pope has been hotly debated, especially since the Protestant Reformation. But that he holds the keys to heaven is a given. No joke about heaven is complete without Peter guarding the gates.