Peters Faith

[Thomas Green]

Peter ran a profitable fishing business. He even had a lake house
with a view. Really. I walked through Capernaum just a couple months
ago and saw the place where Peter’s house once stood, literally a
stone’s throw from the Sea of Galilee whose waves gently lapped at
the basalt pebble beach. It is a beautiful spot. A place someone
could get used to. Be comfortable in. Make home.

And then Jesus comes along and says, “Follow me.”

And Peter did. He left his nets behind.

Once Peter even left the boat behind…when it was still out on the
water! I cannot imagine what possessed Peter to say, “Lord, if it’s
you, tell me to come to you on the water.” The boat was his security,
his safety, his sense of control, the place he belonged.

Nonetheless, Jesus replied, “Come!’

And Peter did. He left the boat behind.

Eventually Peter left it all behind. “We have left everything to
follow you!” he later announced to Jesus. The pride behind that
statement would soon be broken, but the truth of it would remain.
Peter did leave everything behind, including his life, to follow
Jesus. This was faith. And by this faith Peter gained infinitely
more than he ever lost.

This is the faith that Peter wants to see worked into his hearers…into
us. It’s not really about leaving things behind. That’s actually
looking at it backwards. It’s about valuing Jesus so much that we
choose to follow, and then, as the song goes, “the things of earth
will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”

It has been said that the apostle Peter was a slender person. He was
of a middle size, inclining to tallness, and that his complexion was
pale (almost white.) It has, also, been said that he had a short,
thick, curled beard, thin eyebrows (or no eyebrows at all.)

Another description of the apostle Peter is that his eyes were black,
but flecked with red due to frequent weeping.

Peter was born in Betsaida (in Galilee, Israel.) By profession, he
was a fisherman. His father (also a fisherman) was named Jona; his
brother, the apostle Andrew. He and his brother (Andrew), along with
their partners (the apostles James and John) were fishermen on the Sea
of Galilee. Zebedee (the father of James and John) was also a
partner.

So firm was Peter's faith that Jesus gave him the name of Cephas,
meaning, in the Syriac language, a rock (Peter is the Greek
translation of Cephas.)

The house in which Peter lived, in Capernaum, is still standing; in
the 5th century AD, however, a Christian church was constructed over
it.

It was Peter who preached to the masses in Jerusalem on the day of
Pentecost (following Jesus' ascension to heaven.) His message is
recorded in the New Testament of the Bible, the book of Acts, chapter
2.

Peter is, also, the one who prompted the disciples to choose a
replacement to take over the apostolic ministry of Judas Iscariot
(after Judas' betrayal of Christ Jesus.)

It was, also, Peter who healed a man, who was over 40 years of age,
who had been crippled from birth, with but the words, "Silver and gold
I do not have, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, walk."

Peter was called by the apostle Paul a "pillar" of the Church. It
was, also, believed by the crowds that the mere casting of his shadow
upon the sick was capable of bringing about miraculous healing.

Peter is the one who defended the inclusion of the Gentiles (non-Jews)
into the Christian Church at the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem. His
ministry was primarily to the Jews, as the apostle Paul's was to the
Gentiles.

After being imprisoned several times in Jerusalem (because of his
faith), Peter left with his wife and possibly others. It is believed
that he ministered (in Babylon) to the Jewish colonists there. It is,
also, believed to be his location when he wrote his first epistle (1
Peter.)

Peter eventually went to Rome. While there, it is believed that John
Mark (the writer of the Gospel of Mark) served as his translator (as
he preached.) There is a Church tradition which says that "Mark the
disciple and interpreter of the apostle Peter wrote a short gospel at
the request of the brethren at Rome, embodying what he had heard Peter
tell." Thus Peter was the source of the Gospel of Mark.

According to Church tradition, the Roman Emperor Nero, publicly
announcing himself the chief enemy of God, was led in his fury to
slaughter the Apostles. Because of this persecution, Peter was
crucified upside down while in Rome.

Concerning the last hours of his life, it is said that Peter, when
seeing his own wife led out to die, rejoiced because of her summons
and her return home. He called to her very encouragingly and
comfortingly, addressing her by name, and saying, "O thou, remember
the Lord."

Of the final days of the apostle Peter in Rome, Italy, Jowett wrote
that Peter was cast into a horrible prison called the Mamertine. For
nine months, in absolute darkness, he endured monstrous torture
manacled to a post. In spite of all the suffering Peter was subjected
to, however, he converted his jailers, Processus, Martinianus, and
forty-seven others.

Peter met his death at the hand of the Romans in Nero's circus, 67AD.