Character Study: Peter

Peter Transformed: from patriotic zealot to humble servant

For Peter, the idea of kingdom and rule was huge:

Jesus’ first words recorded in the NT: Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come near

Mark 1:14–15 CSB

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Simon, First Disciple of Jesus:

Mark 1:16–18 CSB

As he passed alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Peter becomes passionate about Jesus becoming the next king over Israel, one who will his nation from an oppressive and authoritarian empire :

in the shadow of a huge temple dedicated to the worship of Caesar; In inscriptions one reads things like “Emperor Augustus Caesar, god and lord” and “Nero, the lord of the whole world.”

John the Baptist: a dead prophet, counter-religion spiritual leader, killed for speaking out against Herod and the ruling class. somehow resurrected and walking about as Jesus, to the great fear and surprise of his murderers.

Elijah: ancient OT prophet who never died, but was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Malachi the Prophet had foretold that Elijah would return to prepare the Day of the Lord, the coming of Messiah who would redeem and restore God’s reign and rule.

One of the prophets:Jeremiah, for instance, was a suffering servant who often spoke of the future of Israel as a nation. There was a Jewish teaching going around that Jeremiah and Isaiah would return at some point to return Jerusalem to glory (2 Esdras 2:18).

When Peter says to Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, Lord, he is committing treason against the empire of Rome. It is a seditious act to declare Jesus to be king and not Caesar, to declare your allegiance over and against the ruling empire of man.

Mark 8:27–33 CSB

Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him. Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

Peter declares he would die for Jesus, that he would put his life on the line so that Jesus might become king:

Mark 14:27–31 CSB

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away, because it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away, I will not.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” And they all said the same thing.

John 18:10–11 CSB

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) At that, Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword away! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

And yet, Jesus shows him, time and time again, that through suffering and humility, through service, through kindness and love of others, you bring about a kingdom that is not of this world.

Peter denies knowing Jesus, betrays his friendship, curses the relationship between them. He abandons Jesus completely. Yet Jesus approaches Peter and restores the relationship. He reconciles with him. And he ultimately tells Peter:

John 21:18–19 CSB

“Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”

Peter then leads the church in Jerusalem. He preaches the gospel of Jesus and leads thousands to repentance and welcomes them into the church. Peter sees God move powerfully, by freeing him from prison, by raising people from the dead and healing disease and demon-possession. He leads God to gentile believers and widens the doors of God’s kingdom to include the Gentiles:

Acts 11:15–17 CSB

“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning. I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?”

The last words of Peter in the book of Acts are about God’s plan that his kingdom spread to the ends of the earth, not through political dominance or political maneuvering or violent acts, but through the gospel of the kingdom, the good news of Jesus emptying himself out and taking the form of a servant, and dying humbly. Peter become a witness in word and deed to everything Jesus ever was and did (witness=martus=martyr).

Peter’s letters to the church are telling:

1 Peter 1:3–7 CSB

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:11–17 CSB

Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits. Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves. Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

1 Peter 2:21–25 CSB

For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

After leaving Jerusalem, Peter was active as a missionary, traveling with his wife (1 Cor 9:5); he was active in Antioch probably in A.D. 48 (Gal 2:11–14), and he participated in the apostles’ council in Jerusalem in A.D. 48 (Acts 15:7), where he reminded the believers that God had used him in the early days of the church to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles without requiring them to become Jews (Acts 15:7). Early p 40 traditions place Peter in Rome, at least by the time of Nero, during whose reign he is said to have died as martyr, being crucified upside down (Acts Pet. 38). If this information is reliable, Peter’s death is best dated during the Neronian persecution in A.D. 64.

The point here: Peter is not a model of faithfulness. He gets angry, he waffles, he’s proud, he struggles with putting his kingdom over God’s. But love transforms him. Jesus forgives him, welcomes him in, offers him a new and better inheritance. Jesus writes his own story on Peter’s heart, and gives him confidence in an inheritance that does not perish or fade.