PETER

In primitive Chaldea, not the Apostle, but the pagan Peter who had the keys to the Mysteries of Janus and Cybele.

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This name in Greek signifies a rock, as does also the name Cephas in Syriac. Peter was one of the twelve apostles, and was also called Simon, Mt 16:17, and Simeon, Ac 15:14. He was of Bethsaida, and was the son of Jonas, a fisherman, which occupation he also followed. After his marriage he resided at Capernaum, Mt 8:14 Lu 4:38, though called at a later period to labor else where as an apostle, and it would seem often accompanied in his journeys by his wife, 1Co 9:5. When first introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew, he received from Him the name of Peter, Joh 1:42, probably in reference to the boldness and firmness of his character, and his activity in promoting his Master’s cause. He received his second call, and began to accompany Christ, at the Sea of Galilee near his residence, and thenceforth learned to be a "fisher of men," Mt 4:18-20 Lu 5:1-11. Many remarkable incidents are recorded in the gospels, which illustrate his character. Among these are, his attempt to walk on the water to meet Christ, Mt 14:29; his avowal of the Messiahship and divinity of the Savior, Mt 16:16; his errors as to the design of Christ’s incarnation, Mt 16:22-23; his warm attachment to the divine Teacher, Joh 6:67-69; his cutting off the ear of Malchus, Joh 18:10; his boastful determination to adhere to his Master under all circumstances, and his subsequent denial of Him with oaths, Mt 26:74 Mr 14:29 Joh 13:37-38; his poignant repentance, Mt 26:75, and our Lord’s forgiveness, after receiving an assurance of his love, which was thrice uttered as his denial of Christ had been, Joh 21:15-18. The death and resurrection of Christ, and the circumstances, which accompanied them, led to a wonderful change in the apostle’s mind, and thenceforward his bold and steadfast course is worthy of his name. On the day of Pentecost, he was one of the principal witnesses for the Savior; in company with John he soon after healed a lame man at the temple gate, addressed the assembled crowd, was imprisoned, and fearlessly vindicated himself before the Sanhedrin, Ac 4:8-21. We find him afterwards denouncing the judgment of God on a guilty couple who had dared to lie to the Holy Ghost, Ac 5:1-11; visiting Samaria, and rebuking Simon the magician, Ac 8:5-24; healing Eneas and raising Dorcas to life at Lydda, Ac 9:32-43; seeing at Joppa a vision which prepared him to preach the gospel to the gentile Cornelius, Ac 10:1-48; imprisoned by Herod Agrippa, and delivered by an angel, Ac 12:3-19; and taking a part in the council at Jerusalem, Ac 15:7-11. The Bible gives us little information as to his subsequent labors; but it is probable that the three apostles who were most distinguished by the Savior while upon earth continues to be favored as chief instruments in advancing his cause. Paul speaks of "James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars," Ga 2:9. Yet in the same chapter we find him publicly reproving Peter for his wavering course in respect to the demands of Judaizing Christians, which he had been one of the first to repel at Jerusalem, Ac 15:9. He seems to have labored at Corinth, 1Co 1:12 3:22, and at Babylon, 1Pe 5:13. Papal writers affirm that he was the bishop of Rome. But the evidence is strongly against this assertion. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, giving them directions and saluting the principal persons by name; he also wrote six letters from Rome; but in none of these letters, nor in the narrative in Acts, is there the slightest intimation that Peter was or had been at Rome. And as Peter never resided at Rome, he was never made the head of the church universal. Whatever honor and authority he received from Christ, in establishing the first institutions of Christianity and declaring what it enjoined and from what it released, Mt 16:18-19, the other apostles also received, Mt 18:18 Joh 20:23 1Co 5:3,5 Eph 2:20 Re 21:14. There is no evidence that he had any supremacy over them, nor that he had any successor in that influence which was naturally accorded to him as one of the oldest, most active, and most faithful of those who had "seen the Lord".

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Peter. Peter
Originally called Simon (=Simeon ,i.e., “hearing”), a very common Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona (Matt. 16:17). His mother is nowhere named in Scripture. He had a younger brother called Andrew, who first brought him to Jesus (John 1:40-42). His native town was Bethsaida, on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee, to which also Philip belonged. Here he was brought up by the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and was trained to the occupation of a fisher. His father had probably died while he was still young, and he and his brother were brought up under the care of Zebedee and his wife Salome (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40; 16:1). There the four youths, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, spent their boyhood and early manhood in constant fellowship. Simon and his brother doubtless enjoyed all the advantages of a religious training, and were early instructed in an acquaintance with the Scriptures and with the great prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah. They did not probably enjoy, however, any special training in the study of the law under any of the rabbis. When Peter appeared before the Sanhedrin, he looked like an “unlearned man” (Acts 4:13).

“Simon was a Galilean, and he was that out and out...The Galileans had a marked character of their own. They had a reputation for an independence and energy which often ran out into turbulence. They were at the same time of a franker and more transparent disposition than their brethren in the south. In all these respects, in bluntness, impetuosity, headiness, and simplicity, Simon was a genuine Galilean. They spoke a peculiar dialect. They had a difficulty with the guttural sounds and some others, and their pronunciation was reckoned harsh in Judea. The Galilean accent stuck to Simon all through his career. It betrayed him as a follower of Christ when he stood within the judgment-hall (Mark 14:70). It betrayed his own nationality and that of those conjoined with him on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:7).” It would seem that Simon was married before he became an apostle. His wife’s mother is referred to (Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38). He was in all probability accompanied by his wife on his missionary journeys (1 Cor. 9:5; comp. 1 Pet. 5:13).

He appears to have been settled at Capernaum when Christ entered on his public ministry, and may have reached beyond the age of thirty. His house was large enough to give a home to his brother Andrew, his wife’s mother, and also to Christ, who seems to have lived with him (Mark 1:29, 36; 2:1), as well as to his own family. It was apparently two stories high (2:4).

At Bethabara (R.V., John 1:28, “Bethany”), beyond Jordan, John the Baptist had borne testimony concerning Jesus as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29-36). Andrew and John hearing it, followed Jesus, and abode with him where he was. They were convinced, by his gracious words and by the authority with which he spoke, that he was the Messiah (Luke 4:22; Matt. 7:29); and Andrew went forth and found Simon and brought him to Jesus (John 1:41).

Jesus at once recognized Simon, and declared that hereafter he would be called Cephas, an Aramaic name corresponding to the Greek Petros, which means “a mass of rock detached from the living rock.” The Aramaic name does not occur again, but the name Peter gradually displaces the old name Simon, though our Lord himself always uses the name Simon when addressing him (Matt. 17:25; Mark 14:37; Luke 22:31, comp. 21:15-17). We are not told what impression the first interview with Jesus produced on the mind of Simon. When we next meet him it is by the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:18-22). There the four (Simon and Andrew, James and John) had had an unsuccessful night’s fishing. Jesus appeared suddenly, and entering into Simon’s boat, bade him launch forth and let down the nets. He did so, and enclosed a great multitude of fishes. This was plainly a miracle wrought before Simon’s eyes. The awe-stricken disciple cast himself at the feet of Jesus, crying, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Jesus addressed him with the assuring words, “Fear not,” and announced to him his life’s work. Simon responded at once to the call to become a disciple, and after this we find him in constant attendance on our Lord.

He is next called into the rank of the apostleship, and becomes a “fisher of men” (Matt. 4:19) in the stormy seas of the world of human life (Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:13-16), and takes a more and more prominent part in all the leading events of our Lord’s life. It is he who utters that notable profession of faith at Capernaum (John 6:66-69), and again at Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-20). This profession at Caesarea was one of supreme importance, and our Lord in response used these memorable words: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.”

“From that time forth” Jesus began to speak of his sufferings. For this Peter rebuked him. But our Lord in return rebuked Peter, speaking to him in sterner words than he ever used to any other of his disciples (Matt. 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33). At the close of his brief sojourn at Caesarea our Lord took Peter and James and John with him into “an high mountain apart,” and was transfigured before them. Peter on that occasion, under the impression the scene produced on his mind, exclaimed, “Lord, it is good for us to be here: let us make three tabernacles” (Matt. 17:1-9).

On his return to Capernaum the collectors of the temple tax (a didrachma, half a sacred shekel), which every Israelite of twenty years old and upwards had to pay (Ex. 30:15), came to Peter and reminded him that Jesus had not paid it (Matt. 17:24-27). Our Lord instructed Peter to go and catch a fish in the lake and take from its mouth the exact amount needed for the tax, viz., a stater, or two half-shekels. “That take,” said our Lord, “and give unto them for me and thee.”

As the end was drawing nigh, our Lord sent Peter and John (Luke 22:7-13) into the city to prepare a place where he should keep the feast with his disciples. There he was forewarned of the fearful sin into which he afterwards fell (22:31-34). He accompanied our Lord from the guest-chamber to the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46), which he and the other two who had been witnesses of the transfiguration were permitted to enter with our Lord, while the rest were left without. Here he passed through a strange experience. Under a sudden impulse he cut off the ear of Malchus (47-51), one of the band that had come forth to take Jesus. Then follow the scenes of the judgment-hall (54-61) and his bitter grief (62).

He is found in John’s company early on the morning of the resurrection. He boldly entered into the empty grave (John 20:1-10), and saw the “linen clothes laid by themselves” (Luke 24:9-12). To him, the first of the apostles, our risen Lord revealed himself, thus conferring on him a signal honour, and showing how fully he was restored to his favour (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5). We next read of our Lord’s singular interview with Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where he thrice asked him, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” (John 21:1-19). (See LOVE.)

After this scene at the lake we hear nothing of Peter till he again appears with the others at the ascension (Acts 1:15-26). It was he who proposed that the vacancy caused by the apostasy of Judas should be filled up. He is prominent on the day of Pentecost (2:14-40). The events of that day “completed the change in Peter himself which the painful discipline of his fall and all the lengthened process of previous training had been slowly making. He is now no more the unreliable, changeful, self-confident man, ever swaying between rash courage and weak timidity, but the stead-fast, trusted guide and director of the fellowship of believers, the intrepid preacher of Christ in Jerusalem and abroad. And now that he is become Cephas indeed, we hear almost nothing of the name Simon (only in Acts 10:5, 32; 15:14), and he is known to us finally as Peter.”

After the miracle at the temple gate (Acts 3) persecution arose against the Christians, and Peter was cast into prison. He boldly defended himself and his companions at the bar of the council (4:19, 20). A fresh outburst of violence against the Christians (5:17-21) led to the whole body of the apostles being cast into prison; but during the night they were wonderfully delivered, and were found in the morning teaching in the temple. A second time Peter defended them before the council (Acts 5:29-32), who, “when they had called the apostles and beaten them, let them go.”

The time had come for Peter to leave Jerusalem. After labouring for some time in Samaria, he returned to Jerusalem, and reported to the church there the results of his work (Acts 8:14-25). Here he remained for a period, during which he met Paul for the first time since his conversion (9:26-30; Gal. 1:18). Leaving Jerusalem again, he went forth on a missionary journey to Lydda and Joppa (Acts 9:32-43). He is next called on to open the door of the Christian church to the Gentiles by the admission of Cornelius of Caesarea (ch. 10).

After remaining for some time at Caesarea, he returned to Jerusalem (Acts 11:1-18), where he defended his conduct with reference to the Gentiles. Next we hear of his being cast into prison by Herod Agrippa (12:1-19); but in the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, and he went forth and found refuge in the house of Mary.

He took part in the deliberations of the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-31; Gal. 2:1-10) regarding the relation of the Gentiles to the church. This subject had awakened new interest at Antioch, and for its settlement was referred to the council of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. Here Paul and Peter met again.

We have no further mention of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles. He seems to have gone down to Antioch after the council at Jerusalem, and there to have been guilty of dissembling, for which he was severely reprimanded by Paul (Gal. 2:11-16), who “rebuked him to his face.”

After this he appears to have carried the gospel to the east, and to have laboured for a while at Babylon, on the Euphrates (1 Pet. 5:13). There is no satisfactory evidence that he was ever at Rome. Where or when he died is not certainly known. Probably he died between A.D. 64 and 67.

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Peter. a rock or stone

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PETER. → Also called SIMON BAR-JONA and CEPHAS Mt 16:16-19; Mr 3:16; Joh 1:42 → A fisherman Mt 4:18; Lu 5:1-7; Joh 21:3 → Call of Mt 4:18-20; Mr 1:16-18; Lu 5:1-11 → His mother-in-law healed Mt 8:14; Mr 1:29,30; Lu 4:38 → An apostle Mt 10:2; 16:18,19; Mr 3:16; Lu 6:14; Ac 1:13 → An evangelist Mr 1:36,37 → Confesses Jesus to be the Messiah Mt 16:16-19; Mr 8:29; Lu 9:20; Joh 6:68,69 → His presumption
* In rebuking Jesus Mt 16:22,23; Mr 8:32,33
* When the throng was pressing Jesus and the woman with the blood disorder touched him Lu 8:45
* In refusing to let Jesus wash Peter's feet Joh 13:6-11

→ Present
* At the healing of Jairus' daughter Mr 5:37; Lu 8:51
* At the transfiguration Mt 17:1-4; Mr 9:2-6; Lu 9:28-33; 2Pe 1:16-18
* In the garden of Gethsemane Mt 26:36-46; Mr 14:33-42; Lu 22:40-46

→ Seeks the interpretation -Of the parable of the steward Lu 12:41 → Of the law of forgiveness Mt 18:21 → Of the law of defilement Mt 15:15 → Of the prophecy of Jesus concerning his second coming Mr 13:3,4 → Walks upon the water of Lake Galilee Mt 14:28-31 → Sent with John to prepare the Passover meal Lu 22:8 → Calls attention to the withered fig tree Mr 11:21 → His treachery foretold by Jesus, and his profession of fidelity Mt 26:33-35; Mr 14:29-31; Lu 22:31-34; Joh 13:36-38 → Cuts off the ear of Malchus Mt 26:51; Mr 14:47; Lu 22:50 → Follows Jesus to the high priest's palace Mt 26:58; Mr 14:54; Lu 22:54; Joh 18:15 → His denial of Jesus, and his repentance Mt 26:69-75; Mr 14:66-72; Lu 22:55-62; Joh 18:17,18,25-27 → Visits the gravesite of Jesus Lu 24:12; Joh 20:2-6 → Jesus sends message to, after the resurrection Mr 16:7 → Jesus appears to Lu 24:34; 1Co 15:4,5 → Present at Lake Tiberias when Jesus appeared to his disciples; jumps into the water, and comes to shore when Jesus is recognized; is commissioned to feed the flock of Christ Joh 21:1-23 → Lives in Jerusalem Ac 1:13 → His statement in front of the disciples concerning the death of Judas, and his recommendation that the vacancy in the apostleship be filled Ac 1:15-22 → Preaches on Pentecost day Ac 2:14-40 → Heals the immobile man in the portico of the temple Ac 3 → Accused by the council; his defense Ac 4:1-23 → Foretells the death of Ananias and Sapphira Ac 5:1-11 → Imprisoned and scourged; his defense before the council Ac 5:17-42 → Goes to Samaria Ac 8:14 → Prays for the reception of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit Ac 8:15-18 → Rebukes Simon, the sorcerer, who desires to purchase this power Ac 8:18-24 → Returns to Jerusalem Ac 8:25 → Receives Paul Ga 1:18; 2:9 → Visits Lydda; heals Aeneas Ac 9:32-34 → Visits Joppa; stays with Simon, the tanner; raises Dorcas from the dead Ac 9:36-43 → Has a vision of a sheet containing ceremonially clean and unclean animals Ac 10:9-16 → Receives the servant of the centurion; goes to Caesarea; preaches and immerses the centurion and his household Ac 10 → Advocates the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles in the hearing of the apostles and elders Ac 11:1-18; 15:7-11 → Imprisoned and delivered by an angel Ac 12:3-19 → Writes two epistles 1Pe 1:1; 2Pe 1:1 → Miracles of
* See MIRACLES

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the apostle General References to Mt 4:18; Joh 1:41; Mr 3:16; Mt 16:16; Mr 5:37; 9:2 Mt 17:24; 18:21; 19:27; Lu 22:8,31; Joh 13:6; Mt 26:37,58,69 Lu 24:12,34; Joh 21:3,15; Ac 1:15; 2:14; 3:1; 4:8; 5:3,29 Ac 8:14,20; 9:32,40; 10:9; 11:2; 12:3; 15:7; 1Co 1:12; 9:5 Ga 1:18; 2:11; 1Pe 1:1; 5:1 -- "The Reed Changed to a Rock" Naturally impulsive Mt 14:28; 17:4; Joh 21:7 Tenderhearted and affectionate Mt 26:75; Joh 13:9; 21:15-17 Full of strange contradictions, - at times presumptuous Mt 16:22; Joh 13:8; 18:10 other times timid and cowardly Mt 14:30; 26:69-72 Self-sacrificing Mr 1:18 yet inclined to be self-seeking Mt 19:27 Gifted with Spiritual insight Joh 6:68 yet slow to apprehend the deeper truths Mt 15:15,16 Made two great confession of his faith in Christ Mt 16:16; Joh 6:69 and also the most cowardly denial Mr 14:67-71 -- Seven Steps in his Fall 1--Conceit Mt 26:33 2--Ease Mt 26:40 3--Rashness Joh 18:10,11 4--Following afar off Mt 26:58 5--Evil associations Joh 18:18 6--Open Denial Joh 18:25 7--Blasphemy Mr 14:70,71 -- After Pentecostal Baptism of the Spirit, he became a "rock" fulfilling the prophecy of Christ Joh 1:42; Mt 16:18; Ac 1:8 Was courageous and immovable Ac 4:19,20; 5:28,29,40,40 --SEE Miracles of, MIRACLES

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Pe″ter (?), n. A common baptismal name for a man. The name of one of the apostles. Peter boat, a fishing boat, sharp at both ends, originally of the Baltic Sea, but now common in certain English rivers. — Peter Funk, the auctioneer in a mock auction. — Peter pence, or Peter's pence. (a) An annual tax or tribute, formerly paid by the English people to the pope, being a penny for every house, payable on Lammas or St. Peter's day; — called also Rome scot, and hearth money. (b) In modern times, a voluntary contribution made by Roman Catholics to the private purse of the pope. — Peter's fish (Zoöl.), a haddock; — so called because the black spots, one on each side, behind the gills, are traditionally said to have been caused by the fingers of St. Peter, when he caught the fish to pay the tribute. The name is applied, also, to other fishes having similar spots.