Saint Peter the Disciple and Apostle

St. Peter
July 12 is the apostles feast when we celebrate the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul. On this occasion, we would like to learn few lessons from the life of St. Peter, because he in many ways represents humanity in its strength and weaknesses. In the bible, we learn that St. Peter was a fisherman living in Capernaum, located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. When our Lord Jesus Christ called upon St. Peter to follow Him, he did not hesitate. He, his brother St. Andrew, and St. James and St. John, who were all fishermen, followed the lord (Matthew 4:19-22).

St. Peter did not only open his heart to the Lord, he and St. Andrew opened their house in Capernaum to Him. On one occasion when the Lord came to their house, He found St. Peter’s mother-in-law sick and He healed her. In that evening, many sick people came to the house to be healed (Mark 1:29-34).

His devotion to the Lord was rewarded by being selected with St. John and St. James to be the Lord closest disciples. Those three disciples were the only disciples who witnessed the raising of Jairus’s daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37). They were the witnesses to the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 17:1-8), and they accompanied the Lord when He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37).

St. Peter have a strong, self-assertive personality, and his quick action lead not only to many of his finest moments but also to some of his saddest experiences. When the disciples were in a boat weathering a severe storm at night and our Lord came to them walking on the water, St. Peter was the only one who asked to be given the same power. But as he started walking on the water, he got scared and cried for help (Matthew 14:22-33). When many disciples turned away from our Lord Jesus Christ because they could not understand His teachings, and He asked the twelve “Do you also want to go away?” it was St. Peter who answered “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life …” (John 6:67-69). On another occasion, when our Lord asked the disciples “But who do you say that I am?” St. Peter answered “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” and he was praised by the Lord (Matthew 16:15-19). But later when our Lord started telling the disciples about his crucifixion, St. Peter opposed Him and our Lord rebuked him because he is not mindful of things of God (Matthew 16:21-23).

The events of the Holly Week left its mark on St. Peter. When they got together for the last supper and our Lord started washing their feats, he could not allow that to happen, until our Lord told him “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (John 13:3-11). Later, when St. Peter boasted that he is willing to die for Jesus, He warned him that he will deny Him three times (John 13:36-38). St. Peter joined the Lord in Gethsemane but he fall asleep, and when he wake up and saw the guards arresting his Master, he took a sword* and cut off a servant’s ear. Our Lord rebuked him saying “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52). Then he healed he servants ear (Luke 22:51). All the disciples fled except St. Peter and St. John who followed the Lord to the high priest’s courtyard (Matthew 26:56-58). However, at this point St. Peter became scared and when he was asked if he is a follower of Jesus, he denied that three times. Hearing the rooster crowed, He remembered our Lord’s warning, and he went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:69-75).

This was the saddest moment in St. Peter’s life, and the following days were probably unbearable. However, on Sunday St. Peter rejoiced with the disciples because our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. St. Peter was still ashamed of his denial of the Lord, and he did not know how to make up for his biggest sin. Then came his meeting with the Lord at the Sea of Tiberias (also known as the Sea of Galilee). In this meeting, our Lord asked St. Peter three times “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” and He asked St. Peter to resume his apostolic duty of shepherding the believers. The Lord told St. Peter to follow him, predicting what death he would endure for his Master (John 21:15-19). From this time on, St. Peter became a new man, and after he was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he started his courageous mission to spread the good news about Jesus all over the world.

* Some non-Christians claim that the mention of the sword in this event (especially Luke 22:35-38) and the words of our Lord “… I did not come to bring peace but sword” (Matt 10:34) Indicate that Christianity is also a religion of sword. But looking carefully into the context of each case, we see that our Lord’s intention is not a literal sword but He used the sword allegorically. The strongest support of this argument is what our Lord did when St. Peter cut the servant’s ear, especially His rebuke to St. Peter when he said “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52).