Question
Who was Peter?
Analysis
The portrait the Gospels give
Peter is the most vividly drawn of the Twelve, and consistently the one who speaks first and gets it both right and wrong:
| Moment | Where |
|---|---|
| Walks on water, then sinks | Matthew 14:29; Matthew 14:30 |
| Confesses the Christ, then is rebuked for opposing the cross | Matthew 16:16; Matthew 16:22; Matthew 16:23 |
| Offers to build three shelters at the transfiguration | Mark 9:5; Mark 9:6 |
| Refuses to have his feet washed, then asks for a full bath | John 13:8; John 13:9 |
| Swears he will never fall away, then denies three times | Mark 14:29; Mark 14:31; Mark 14:72 |
| Cuts off a servant's ear at the arrest | John 18:10 |
That the Gospels preserve his failures, including a denial recorded in all four (Matthew 26:69; Mark 14:66; Luke 22:54; John 18:25), is often noted as a sign they were not written to flatter their leaders.
After the resurrection
He led the choosing of Judas' replacement (Acts 1:15), healed at the temple gate (Acts 3:6), was imprisoned and released (Acts 4:3; Acts 12:5; Acts 12:7), and spoke at the Jerusalem council in favour of not burdening Gentile believers (Acts 15:7; Acts 15:11). Paul records rebuking him at Antioch for withdrawing from Gentile tables under pressure (Galatians 2:11; Galatians 2:12; Galatians 2:14), which both men's letters leave standing.
Two New Testament letters carry his name (1 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1). Early tradition also connects him to Mark's Gospel as its source.
The contested part: "on this rock"
Matthew 16:18 is one of the most disputed verses in the Bible, because the reading affects the papacy.
| View | Reading | Held by |
|---|---|---|
| Peter himself is the rock | Jesus names Simon "rock" in the same breath, and builds on him; the office continues in his successors at Rome | Roman Catholic |
| Peter's confession is the rock | The foundation is what Peter just said about Jesus, not the man; the Greek shifts from petros to petra | Much Protestant interpretation |
| Peter as first among the apostles, without a continuing office | Peter genuinely is the rock, as the first to confess and the leader at Pentecost, but nothing in the text establishes a succession | Eastern Orthodox; some Protestants |
All sides note that Scripture elsewhere calls Christ the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11) and the apostles collectively a foundation (Ephesians 2:20), and each fits that into their reading differently.
What is debated
- His death. Scripture does not record it. Jesus' words about how he would die and stretch out his hands are widely read as pointing to crucifixion (John 21:18; John 21:19). Early tradition holds he was crucified in Rome under Nero, and the tradition that he asked to be crucified upside down comes from later sources, not the Bible.
- Whether he was a bishop of Rome in the later sense of the office, and what that implies, is exactly the disagreement above.
- Authorship of 2 Peter is the most disputed in the New Testament on stylistic grounds; 1 Peter is far more widely accepted.