He started his journey with extreme faith by leaving behind his career, friends, and even his wife, to follow the Messiah. Peter’s importance to Jesus was recognized early in instances such as when Jesus used Peter’s boat to show that he was truly the Messiah . Peter also made himself stand out from the rest of the Disciples when he showed his extreme intellect by confessing that Jesus was the Son of God thus strengthening the faith of the rest of the Apostles. Peter was also the Disciple who was present at the crucifixion of Christ, and even after he denied him three times, knew he had made a mistake and was extremely sorrowful for it. Peter was the Disciple who Jesus first showed himself to after his Resurrection, further adding on to the reasons why Peter is the most essential Apostle. Peter is the “rock” that the Church is built upon. He is the man who took over leading the Apostles after Jesus ascended into heaven. He made sure that the word of Christ would be spread to all sides of the world, so that all people may be saved. Not only was Simon Peter a saint, but he was also a martyr. St. Peter had great qualities that helped him achieve things that, to us, seem
Peter, one of the most important disciples in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, is portrayed as Jesus’ acquaintance and pupil; as well as one of Jesus’ most important followers. Both of the Gospels seem to portray Peter in similar ways, yet they draw different images of the disciple. In the Gospel of Matthew, Peter has a much larger appearance in the teachings of Jesus and becomes more significant to Jesus throughout the Christian doctrine. However, in Mark, the author portrays Peter as a much lesser character in the life of Jesus and even leaves Peter out of some of the stories till the end of the book. Each Gospel portrays a slightly different picture of Peter’s personality and role.
When I mentions my desire to write to an acquaintance of mine, she immediately assumed I would write “Christian novels.” I do wish to write Christian content, but her idea of Christian books and mine differ vastly. Author of the acclaimed novel A Wrinkle In Time, Madeline L’Engle eloquently reflects on the relationship between Christianity and art in her book, Walking on Water. Within this work, she asks what makes art Christian, an artist Christian, and the relationship between faith and art. After reading her book, I have arrived at certain conclusions regarding “Christian art” and Christian art.
The two books of the Bible, Matthew and Mark are alike in many ways, they do tell some of the same stories. On the other hand, if one takes a closer look there are small changes to the stories that bring a whole new meaning to the way that the story is told. I will focus on the stories of Jesus walking on water and the transfiguration of Jesus. In this paper, I will review the changes that Matthew made to the Gospel according to Mark. I will also explain the reasons why he may have made those changes and to what purpose those changes served.
According to the Bible, after Jesus was arrested by religious leaders, the apostles, his closest followers, fled his side. The apostle Peter was later recognized as one of Jesus' companions by the people who helped arrest him. Peter, however, denied even knowing Jesus three times. Peter believed that, should he remain faithful, he would be granted eternal life by God, and he knew that denying Jesus was a grave sin. However, his fear of his accusers caused him to err, and to stray from what he believed to be right. Today, many of us have been told to "do what you believe is right, no matter what the cost." However, human weakness often causes one to falter, as Peter did, in an attempt to protect oneself. While many people advise others with
When Jesus first called him to be his disciple, he dropped all his fishing gear and followed Jesus, without a doubt. What makes Saint Peter stand out is the fact that he crucified himself of shame and regret because he denied Jesus three times, just as Jesus had predicted. Peter is considered by the Roman Catholic church to be the first of the unbroken chain of popes. He is also known as the leader of the twelve disciples.
Saint Peter the Apostle, original name Simeon, or Simon (died AD 64, Rome), disciple of Jesus Christ, recognized in the early church as the leader of the disciples and the Roman Catholic Church as the first of its unbroken succession of popes. Peter a fisherman, was called to be a disciple of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. He received from Jesus an Aramaic appellation Cephas which means “Rock.” This was translated into Greek as Petros (from the Greek Petra, “rock”) and became a Latin Petrus and the English Peter. Jesus told Peter he was the Rock upon whom the Christian Church would be built. Throughout the public life of Jesus, Peter is represented in the Gospel as the Spokesman and principal member of Jesus’ followers. He is the first named in the entire list given of these followers and was present with a privilege at few special occasions, example, the daughter of Jairus brought back to life by Jesus. He was also the first to see Jesus after his resurrection from the dead.
Peter then recalls how he denied Jesus three times before he "felt the rooster's crow flail" him (lines 12-13). All he could then do was "weep" (line 16). Not only is this an interesting poetic account of what is in the Gospels of the Bible, but it contains dilemmas that many Christians face - failure to be alert to Christ's call, selfish motives in serving Him, and denial of the faith. Christians can better identify with Peter through this poem.
Yet only in Matthew does Peter have a role in the story. Upon seeing Jesus on the water, he calls out, "'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water'"(Mt. 14.28). He almost succeeds, yet he suddenly gives in to fear and begins sinking. Jesus scolds him by saying, " 'You of little faith, why do you doubt?'"(14.31). This draws a strange picture of Peter. He no longer simply listens to Jesus, but tries to become actively involved in his teacher's lessons. This idea is again shown in Matthew 15.15. After the parable of the blind leading the blind, Peter asks, " "Explain this parable to us." Jesus replies with a rather impatient remark, but dives a little further into the meaning. He often comes to Jesus with questions throughout Matthew and these questions always ask for clear definitions of stories or truths about some spiritual detail. Many times Jesus snaps a little at him, but Peter obviously is not swayed by any impatience his teacher bestows. This seems to paint a closer relationship between the two men, where Peter is not afraid of Jesus and Jesus is not simply polite to Peter, as teachers tend to be. Jesus' obvious favoritism of Peter, shown in the transfiguration and throughout the gospel, leads one to believe that the two are indeed close friends with trust and mutual respect, which allows them to be freer with their words to one another. Friends tend to be less polite and more open with
These passages shed light on the way people perceived Jesus during his time. Some said that he was John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah or one of the prophets. However, the most important part of the passage is Peter’s identification of the Jesus as Christ. Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say I am?’ Peter answers by proclaiming Jesus to be the longed-for-Messiah of Israel: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The response of Peter is a great profession of faith. Peter is able to make this affirmation about Jesus’ identity because God has enabled him to recognize Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus praises Peter saying, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” (Mt: 16:17-19). Yet in the very next passage of the Gospel, Peter wavers and Jesus calls him “Satan”. Why? Because Jesus had gone on to reveal that he was to be a suffering messiah, put to death for the salvation of his people. And Peter was not prepared for this. Peter loved Jesus and firmly believed him to be the Christ, but a Christ conformed to his own ideas, expectations and attachments. How strange – and
Simon Peter is undoubtedly the best-known disciple of Jesus. But how well known is he,
Peter was born in Bethsaida, Galilee, and was the son of Jonah. He had a brother named Andrew and were both fisherman on the Sea of Tiberias with partners, James and John. Once he knew Jesus he became one of his disciples. Peter is known for denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. The Neronian persecution all agreed to crucify Peter, but denies to be crucified the same
To start with, Simon Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples and passionate believer of God. He undergoed many difficulties with him and his conscience, believing that it was his way or the highway. For an extended time he did what he thought was right until Jesus helped him. When Jesus returned to heaven, Simon Peter devoted his life to preaching the gospel to all far and wide. He trusted God and his conscience through his life and ministry. After the Great Fire of Rome, the ruler, Nero, blamed the fire on the christians and sentenced them to death. When Simon Peter was questioned his religion, he trusted in his conscience and proclaimed his faith. Simon Peter died an amazing martyr of God but another life changing man was William
Unlike the first song, Jesus Gave Me Water, this song gradually goes into call and response. The lead singer starts to sing and then the beat starts. After the beat starts is when the rest of the group starts to sing their own verse. When they start singing, it seems like it is in response to what the lead vocalist is singing. They respond with “ooohs” after the lead singer ends a verse. This seems to put more emphasis on what is being sang. The conclusion of the song ends with call and response.
Explain how you would respond if you were Peter at the end of the case.