Simon Peter is undoubtedly the best-known disciple of Jesus. But how well known is he, really? Everyone knows his name, Simon, and his nickname, allegedly given by Jesus himself,
Cephas, which in the first century was not a name at all but a noun meaning “rock.” This at least was his nickname in Aramaic – the language that both Jesus and Simon spoke. In Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word for rock is petra, where we get his more commonly known name, Peter. The name Simon Peter, then, literally means “Simon the Rock.” Given
Simon’s impetuous and unfailingly fickle character during Jesus’ lifetime, one almost wonders if
Jesus was being ironic.
But back to the previous question: how well do we know Peter from our surviving sources? It is much to be regretted that there isn’t anything like a full biography of him written by any of his peers, even though a number of ancient accounts narrate what he allegedly said and did, both during Jesus’ lifetime and afterward. In his book, The New Testament: A Historical
Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Bart D. Ehrman stated, “ One of the difficulties confronting historians is knowing which of these accounts, if any of them, can be trusted as historically accurate and which were colored by the legendary impulses prevalent among
Christian storytellers of the first several centuries.” Ehrman believes “the problem involves not only the legends found outside the canonical writings of the New Testament
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.
One fact that must remain in consideration by any student of textual criticism is that there were many other religious and philosophical writings produced simultaneously with the Scriptures of the New Testament era. Robert J. Sargent states, “As the Bible was being written down, numerous other religious
The Hebrew word is ‘ets and it is the most often translated in the Bible as “tree,” “piece of wood,” or “pole.”
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
F. F. Bruce. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Grand Rapids: William B. Eardmans Publishing Company, sixth edition, 1981
The Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament, contains many of the religious beliefs and practices as well as the origins of the Israelites. This document may not be perfectly accurate with the history of the Israelites, but it provides a foundation for the events that happened.
“By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, Because it is an enemy to thee; Had I it written, I would tear the word” (II, 2, 57-61)
From the Canaanite dialect of the Semitic language the word "lehem,'" which is the last part of the name of Bethlehem, a city in modern Israel, means "city of
name to Rael, it means messenger of Elohim, and came from an unknown Semitic language.
In Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, Bart D. Ehrman, a well-known New Testament scholar and critic, seeks to show that the New Testament is a corrupt document that has been changed through the evolutionary process of scribal alteration, Early Christian theological apologetics and poor scholarship’s. Ehrman begins by speaking of his personal experience with the study of the Bible and textual Criticism. He concludes that various early scribes altered the New Testament in which we have no idea of knowing if what we’re reading is even the word of God or just what the scribes wanted to write.
It was at the time of the gospel of Jesus during the era of Christianity, “the Hebrew philosophy penetrated the Greco-Roman world and the stage was set for the combination of the Greek and Hebrew worldviews in the distinctively Christian way.”2 After this merger
His name is derived from the Greek word meaning
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.
These words are displaying Jesus as a marytor who is accepting his fate willingly. Luke s portrays Jesus as a scholar
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.