Peter: The Second Chance Apostle (2)

Peter’s Profile

The word Peter means, “a stone” and is the Hebrew counterpart to Cephas (John 1:42). As seen from the preceding verse, Peter’s name was originally “Simon” (hearing) by the Christ. He and Andrew had a father named Jonas but nothing is known about their mother. His later residence is that of Capernaum (Matt. 8:14). It is also from this verse that we realize that the apostle was a married man. His initial meeting with Christ was that which occurred when Andrew spoke of the Messiah and brought Peter to him (John 1). Later, Christ calls him to become a fisher of men. “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” (Matt. 4:18-20).

There is much recorded about the apostle within the four gospel accounts and the book of Acts. So much that one could do a number of studies on the apostle. There is little recorded after what is given in Acts. The International Standard Encyclopedia records, “There is little authentically recorded about Peter…” There are many traditions about Peter’s life after the recordings of the Bible which would contradict Holy Scripture. As an example, we will examine the tradition that Peter began the church at Rome. “It should be observed, however, that the tradition that he visited Rome is only tradition and nothing more, resting as it does partly upon a miscalculation of some of the early Fathers, who assume that he went to Rome in 42 AD, immediately after his deliverance from prison” (ISBE). When Paul first visited the city, the church was already established (Acts 28:15-16). At no point does Luke record any of Peter’s activities within the region. This would be strange since the two men who receive the most focus within the book of Acts are Peter and Paul. Even when Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans there is no mention to the apostle Peter anywhere, nor did he mention a connection between Rome and Peter. The statement “…is irreconcilable with the silence of Scripture, and even with the mere fact of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, written in 58, since the latter says not a word of Peter's previous labors in that city, and he himself never built on other men's foundations” (Rom. 15:20; 2 Cor. 10:16).

What we do know is that Peter did missionary work in the area of Asia Minor with his wife (1 Cor. 9:5). “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1). Peter wrote his first epistle in light of Nero’s persecution of Christians and it is said that he was in prison awaiting his execution date when Peter wrote his second epistle.

That being said, we will notice what tradition teaches concerning the death of the apostle. History records a peculiar death for the apostle Peter as he was crucified about 67-68 A.D. What was peculiar was not that he was a martyr. All of the apostles but John are reported to have been martyred. It was not the fact that he was crucified. While he did not face the same type of punishment that many Christians received at that time, it was not uncommon for Christians to face a very painful death for faithfulness. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records that Peter, “was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same manner as the Lord was. Keep in mind, this is what tradition states.