The apostle Peter (also called Simon and Cephas) was one of Jesus’ earliest disciples, and along with his brother Andrew, was a fisherman. He first met Jesus alone the Jordan River where John was baptizing (John 1:40-42) and traveled with Him through Galilee for a

time. Then he went back to fishing. Later Jesus called him to full-time discipleship, saying, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” (Matthew 4:19 NLT).

The disciples realized from the beginning that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God (John 1:41, 49), but many lost faith during trying times. But Peter never doubted. After many disciples turned back, Peter declared his faith (John 6:66-69). Later, he once again clearly stated his certainty that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 16:13-17).

Peter was the most impetuous, outspoken of Jesus’ twelve apostles. For example, when Jesus revealed that He would be crucified, Peter took it upon himself to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You” (Matthew 16:22)

Peter was so sure of himself that he boasted that even if all the other disciples abandoned Jesus, He’d never do so. But when confronted, he denied that he even knew Jesus (Mark 14:27-31, 66-72). God allowed this to show Peter that he needed the strength of the Spirit to make it. Later, when Jesus restored him and he received the Holy Spirit, Peter became one of the foremost leaders of the early church.

//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});