By Margie Littell
You’ve got to love Peter! He was a fisherman. He was probably a strong man, respectful and fearful of the sea, able to pull heavy nets of fish into the boat. John 21:6–11 describes him this way:
He [Jesus] said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some [fish].” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.
This rugged outdoorsman was from the northern part of Israel in the Galilee region, and church history considers the city of Bethsaida to be his hometown. Bethsaida is also thought to be the site of the feeding of the 4,000 as recorded in Mark 7:31–8:26. The geographical location of Bethsaida is significant because it was in northern Israel very near gentile territory on the east side of the Jordan in the region of the ten Roman cities called the Decapolis.
There are at least a couple of implications of Bethsaida’s gentile proximity. First, the feeding of the 4,000 may well have included many gentiles, not just Jews. By taking His disciples there and providing food which they shared with gentiles, Jesus was preparing His disciples for their coming work of spreading the gospel to the gentiles. Legally it was forbidden for Jews to eat with gentiles, but Jesus fed all who were present at that event, and He had His disciples serving the gentiles who ate.
Second, Peter was not a “Jerusalem Jew”. He was not educated as were many of his kin in Jerusalem. Although he spoke Greek, growing up as he did in heavily gentile territory where Greek was the standard language of that day and time under Roman domination, he was still a Jew, and his Greek was common, not scholarly.
In fact, judging from his simplistic use of Greek in his two letters, 1 and 2 Peter, I can see him disregarding the complexities of the language as a young man, thinking, “Why do I need to understand Greek, anyway? I’m a fisherman, not a scholar!”
Yet, even though Peter was a rough, non-classically-educated Galilean, he was one of the first disciples Jesus called:
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen (Mt. 4:18).
Education and sophistication were not necessary for Peter to be Jesus’ disciple. In spite of his rugged exterior, Peter loved Jesus with all his heart and trusted Him. Even knowing the dangers of the sea, when Peter saw Jesus walking on the water toward the disciples in a storm at night, he stepped out of the boat in order to walk to Jesus.
In fact, Peter was doing a good job of walking on the water until he began to doubt what he was doing (Mt. 14:22-33). I am sure Jesus was smiling at him when He rescued Peter from his doubt and from the sea and from the storm!
Peter not only had great muscle power, but he also had great will power—so much will power that he was convinced that he would never betray Jesus. To his horror, however, Peter did betray Jesus—not once but three times (Jn. 13:36-38).
Nevertheless, Jesus loved him. On the morning of the resurrection when Jesus met the women who had come looking for His body at the tomb, He told them, “Go tell Peter” that I am alive again and will meet him and the others in Galilee (see Mk. 16:7). Later, when He did meet His disciples in Galilee, He commissioned Peter three times to feed His sheep and lambs (Jn. 21:15–17).
Peter was a stubborn man, yet he knew his Torah. He was disbelieving at first when, a few days after Jesus left him and went to heaven, Peter recognized his Friend and Savor’s voice telling him to break the Torah’s rules about eating unclean foods (see Acts 10:1–23).
Three times Jesus told him to “Kill and eat,” and three times Peter refused! (Perhaps Peter was thinking Jesus was testing his faith in the Torah?)
Finally, he understood the message: “Don’t make people Jews; make them Christians!” As soon as that vision ended, Peter was escorted to the home of the Roman Cornelius where Peter and his Jewish companions spent several days as guests in that gentile home, sharing dishes and gentile food with the first group of gentiles who believed and were ushered into the fledging body of Christ through believing and being sealed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:23–48)!
You’ve got to love Peter. He was brash, stubborn, overly-confident, and uneducated, but he trusted Jesus, and Jesus used him to plant His church.
Peter loved Jesus with all his heart, and Jesus loved him first! †
- Jesus Broke the Sabbath and Declared Himself God - February 22, 2024
- God Told Daniel the Future - January 18, 2024
- A New Covenant Needs New Words - November 23, 2023