There have been dozens of movies made about the life of Jesus over the years. And in each of
these, the directors have understood that the part of Simon Peter needs to be played by a strong actor –
such as a swarthy, barrel-chested Italian, like James Farentino in Franco Zefferelli’s Jesus of Nazareth,
or Francesco de Vito in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. In The Greatest Story Ever Told, Peter
was played by the darkly handsome Shakespearean stage actor Gary Raymond. 1961’s King of Kings
had Peter played by Royal Dano, better known for his part in The Outlaw Josey Wales. Peter is a part
that takes some acting chops.
In the gospels, we first meet Peter when he is fishing. Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee
when he sees two brothers, identified as “Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.” They are casting
a net into the lake. Jesus calls out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew tells us that “at once they left their nets and followed him.”
Already we get a glimpse into the character of Peter in this very first meeting. He doesn’t ask
any questions or seek an explanation. Indeed, he may be the first person called by God in all of
scripture to not raise some objections and request more information. As I like to point out, most of
those called by God in the Hebrew scriptures had some initial difficulties with their call. Moses
claimed he had a stutter and could not speak for God. Jeremiah said he was too young. Gideon tested
God by placing a fleece on the ground overnight, asking God to make the ground wet and the fleece
dry, and then the next night, the other way around, before he would accept the call. Isaiah said he was a
man of unclean lips. But Peter, and his brother Andrew, just jumped up and followed Jesus.
A few chapters later, we learn that Peter was a married man, as in a very short episode Jesus
heals Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. This makes his instant following of Jesus even more curious: he
doesn’t appear to have consulted with his wife at any point; indeed, Peter’s wife isn’t mentioned in the
scriptures at all – just his mother-in-law.
In episodes from the other gospels, we learn that Jesus considered Peter one of his right-hand
men, along with the brothers James and John, sons of Zebedee, since those three were often asked to
accompany Jesus on missions that the other disciples did not participate in. In Mark 5, Jesus asks these
three to go with him to the synagogue, where they encounter a commotion, as the young daughter of
the synagogue leader has died. Jesus informs the leader that the child is not dead, but sleeping, and
calls to her to get up, and she does. We’re not told of the reaction of any of the three disciples, just that
they got to go along and witness the miracle.
Jesus then begins to tell the disciples of the things that are to take place, that he must be killed
and after three days rise again. Mark 8 tells us that at this point, Peter “took Jesus aside and began to
rebuke him.”
That must have taken some chutzpah. Rebuke Jesus – instead of asking some clarifying
questions or confessing to not understand, or even to not like what is being said? It seems that Peter
may have looked on discipleship as a co-leadership enterprise, not a group of students with one leader
and teacher.
And yet, Peter, along with James and John, is asked again to accompany Jesus on another special mission. This time, they go up on a high mountain, and Jesus is transfigured before them. The scriptures tell us that his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. And suddenly, Moses and Elijah appear and begin chatting with Jesus.
Peter, typically, has something to say about this. “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put
up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” The narrator makes a side comment
to the reader here, that Peter did not know what to say, because he and James and John were so
frightened.
But it seems Peter always has something to say, however off-topic or ridiculous it might seem.
He is never at a loss for words. In fact, throughout many of these stories, Peter often reminds me of the
adage about how a closed mouth gathers no foot – Peter’s mouth, never closed, often has his foot in it.
He isn’t totally clueless about this. In the gospel of Luke, the call story of Peter is a little different. Jesus is walking along the lakeshore with some unidentified followers when he gets into Peter’s boat. He preaches a sermon from the boat, and then tells Peter to put out into deep water and let the nets down. Peter responds, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” And the catch is so large that the nets begin to break. The fishermen get some help hauling them in, and then the boat is so laden it begins to sink. Peter then falls at Jesus’ feet and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Peter’s painful honesty extends even to himself. He knows what he is.
And he keeps talking. It’s Peter who notices that the fig tree Jesus cursed is withered and dead.
And when Jesus heals the woman with an issue of blood, asking, “Who touched me?” it’s Peter who
says, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” Peter’s utterances can often be
described as what one of my friends once termed the blazing flash of the obvious.
And sometimes that’s helpful. Peter often verbalizes for the reader, who may or may not know
Christ herself, what is happening. He’s the one to assert to Jesus that he and the other disciples have left
everything to follow. And when some of the other followers start deserting, and Jesus asks if the
Twelve will depart also, Peter speaks for all, saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words
of eternal life.”
In the last week of Jesus’ life, Jesus performs the act that has defined Brethren devotion for
more than three hundred years: he washes the disciples’ feet. And of course, it is Peter who objects to
these ministrations. He’s backed off a bit from the days when he felt comfortable rebuking Jesus, and
says, “Master, you will never wash my feet.” And Jesus responds, “Unless I wash you, you have no part
of me.” Peter, ever the enthusiastic one, replies, “Well then, wash my hands and my head as well!” And
Jesus says, no, it’s just your feet that are dirty, that will suffice.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Peter is one of those who fall asleep, leading an anguished Jesus
to ask, “Could you not watch with me for one hour?” And in the gospel of John, when the soldiers
arrive, it’s Peter who draws his sword first, slicing off the ear of the servant Malthus. Quick to speak,
quick to act, but not always in the most prudent or intelligent way.
And, heartbreakingly, it’s Peter who, after Jesus is arrested, denies his master three times. Jesus
predicted this would happen at the Last Supper, and Peter of course was adamant that he would never
betray his Lord. But after Jesus is arrested, several people accost Peter and ask, “Weren’t you with
him?” And Peter vehemently denies it. He doesn’t know the man, he claims. The same fear that was
with him on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration has returned full force, and Peter, fearing for his life,
lies about his association with Jesus. Then the rooster crows, and Peter realizes what he’s done. Again,
he was speaking without thinking, trying to protect himself, and losing track of all of his protestations of
faithfulness.
It is in our story for today that Jesus asks the disciples to tell him who people are saying he, the
Son of Man is. The “Son of Man” is an interesting construction; the only other places it is used are in
Psalm 80, and the book of the Prophet Ezekiel, where “Son of man” is how God addresses Ezekiel
when he is giving him prophetic words to utter or deeds to perform. Most biblical scholars say that this
construction in Ezekiel could also be translated, “Mortal” – that is, God is emphasizing to Ezekiel his
limitedness, as a mortal human being who will die, in comparison with God’s limitlessness and
eternality. Ezekiel was called by God to reassure and convince the Judeans being hauled off into exile
that God was still their God and was still with him. So it’s an interesting parallel with Jesus: Jesus, too,
will have to die and is also sent by God with the message that God is with God’s people.
When asked who people are saying Jesus is, the disciples respond, “Some say John the Baptist,
others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” So Jesus asks a follow-up question.
Okay, he says, who do you say that I am? And Peter jumps in with both feet. “You are the Christ, the
son of the living God!”
Remember being in school, whether elementary, junior high or high school, or college, and
especially, those of you who have been teachers. Wasn’t there always that one student who had to be the
first to raise their hand, the first to answer a question? If you’ve seen the Harry Potter movies or read
the books, that’s Hermione Grainger. And in the gospels, it’s Peter. He’s that guy. Even if the answer is
wrong, he wants to get credit for being the first to have it.
But this time, Peter gets it right, and he gets high praise from Jesus. “Blessed are you, Simon
son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” That’s high
praise indeed. Jesus addresses Peter as the son of his father – lineage is important in first-century
Palestine – and tells him he’s just spoken words that came straight from God the Father Almighty.
And in the gospel of Matthew at least, Jesus goes on. And here’s where Peter gets his best-known name; up until this point, his name has really just been Simon. Jesus says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Those are some pretty heavy promises.
Roman Catholics love these verses because they believe it is here that Jesus establishes Peter as
the first Pope. And certainly, after the Holy Spirit has been received at Pentecost, Peter does seem to
take a strong leadership role. He’s the one who tells the crowds that the apostles are not drunk because
it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! They are filled with the Spirit. And Peter goes around, preaching
the gospel, baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, healing the sick and
performing other miracles, and helping to arbitrate disputes among the community of Christians. The
book of Acts is chock-full of the exploits of Peter.
Peter gets arrested more than once for preaching the gospel; one night, while he’s bound in
manacles, an angel comes and sets him free. He runs to the gathered assembly, and the servant Rhoda is
so astonished to see him that she shuts the door in his face before she lets him in.
And it’s Peter who has the vision of the sheet full of unclean animals let down from heaven,
with the voice of God instructing, “Peter, take, kill, and eat.” At first, he objects, saying he’s never let
anything unclean touch his lips. But God offers him the unclean foods again. And Peter understands.
You see, one of the biggest disputes at the heart of the Christian community in the years after
Jesus ascended to heaven was what to do with all the Gentiles who wanted to follow Jesus. Paul, of
course, was heartily in favor of baptizing every Gentile in sight who was willing to confess Jesus as
Lord. But Peter and the other apostles were more hesitant, wanting to insist that Gentile men be
circumcised before they were admitted as full members of the Christian community. Paul was dead-set
against this; he wanted baptism to be the one mode of admission for all, whether Jew or Greek. Peter’s
vision was to help him understand that God wanted all these so-called “unclean” folks in the church,
circumcised or not.
Sometimes it’s astonishing to me how very close Christianity came to being just a subgroup of
Judaism. Last week, we saw how Jesus responded at first to a Canaanite woman who acknowledged
him as Lord with a refusal to bestow upon her ailing daughter God’s healing power. And Peter, too, had
to receive the vision of the sheet full of animals more than once before he was willing to accept that
there was room in the Christian community for Gentiles as well as Jews.
Why do you suppose Jesus named Peter as the rock on which his church would be built? To
listen to him, you wouldn’t think Peter necessarily had terrific leadership qualities; sure, he liked to be
the first to speak up, but as often as not, that meant saying something imprudent or unwise.
One of my graduate school colleagues once offered his own freely-translated version of Jesus’
renaming of Simon. “You’re a blockhead – but on this rock, I will build my church.” Looking back over
the stories of Peter, I’d say that’s fairly accurate. Sometimes he was something of a blockhead. But
sometimes his willingness to speak up before thinking about what he was saying led to inspired words
of truth.
Last week, I asked you to write down some things you don’t like, about God, about another
person, and about yourself. Recall that thing you wrote down that you don’t like about yourself. Maybe
Peter didn’t like his habit of always jumping in with a response either. Remember, when he was called
in Luke, he acknowledges to Jesus that he’s a sinful man, and even asks Jesus to go away.
But Jesus, having spent anywhere from one to three years in Peter’s company, saw that quality
as a potential for greatness. Here’s a man who will confess the truth of the gospel, before he even has a
chance to worry about whether he’s saying the right thing or saying it the right way. Here’s a man who
gets himself noticed and heard. I can almost imagine Jesus, pondering Peter’s qualities good and bad,
and thinking, I can use this guy.
In a story told about Peter after the events of scripture, Peter is fleeing Rome, because
Christians are being persecuted there. He has a vision of Christ walking toward him on the road, and he
asks, “Lord, where are you going?” (In Latin, this is “Quo vadis?” and there’s a film about it.) Jesus
says, “I’m going to Rome to be crucified again.” And Peter realizes he must remain faithful to his Lord
even unto death, turns around, and accepts martyrdom, asking to be crucified upside down because he
is not worthy to be crucified as Jesus was.
Bobbi Dykema is currently serving as pastor at First Church of the Brethren in Springfield, Illinois. She is also on the pastoral team of the Living Stream online Church of the Brethren and serves on the steering committee of the Womaen’s Caucus. Bobbi is passionate about racial and gender justice, beauty and the arts, and reading scripture as a living document.
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