Simon Peter
- James Collazo
- Apr 21, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
Introduction
Simon, son of Jonah (Aramaic: Shimon bar Yonah / Greek: Simōn Bariōnas) was born around AD 1 in the Roman district of Gaulanitis. He is better known as Peter (Greek: Petros, G4074), a name Jesus gave him as a ministry title (Matt. 16:18). Simon grew up as a fisherman in Bethsaida, a Jewish village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 1:44). His father's name was either Jonah (Matt. 16:17) or John (John 1:42; 21:15–17), as the New Testament authors used both—likely because the underlying Semitic forms share similar consonants (יוחנן Yochanan, H3110, and יונה Yonah, H3123).
Simon's brother, Andrew, worked with him in a fishing business at Capernaum, alongside the sons of Zebedee, James and John (Luke 5:10). Peter likely belonged to a working family whose livelihood depended on the fishing industry. His impulsive nature often brought rebukes from Jesus and conflict with the authorities. Though Jesus frequently called the Pharisees and other religious leaders "vipers" (Matt. 12:34; 23:33) or "thieves" (John 10:8–10), he once rebuked Peter directly, calling him "Satan" (Matt. 16:23).
The gospels repeatedly portray Peter acting before fully considering the consequences: he stepped out of the boat but sank when he took his eyes off Jesus on the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 14:28–31); he denied Jesus three times (Matt. 26:33–35; Mark 14:29–31; Luke 22:33–34; John 13:36–38); he cut off the ear of Malchus—a servant to Caiaphas, the high priest—during Jesus' arrest (John 18:10–11); and he often answered eagerly, usually incorrectly (Mark 9:5–6; Luke 9:33). Despite these failures, the New Testament portrays Peter as a disciple whose life was marked by restoration.
A Galilean Accent
Beyond his work as a fisherman, another clue to Peter's provincial background was his Galilean accent, which others mocked during his denial of Jesus in Jerusalem (Matt. 26:73). The Galilean accent reflected the region's geographic distance from Jerusalem and its distinctive linguistic development. Northerners lived far from Jerusalem, the cosmopolitan center of Israel, and their speech marked them as outsiders. Fishing played a central role in the towns along the Sea of Galilee, as archaeological evidence from discarded fish bones confirms. Many first-century Judeans disparaged the Galilean accent, and even the authors of the Babylonian Talmud acknowledged this prejudice:
There was a certain person from Galilee who would walk around and say to people: Who has amar? Who has amar? They said to him: foolish Galilean, what do you mean? Galileans did not pronounce the guttural letters [of Hebrew] properly, so it was unclear whether he sought a donkey [chamor, H2543] to ride, or wine [chamar, H2562] to drink, wool [amar, H6015] to wear, or a lamb [imar, H563] to slaughter. This is an example of the lack of precision in the Galileans' speech (Eruv. 53b.6).
People in Jerusalem often struggled to understand Peter because Galileans often softened or failed to distinguish the guttural consonants of Hebrew and Aramaic. This difficulty in comprehension resembles how contemporary English speakers sometimes mock accents from the American South or the East End of London. Matthew's mention of Peter's accent underscores his unmistakable Galilean identity, which remained evident even in Jerusalem. After denying Jesus to save his life, Peter returned to fishing.
Even after being the first apostle to see the empty tomb, Peter was amazed yet went home (Luke 24; John 20:4). Jesus appeared to him soon afterward while he was fishing and reenacted the first time he called Peter at the Sea of Galilee, commanding him to catch a large number of fish. During the following conversation, Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me more than these?" For the first two questions, Jesus used the verb agapaō (G25), while Peter consistently replied with phileō (G5368). On the third question, Jesus adopted Peter's own wording. Although many scholars regard the two verbs as stylistic synonyms in the Gospel of John, the alternation within this carefully structured dialogue has led others to see rhetorical significance in the exchange, with Peter responding more cautiously after his threefold denial. Jesus then commissioned him to shepherd his flock and foretold his future martyrdom (John 21:1–19).
Peter would become the leading voice of the early church, using his Galilean accent to proclaim this foundational truth: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). Whereas the Judean religious leaders doubted that the Holy One of Israel could come from Galilee (John 7:52), Peter knew better. The prophet Isaiah writes:
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned (Isa. 9:1–2; cf. Matt. 4:14–15).
Peter: Like a Rock
Peter's declaration to Jesus, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God," at Caesarea Philippi stands as one of the foundational confessions of the Christian church. It underpins the historical symbols of Nicaea and Chalcedon (see "Confessions of Faith"), as well as all contemporary statements of faith. Peter's confession became foundational for Christian theology. Jesus called Simon the "rock" upon which he would build his church. At this stage, Peter still struggled to grasp the whole meaning of Jesus' words. Shortly after his bold proclamation, Jesus rebuked him as "Satan" for attempting to prevent his crucifixion.
When Jesus called Simon the "rock," he likely spoke Aramaic, using the words Kephas (G2786) and keph (H3710) as both a new ministry title and a personal name (Matt. 16:13–20). The distinction between Petros (G4074) and petra (G4073) reflects grammatical gender rather than a difference in meaning. Peter first fulfilled this role as the church's "rock" at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit empowered him and the other apostles to proclaim the good news. He took the lead as Jews from across the Mediterranean and Near East heard them speaking in various languages. Without formal theological training (Acts 4:13), Peter invoked the prophets Joel and David to show that the Hebrew Scriptures had foretold the Messiah and the outpouring of spiritual gifts. He spoke with such authority that three thousand people were convicted and baptized that day (Acts 2:1–41).
Throughout his ministry, Peter healed many who were disabled (Acts 3:1; 5:15; 9:32), boldly testified about Jesus before the religious authorities of Jerusalem (Acts 4:1–22), and pronounced God's judgment on Ananias and Sapphira for their deceit (Acts 5:1–11). He imparted the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17) and even raised a disciple, Tabitha, from the dead (Acts 9:36).
Despite Peter's success as an apostle, he still had important lessons to learn. At first, he ministered only to Jews, believing that God's concern was limited to Israel. In a vision, God showed Peter a sheet filled with non-kosher animals—"four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds" (Acts 10:12). The four corners of the sheet may allude to the four corners of the earth. The vision primarily concerned God's acceptance of Gentiles alongside the Jews. Peter's meeting with Cornelius, a Roman centurion, confirmed that Gentiles could receive baptism (Acts 10).
The vision corrected Peter's assumptions about ritual purity and God's covenant people. It also clarified his role in welcoming Gentiles into the church. Peter then traveled throughout Judea, Samaria, and the surrounding regions with his wife (Mark 1:30; 1 Cor. 9:5), overseeing the spread of the gospel among Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. As the leading apostle to the Jewish believers, he met with James and Paul at the Council of Jerusalem around AD 50 (Acts 15:1–21), where he supported the decision that Gentile believers need not be circumcised or required to observe the Law of Moses. Even so, the issue resurfaced in Antioch, where Paul confronted Peter for withdrawing from table fellowship with Gentile believers when certain Jewish Christians arrived (Gal. 2:11–14).
Martyrdom in Rome
Peter died in Rome, although Scripture does not record the details later recounted by popular tradition. When Jesus restored Peter as an apostle, he warned him: "Very truly I tell you, when you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go" (John 21:18). Although later Christian tradition commonly describes Peter's death by crucifixion, the New Testament itself does not specify the manner of his execution. Some scholars have suggested that Jesus' statement that Peter would be "dressed" by another may fit execution by burning better than crucifixion, since victims condemned to the flames were often clothed in combustible garments, whereas those crucified were ordinarily stripped before execution. This proposal also accords with Nero's well-attested use of immolation during his persecution of Christians after the Great Fire of Rome, as described by the Roman historian Tacitus (Ann. 15.44).
Although the manner of Peter's execution remains debated, his martyrdom itself is among the earliest and best-attested traditions of the post-apostolic church. The earliest record of Peter's martyrdom comes from the early Christian writer Clement of Rome:
But, to cease from the examples of old time, let us come to those who contended in the days nearest to us; let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy, the greatest and most righteous pillars of the church were persecuted and contended unto death. Let us set before our eyes the good apostles: Peter, who, because of unrighteous jealousy, suffered not one or two but many trials, and, having thus given his testimony, went to the glorious place which was his due (1 Clem. 5:5).
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Clement of Rome. Epistle to the Corinthians. Translated by Kirsopp Lake. In The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1. Loeb Classical Library. New York: Macmillan, 1912.
Tacitus. Complete Works of Tacitus. Translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb. New York: Random House, 1942.
Monographs
Bockmuehl, Markus. The Remembered Peter: In Ancient Reception and Modern Debate. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2010.
Bockmuehl, Markus. Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory: The New Testament Apostle in the Early Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.
Cullmann, Oscar. Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr. 2nd ed. Translated by Floyd V. Filson. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962.
Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020.
Wright, N. T., and Michael F. Bird. The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019.
Edited Volumes
Bond, Helen K., and Larry W. Hurtado, eds. Peter in Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015.
Brown, Raymond E., Karl P. Donfried, and John Reumann, eds. Peter in the New Testament: A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars. Minneapolis: Augsburg; New York: Paulist, 1973.
Online Resources
Pfister, Samuel DeWitt. "Where Is Biblical Bethsaida?"↗ Biblical Archaeology Society. November 4, 2025.
