New Testament Characters - Peter, Judas

	Peter is one of the best-known of the apostles.  Before Jesus calls him, Peter is a fisherman in business with his brother, Andrew, as well as James and John. (Luke 5:10)
	His original name is Simon, son of Jonas or John.  It is Jesus who gives him a new name in John 1:42.
	"'You are Simon the son of John;," Jesus says in this verse, "you shall be called Cephas' (which is translated Peter)." 
	This new name means "rock" or "stone."
	After being rejected in His home town of Nazareth, Jesus moves His center of operation to Capernaum.  There is some indication in Mark chapter one that the Lord uses Peter's home in this city as a place to receive those who are seeking Him.
	This chapter provides some more interesting information about Peter.  He is married.
	"And immediately after they had come out of the synagogue," Mark 1:29-31 notes, "they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Him about her. And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them."
	"Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife," Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 9:5, "even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?"
	Peter is married, and he is not the first pope.  In fact, the practice of selecting a pope came along much later.  Peter identifies himself simply as an elder on the same level with all the others.
	"Therefore," Peter states in 1 Peter 5:1-3, "I exhort the elders among you, as {your} fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to {the will of} God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock."
	There is no indication from the Bible that Peter ever sets foot in Rome.
	It does not take a very deep study to arrive at the conclusion that Peter is impetuous.  When Jesus walks on the water to catch up with His disciples, Peter is ready to step overboard and join Him.
	"And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea," Matthew 14:26-31 records, "they were frightened, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.' And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.'  And He said, 'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!'  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'"
	Peter is quick to correct Jesus when he doesn't like what the Lord says.
	"From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem," we read in Matthew 16:21-23, "and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.  And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid {it,} Lord! This shall never happen to You.'  But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.'"
	Peter really puts his foot in his mouth when he witnesses the transfiguration.
	"And Peter answered and said to Jesus," Mark 9:5-7 notes, "'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!'"
	Peter seems to have trouble deciding how he feels when Jesus washes the apostles' feet. 
	"And so He came to Simon Peter," we find in John 13:6-10. He said to Him, 'Lord, do You wash my feet?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'What I do you do not realize now, but you shall understand hereafter.'  Peter said to Him, 'Never shall You wash my feet!' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.'  Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.'  Jesus said to him, 'He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all {of you.}'"
	Peter assures Jesus that he will never desert Him.
	"Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, where are You going?'" we read in John 13:36-38.  "Jesus answered, 'Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you shall follow later.'  Peter said to Him, 'Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.'  Jesus answered, 'Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow, until you deny Me three times.'"
	It is Peter who grabs his sword when Jesus is arrested.
	"Simon Peter therefore having a sword," John 18:10 reports, "drew it, and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus."
	John and Peter both race to the tomb when they hear the news of the resurrection.  John arrives first, but it is Peter who goes rushing into the tomb.
	"Simon Peter therefore also came," we find in John 20:6-7, "following him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying {there,} and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself."
	After the resurrection, Jesus appears to some of the apostles as they are fishing.  Peter leaves the others to take care of the catch when he recognizes the Master and rushes off to meet Him.
	"That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.'" John 21:7-8 records.  "And so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped {for work}), and threw himself into the sea.  But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net {full} of fish."

	Peter is definitely impetuous.  But that is not the whole story.  He has several good traits, many of which give him great potential to help spread the Gospel in the early years.  Perhaps it is because He sees this potential that Jesus is disappointed with Peter's reaction during an exchange recorded in John 21.
	"So when they had finished breakfast," we read in verse 15, "Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, {son} of John, do you love Me more than these?' He said to Him,'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.'  He said to him, 'Tend My lambs.'"
	To understand this passage we must realize that the men are using two different words for love.  Jesus is using agapao, which means a selfless, sacrificial love.  Agape love says, "I love you regardless."  Peter responds with phileo, which signifies brotherly love.  This love says, "I love you because..."
	"He said to him again a second time," the passage continues, "'Simon, {son} of John, do you love Me?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Shepherd My sheep.'  He said to him the third time, 'Simon, {son} of John, do you love Me?' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him,' Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.'  Jesus said to him, 'Tend My sheep.'"
	In the third exchange, Jesus switches to phileo, which means that He is lowering His expectation of Peter.  This why Peter is sad.
	Peter may be impetuous, but he is also dedicated.  Throughout the Gospels and the first part of Acts, he continues to step forward when a bold stance is needed.  He takes the lead in preaching the first Gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost.  He bravely confronts the Jewish council.  He risks the wrath of his countrymen when he is the first person to share the Gospel with the Gentiles.
	Peter is a big man.  He stands corrected when he is wrong.  In Galatians chapter two, Paul mentions a confrontation with Peter when Peter is obviously wrong.   Years later, Peter still refers to Paul with kindness and respect.
	"And regard the patience of our Lord {to be} salvation;" he writes in 2 Peter 3:15, "just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you." 
	There is one more of the original twelve Apostles: Judas.
	Judas is selfish and greedy.
	"Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard," John 12:3-6 says, "and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,  'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor {people}?'  Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it."
	As strange as it may seem, Peter and Judas have something in common.  They both deny Jesus.  And they both recognize the error of what they have done.
	"Then he began to curse and swear," Matthew 26:74-75 notes of Peter, "'I do not know the man!' And immediately a cock crowed.  And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, 'Before a cock crows, you will deny Me three times.' And he went out and wept bitterly."
	"Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned," we find in Matthew 27:3, "he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.' But they said, 'What is that to us? See {to that} yourself!'"
	Judas then goes out and hangs himself.  Matthias is selected to take his place.
	Judas and Peter both deny Jesus.  But this is where the similarity ends.  It is their actions after understanding the truth which makes the difference.  Judas hangs himself.  Peter repents and goes on to be one of the Lord's greatest servants.
	It is not enough to simply recognize the truth.  We must take the proper action if we want to be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."