Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2017
Abstract
The fifth episode of CNN’s “Finding Jesus” series explores the character and place of the historical Peter. Portrayed as a fisherman—a leading disciple of Jesus in the Gospels—Simon Peter is presented as both robust and impetuous. As chief among the twelve, he promises to stand with Jesus until the end, and yet, he also denies Jesus three times, as he also fears for his life following the arrest of Jesus. As Michael Peppard correctly puts it, the practice of the Romans at the time was to arrest not only insurrectionist leaders, but also to deal swiftly with their followers. Thus, while the betraying of Jesus by Judas may be hard to understand, the threefold denial of Jesus by Peter is not. The lives of all of Jesus’s followers were in danger, and this is shown by Peter’s failure in his test of courage. Then again, Peter becomes one of the key leaders of the early church, but what was his significance in particular?
Recommended Citation
Originally published on The Huffington Post, 2017 See it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-few-bones-to-pick-peter-and-his-significance-a_us_58e33c57e4b02ef7e0e6e046