Peter, Saint: In the Gospels

Peter appears throughout the Gospels as leader and spokesman of the disciples, and Jesus most often addressed him when speaking to them (Mat. 10.2; 14.28; 15.15; 17.24; 19.27; Luke 8.51; 12.41). His honored position comes out most clearly in two high points of Jesus' ministry—when Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ and was told “Upon this rock I will build my church”; and when he, together with James and John, was chosen to see the Transfiguration (Mat. 16.13–20; 17.1–13). After the Last Supper he, again with James and John, witnessed Jesus' agony in Gethsemane. When Jesus was betrayed, Peter drew his sword to defend him, but denied him later in the same night, as Jesus had predicted he would (John 13; Mat. 26.26–46, 57–75).

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Peter and the Papacy
• After the Resurrection
• In the Gospels
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Early Christianity: Biographies