This is part of a series studying Peter’s life and ministry. Click here for the entire series.
Often when we first meet a person we like to find out a lot about him—where he were born, what kind of family he come from, what his occupation, what kind of person he is, and so forth. Well, let’s find out about our new friend the apostle Peter.
• Simon, or Simeon, was born in the small village of Bethsaida on the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel.
• He brought a home and moved to Capernaum, which is on the northwest side of the sea (Matthew 8:14). John 1:40.
• We know Peter was married because Matthew 8:14 records that Jesus healed his mother-in-law of a high fever, but we have no biblical record of Peter’s wife’s name or whether they had children.
• He and his brother Andrew were fisherman (John 1:40, Matthew 4:18).
• The religious leaders of the day didn’t think much of Peter’s religious upbringing because he didn’t attend the right religious schools nor hold an official position in a synagogue. But he knew enough of the Old Testament to quote from Psalms and the Prophet Joel in several public speeches
• He was a first-hand witness to the activities and teaching of Jesus. He passed on what he had experienced to a young man named Mark who wrote one of the first accounts of Jesus’ life and may have influenced subsequent
Do you sometimes feel insignificant? That may have been how Peter felt at first.
How do you think Jesus would answer a response like that?
