Top 7 Bible Verses About Peter

Here are seven Bible verses specifically about the Apostle Peter.

Acts 5:28-29 “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

This verse has often been taken out of context to approve of breaking man’s laws, but that’s not what the Bible teaches. Romans 13 says “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Rom13:1-2) “for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Rom 13:4). Only when man’s laws make us break God’s laws must we say with the Apostle Peter, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Matthew 26:33 “Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

How many times did Peter boast that he would never deny Jesus Christ? He even goes so far as to say, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Yes, these were Peter’s famous last words on this subject before finally denying Jesus; not once, or twice, but three times! Thankfully, God is merciful, and when Peter later denied Jesus, Jesus forgave him and restored him to a position of leadership in the church.

Second Peter 2:1 “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The word for “servant” is actually the Greek word “doulos” and means “slave.” A servant relationship in the Roman culture at the time of this writing was not as close of a relationship that a slave and master had. The Roman centurion once asked Jesus to heal his servant (slave), so even a Roman centurion loved his own slave so much as to consider him as a member of his family. Slaves could become free over time but only a few would ever leave after they were freed. In fact, they often became part of the family, or really, they already were considered as family. That’s because a servant did his job and went home. A slave was always with them, serving them, and seeing to their needs, so they were looked on as part of the family, even before they were officially freed.

Matthew 26:35 “Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.”

Here is where Peter goes to the extreme to boast about his loyalty to Jesus, but when things turn deadly serious in Jesus arrest and trial (if you want to call it that), and it appears that Jesus is going to die, he denies him three times, even swearing once. If he had actually been willing to die with Jesus, then he would have never denied Him. After Peter’s restoral and at the end of his life, he actually would die for Jesus on a cross, one that church historians say was upside down because Peter felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus did.

John 18:10 “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.).”

Jesus seemed to be pretty bold here. Maybe it was because he knew that Jesus was there with him but Jesus plainly tells Peter, that’s not the way, by saying “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me” (John 18:11). Peter does as he was told and puts his sword away. Matthew adds that Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matt 26:52).

John 18:25 “Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”

When “One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed” (John 18:26-27). What a tragic situation that Peter had gotten himself into; all because of his pride. He told everyone that he would be willing to die for Jesus and never deny him; he did neither.

Matthew 26:75 “And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”

When you see Peter going out, weeping bitterly, there is a hint of repentance there. He sees his great sin but his great sin is no match for the great Savior. There is no sin that the blood of the Lamb cannot cover except rejecting Him as Lord and Savior. As Peter himself would later write, and who would more appreciate it than he, “that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1st Pet 1:18-19).

Conclusion

If you want to study the Apostle Peter’s life then I suggest you read the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Matthew since John has 32 references and Matthew has 25, however the Book of Acts tops them all by having 58 mentions of the Apostle Peter. Jesus restored Peter and later, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter said to a huge gathering, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38), and “those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:38), proving that failure is never final. It is often a launching pad for something else God wants you to do.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.