Saint Peter: A Life from Beginning to End

The other week I listened to a sermon where the pastor immediately began by asking who our favourite disciple was; I immediately thought to myself, ”Simon Peter” before he went to say, ”Yeah, no one really has a favourite disciple…”, but I mean, come on— it’s Simon Peter.
Peter is such an interesting biblical figure because he is (in my humble opinion) such a human figure throughout his appearance in the gospels and the New Testament…

1.
*sees Jesus walking on the water towards him in a boat* ”Oh my gosh you guys, it’s a ghost!!”
”No, Peter, it’s me, Jesus.”
”If it is, call me out to you on the water.”
”Okay, come out onto the water.”
*goes out onto the water*
*is fine until he looks away*
”Ah! Oh no, save me!!”

2.
”Truly I tell you, you’ll all scatter from me very shortly.”
“Not me Lord, I’ll DIE before I renounce you! Never!”
…
“You’re going to do it 3 times.”
“I would NEVER!” 😤
…. *renounces Him 3 times*

Honestly I could be here all night writing this. Peter’s love for Jesus is so blatantly human and I really do think it makes him such a fascinating historical figure to explore. The amount of times his innate well-intentioned-but-totally-missed-the-mark humanness comes through in the gospels is what makes him such an interesting and very real figure in the early church. A great reminder that none of us are perfect, even the disciples of Christ.

This short book was a nice quick-read introduction to Peter’s ministry and walk through faith in a concise way that focuses on the chronology of his mission in specific (which, was nice to explore chronologically seeing as the gospels don’t all line up in direct sequence and we only get bits and pieces of his direct role throughout them (& his ministry in Acts)).

I do wish there had been an exploration and usage of more texts in addition to the gospels and book of Acts in this, particularly seeing as there are bits of Roman writings that compile historical focus that could have bolstered the foundation of this text. That being said, this book made clear in the introduction it was not focused on the historicity of the gospel accounts but rather Peter’s life & ministry in the early church, so this is really just a minor grievance on my part. Overall it is a pretty good introductory and quick read for anyone looking to learn more about the life of Saint Peter.

Overall Rating: 3.75/5

Would I Recommend? Yes