Our Third Eyewitness of Jesus – Peter the Apostle

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Because we are close to Jesus Christ’s return and many still do not believe in Him, I am reaching out to show why we can indeed believe in Jesus. Therefore, I am sharing eyewitness testimonies from credible witnesses of His day. Our third eyewitness of Jesus – Peter the Apostle. will now be seated on the witness stand.

Peter’s Testimony would stand up in any court of our day. He was a man of integrity. Moreover, he was the leader and spokesman of the early church and one of the most influential of all the disciples.

A Brief Overview of Peter’s Life

The Apostle Peter’s name was Simon a common name among Greeks and Jews. The name Peter was given to him by Jesus.

When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John.
You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
– Jn 1:42

However, he is sometimes referred to as Simon Peter – (Matt 16:16), Symeon – (Acts 15:14), or as indicated above Cephas.

Peter’s father John, was a fisherman by trade, as were his sons Peter and Andrew. They were from Bethsaida (Jn 1:44). However, when they met Jesus, they were residing in Capernaum (Mk 1:21, 29). It appears they were partners in the fishing business with James and John, sons of Zebedee (Luke 5:10). Mark 1:30 tells us that Peter was married.

As an Apostle…

Peter was respected by the early church right up until his death about 35 years after the death of his Lord.

The apostle Peter is clearly the most prominent character in the gospels except for Jesus Christ Himself. As far as the records are concerned, Peter spoke more than all the other 11 disciples put together. He was part of the “inner circle” along with James and John and he was with Jesus at all the major events of His life including His death and post resurrection appearances.

The influence of the apostle Paul was yet all but not existent in those early years. Therefore, it was left to Peter to be the leader and the human driving force for the early church. Consequently, his testimony about Jesus of Nazareth is of paramount importance.

Peter said it best himself:

For we have not followed cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to Him from the majestic glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we ourselves heard this voice, which came from heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain. – 2 Peter 1:16-18

Peter will now be sworn in and seated on the witness stand.

Testimony of Peter in the Book of Mark

Peters’ convictions about Jesus are contained in the sermons he preached in Acts and the two epistles he wrote. However, in the gospel of Mark we see Peter’s testimony concerning Jesus:

Identity
- He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Peter answered Him, “You are the Christ.” – Mark 8:29
Death and resurrection
- He [Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things… and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said this openly. And Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” – Mark 8:31-33
Transfiguration
- Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three sanctuaries: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, because they were very afraid.” – Mark 9:5-6
Promise of eternal reward
- Peter began to say to Him, “Look, we have left everything and have followed You.” Jesus answered, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left a house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,who shall not receive a hundred times as much now in this age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecution, and in the age to come, eternal life.” – Mark 10:28-30
Accuracy and power of Jesus’ prophetic word
- “On the next day when they had returned from Bethany, He was hungry. Seeing from afar a fig tree with leaves, He went to see if perhaps He might find anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing except leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And His disciples heard it. “In the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter, calling to remembrance, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” – Mark 11:12-14, 20-21
Ability to forecast the future
- “As He [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,“ Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” – Mark 13:3-4
Ability to predict personal behavior
- “Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you that this day, during the night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” But he [Peter] said more vehemently, “If I must die with You, I will not deny You.” They all said the same thing… “And the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought on this, he wept. – Mark 14:29-31, 72

This is an interesting testimony of Peter because it highlights the Lord’s supernatural abilities at the expense of Peter’s personal record.

Testimony of Peter in the Book of Acts

In the first sermon preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost note the references to the following events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. in. Keep in mind that all the following references to Jesus came from Peter spontaneously. Peter did not plan out ahead of time what he was going to say. You can read his first sermon in Acts 2:14-40. Below are highlights from his testimonial sermon.

and signs, which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know.”
Acts 2:23 -“You have taken Him, who was handed over to you by the ordained counsel and foreknowledge of God, and by lawless hands have crucified and killed Him…”
Acts 2:24 – “Whom God raised up by loosening the pull of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”
Acts 2:30 – “He [God] would raise up the Christ to sit on his [David’s] throne.”
Acts 2:31 – “He [David] foresaw this and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ,”
Acts 2:32 – “God raised up this Jesus, of which we all are witnesses.”
Acts 2:36 – “Therefore, let all the house of Israel assuredly know that God has made this Jesus…both Lord and Christ.”
Acts 2:38 – “Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins...”

Testimony of Peter to the Identity, Mission, and Actions of Jesus Christ

Throughout the book of Acts, Peter gives strong testimony to the identity, mission, and actions of Jesus Christ. In the following texts, Peter makes it clear his convictions about who Jesus was.

Acts 3:13– “The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Son Jesus”
Acts 3:15-16 – “You killed the Creator of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses…by faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And faith which comes through Him has given him perfect health in your presence.”
Acts 3:18-21 – “But what God foretold through all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled. Therefore, repent and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the One who previously was preached to you, Jesus Christ,¹whom the heavens must receive until the time of restoring what God spoke through all His holy prophets since the world began.”
Acts 3:26 – God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your iniquities.”
Acts 4:10-12 – “Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole. He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:33 – “With great power, the apostles testified to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all.”
Acts 5:30- 32 – “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging on a tree. God exalted this Man to His right hand to be a Ruler and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. We are His witnesses to these words, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Read the testimony of Peter to Cornelius found in Acts chapter 10.

Testimony of Peter in His Epistles

A man’s writings are usually an even more deliberate reflection of what he believes than any of his spontaneously delivered public speeches with that in mind let’s examine the two books that bear Peters’s name to see what he believed about Jesus, 30 or more years after the resurrection.

Testimony of Peter – 1 Peter 1

Followers of Jesus have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead – 1 Pet 1:3

Jesus Christ will return to earth – 1 Pet 1:7
Prophets foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow – 1 Pet 1:10-11
Followers of Jesus are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. – 1 Pet 1:18-19
Jesus was foreordained before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. – 1 Pet 1:20
God who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory. – 1 Pet 1:21

1 Peter Chapter 2

Jesus is a living stone who is rejected by men but chosen by God and precious. – 1 Pet 2:4
To you who believe, He is precious. But to those who are disobedient, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” – 1 Pet 2:7
Christ suffered for us – 1 Pet 2:21
He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. – 1 Pet 2:22
He was reviled, He did not revile back; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but He entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously. – 1 Pet 2:23
Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. – 1 Pet 2:24
Christ is the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls. – 1 Pet 2:25

1 Peter Chapters 3-5

Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust so that He might bring us to God. – 1 Pet 3:18
He also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who in times past were disobedient. – 1 Pet 3:19-20
Jesus has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers being made subject to Him. – 1 Pet 3:22
Christ has suffered for us in the flesh. – 1 Pet 4:1
The gospel was preached also to those who are dead so that even though they might be judged according to men in the flesh, they might live according to God in the spirit. – 1 Pet 4:6
Peter was a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. – 1 Pet 5:1
God of all grace, has called us to His eternal glory through Christ Jesus. – 1 Pet 5:10

Testimony of Peter – 2 Peter

Peter wrote 2 Peter near the end of his life. He knew his time on earth was growing short. (2 Pet 1:14) If ever there was an opportunity to recant his beliefs and save his life, it was now. However, we see in the following his convictions remained as firm as ever about the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus’ divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and excellence. – 2 Pet 1:3
He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises so that through these things you might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. – 2 Pet 1:4
Make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided for you. – 2 Pet 1:10-11
We have not followed cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. – 2 Pet 1:16
He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to Him from the majestic glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice, which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. – 2 Pet 1:17-18
The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness. But He is patient with us, because He does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance. – 2 Pet 3:9
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat. The earth also and the works that are in it will be burned up. – 2 Pet 3:10

There is no hint of waffling in Peter’s testimony even though he confesses that he knew his death as a martyr was imminent. Peter lived and died with the testimony on his lips and wrote that Jesus was the supernatural Son of God who died for our sins and rose again on the third day, just as the prophet said he would. From Pentecost on, Peter never wavered in his convictions.

Read: Who Was Peter and Why Was He So Important?