Peter

Peter was one of the first people to become a friend of Jesus. He was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee when he met Jesus. He was impetuous – which means sometimes he rushed into things (and said things) before thinking about them!

Peter was introduced to Jesus by his brother, Andrew. He followed Jesus around the country for three years. He saw Jesus do many miracles and heard him say some amazing things about life and God. He was in a little group of friends who were very special to Jesus. They became known as ‘the Apostles’. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said these words to Peter, “Now I say that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (New Living Translation)

When Jesus went to heaven, Peter was given the job of ‘spokesman’ for the Friends of Jesus – he was a brave and strong leader. He helped many people to become Friends of Jesus.

Peter was a bold speaker; confident enough to talk to crowds of 3,000 people from all over the world. He made sick men and women better – just as he had seen Jesus doing. Not everyone liked what Peter and his friends were doing, but he would not stop even though bad people told him to be quiet, and tried to put him in prison. He wrote down some of what he learnt from Jesus and the two books which bear his name, 1 Peter and 2 Peter, appear towards the end of the Bible in the New Testament.