Who was the Apostle Peter?
Peter was a fisherman who became the bold, impulsive leader among Jesus’ twelve apostles — the one who confessed Jesus as the Christ, denied him three times, and was restored to “feed my sheep.”
Simon, renamed Peter (“rock”), left his nets to follow Jesus and quickly became a leader. He confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” yet denied Jesus on the night of the arrest.
The risen Jesus restored Peter by the lakeside with three questions — “Do you love me?” — and commissioned him to care for the flock. At Pentecost, Peter preached boldly and thousands believed.
Peter became a pillar of the early church, opened the gospel to the Gentiles, and wrote two New Testament letters before, by tradition, dying as a martyr.
Original BibleDawn answer · reviewed 2026-06. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.