In my last post, we completed our journey through 140 posts in the series on Yesha’yahu, which we started on January 20, 2019. In this post, we will begin to examine the character and writings of Kefa (Peter).

I have been in prayer for several months of where to go next with this blog. I knew I would like to get back to the Brit Hadashah (New Covenant). You may recall that I did a character study about Eliyahu and Elisha in the last couple of years, and I wanted to do a character study on one of the Emissaries (Apostles).

Why Kefa?

Kefa has always amazed me since I first learned about him. As we will see, he is quite the character. But he influenced me to make a decision that I had been praying on for several years. If you have read my About page, you know I was raised in the Episcopal Church, and through Faith Alive and Cursillo weekends, I came into a saving knowledge of Yeshua on a whole new level. We liked our church family, our priest, and even after we moved to an adjacent city continued to attend. However, our priest was called to a church in Michigan, and we did not care for his replacement. What to do?

Well, during my first Cursillo weekend, I was assigned to sit at the “St. Peter’s” table. Well, I knew that Kefa had authored to short letters, and so during a couple of breaks, I read both. Initially, I thought 1 Kefa was practical, while 2 Kefa, not so much. I was reminded of this experience when I learned that there was a mission church in the city we lived in. Its name was St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. We gave it a try and settled in until the next move. Hunches, no, it’s a God-thing.

So, What Do We Know About Kefa?

 Image courtesy of The Ultimate Bible Character Guide. Click on image to enlarge.

Some years ago, my mother bought us a coffee-table book entitled “The Chosen Twelve Plus One.” [1] It is a beautiful book of Mr. Hollett’s depiction of the original twelve Emissaries and Sha’ul. He photographed thirteen real men who he thought depicted the character traits of the Apostles they represented. This is his Kefa.

Note: the dirty fingernails.

Macartney was a gifted writer and minister in the first half of the 20^th century. I would like to share just a few initial quotes from his bio-sketch of Kefa.

“They were all human men whom Jesus called to follow Him, but Peter reveals more of himself than any of the others, and to self, he shows is so remarkably like the self that followers of Jesus today see in themselves that I venture to name Peter the most human of the Apostles.” I am guilty!

“Not only is Peter the speaker and the actor whom we know best, but when he does speak and act, he does so in a manner that is peculiarly self-revelatory … Peter is one of those whole-hearted men who do whatever they do, in good or in evil, with their whole might, leaving no slightest doubt as to the kind of person who is speaking or acting … He was a non-deliberative, warm-hearted, impulsive, quick-acting soul who was mastered by the motive of the moment, whether it was good or bad.”

With this thumbnail sketch, let’s walk through the Gospels and the Book of Acts to form our own opinion of this remarkable Saint.

My plan for this series is to follow Kefa through the Gospels and the Book of Acts to learn more about him as a person and then finish off with a verse-by-verse examination of 1 & 2 Kefa.

Click here for the PDF version.

[1] “The Chosen Twelve Plus One,” illustrated by Harry Hollett with text by Clarence E. Macartney, Multnomah Press, Portland, Oregon © 1980.