age in His name, ôFollow me, and I will make you fishers of men.ö
In Peter in the Gospels, Timothy Wiarda argues that the Gospels characterize Peter more fully than most other Apostles, making him appear to be ôhistorical and revealing ôsomething of his actual character and experience.ö In other words, Peter is not a stereotype or Christian symbol as revealed in the Acts or the Gospels but resembles more an actual figure of history. This may be intentional as Peter is meant to serve as the model of followers of Christ, being particularly human in his desire to remain faithful to Christ but unable to completely do so. He swears to Jesus that he will never abandon him, even if all the other Apostles do so, but he denies Christ three times. He weeps when he discovers his weakness and eventually travels the world preaching the message of Jesus as his penance. As Wiarda points out, Peter intends to act on or express ôpositive intentionö toward Jesus only to meet with a response that is characterized by a ôreversed expectation.ö
It is shown that Wiarda outlines a number of traits belonging to Peter that make him seem most historical or real among the Apostles. He is found in Mark being described as possessing an ôincautious readiness to venture an opinion,ö and in Luke it is shown that he is often in ôawe in the presence of Jesus leading to a sense of unworthiness.ö It is can be seen that such depictions of Peter in the Gospels and in the Acts makes him seem strong yet vulnerable in a way that mirrors the human condition with respect to the relationship between humans and Christ. Likewise, Peter will become the first Pope, a standard-bearer for all Popes who follow after him. As such, it can be seen that his characteristics were important for the Gospel writers to describe in detail in order to demonstrate both the strength and vulnerability of those who hope to be saved through faith in Christ and adhering to ...