Peter’s original name was Simon. It was his brother Andrew who first had an encounter with Jesus. Andrew told Peter that the Messiah had been found, and when Peter came to meet Jesus, the Lord gave him a new name, Cephas (or Peter in Greek). Later, Jesus meets him again at his boat, and after a miraculous catch of fish at a time when the men were not able to catch anything, he hears the Lord say, “From now on you will be fishers of men.” Peter had been a rich man, with a house and servants. But he left everything and followed Jesus. Eventually he was in the core group from among the 12 disciples that was closest to Jesus. Peter was from Bethsaida but later moved to Galilee in Capernaum. Jesus often lodged at his home.

Peter wrote his first epistle in 64-65 A.D., in Rome. He was assisted by Sylvanus (Silas) who penned the letter. Peter was killed by Nero in 67-68 A.D.

The first letter is addressed to the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (v 1) – all in modern day Turkey. It appears that Peter, along with his wife (see 1 Corinthians 9:5) and Silas visited these churches after Paul had worked among them. Peter wrote to them while he was in prison.

Though these churches may have been established by Jewish believers, they were made up of many Gentiles too. The apostles would go to a synagogue and begin teaching. If anyone accepted them into their homes, that would become an anchor point for them to continue their work. This is the New Testament pattern of church establishment.

The theme of Peter’s letters is the Christian’s response to suffering and persecution. He exhorts believers to see trials through the lens of hope, looking to Christ for strength.

In verse 1, Peter identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus.  He had received the name Cephas from the Lord, which in Aramaic meant a small rock, taken from a larger one (John 1:40-42). Peter was an impulsive person who liked to take things into his own hands. He was quick to stand up for Jesus and also quick to deny even knowing Him. But Jesus saw not only who Peter was, but also what the power of God could do in him. This Peter who was like a small stone later became one of the pillars of the church in Jerusalem. God used him to open the doors of the gospel to the people. He preached and 3000 were converted. He laid hands on people for the imparting of the Holy Spirit. He brought the gospel to Cornelius’ home.

In Matthew 14:22-33 (and Mark 6:45-52) we find an incident in Peter’s life that stands out as a lesson in faith. From this narration of what happened that night in the stormy sea, here are a few lessons we can glean:

1. When we obey God, it doesn’t guarantee freedom from troubles

Jesus asked the disciples to get on the boat and go to the other side. They did it in obedience and found themselves in the midst of a storm. It is a mistake to subscribe to the idea that obeying God means that there will be no obstacles.

2. God sees you in the midst of your storm

Mark narrates that Jesus saw the disciples straining to row the boat as the wind was contrary to them. He sees us in our struggles.

3. We often fail to see God’s help in the storm

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water towards the boat, they thought it was a ghost and were afraid. Sometimes when we are in the midst of a storm, God is actually drawing nearer but we look with our natural eyes and fail to see His provision.

4. God is near

Jesus draws near to them and comforts them, “It is I, do not be afraid.” We need not worry even when faced with a storm. God never leaves us to face it alone.

5. Take a step of faith

Peter said, “Lord, if it is really you, command me to come to you on the water.” This should be our prayer of faith as well – that if it really is the Lord calling us into something, He would make us ‘walk on the water’ too. We could ask for many things as proof that it is really God speaking. But would we take a crazy step of faith? Peter had seen Jesus calm a storm before (Matthew 8:26). Now he wanted to go a step further. When we do step out of the boat in faith, we find that God indeed enables us to do what seemed impossible.

6. Fear and faith don’t go together

We need to keep our focus on God. If we fail to do that, the situation we’re in can cause us to fear and lose our faith. When we keep looking to Him, we can continue to walk on water. If we find that we are sinking, it’s because we lack faith. When Peter began to sink, it wasn’t because the waves had become stronger, but because he looked at the situation instead of keeping his focus on Christ.

7. God holds us up when we fall

When Peter began to sink, Jesus immediately caught hold of him.  Would you step out in faith knowing that God will catch you even if you do fall?

8. God walks with you in the storm

From Matthew 14:32 it is obvious that Jesus and Peter walked to the boat together. Isn’t it reassuring to know that God walks alongside you through the storm.=

9. A step of faith will be a testimony to others

Peter’s little step of faith, though with failure, turned out to be a testimony to all the others on the boat (Matthew 14:33). When you take a step of faith, you become a witness for Jesus.

In his first epistle, Peter encourages believers, knowing that persecution is on its way. He gives a lot of practical advice with regard to facing trials, the ultimate lesson being that we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus to make it through.