The very different careers of Peter and Paul, the two great apostles of Jesus

Last updated on November 20th 2014

Based on my somewhat limited study of early Christianity I now have the impression that the two most prominent apostles responsible for the spread of Christianity after the trauma of the crucifixion of Jesus and the (believed) resurrection of Jesus from the dead, are Peter and Paul. Now Paul did not see Jesus and was involved with the initial persecution of the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, after they had started spreading the message of Jesus including telling about his resurrection. But Paul became a great messenger of Jesus after a transforming experience.

Recently I saw a couple of videos on Paul, and (most of) a regular movie on Peter. The general impression I have is that while these videos may have immense value for some of those interested in the Christian faith, I am not so sure about how accurate they are from a viewpoint of current mainstream scholarly knowledge about Peter and Paul. When I say scholarly knowledge I refer mainly to academic and other scholars (like theologians) of Biblical literature and related material, including archaeological evidence. These are people who give fair amount of value to Biblical literature as against some scientists who refuse to accept anything in the Bible unless there is scientific evidence available for it. In other words, in my view, academic scholars of early Christianity are very different from some academic and non-academic scientists who are skeptical of the divinity of Jesus.

For this post I have used the following two main sources:

a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter

b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle

Now the wikipedia pages mentioned above may have some inaccuracies as some wikipedia pages have been reported to have. But I think that overall it seems to have provided a decent range of scholarly and other views on Peter and Paul.

I have also used what I recall from my reading (and viewing video(s) which voice the gospel and enact the scene) of the Gospel of Mark and some other parts of the New Testament (mainly the canonical gospels i.e. gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). [For more on canonical gospels and non-canonical gospels (which, I believe, is also referred to as apocryphal gospels) see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel#Canonical_gospels and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel#Non-canonical_gospels.]

Note: I have used below, the term Jesus-followers, at times, to refer to the early Christians as these followers were initially viewed as just as a variant sect of Jews and not as a separate religion of Christians.

1] Peter was a Jewish fisherman who was one of the early followers of Jesus. Peter, being a fisherman in that age, is believed to not have undergone formal education of the type that Paul underwent [Jesus also is believed to have been a carpenter and so not to have undergone any formal education]. Peter, like Jesus and most of the other followers of Jesus, was not a Roman citizen. He witnessed many miracles of Jesus and had a lot of faith in Jesus. Jesus too gave a lot of importance to Peter. However, despite all the faith he had in Jesus, Peter got scared (terrified, rather) at the time of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, and denied knowing Jesus thrice on the day & night of the crucifixion (I am not sure if it is night only or day & night).

Paul also was a Jew. But he was from Tarsus (in modern day Turkey) and had learnt the art of tent-making. Paul was also known as Saul. Paul was a Roman citizen and is said to have inherited this Roman citizenship from his father. Paul is believed to be a Pharisee (sect of Jews at Jesus' time). Paul came to Jerusalem to learn Jewish law under a great rabbi called Gamaliel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamaliel. Paul was therefore, not only literate, but a learned man of Jewish law. His learning and his roman citizenship seem to have been vital factors in the success of his evangelical and church organizational mission among non Jews (and some Jews too perhaps) in many parts of the Roman empire, including Rome itself.

2] Peter's faith in Jesus came from his direct experiences of Jesus' miracles, his direct experience of Jesus' paranormal knowledge about people & events, and his interaction with Jesus' after his resurrection. That made him a powerful preacher who perhaps had deeply imbibed Jesus' teachings and had developed immense faith in Jesus (son of God) and God. Along with the brother of Jesus, James the just, Peter would have been one of the main leaders of flock of Jesus after the crucifixion. That Peter and others were able to overcome the devastating blow and terror of the crucifixion, and pluck up the courage to not only express faith in Jesus in private gatherings, but also try to spread the word about Jesus' resurrection and his teachings in traditional Jewish law dominated Jerusalem, is great testimony to the faith in Jesus of Peter and other leaders of Jesus' flock in Jerusalem.

Paul was in the opposing camp of Jewish law students and teachers - not only opposing camp, but actually persecution camp! Paul was active in one of the first (or the first) Christian martyrdoms, that of Stephen in Jerusalem (death by stoning for blaspheming against Jewish law by upholding divinity of Jesus). This happened after the crucifixion (and resurrection) of Jesus. It seems to me that Paul and his community of Jewish law scholars and students may have been derisive of not-formally-educated Jesus and his followers (most of whom may have not been formally educated). It would have been a huge affront to them to get challenged by Jesus through his miracles and his criticism of Jewish law leaders for not following Jewish law in the correct spirit. In other words, Paul was part of the Jewish religious establishment whose dominance and authority was challenged by materially poor, mostly non-scholarly and humble Jesus' and his followers. Paul and co. did not like this challenge and so set out to destroy the challengers! Harsh, but I think that seems to have been the reality then.

Then Paul had a transformational experience where he had a vision of the resurrected Jesus. Scholars are not in agreement on the specific details of this vision (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#Conversion). But the version that seems to have popular acceptance is of Paul having a blinding vision of Jesus on the way to Damascus (to persecute the Jesus-followers there). Paul is said to have recovered his sight after three days through a kind-of miracle done by/through a Jesus-follower in Damascus. From a persecutor of Christians, he became a fervent Christian and one of Christianity's greatest apostles! But his knowledge of Jesus' teachings would have been second-hand (unless he had direct revelation of the teachings too from visions of Jesus which seems rather improbable). Further, perhaps he was impressed by the loving behaviour of the Jesus-followers, some of whom had direct contact with Jesus, that he persecuted in Jerusalem. And maybe, as a student of Jewish law, he would have studied the teachings of Jesus as known to other Jews, especially the Jewish law teachers & students in Jerusalem, and as preached/spread by the followers of Jesus.

3] Peter and most of the other apostles seem to have confined their preaching to other Jews in Jerusalem and other Jewish communities in contact with Jerusalem, the holy city of the Jews, but who were spread across various parts of Asia & Europe (and maybe Africa too). Note that Jesus too preached mainly to the Jews, if not only to the Jews. So early followers of Jesus were more of a sect of Jews who followed a mix of traditional Jewish law and new, or seemingly new, teachings of Jesus. Note that the Jews followed the practice of circumcision. Peter seems to have been one of the beloved leaders of Jesus-followers and seems to have been quite non-controversial.

Paul, who was a Jew but a Roman citizen as well, preached to the Gentiles (non Jews). The Gentiles then included Greeks and Romans. The Gentiles, or perhaps most of them, were not circumcised, and Paul did not insist on circumcision for them becoming Christians. This expansion of the followers of Jesus, who started getting referred to as Christians, to include non-Jews did not go down well with some of the other apostles and followers of Jesus, including those who had been with Jesus (in physical form). This got resolved in the council of Jerusalem, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#Council_of_Jerusalem, where Paul met the Jerusalem church leaders, including Peter, James and John, and they decided to accept the Gentiles as Christians without the need for circumcision. Paul seems to have been somewhat controversial in his efforts to spread Christianity among the Gentiles. Perhaps there may have also been some controversy about whether his teachings about Jesus were the same as the teachings of Jesus by the Jerusalem church (having leaders like Peter, James and John) as Paul did not interact with Jesus in physical form.

4] Peter seems to have been mainly based in Jerusalem and surrounding areas perhaps. His brief visit to Antioch is recorded, and he may have visited Corinth. Peter is believed to have gone to Rome during the last period of his life, and is said to have been martyred there, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#Death

Paul seems to have been a very vigorous traveling missionary, visiting and revisiting various places in Asia and Europe as part of his missionary efforts. He seems to have been the main missionary who formed and nurtured the early Christian following in Rome. His being a Roman citizen may have helped significantly in overcoming opposition to his missionary efforts in Rome and other places in the Roman empire. As a pioneering missionary Paul seems to have faced the greatest hardships among the apostles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#Hardships quotes from a section of the New Testament (Corinthians) that Paul faced a lot of prison, flogging, deadly danger, shipwreck, hunger, thirst, cold etc. Perhaps Paul has been and continues to be a great hero for the vigorous and hyperactive type of Christian evangelists.

5] Peter seems to have been the chief apostle in the Jerusalem church which was the centre of the early Christian faith, though the brother of Jesus, James the just, was viewed as the leader of the Jerusalem church. I mean, the main evangelist of the Jerusalem church then seems to have been Peter even if James the just was the organizational leader. Jesus was very pleased with Peter's faith in his divinity and referred to him as the rock on which his church will be built, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#.22Rock.22_dialogue (this is the origin of the name Peter being appended to his previous name of Simon, giving him the expanded name of Simon Peter). The Roman Catholic church gives Peter prominence among the apostles by referring to him as the first Bishop of Rome, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#Catholic_Church. "Furthermore, they consider every bishop of Rome to be Peter's successor and the rightful superior of all other bishops." So the current pope, Pope Francis, is also viewed as successor to Peter as bishop of Rome. However Peter does not seem to have left behind many writings though the Gospel of Mark (one of the four canonical gospels) is said to have been written by John Mark, an assitant of Peter, and so this gospel is "seen as the closest to Peter's viewpoint", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#Mark.

Paul, perhaps due to his scholarly knowledge, was very influential through writings attributed to him, a lot of which is included in the New Testament. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#Writings, "Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 14 have been attributed to Paul; 7 of these are widely considered authentic and Paul's own, while the authorship of the other seven is disputed. The undisputed letters are considered the most important sources since they contain what everyone agrees to be Paul's own statements about his life and thoughts. Theologian Mark Powell writes that Paul directed these 7 letters to specific occasions at particular churches. As an example, if the Corinthian church had not experienced problems concerning its celebration of the Lord's Supper,[1 Cor. 11:17-34] today we would not know that Paul even believed in that observance or had any opinions about it one way or the other." And "In Paul's writings, he provides the first written account of what it is to be a Christian and thus a description of Christian spirituality. His letters have been characterized as being the most influential books of the New Testament after the Gospels of Matthew and John."

So Paul seems to have been the great organizer of Christian religion and his writings influenced the leading thinkers/reformers of the Western Church (Roman Catholic and protestant churches). From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#Western_tradition, "Augustine's foundational work on the gospel as a gift (grace), on morality as life in the Spirit, on predestination, and on original sin all derives from Paul, especially Romans. In the Reformation, Martin Luther expressed Paul's doctrine of faith most strongly as justification by faith alone. John Calvin developed Augustine's predestination into double predestination." It is very interesting for me to note that the key organizer of the Christian religion as we know of it today was somebody who did not have direct interaction with Jesus!

6] Peter was a married man as per the New Testament.

Paul wrote in Corinthians (part of New Testament) that he was unmarried. Some scholars believe he was married (maybe after he wrote Corinthians) but New Testament scripture gives the impression he was unmarried, http://www.libertygospeltracts.com/question/prequest/paulwife.htm.

---- end main part of different careers of Peter and Paul ---

Additional Info:
In this context it is important to note that Peter and Paul are believed to have been martyred in the 60s (AD), at which time the Jerusalem church would have still been vibrant and powerful among the small Christian community across the various places in Asia & Europe where it had taken root. [There is some speculation that the martyrdom of Peter (and Paul) could have been triggered by charges that Christians of Rome were responsible for the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, which devastated Rome, raging for six days, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome. Nero was the Roman emperor then. From http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/PETEMART.HTM, "It is universally recognized that Peter suffered martyrdom in Rome during Nero's time. The traditional date is 67, a date common to Peter and Paul. But while even most scholars accept this date for Paul, research—especially in recent times—tends to pre-date Peter's martyrdom to the year 64 (the year of the fire in Rome and of the first great persecution campaign against the Christians)."]

[Note that Jesus crucifixion date is considered by scholars to be between 30 and 33 AD, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_of_Jesus#Chronology]

However in 70 AD, Jerusalem, which had been occupied (captured from the Romans) by Jewish defenders (rebels/zealots) in 66 AD, suffered a terrible sacking of the city by the Romans. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(AD_70), (the famous Roman historian Josephus writes) "This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind. And truly, the very view itself was a melancholy thing; for those places which were adorned with trees and pleasant gardens, were now become desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down." and "The slaughter within was even more dreadful than the spectacle from without. Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage." "Josephus claims that 1.1 million people were killed during the siege, of which a majority were Jewish, and that 97,000 were captured and enslaved ..."

After such a carnage the Jerusalem church too would have got devastated with most of its members either being killed, enslaved or having fled Jerusalem. Then the leadership of the Christian community would have moved to other cities like Antioch and Rome, with Rome eventually becoming the main centre.

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Given below is a slightly edited mail exchange with a correspondent on the above contents of this post:

Correspondent (C) wrote: They really contributed so much to spreading the message of Christ. In Peter's case ...He got direct experiences and proof for Jesus divinity; whereas Paul, he never had darshan (holy viewing) of Christ but still dedicated his life for the spread of Christ's Love.

This gives us a direct indication that God sees only the pure heart of His devotees, to select his true sevaks (servants) and not money, power and qualification.

So in Sai's mission, we have many Sai Peters :-)
Sai Pauls are yet to come :-)

Ravi (R) responded: Very interesting observations :).

C: Sir, what is canonised gospel?

R: Canonized gospels are the accounts of Jesus Christ that were selected to be incorporated in the New Testament (part of Bible). From what I read, they are four - gospels of Matthew, Mark, John and Luke.

Some other gospels which were not included in the New testament are available on the net, and these are referred to as apocryphal gospels. They are NOT part of the bible - i.e. not officially approved versions.

C: I also want to know about old and new Testaments... In the article you mentioned St Paul's direct messages are included in 7 books of New Testament. Are they apart of Bible sir?

R: The Bible has two parts: Old testament and New Testament. The old testament part is related to the Jewish faith and so is common with the Jews - remember, Jesus was a Jew. The New Testament is the part related to Jesus Christ and this is specific to Christianity. As far as I know, the Jews do not treat the New Testament as holy scripture related to Jewish faith. 

C: I have seen one documentary on Jesus life recently. In that they mentioned about Jesus married life. Is this true, sir?

R: The churches (Roman Catholic & others too, I believe) strongly deny these reports, and either say or imply that they are the work of people who want to create sensational stuff that sells and makes them money. I don't know enough of Christian scripture - both official accounts (where Jesus was unmarried) and unofficial accounts (some of the unofficial accounts mention that Jesus was married, it seems) - to have a considered opinion on the matter. 

However, my view is that the divinity of Jesus does not get affected by whether he was married or not. Krishna, who is one of my Ishta Devatas (favourite Gods), was married to multiple wives!