The Life and Ministry of Peter and Paul
Peter and Paul are two of the twelve apostles and their lives and actions play a great role in formation of Christian consciousness. They are always considered as characters that must be together, but they have many different traits too. Peter is one of the closest disciples of Christ and Paul didn’t even take part in events that were mentioned in Gospel. He began his work much later, but it is still possible to compare their lives. Simon, who later had been called Peter, and his brother Andrew, were simple Galilean fishermen.
In general, the life of fishermen in Galilee was not enviable, and perhaps that's why Simon and Andrew decided to follow Christ after hearing the words: “Follow me, and I will make you the fishers of men”. That is how they became the first apostles. Paul, in contrary, was one of the representatives of elite of that time.Paul belonged to the Pharisees, who were the adherents of the Law, who followed all its requirements and all the tradition of the elders. In spite of the fact that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees we know several examples when the Pharisees became his devoted disciples, so that Paul was not the one.The Apostle Peter referred in the first part of the book of Acts. In subsequent chapters, he isn’t mentioned at all, because they are dedicated exclusively to missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.
However, Peter plays a major role at the first part of the Acts. In general, there are many differences between them. For example, Peter was married before meeting Christ and Paul decided to remain single, because family matters could interfere with his main aim and vocation. Paul even said about Peter that his wife was his companion. It means that family life doesn’t have to be a hindrance to missionary work.There was a turning point in lives of both of them that made them who they have become. Paul was on the road to Damascus when Christ asked him: “Paul, Paul! Why are you persecuting me?”. From that moment his life changed. It even wasn’t his own life anymore. It was dedicated to the preaching of God.
On the contrary, for Peter it was renunciation. On the eve of the crucifixion of Christ, he promised that he wouldn’t leave Christ in spite of everything, but Jesus answered that Peter would renounce him three times that night. Everything happened as Christ said. On his own example, the first of the apostles saw how easy it can be to become the last one. To sum up, Peter and Paul are very important personalities for Christian culture. They have much in common as well as they are totally different. Sometimes people don’t realize the difference between them, but their ways of becoming apostles and believing in God are not the same and their traits of character are very different, but the thing that …
