The gospels tell us that Peter knew Jesus for at least three years. He was one of his closest friends and followers. He heard Jesus speak and teach, he saw Jesus work miracles. Peter was at the Last Supper with Jesus; he was witness to all that happed to Jesus. And, as we know Peter not only witnesses these events, he was directly involved in them. Famously, he denied that he even knew Jesus as he was being arrested and beaten prior to his crucifixion and death. Peter lost faith in Jesus, but Jesus never lost his faith in Peter.
When Jesus appeared to his friends after the resurrection, he asked Peter not once, but three times whether he loved Jesus! When Peter says he did love him, Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep… feed my sheep.’ So Peter, the very one who denied and disowned Jesus is now called, chosen and entrusted with responsibility of leading this new infant group called ‘The Christians,’which will eventually become the Church, the People of God.
Given his history, no one in their right mind would have picked Peter to lead the new church. But God’s ways are not our ways. God does not choose the powerful, the wealthy, the clever or the important. God chooses the least likely who have the most potential. As it says in the Old Testament; God does not look at outer appearances, but at the heart of a person.
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