Joh 1:40 One of the two
who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41
He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the
Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to
Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of
Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).
Most everyone is
familiar with Peter! His brother Andrew was the one who introduced him to
Jesus. Andrew, after hearing the declaration of John the Baptist, and spending some
time with Jesus, is convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. He then seeks out his
brother to tell him the good news!
As he brings Peter to
Jesus, we get a little more proof concerning Jesus as the Son of God. There is
no recorded introduction by Andrew. He doesn’t say, “Jesus, I’d like you to
meet my brother Peter” Rather, the all knowing Jesus says “ I know your name,
and I know your father’s name. You are Simon, the son of Jonah!”
He goes on to say, “But
I am bestowing a new name on you, you shall be called Cephas.” (Translated A Stone)
What a strange name for
someone as volatile as Peter. My NIV Study Bible notes that Peter was anything
but a rock! He was impulsive and unstable, but after Jesus rose from the dead
and ascended into heaven, Peter became a pillar of the early church. Jesus
named him not for who he was, but for what, by God’s grace, he would become!
This is not without
biblical precedence. Abram’s name was changed by God for the same reason. Abram became Abraham which means “father of
many,” and that’s what he, by God’s grace, would become!
Peter would go on to
become known as the father of the church. His declaration to Jesus in Mt 16:16,
“You are the Christ,” is the foundational confession of the church!
This whole change in
Peter was brought about by his following Jesus. It was a process, with every
event in Peter’s life leading up to what he would become!
As a devoted follower of
Jesus Christ, you too, are involved in a process of crafting your new name
which will be bestowed on you in heaven. Everything that is happening to you
and will happen to you is preparing you for your new (perfectly descriptive) name
in heaven. Re 3:12 says, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name
of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down
out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
You, like Peter, will
not be named by what you were, but rather what you will become as a devoted
follower of Jesus!
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