Living Stones – Saturday, January 27, 2018
Name change
John 1:42
“You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas”
This calling of the first disciples was a most significant event in the ministry of Jesus as He started to lay the foundation for the church long before Calvary. There’d be no church without Calvary, but he couldn’t wait until Calvary to set it up. All four of the Gospel writers have recorded this story and each has a different perspective from which we have been able to piece together the whole story.
There is the passage we have studied, Matthew 4:18-22, and then there is Mark 1:16-20. Mark and Matthew both have the abbreviated version of events. Luke, the researcher that he is, and writing as someone who wasn’t an eyewitness, was able to capture greater detail in Luke 5:1-11 and painted an amazing picture for us on his canvas. John also captures the story in John 1:35-42 but, as expected John’s perspective is very different.
Although John was an eyewitness and participant in the events on the seaside of Lake Gennesaret he chose to tell the story of the first disciples from a different place that gives us a broader picture and understanding of these events. We said yesterday that the events on the seashore were not the first time that Peter, his brother Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee were meeting Jesus.
John confirms this and shows us somethings not exposed in the story so far. Apparently, these guys, when they weren’t at sea, they were fishing for truth. They had recognised that there was something missing in the religious order of which they were a part and were seeking something deeper and more meaningful. They were also, in a sense, looking for the Messiah.
We deduce this because some of them had been disciples of John, they had been baptised by him and he had taught them that he was not the Messiah but merely the advance party to make a way for Him. Andrew was with John-the-Baptist earlier when Jesus passed by and John had shouted, “Behold the Lamb of God!” John 1:35.
Fisherman Andrew was one of those who heard John and quickly went to get his brother. His declaration to his brother essentially said that he had found what they had been searching for in all those times when they were not at sea, “We have found the Messiah” he said. John 1:41.
It seemed like they were looking for the Messiah, that John was the forerunner for, and that they had these desires for God’s truth that fisherman Simon quickly ran off with Andrew to see this person he talked about. With excitement like that which occurs when a school of fish get caught up in their nets despite a bad weather day, they go off to see this Jesus, this Messiah. They spent the better part of a day with him, but they were not yet His disciples, and they had not yet been challenged to leave everything for Him.
There is one little thing that occurred that, while we are aware of it, we have failed to focus on it and its meaning for us. When Andrew introduced his brother Simon to Jesus, Jesus takes one look at him and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” John 1:42. Simon got a name change.
God has been in the business of name changes throughout the scriptures. Here are examples, Abraham was previously called Abram, but in Genesis 17:5 we have this account, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” God gave Abram a name change as he outlined his future.
Then later Jacob had a name change after a very bizarre and eventful night. “And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”” Genesis 32:28
Later, in the New Testament, we see Saul, after his conversion on the road to Damascus and his growth as a Christian and a minister, using the name Paul rather that Saul, the name most familiar to the church he formerly persecuted and the name by which Jesus addressed him on the road. “Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him …” Acts 13:9
God’s name changes seem to be related to his call and to the ministry or mission that he was about to establish the person in. Hear the name and know the mission, it seemed. But, if that was the case how could Jesus give Simon the name change when he did? Simon was an aggressive, impulsive and unstable man who seemed to speak or act and then give thought to what he said or did long after.
If we look carefully at Dr Luke’s record in the Acts, we notice something though. When there was no leader after Jesus left, Peter assumed the role, “And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said … Acts 1:15. Then, on the day of Pentecost, “Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.” Acts 2:14. And it was he who made the first foray into the Gentiles with his reluctant visit to the home of Cornelius.
Here’s the thing, Jesus did not change Simon’s name because of who Simon was. He changed his name because of what He called Simon to do and who he was going to become by God’s grace.
Think on these things:
- Can you give an account of how your life changed since you met Jesus?
- Are you still experiencing change that you could identify?
- If God changed your name what would your new name represent?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we, like Peter, would become who God called us to be.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex