“SIMON ... THOU SHALT BE CALLED CEPHAS”

John 1:41-42

Morning Meditation 3/6/16

After I read my five Psalms this morning, I began perusing through the Scripture and saying, “Lord, what shall our Morning Meditation be today?” And when I came to the incident of Andrew bringing Peter to Jesus, I felt the Lord would have me share some thoughts with you.

John 1:41-42 says: “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”

First of all, this is not when Simon was saved. He had become a believer under the ministry of John the Baptist. As an Apostle one had to continue from the ministry of John the Baptist until Christ was taken up in the ascension to qualify (Acts 1:21-22) to be an apostle. A good passage to read with this is Matthew 4:18-19. This is when John’s disciples began to follow Jesus and it involves a call to service. Many have used this to teach soul winning and it is a good illustration. But it is not when Peter was saved. It is a time when he begins to follow Jesus in preparation for the ministry, i.e., “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men, (Matt 4:19). You do not call an unsaved man to fish for men.

This incident reveals that Jesus knew Simon. This is described in the words of 41: “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” John had preached concerning the Messiah (John 1:29-34). There is no doubt that Simon knew John’s message on this subject. But because of this passage, I believe this is the first time Simon had come to meet Christ personally and have someone (Andrew his brother in this case) say, “We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ..” This is the first time Simon met Jesus personally.

The words “And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone” reveal that Jesus knew Simon before Simon knew him. This is always the case. When I came to him as a lost sinner and confessed my sins and asked him to save me, I didn’t have to say, “Lord, I need to introduce myself to you. My name is Earl White. I need to tell you a little bit about who I am..” I didn’t have to say that to God. He already knew all about me. I needed to confess before him that I was a sinner. But it didn’t surprise him and I did not tell him a thing that he didn’t already know.

Since this is getting acquainted with the Lord beyond the salvation experience, I must say that Jesus already knew Simon. This is going beyond the saving relationship to a service relationship. Simon needs to know something from the very beginning. The one he is about to follow knows all about “Simon son of Jona.” He knows where Simon came from. He is the son of Jona. He is an adamic fallen man. He is named by his human father.. Before he can be renamed by Jesus, he has to know exactly who he is in Adam.

This is one of the reasons many have such a time with grace. They are constantly trying to cover up their past. They are clothing themselves with the fig leaves of self improvement. They say, “If I am going to serve him, I must clean up my life. I must be a better person, if I am going to be used of God. They somehow can’t grasp that they are naked before Jesus. My past and where I came from is not hidden from him. Simon begins to follow one from whom nothing can be hidden. Isn’t it amazing, that knowing what Jesus knew about Simon, he would still say to him, “Follow me?” That is grace.

The words, “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone” indicate the Lord’s intention to change Simon. The words “thou art” is a present indicative verb. The word “Simon” is the Greek form of a Hebrew/Aramaic name meaning “God has heard.” So we are going to go from “God has heard” (salvation) to “Cephas” which means “a stone.” The words “thou shalt be called” is a future passive indicative. The future tense means that Jesus is making a prophecy. Simon is not a “stone” at the present time. It is not what I am now that determines my acceptance for service. It is what Jesus can make of me. The verb is passive voice. This is when the subject (Simon) is acted upon. In other words, Simon will not call himself “Cephas.” This is what others will call him. The name “Cephas” is found six times in the New Testament. The first time is here where Jesus uses it.. Six in the number of man. Jesus takes Simon the son of Jona and makes him into the man God intended man to be. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles calls him Cephas five times. This is the number of grace. It takes grace to take “Simon son of Jona” and make him into “Cephas” which is “by interpretation, A stone.” Oh, the marvelous grace that takes me as a fallen son of Adam (a man made of dust) and makes me into a stone. Peter says: 1Pet 2:5: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

Someone has said, “every life is a plan of God.” I believe the Bible teaches that. God has a purpose for me. Paul said in Phil 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” It was the Lord who gave Simon his new name. At the time, Simon was not a rock. But Jesus kept working with him and until finally Simon became Cephas. I don’t think Simon ever felt like Cephas. He never called himself Cephas. He did call himself “Simon Peter” in his Second Epistle verse one. I think Peter always felt like Simon. He had learned that you can’t make yourself a rock by calling yourself a rock. Mark 14:31 says, “But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.” Simon tried to play the role of a rock here. But he learned that only Jesus can make a rock out of dust.

When we come to Jesus and confess ourselves sinners, it does not surprise him. He knows us as sons of Adam. When we come to him for service, we must be willing for him to rename us. He will change us. I must be willing for him to change me. This change will take place over a period of time. It will never be fast enough. I will try to help him along the way. And when I do, I will only be embarrassed at my failure. But if I will endure his chastening (Heb 12:7-10) he will take me from where he found me to the place he has planned for me. The Lord is able to take “Simon” and make “Cephas.” May the Lord give me wisdom to cooperate with the process.

In Christ

Earl White