“He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). – John 1:41–42- (ESV)
The Apostle John’s account of how Peter and Andrew became followers of Jesus might sound different than the one in Mark. However, that is not the case. Each account is accurate. Mark’s gospel is to the point but condensed without much detail and John’s is filled out with more detail. Andrew had been following John the Baptizer until he sees Jesus walking by. The Baptizer had told them who was coming would be the greater one and it was Jesus who was the Lamb of God. Andrew did not want his brother Simon to miss out so he finds Simon and declares to him that the Messiah had been found. Simon comes out to see what all the commotion in Andrew was about. The result for Simon is life-changing for him. It would be a career changer as well. Jesus tags Simon with a new name, Cephas. This name was in Aramaic which we translate into Peter. God specialized in changing names at critical moments in a person’s life. Just as Jacob became Israel, Peter which in its Aramaic form, Cephas, means “stone” or “rock.” A promise of Jesus that Peter would become. Simon Peter will fulfill that promise.
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