There were only 3 times in the gospels when Jesus spoke directly to Simon and called him by his God given name “Peter”. I will try to refer to Peter as Simon throughout this brief study since that is his original family given name. Even though we will find that Jesus called him Peter from the very beginning, for a much of his time with Jesus he was called Simon. We know him mostly as Peter because we are looking back in time.
The gospel accounts show that Jesus spoke to Simon several times and in many different contexts. Although I would like to study out the times Jesus and Simon interact directly, I will not do that here since that was not the homework assignment given to us by Pastor Bob Claycamp.
In the first gospel of Matthew chapter 16 verse 17, Jesus speaks to Simon and uses his God given name “Peter”. Jesus had just asked His disciples the following question, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” I say “God given” because it was the name that Jesus Himself gave to Simon. This was not Simon’s given name. His given name was Simon, the son of Jonah. Being known as the son of Jonah might have had some discouragement associated with it, simply because of the reminder of the reluctant prophet that was swallowed by a giant fish. Simon ironically was a fisherman by trade and I can only imagine some of the teasing that he would have had to endure due to his fathers name.
Simon answered according to what the Father had revealed to him. At this time Simon’s faith had been building. He had already walked on the water towards Jesus, participated in the feeding of the five thousand, been sent out to go and preach the kingdom of heaven, and been taught much wisdom from the Messiah. Jesus had just spoken to the disciples and said “whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven…” (Matthew 10:32) This is part of what is happening here in this first example when Jesus is asking the question “who do men say that I am?“. We can see in the response of Simon when asked this question that his faith is solid as a rock. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This is such a great response from Simon! Simon knew that Jesus was the Son of the living God, and he very boldly spoke what he knew to be true. Jesus, with the authority of the Father, blessed Simon and He spoke to him ““Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah“. That’s not all that Jesus says to Simon in this interaction though; His comments are very amazing and prophetic. Things that we still debate over in Christendom today are mentioned here and it’s no wonder Jesus commands all the disciples to not tell anyone else that He was the Messiah. There was a lot packed into these few sentences that Jesus spoke personally to Simon which we have the privilege of reading today.
Jesus confirms that it was the Father God who had revealed this wisdom to Simon. This wisdom was pure and came down from the Father of Lights. It was peaceable wisdom, there was no debate by any of the other disciples. We know that the disciples debated amongst themselves later about who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, but in this interaction there appeared to be no arguing or issues with the prophetic words Jesus was speaking to Simon. Next, Jesus said that Simon was “Peter”, meaning “rock” or “stone”. Perhaps the disciples were confused about this or that they just chose to accept it. Following Jesus’ declaration of who Simon was (as Peter), He stated that He would build His church on “this rock”. I find this interesting because this was only 1 of 2 times in the gospel accounts where Jesus used the word “church”. The other time is in reference to church discipline, and also in the book of Matthew. These disciples would have understood this word to mean “the assembly or congregation of people” and not a physical building or “the church” like we refer to it today. It was this assembly of people all united together in their beliefs that Jesus said “He would build”. Taking the pressure off Simon in this sentence, Jesus also declares that the gates of Hades would not prevail against it. Wow, there was such power in this congregation of people that were united in one common goal.
Jesus had a lot to say to Simon here. WIth everything that Jesus spoke here, at first hearing it sounded like Simon was being elevated above everyone else. This could have made the disciples feel like they were not as important as Simon. However, with everything that Jesus said, it was all dependent on Jesus, not on Simon. So, hopefully this would have helped Simon feel relieved if there was any sort of pride starting to well up inside him. Jesus was stating what He would do, and Simon was only the vessel in which Jesus would do His work.
If we focus here on the fact that Jesus was calling Simon by the name “Peter” we can focus on the name Peter as opposed to the gravity of what was being said. That is a study alone in itself because the words of Jesus here were so breathtaking that it deserves it’s own study. It is not a character study, it is a prophetic and historical study more than a character study in my opinion. So we will return again to the name “Peter” in the rest of this assignment.
Once Jesus had blessed Simon Bar-Jonah (“Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah”), He continued and likely reiterated what Simon may have already heard when He called him “Cephas” in John 1:42. Perhaps Simon had forgotten who Jesus had called him to be the first time he met him and needed to be reminded of that? In John 1:42, Andrew, Simon’s brother was already convinced that Jesus was the Messiah and came to tell his brother. Simon may have doubted that at first, but now he was convinced that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. We are back in time now, because although the Matthew verses are from the first book of the gospels, it was not actually the first time that Jesus had called Simon “Peter”.
The reference in John 1:42 we should have probably started with since it was the first time that Simon met Jesus. It’s an interesting account and one that I am sure gets skipped over easily. Simon’s brother Andrew had been following John for a while and was there when John proclaimed “Behold the Lamb of God”. Andrew, so encouraged that the Messiah was on earth, came and told his brother and brought him to Jesus. It is here that Jesus gives him his God given name. We can say God given here because Jesus was literally God on earth. The meeting between the three of them I believe lasted longer than the two sentences that Jesus spoke to Simon. Isn’t it just like Jesus though to pack so much into a single interaction, with just two sentences?
The first thing Jesus declares to Simon is simply his name. He states “You are Simon the son of Jonah.” It was almost as if Jesus had heard about Simon before. Perhaps Simon was the joke of the town, or more realistically, Andrew had introduced his brother to Jesus and said this is Simon. Jesus may have had a chance to meet with Andrew since it was he and one other disciple that followed Jesus after His baptism by John. Family names would have come up in conversation, and so Jesus (humanly speaking) would have learned that Andrew’s father was Jonah. Thus, when Andrew introduced his brother to Jesus, the same assumption would have been made that this was “Simon son of Jonah”.
I am glad that Jesus didn’t just say that. It would have been a lame thing to put in the Bible if that was all He said. Luckily for us, God is bigger than that and continued on in saying “You shall be called Cephas“. Cephas in Aramaic is “kepha” which is translated in Greek as “Petros” and to english is “Peter”. The meaning of the word is “stone” or “rock” and we see that mentioned at the end of the verse in John for our clarification.
Interesting to me is the idea that Jesus from the very beginning called Simon by his God given name, Peter. What must Simon have thought when Jesus, the Messiah, called him “Rock”. Peter might have said to himself “is He implying that I would sink like a stone if thrown into the sea?” or “Just because I am a fisherman doesn’t mean that I am as dumb as a rock!“. There is no more that is mentioned of this meeting with Jesus but we do know that he went on to follow Him after this. Simon likely was perplexed in his mind and kept these things in his heart like Mary did knowing about who Jesus was. The only ones around at the time were probably a few disciples, and this was the very beginning on their ministry, so it was one of those events that was recorded very briefly, but may not have been remembered at all by anyone else. I think we can rest assured though that Simon remembered and he would be reminded of it two more times while following Jesus.
The final time that Jesus spoke to Simon and called him by the name “Peter” was in the book of Luke, chapter 22 and verse 34. He says “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.” How demoralizing this might have been for Simon to hear this at the time. It came at a time just after Judas was went to betray Jesus. In all other gospel accounts Judas is identified by Jesus as the betrayer right before this section of scripture. Feelings were likely low, the disciples had just received a hard word from Jesus, and then Simon is told that Satan had asked for him specifically so that he might sift him. The only possible redeeming part of this statement from Jesus was that “[He] had prayed for him, that [his] faith should not fail; and when [he] had returned to [Jesus], to strengthen [his] brethren.” Simon replies quickly, in an apparent attempt to be self justified by saying “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.“.
Jesus, knowing better, responds quite simply with the truth. And sometimes the truth does hurt. Little did the disciples fully realize that this was just the beginning of the hurt they would experience. Simon specifically had just faced a hard truth and his gut reaction was likely to raise himself up rather than accept the prayers of Jesus. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and this is what just happened to Simon here. When this happens we as humans always seem to forget so quickly the encouragement that Jesus has already spoken into our life. He was praying for Simon, and so was the Father God hearing the prayers so that Simon would go in the strength God had given him to encourage his brothers. But those words likely were not recognized at this moment and only realized later.
This last time Jesus called Simon by his God given name Peter was interesting because it showed that although Jesus had previously called Simon by the name Peter and it went along with some great encouragements, this time, the truth was not as encouraging. What this says to me is that Jesus knows my frame, and he knows that I am but dust. There is nothing that He can’t forgive me for, including my denying of Him, or my unfaithfulness to Him. Simon did end up returning to the brethren and encouraging them. But he also had several more interactions with Jesus before He was crucified, none of which he was called out by the name Peter again. Simon was starting down a path that he may not have actually understood at this point. He was compromising his beliefs, he was unsure of his identity, and his faithfulness to the Messiah still had some remnants of his flesh.
Peter, being called the Rock of the church would eventually compromise fully and deny that he knew Jesus three times, just as Jesus had spoken to him. In the book of revelation, chapter 2 verse 17 we hear some similar words from Jesus except this time to a church. The church of Pergamos had compromised their beliefs and Satan was alive and well in the church which Jesus did not like at all. He spoke to the church saying that He would give the church a white stone with a new name written on it which no one knows except him who receives it. I can’t help but think that once Simon came to himself, after that third denial, he remembered who he was. When we have fallen so hard like Peter we need to be reminded of who we really are. The church in Pergamos were given a new name that no one else knew, and Simon was also given a new name that only Peter understood the full significance of.
The next we hear about Simon after the crucifixion we see him listed in the book of Acts as the name Peter. The disciples began to call Simon by his God given name immediately. We don’t read about any more arguments with the disciples, nor does Peter need to convince anyone that Jesus had called him Peter. This name was settled by God and Peter knew it. Let this be a reminder for us that when Jesus speaks to us, we can know for sure that what He says is true.
So, although Simon was called Peter three times in the gospel accounts, I think the most important one to focus on was this first interaction Jesus had with him. When we meet Jesus for the first time there is something that happens which we can’t explain. If we meet Him and come to a saving faith at that time, our lives are forever changed. This is what happened to Simon here. His name was changed, just like Jacob when he wrestled with God and his named changed from Jacob to Israel. When we meet God, our name changes also. We are from that point on called a child of God. God also reveals to us who we will be over time. Our life is changed, and just like Simon was changed in this interaction, so too are we when Jesus speaks to us. We may fall, backslide, and even deny Jesus like Simon did, but it will never change how much Jesus loves us, and this is type of love that Jesus had for Simon. He has that same love for your and I today. So whether your name be James, or Bob, or Mary or Dorcas you can rest assured that Jesus does call you by name, and we can glorify Him by name in all we do. Amen.