John 1:35-42Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated 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 is translated Peter). [NASB] The first thing I’d like to point out is that Jesus is referred to as “the Lamb of God” by John the baptist. Simply making an allusion to the fact that Jesus is like the present time sacrifice of unblemished animals to please God. Basically saying Jesus is the one and only sacrifice. No longer would going to the temple to sacrifice animals matter, for Jesus died (or in context would soon die) for us all. The second thing we see – “Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas”” – this is our intro to the man who is the subject of our study. Simply just Andrew’s brother, a guy we don’t hear too much else about. Imagine meeting Jesus and being renamed. Funny I do this now for jokes-sake. But really, running into the one who spoke the world into existence and he says “no your name is no longer Bryan, but now it’s בִּלתִי נִמנַע (inevitable) (Greek αναπόφευκτος pronounced “anafektos”)” at least that is what I imagine Jesus would nickname me because I believe he has his hand on my life and always has. No matter how many times I mess up he is there to help me and push me forward knowing that I will one day be a great servant of His. In this same light Peter was nicknamed “Rock”. As we will see as we continue to trek chronologically through Peter’s life, Christ often doesn’t call him by this nickname. In fact the only time he does is when Peter shows signs of being a true follower of Christ and does something awesome. Anytime he does something silly, or like the Peter that was around before he me Christ, he calls him Simon. Peter had to have known that anytime Jesus called his old name that he was in big trouble. Immediately, shocked, he would be thinking “ah dang it, I messed up again”. Christ nicknamed his Rock, or Peter, because that is what he wanted him to become. Jesus saw the potential in Peter and knew he would eventually grow into his new name. Other thoughts: The rest of the guys who met up with Jesus and checked out where he was staying believed the words of John the Baptist. Whatever he had done he made these guys completely see the truth. Our version of this story in John seems cut down, but John the Baptist had to have hugged him or something. This version makes it seems like Jesus shows up, John says “behold”, and then his friends leave for Jesus. Although that technically is John the Baptist’s purpose, I do not believe it happened that quick or that the two did not embrace or at least say “hello”. But I guess we can ask Jesus in heaven when the time comes. Questions for you: What do you think Jesus would nickname you? Where do you see yourself in your walk with Christ in ten years. Jesus knew clearly where Peter would end up and gave him a name that means solid, and sturdy. Try and describe this future of yours in a word, look up verses that include it, and find the original language. You may end up stumbling upon a beautiful name.