Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). John 1:42
Notice the special promise Jesus gave to Simon Peter: “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (1:42).
The footnote says that Cephas or Peter comes from the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek respectively. Why did Jesus say this to Peter? Nothing like this was ever said to Andrew, John or Philip.
A. W. Pink suggests: “By natural temperament Simon was fiery and impetuous, rash and unstable… What would such a man’s thoughts be when he first heard Andrew? Would he not say, ‘Why, I would be a stumbling block to the cause of Christ: My impetuous temper and hasty tongue will only hinder, not help.’”
Maybe you are holding yourself back from committing to Jesus for this reason: You think, I know myself, and if I became a follower of Christ, I would only let the Lord down. If that’s where you are, look at how Jesus deals with Peter: “Peter, I know all about you. I know what you are and I know what you will be. Right now, you are an impulsive man, a sinful man, and an unreliable man. But I will make you like a rock. Follow me!”
Jesus says in another place, “to the one who conquers… I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on [it]…” (Rev. 2:17). “What we will be has not yet been made known,” but there is hope here for every person today. Follow Christ and you will find that whatever you are when you come to him, he is able to make you anew.
Are you afraid of letting Jesus down? If yes, what does this mean to you?
