The Disciple Peter - The Centre Of Devotion – In The Fish Or In The Lord? Part 1 Of 4 Series

THE DISCIPLE PETER - THE CENTRE OF DEVOTION – IN THE FISH OR IN THE LORD? PART 1 OF 4

SERIES - THE CHARACTERS OF JOHN'S GOSPEL

We enter a 4 message study on the Apostle Peter. There is so much rich teaching in all of this. This is the first message.

John 1 v 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. John 1:41 He found first his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). John 1:42 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).

The next character in John’s Gospel we will study is Simon Peter, who is the best known of the disciples in the band of 12. The passage before us is where the first encounter between the Lord and Peter occurred, and it was through the agency of Andrew. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, but as a good and godly forerunner, John the Baptist pointed the way to Jesus in line with his famous statement in John 3 v 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” All correct ministry is not for the glory of the individual, or to make a dynasty for any one man or church, but to point to the Lord and to put people on the pathway to Christ. Andrew introduced his brother to the Lord, and there he remained. It says in the text of the NASB in verse 42 that Jesus looked at him. This word look used also in 1 v 36, means a fixed earnest look and what follows shows that Christ’s gaze penetrated to his heart and read his character. This is the all-knowing Lord who can do that. Jesus knew Peter’s name even before they were introduced, as He knew all about Nathaniel when he was under the fig tree before Nathaniel met Jesus.

Because of the silence in this passage, we don’t know if Simon Peter was a disciple of John the Baptist or not, so we don’t speculate. However it is certain that the brothers, like a good number of others, were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah was the promised one in the Old Testament, and was also known as The Prophet, the Son of David, and the King of the Jews. He was long expected, and 400 years had passed since the last book of Malachi had been written. That period is known as the 400 silent years or The Intertestamental Period. The devout Jews were searching for signs that the Messiah had come, but their expectations were not quite correct. They expected the messiah to establish the Kingdom for the Jews, the one we now call The Millennium, but in doing so, He would sweep away the Roman invaders. Many Jews were looking at a political revolution and expected the Jewish Messiah to have led that. However, Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost.

There is no doubt that Andrew and Simon expected Jesus Christ of Nazareth to set up that kingdom on earth. You will recall that following the 40 days after the Resurrection, and just before Jesus ascended, his disciples asked Him, “Lord, is it at this time You are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They were seeking the restoration of David’s kingdom, but the time was not to be then. Do you recall that when John the Baptist was in prison, he sent to Jesus to ask if He was really the promised one or if they should seek another? That may seem a strange question to ask, but I wonder if John the Baptist also expected the Kingdom to have been set up, even though Jesus was the Lamb of God, that John knew very well.

Christ or “Christos” in the Greek is the equivalent of Messiah in Hebrew, also explained by the Apostle John in verse 41. We don’t know what happened at that encounter except for one thing. It says Jesus looked at Simon and then gave him a name change. That is a surprise move when you first meet. Jesus changed his name from Simon to “Cephas”, and the name is Hebrew meaning a small stone, or can mean also, a small piece of a detached rock. What must Peter have thought when the Lord called him a small stone or pebble. (Of course all this would make sense later on as recorded by Matthew and not the Apostle John.) John adds in verse 42, the Greek translation of Cephas, and that is “Petros” or Anglicised to Peter. Petros also means small stone or pebble. That encounter was a powerful one, for Peter remained and never ventured off.