John 1:42

OLBGrk;

Andrew having found his brother Simon, conducts him to Jesus. Andrew, and Simon, and Philip were citizens of Bethsaida, 1 Thessalonians 1:44, which was a city of Galilee; how near to the place where John baptized, or Christ lodged, we cannot say. Probably Simon was one of John's disciples, and came to attend his ministry; so as the disciples only sought him in the crowd, and came with him to Christ. When Christ beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon; he knew him, and called him by name, and told him his father's name, Jonas, and giveth him a new name, Cephas, which by interpretation doth not signify a head, (as the popish disputant at Berne urged, to prove him the head of the church, as if it had been a Greek word, and came from kefalh; or, as he pretended, ridiculously enough, from an old Greek word, kefav), but a stone (as this text tells us); by which name we find him called, 1 Corinthians 1:12, 1 Corinthians 3:22 9:5 15:5 Galatians 2:9: in other places Peter, which signifieth a stone also, or a rock. Cephas is a Syriac word, Peter a Greek word: Christ gave him the name. Both Cephas and Peter are by interpretation, a stone. Beza thinks that our Saviour did not here give him that name, but foretell that he should be so called. Casaubon thinks that the name was here given to him, and with it a new spirit; that whereas before he was (according to his father's name Jonas, which signifies a dove) fearful and timorous, from this time forward he was as a rock, steady, firm, and full of courage and constancy: but it is a greater question how this text is to be reconciled with Matthew 4:18, where Andrew and Peter are both said to be espied by Christ, walking by the sea of Galilee; and Luke 5:10, where Simon is reported to be called after they had taken a great draught of fish; and with Mark 3:13, and Luke 6:13, where all the apostles are named as called at one and the same time. Doubtless the calls were different. This in John seems rather to be a prophecy than a call. Those texts, Matthew 4:18, and Luke 5:10, seem to be their calls to a discipleship. The other texts, Mark 3:13 Luke 6:13, respect their election to the apostleship, and the mission of them.