
John 1.40-42.
After John the baptist had pointed Jesus out to two of his students, Andrew and Philip,
It being the 10th hour of the day (around 4:30pm), and
Either way, it got one of the students, Andrew, to go get his brother Simon and bring him to Jesus. Both these young men were looking for Messiah, and Andrew was entirely sure that’s exactly who Jesus is, so of course he brought Simon to him to see for himself. That’s what you’d do, isn’t it?
John 1.40-42 KWL - 40 Andrew, brother of Simon Peter,
- is one of the two students heeding John the baptist
- and following Jesus.
- 41 This student first finds his own brother Simon,
- and tells him, “We found Messiah!” (i.e. Christ).
- 42 Andrew brings Simon to Jesus.
- Looking him over, Jesus says, “You’re Simon bar John.
- You’ll be called Kifa” (i.e. Peter).
So here’s where the author of John introduces us to Peter—and tells us Jesus is the one who named him that. Well, named him
I have heard various Christians claim the female variant of pétros,
This, folks, is why it’s important to know historical context as well as grammatical: Even though John was written in Greek, understand Jesus wasn’t speaking and teaching in Greek. It’s why John includes Aramaic words (like “Messiah”) and their translations. Assume everything happened in the Greek language, and you’ll assume Jesus did give Simon a nickname meaning “pebble.” Understand the background, and you’ll realize Jesus intentionally meant “a stone, a rock.”
Jesus wasn’t giving Simon an ironic or humiliating nickname. We do that. Preachers who think it’s funny and harmless to mock their friends, and not at all a character deficiency, do that. Jesus doesn’t trash-talk his followers. He saves the mockery for evil, and proud, unrepentant evildoers.