A study of John 1:40-42
"One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which 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 means Peter)."
John 1:40-42 ESV
Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:
-Followed: "akoloutheō", "ἀκολουθέω"; verb - to follow one who precedes, join him as an attendant, accompany him.
-Andrew: "Andreas", "Ἀνδρέας"; proper masculine noun - Andrew = 'Manly'; A native of Bethsaida in Galilee, brother of Simon Peter, a disciple of John the Baptist, and afterwards an apostle of Christ. He is said to have been crucified at Patrae in Archaia.
-Simon: "Simōn", "Σίμων"; proper masculine noun - Peter = 'a rock or stone'; Peter was one of the apostles.
-Peter: "Petros", "Πέτρος"; Peter = 'a rock or a stone'; one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.
-Messiah: "Messias", "Μεσσίας"; masculine noun - Messiah is equivalent to Greek word "Christos (Χριστός)". Messiah = 'Anointed'.
-Christ: "Christos", "Χριστός"; adjective - Christ = 'Anointed', Christ was [and is] the Messiah, the Son of God.
-He Brought: "agō", "ἄγω"; verb - to lead by accompanying to (into) any place.
-Jesus: "Iēsous", "Ἰησοῦς"; proper masculine noun - Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, God incarnate.
-John (vs. 42): "Iōannēs", "Ἰωάννης"; proper masculine noun - the father of the apostle Peter.
-You Shall Be Called: "Kaleō", "καλέω"; verb - to give some name to one, call his name.
-Cephas: "Kēphas", "Κηφᾶς"; proper masculine noun - Cephas = 'stone', another name for the apostle Peter.
Observation/Summary(short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):
One of the two men who began to follow Jesus in verse 37 was Andrew. Andrew told his brother Simon Peter they had found the Messiah, and invited Peter to come and see. When Simon Peter came to see Jesus, Jesus said to him, "You are Simon the son of John, you shall be called Cephas."
Implication (what does this mean to us):
In verses 35-39 we read of how two disciples of John the Baptist (JB) began to follow Jesus after JB told them Jesus was the Son of God. One of these two was very likely John the gospel writer, and in verse 40 we learn the other was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. In verses 35-51 of John 1 we see an interesting variety of ways people come to follow Jesus. First, in verses 35-39 we see Andrew and John began to follow Jesus after JB told them about Him, and then as they began to follow Jesus, He asked them what they wanted, they indicated they wanted to learn more about Him, so He invited them to follow.
Now we see another, slightly different version of this same pattern. After beginning to follow Jesus, Andrew brought his brother Peter to come and see Jesus, the Messiah. JB pointed out Jesus to Andrew and Simon, and they went after Jesus. But here, Andrew told his brother about Jesus and "brought" or in other words, accompanied him to see Jesus. In saying Jesus was the Messiah, Andrew made a bold claim. The people of Israel had been waiting and watching for the Messiah to come and save Israel from their oppressors who at this point in time happened to be Roman. The Romans were not the first civilization to conquer Israel. Israel had experienced much conflict over the centuries and they were waiting for the One God had promised to come, save them, and reestablish their kingdom. However, while God will fulfill His promise to establish the true, God fearing, Christ worshiping Kingdom of Israel one day in the future, He has not done so yet even today. Jesus came to bring an even greater salvation not only to Israel, but to the whole world. He did not come as a conquering general king, although He will at His second coming, but rather He came as the sacrificial "Lamb of God" to take away the sin of the world.
This was and is the answer to not only Israel's, but the entire world's greatest problem. Sin is our greatest problem. We have all sinned against an infinitely holy God and because of our sin we deserve eternal punishment. But Jesus, the Messiah, came to take away our sin, give us peace with God, and restore us to a relationship with Him. He will establish His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven one day, but this problem of sin had to be taken care of first. Now, the problem has been dealt with. Jesus has paid the penalty, and we exist in a period of grace where He is working through us to save many people from their sin before He returns one day to judge the earth and fully rid creation of sin and evil forever. Andrew and Simon Peter did not have this complete understanding of the Messiah yet, but they were still aware one would come, knew they needed Him and they sincerely wanted to know Him.
In His simple, straight to the point testimony of Jesus, Andrew modeled the pattern we all should follow. After meeting Jesus ourselves and placing our faith in Him, we need to tell others the Messiah has come, and either graciously direct them to follow him like JB in verse 36, or invite and personally accompany them to come and see Jesus through prayer, conversation, Bible study or church fellowship and teaching. Whatever is appropriate for a given situation.
Upon meeting Jesus, Jesus looked at Simon and gave him a new name, "Cephas" (In Aramaic) or "Peter" (Petros in Greek) which means a "rock" or a "stone." Peter was not yet a "rock". In renaming Simon as Peter, Jesus was naming Peter what he would become. As we know of Peter from the gospel records, he was a man of intensity and passion. He was quick to speak his mind and quick to take action. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, his boldness and dedication to duty would be greatly used for the glory of God, but before growing in the Spirit Peter had the reputation of being brash and impulsive. By the power of God's Spirit, Simon would become "Peter" or "a rock" for Jesus Christ. He would grow into one of the stable, solid, apostles and leaders of the early church. This is what happens to all of us when we come to Jesus. He shapes us day by day into the truest version of ourselves, the version we are meant to be and only can be if we center our lives around Him and submit to His Lordship and loving commands.
Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):
From this passage we learn the importance of inviting others to follow the Messiah, just as we were invited to at one time as well. When we come to Jesus He sees our potential and it is only by coming to Him that we can grow into the person God made us to be. We do not lose ourselves when we place our faith in Him. We become who we were always meant to be.
Self Reflection:
Who can I invite to come and meet Jesus?
How can I grow in sharing about Jesus in everyday life?
What steps can I take to willingly participate in the work Jesus is doing in my heart to shape me into the more loving, gracious and stable person He wants me to be?
#MessiahHasCome #JesusIsTheMessiah #Rock #Faith #love