BROADCASTS.com

Andrew, Simon Peter\u2019s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.\xa0The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, \u201cWe have found the Messiah\u201d (that is, the Christ).\xa0And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said,\xa0\u201cYou are Simon son of John. You will be called\xa0Cephas\u201d\xa0(which, when translated, is Peter).\xa0 John 1:40-42

When Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus, Scripture says that Jesus looked at Simon before He spoke to him.\xa0 He didn\u2019t just look at Simon.\xa0 Jesus looked inside Simon.\xa0 He saw him.\xa0 Just as God saw Hagar in the desert, as she said to the Lord \u201cYou are the God who sees me,\u201d (Genesis 16:13), Jesus saw Simon where he was and where he was not yet. He saw what Simon could not yet see in himself. Jesus saw the greatness inside of him.

In several places in the Bible we see God renaming people. Abram God named Abraham, Jacob God named Israel, Saul, God named Paul to name a few.\xa0 When God renamed someone in the Bible it was because He wanted to give them a new identity or a new mission.\xa0 Or they had an encounter with God and God wanted the individual to be branded by that experience or encounter.\xa0 God no longer wanted them to identify with their old identity or mission or experience.

If you look at the personality of Simon throughout the Gospels you can learn some things about him.\xa0 He was a very emotional, type A personality.\xa0 One moment he\u2019s excited and ready to conquer the world, full of ambition, and the next day he\u2019s down in the dumps.\xa0 He was incredibly subjective, he lacked objectivity, he\u2019s irrational at times, he was an exaggerator, and not the most dependable guy overall.\xa0

Jesus looks beyond that and sees greatness and potential in Simon.\xa0 And so, Jesus gives Simon a new name, Peter, which literally means big rock or big boulder.\xa0 In the first century big strong rocks were used as the foundation for building projects.\xa0 Large rocks were used because you could depend on them to hold up the entire rest of the building.\xa0 Jesus is calling this reality out of Simon.\xa0 Jesus tells him, you are a big rock, you are dependable, you are stable.\xa0 \u201cAnd I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.\u201d (Matt 16:18).\xa0 Jesus wasn\u2019t looking at the man that stood in front of him.\xa0 He was looking beyond that to see the greatness and the potential inside of Simon.

Jesus makes a fierce commitment to Peter.\xa0 Jesus gives Simon a new identity as Peter, the large rock. From this new identity and new name, Jesus mentors Peter and the other disciples and Peter becomes the first leader of the church after Jesus ascends to heaven.\xa0 He writes portions of the Bible, and he follows after Jesus to the point of martyrdom.\xa0 A far cry from the inconsistent and undependable disciple that we read about throughout the Gospels.

Jesus is fiercely committed to you too.\xa0 He has confidence in you.\xa0 Jesus believes in you.\xa0 Jesus sees greatness in you. \xa0He loves you in spite of your inconsistencies and failures.\xa0 Jesus doesn\u2019t look at your exterior.\xa0 At the selfishness, inconsistencies, depravity.\xa0 He looks beyond exterior masks and facades because he knows what you can become. \xa0Jesus knows what gifts and talents and passions He has placed within you, and he loves you with a fierce love.\xa0 Fierce enough to stay by your side, no matter where the tides may turn to teach and to guide you towards your true identity in Him.