John 1:35-42 - The Shaping of Simon Peter
An Encounter with the Lamb of God
Welcome to the Well Community Church. We are continuing our series on people who encountered Jesus, and I suspect we’ve got a lot of people in the room who have already done that. You’ve had an encounter with Jesus, and you’re happy about it. Tonight, we’re going to look at one of those events involving a very well-known person in the Scriptures. I’d like you to turn with me to John chapter one, and I’ll read verses 35 through 42. By the way, if you’re new to the Bible, there is a table of contents in the front that will give you the page numbers. I’m very sympathetic to that; I had to go through that myself.
John 1:35-42 (NASB)
Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John [speak] and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, ’We have found the Messiah ’ (which translated 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 is translated Peter).
This is one of those encounters with Christ that has actually affected you here this evening. Peter was given special privileges. He wrote part of the Word of God, but a part of what Jesus gave him to do was to open the door of the Gospel to people like us. I presume most of us here are Gentiles, and Peter was faithful to do that. He broke the ice, proving that the Gospel is not just a Jewish sect scattered among Gentiles, but the Gospel for the entire world.
In the context of this book, John is presenting Jesus as the eternal Word of God who created everything. He says that Jesus created everything and then stepped into what He created to become a part of His creation. He is the God-man. The Word that created everything became flesh and dwelt among us. John gives us this commentary: “And we beheld His glory, the glory of the one and only Son of God, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 (NASB)
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This story picks up with a God-sent man named John the Baptist, a prophet sent to Israel to warn them and make them aware that the Son of God was ready to come. People heard this strange prophet preaching outside the cities and flocked to him. His word was so powerful that people repented of their sins, saying, “We’re getting ready for the Messiah.”
Later on, when Jesus showed up to be baptized, John tried to stop Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you.” But Jesus insisted they fulfill all righteousness to identify with sinners. After being tempted for forty days in the wilderness, Jesus returned, and that is when this encounter takes place. It’s interesting to me that John the Baptist, who had spoken of Jesus as a King with a winnowing fork in His hand ready to judge nations, identifies Him here differently. He says, “Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”
I don’t know of any king in the Old Testament who was ever called a lamb. Many were called shepherds, but here John identifies the core mission of Jesus: He came among us to be our Savior, our rescuer. He was going to die in our place.
Come and See
When John points Him out, two of his disciples follow Jesus. They ask Him, “Where are you staying?” and Jesus replies, “Come and see.” That is always the case for those who have any interest in the things of God. Whether you are a skeptic here this evening or you were invited by a friend, the word to you is always: come and see for yourself. Look at Him, and you will not be disappointed. Those of us who have come and seen are satisfied customers.
These two disciples spent the afternoon with Jesus. As soon as they spent time in His presence, they were changed. He is full of grace and truth; He is beautiful and magnetic. He is what they were created for. They were coming into the presence of God for an afternoon. The book of Hebrews says the Son of God is the brightness of God’s glory. That means where God shines His brightest, where His glory is most brilliant, it shines Jesus. That’s who they got to spend the afternoon with.
They came away saying, “We have got to tell people!” When we come to know the Lord, it’s automatic. You don’t have to be told, “Well, you need to tell someone else.” If you come into His presence and see who He is—this person who loves you in spite of who you are—the word gets out intentionally. Andrew immediately goes to find his brother, Simon.
From Simon to the Rock
Now, Peter was raised in a good home. He had never eaten anything ceremonially unclean in his life. If he were here today, we’d say he was a “good boy” who never went off the rails. He kept the laws of his faith. Today, we might say, “I don’t drink, smoke, or chew, or go with girls who do.” He kept all the rules.
Yet, when Peter comes to Jesus, he never says a word. Jesus looks at him and says, “You are Simon, son of John, but you will be called the Rock.” The first time Jesus lays eyes on him, He knows his history. He knows his father, his character, and his past. But not only does He know his character, He knows his future. He has a plan for him.
When we come to Jesus, we come just as we are. He knows all the “stuff” about us, and He knows exactly where He is going with us. We have an idea of where He’s going because the Bible has laid it out.
Romans 8:28-29 (NASB)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Jesus is going to make us like His beautiful and holy personality. That is His purpose. To do that, He uses all kinds of tools in our lives. We know that Peter loved Jesus passionately. After their initial encounter, Jesus showed up at Peter’s boat and asked to use it as a pulpit. After preaching, He told Peter to let down the nets. Peter, the professional fisherman, said, “We’ve fished all night and caught nothing, but at your word, I’ll do it.”
When the nets came up so full that two boats began to sink, Peter fell on his knees in the water and said, “Jesus, depart from me. I’m a sinful man.” Here is a guy who kept all the rules of his religion, but when he came into the presence of God and saw who He truly was, he realized his own sinfulness. Jesus simply said, “Do not fear, Peter. I will cause you to catch men.”
Learning Through the Crash
When Jesus called Peter and guaranteed he would be a rock, who was He calling? He called a man who was hard-headed, overconfident, and proud. Peter was the one who told Jesus, “You won’t wash my feet,” because Peter had a view of greatness that didn’t include serving others. He even rebuked Christ! When Jesus started talking about the cross, Peter took Him aside and said, “May it never be!”
Jesus had to tell him, “Get behind me, Satan,” because Peter didn’t understand the things of God. The mission was to rescue people through the cross, but Peter was opposed to it. He even tried to save Jesus with a sword in the garden, hacking off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Peter loved Jesus with all his heart, but he was impulsive and filled with shortcomings.
Jesus knew all of this, and He used life experiences to transform him. Sometimes, Peter learned best—like many of us—through failure. He almost had to have an accident to learn.
When I was thirteen, I was the youngest of five children. I came home from middle school one day and saw my older brother’s car with the keys dangling in it. I lived in a rural area, and a farmer had taught me how to use a clutch, so I figured I was a qualified driver. I cranked up that 1948 Chevrolet—built like a tank with iron bumpers—and taxied down our long dirt lane. I made a nice circle and parked it right back in the same spot. I thought I got away with it, until my brother stormed in, held me down, and yelled, “You ruined my tire! I left that car at home because the tire was flat!”
Fast forward six months. I came home with a bunch of friends. There was the car, and there were the keys. But I was “smarter” now. I walked around and checked all the tires. They were good. I said, “Boys, want to go for a ride?” We piled in—middle school boys haven’t grown brains yet—and I took off. I was ripping through a gravel parking lot, doing figure eights, while the boys were screaming and cheering, “Punch it, Jackie!”
I decided to end with a finale. I thought I’d goose it, then slam on the brakes to slide right into the parking spot. I slammed the brakes, the pedal hit the floor, and the car hit the building. The whole structure swayed. Roaches and dust fell from the ceiling. The doors flung open, and those boys abandoned me like rats. I had knocked the building a foot off its foundation. I actually thought about putting the car in reverse and hitting it from the other side to knock it back on!
I repented that day. I never touched his car again. But it took a crash for me to learn. They say most boys don’t learn by reading or listening; they learn by peeing on an electric fence. Peter was that kind of guy.
The Sifting and the Prayer
Jesus warned him, “Satan has desired to sift you like wheat. He’s going to pour you through a sieve to take that cocky self-assurance out of you. But I have prayed for you.”
Luke 22:31-32 (NASB)
‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded [permission] to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’
Jesus was supervising Peter’s failure for a purpose. Peter was self-deceived. He had looked inside himself and saw only his passion for Jesus, so he promised he would never deny Him. But Jesus knew better.
Notice what Jesus did not pray. He did not pray, “Father, don’t let him fail.” He allows us to go into those dark times to strip away our pride. He was praying, “Father, when he turns back, may his ministry be even stronger because of this failure.” Is there anyone like Christ? He supervises our rebellion so that He can preserve us through it.
That night, while Jesus was being beaten and mocked, Peter was downstairs in the courtyard. Three times he was asked if he knew Jesus, and three times he denied it. By the end, he was cursing, saying, “May God damn me if I even know the man!” At that moment, the rooster crowed. Luke’s Gospel tells us that Jesus looked at him, and their eyes met. Peter remembered the words of Jesus, went out, and wept bitterly.
Peter denied Jesus, but Jesus did not deny Peter. I am sure Jesus’ look was not one of reproach. He didn’t look at him and think, “Well, forget the ‘Rock’ thing, you’re out.” Satan wants you to think that if God really knew the truth about you, He’d never use you. But He knew it all ahead of time! He called you anyway.
The Master Sculptor
After the resurrection, the angel gave a specific message: “Go tell His disciples—and Peter—that He goes before you.”
Mark 16:7 (NASB)
’But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’’
Why “and Peter”? Because Peter didn’t think he was a disciple anymore. He felt he had disqualified himself. But Jesus died so that Peter—and every one of us who has turned our back on God—could be restored.
Did Peter become a rock? Oh, yes. Forty days later, the man who was once cowering in a courtyard stood fearlessly before the very people who killed Jesus and told them to repent. Three thousand people were saved. He became the rock of the early church.
One of my friends is a writer who uses the term “hyperseeing” to describe how a sculptor looks at a rough piece of stone and sees the final, perfected form. Gutzon Borglum, who carved Mount Rushmore, once took his housekeeper to see the finished heads. She gasped at the image of Lincoln and asked, “How did you know Mr. Lincoln was in that rock?”
In Jesus’ case, it’s because He put the image there Himself. He knows it’s there, and He is chipping away everything that doesn’t look like the image in His mind.
In 1979, a 116-ton slab of rock was dangling dangerously over the Santa Monica Freeway. They eventually forced it to fall into a safe spot, where it sat as an obstruction. An artist named Livingston Strong bought twelve tons of that wayward rock for a hundred dollars. For seventy days, he chipped away at it until the face of John Wayne emerged. He sold it for a million dollars. The headline read: “Wayward Rock Turned Into Million-Dollar Visage by Artist.”
That is what Jesus is doing with you. He takes us just as we are and transforms us into what He is. He hasn’t given up on anyone in this room. If you’ve had a “crash” like Peter or like I did with that car, know that Christ died for your post-salvation sins, too. He will restore you and strengthen you.
Listen to what Peter eventually wrote after being shaped by the Master:
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NASB)
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:10 (NASB)
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen [and] establish you.
Father, we thank you for our brother Simon, transformed into Peter the Rock. Do that in our hearts. Thank you for knowing all our weaknesses and sins even when we don’t. We thank you that you use our failures to bring us to you for transformation. We give you thanks in Christ’s name, Amen.