John 1:41-45
 
John 1:41 (KJB)
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
 
The first act which Andrew did was to go tell his brother Simon. The name “Simon” means one that hears or obeys. Andrew was the second of the Christian witnesses, the first being John the Baptist but Andrew was the first one to do personal witnessing as he went and told a family member about the Messiah. Jesus must have been speaking about Heaven and salvation. He was probably quoting the Hebrew Scriptures when Andrew realized that Jesus was the fulfillment of many of them. This probably triggered Andrew to tell his brother Simon that the promised Messiah was now among them. Andrew must have known the Scriptures which contained the promises of a coming Messiah because he knew what Jesus was speaking of and that is how he recognized the Messiah.
 
John 1:42 (KJB)
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
 
Andrew, after telling Peter about Jesus, had now brought him to meet Jesus. The Lord changed his name from Simon to Cephas. The verse gives us the interpretation of the word Cephas which means “stone.” The Greek word is “petros” which is translated as Peter throughout the entire New Testament. The only place where it is translated “stone” is here in John 1:42. There is a major reason why it is translated “stone” and not “Peter.”
 
One of the primary teachings of the Roman Catholic Institution is that Peter was the first Pope and this is based upon Matthew 16:18. (Mat 16:18 KJV) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. They claim that the Lord Jesus Christ had stated in Matthew 16:18 that He was going to build His church upon Peter which they call the rock. Now the word for rock in the Greek is “petra” which is only translated “rock,” 16 times in the New Testament. It is never translated Peter nor does it ever reference him.
 
This word “petra” is translated “rock” in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
(1 Cor 10:4 KJV) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
 
The reason why John 1:42 interprets “Cephas” as stone is to show that Peter is no higher than any other true believer. (1 Pet 2:5 KJV) Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. All those who are saved are called “lively stones” and look who is writing that, it is Peter, the stone. While the Roman Catholics glorify Peter, the Bible is stating that he is no more important than any other true believer. All believers are stones which are building up the spiritual house of God. While the word “petros” is translated “Peter” everywhere in the New Testament, it is very important to know why it was translated as stone here in John 1:42. The modern versions completely omit and destroy that reason and that is because their two primary manuscripts, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, are Roman Catholic manuscripts.
 
John 1:43 (KJB)
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
 
Follow - Accompany or cleave steadfastly to - Imperative Mood
 
If you notice one thing in the past few verses, we read statements like “the day following” or “the next day.” This shows that Jesus knew exactly what His mission was and He was showing that He was wasting no time in accomplishing that goal. He didn’t find one disciple and then go sit around for a week. He shows us that ministry is a continuing entity and not to be entered into if one likes to be lazy. Now this verse would give those who believe in free will a problem because Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” The word “Follow” in the Greek is in the Imperative Mood making it a command. He did not ask Philip if he wanted the opportunity to follow Him. He commanded Philip and Philip had no choice but to obey. The name “Philip” means “warrior or lover of horses.” Jesus came to Philip and commanded him to follow and this was done without any formal introduction as to who Jesus was. This is how the call of the Gospel is made throughout the world. A person may hear about Jesus or they may have never heard about Jesus but if they are God’s Elect, then they will become disciples and be discipled as they go along.
 
John 1:44 (KJB)
Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
 
The town of Bethsaida is located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name “Bethsaida” means “house of fishing” and it is a good possibility that Philip knew Andrew and Simon since they were all engaged in the fishing industry. Maybe Andrew in his zeal had been telling Philip about Jesus and when Jesus commanded him to follow, it was a command which was easily obeyed.
 
John 1:45 (KJB)
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
 
Now the principle of evangelism continues as now Philip finds a friend of his named Nathanael and now the witness about Jesus widens because Philip tells him that Jesus was written about in the law in Moses and the Prophets. The name Nathanael means “gift of God.“ Isn’t it interesting that the leaders who were supposed to be schooled in the law and all that relates to it could not recognize Jesus as the Messiah yet here we have three fisherman that recognized Him as the Messiah immediately and even quoted the Scriptures where these things were written. (Mat 11:25 KJV) At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Matthew 11:25 gives us insight that God reveals biblical truth, not to the wise and/or professionals, but to babes, ones that are not schooled and taught and told what to believe.
There are many leaders in the churches today which are ruled by the education god and any Christians who dare hold their Bible up against their education god, will find themselves escorted out of the church. The reason probably 90% of all churches accept heresy is because the pastors are totally unqualified for being in that position. Did you know that a pastor is a spiritual gift and not an office in the church? (Eph 4:11-12 KJV) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; {12} For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: They are supposed to be ruled by the elders, deacons, and chief elder of the congregation, which is the Bishop. This way, if their teaching goes apostate, they can be corrected or escorted out the door. Many pastors today, just like the temple leaders in Israel, are ruled by their pride and will not allow themselves to be ruled and this arrogance has led to the degeneration of the churches in our day.
 
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