Follow me, Peter

In my book, SIMON SAYS, I suggest that it is interesting that after Jesus told Simon that his name was Peter and that Jesus would build his church on his confession, the Lord never did call Simon, "Peter." He always called him Simon. Even in the last chapter of John, when Jesus spoke to Peter about his love, He called him Simon, son of Jonas.

I believe that Jesus knew that Simon really had not become Peter yet. When he told Simon that he would be Peter, Jesus must have been indicating that it would be at a later time. It is hard to imagine that Simon was a rock when he betrayed the Lord. He was a rock when he stood up at Pentecost. That must mean that sometime between John 21 and Peter's message at Pentecost, he became Peter.

Perhaps it happened when Jesus spoke to him in John 21 or later in a private conversation, but Peter really had become a rock at Pentecost.

The other thing that I suggest is that Simon had really not learned to follow the Lord while the Lord was still present because on almost every major time of interaction the Lord concluded it by saying to Simon, "Follow me." Hear again, I believe that when Simon became Peter, he also had learned what it meant to be a follower.

Perhaps if the Lord had been still on the earth when Peter preached at Pentecost, He would have said to Peter after the message, "Well done, Peter, my true follower.