We meet a fisherman named Simon on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in Chapter 4 of Matthew’s Gospel
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
Matt 4 (NKJV)
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
The context relevant to us here is that Simon Peter’s is given in the context of
- the Lord’s message of “repentance” as to a new kingdom,
- the (hated) Gentiles, and
- the job of being a fisherman of fish to becoming a fisherman of men.
At a crucial later point in Matthew’s Gospel we read:
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth [hwill be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Matt 16 (NKJV)
There is so much in the above passage. Our focus is on Simon Peter’s name as “Simon Bar-Jonah.” This simple naming is critical to understanding properly this passage and Peter’s role / responsibility in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
“Bar” is the Hebrew word for “son of.” Just as we have English names like “Peterson” we can recognize, though rarely consider, that this name originates as someone way back in the family line was known as “Peter’s Son.” The majority of our last names (surnames) identify us by family descent (“Peterson,” “Johnson”), place (names that end with “ton” or “bury” or “berg”) , or work (“Miller,” “Smith”)
Why does the Lord refer to Simon by the key phrase “Bar-Jonah.” An obvious answer might be the simple fact that Simon’s father’s name was “Jonah.” But that cannot be the true significance in this important passage.
Let’s think back to another Jonah, who was the true function / job ancestor of our Simon Peter, though perhaps not the biological ancestor. Jonah, we know from the OT book in his name, was a man sent on a mission, to Gentiles (!), specifically to the center of power of the then ruling Gentile power in Nineveh. This was a horrific assignment in Jonah’s eyes. He like all the impoverished and subjugated Jewish people hated the brutal Assyrians whose capital city was Nineveh. Not only was it a long, arduous, and dangerous journey, but the destination was in the belly of the devil himself.
So, instead of going North and then East by land, Jonah went South and then West by sea leaving from Mediterranean port city of Joppa (which exists today in Israel as Jaffa) to go the furthest western reaches then known, Tarshish (like known today as Spain).
Now let us turn to the book of Acts. The (hated) Gentile ruling power over Israel at that time was the Roman Empire. It’s capital city in Israel was located in a city named after the king-ruler of Rome, Caesarea. It was from Caesarea that the ruling administration, courts, and central military power resided. Even the name was ominous. Caesar means “kind” or “lord.” As a necessary pledge of loyalty / fealty all Roman citizens were required to recited “Caesar is Lord,” meaning that the Roman rules, whoever the occupant at the time, was the absolute sovereign, and nearly or completely equal to the claim of being “god.”
Caesarea is named 17 times in the Book of Acts (only twice before, once each in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark). Its first occurrence is Acts 8:40 where we are told that Phillip the Evangelist lived there, returning from his time in Jerusalem after having had the dramatic encounter of leading the Ethiopian leader to faith in Jesus as the Messiah on a dessert road. Many years later, we see in Acts 21:8 that Phillip is still in that city. So, God has his ‘man,’ an accomplished proclaimer of the Gospel right there in the capital city of Rome in Israel.
Now, let us return to Simon Peter (Peter). In the Book of Acts we see his prominent role in the early chapters preaching to huge crowds in Jerusalem and then being called to (hated) Samaria and again being a fruitful evangelist there. Then he is called out of Jerusalem in Acts 9, ending in Lydda where he heals a woman known as Tabitha (Dorcas). Afterwards he travels to–get this!–Joppa, where he stays with a tanner by the Mediterranean Sea.
Then comes Acts 10. Here we see a Roman senior military officer, a man named Cornelius, in leadership in Caesarea, who is a child of God, having a vision that he should call for Peter to come and preach to him and his extended community (more on that in another post).
At the same time, the Lord appears to Peter in Joppa that he is to go to Caesarea and preach the Gospel to Cornelius. We will here skip over the fascinating sequence of Peter’s vision with the vision repeated three times and confirmed by a visit of three men sent by Cornelius (the number three is a recurring part of Peter’s life).
But we have to grasp this scene. We have one of the most important men in Israel, Cornelius, at the capital Roman city in Israel, Caesarea, sending for (in the Roman eyes) downtrodden, uneducated Jewish fisherman who was staying at a foul, stinking, disgusting place, where a tanner takes all manner of dead animal carcasses for skinning, cooking, treating. And–this is borderline hilarious–Peter is very reluctant to attend to Cornelius’s messengers or go to Caesarea because they are unclean (as indeed they were under Jewish law). So, from the perspective of that time and culture, Cornelius and Peter would each see the other not only as “the other” but as something despicable, disgusting, contaminating. God indeed has a sense of humor, and uses such circumstances to teach us all the major recurring lesson of humility.
What a minute! What about Phillip the Evangelist? He’s already in Caesarea. Doesn’t God understand convenience. All He has to do was have the vision for Phillip, and he hops over a couple of blocks and the Gospel does its work.
No. It is Peter was is Bar-Jonah, in Joppa. But unlike his functional ancestor Jonah, Peter does not flee the command by grabbing a ship to some far off land. Instead he trudges up to Caesarea on a hike (about 30 miles) that I think had him arrive on the 3rd (!) day.
What’s the purpose in all this, in addition to the obvious wonderful one of presenting the Gospel to the Gentiles? Let us now return to Matthew 16 where we saw that the Lord gave to Peter “the keys.” Lowly, humble, (later) Jesus-denying, Peter has “the keys?” The “keys” to what, exactly?
In the Book of Jonah we saw such “keys” at work. Jonah, under great reluctance, enters the capital city of Nineveh of the Assyrian power, and gives the most unappealing, anti-inspirational, anti-‘seeker sensitive’ Gospel message imaginable (and do not miss the reference to “three”)
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, [aa three-day journey in extent.4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Jonah 4 (NKJV)
It’s not a stretch to see that the last thing Jonah wanted to see was a coming to faith by the inhabitants of that capital city and empire. He wanted judgment (on them), not mercy. (Apart from a new heart, we are all, always that same exact way).
But Jonah’s ‘message’ had a miraculous outcome as indeed the city came to faith including the king himself, and it was no easy-believism, it was the real deal, to Jonah’s sorrow. What were Jonah’s “keys?” He was used by God to open the door to faith by the words from his mouth, blunt as they were, carrying the power and grace of God Himself. Those “keys” were not that he became their ‘pastor’ / ruler; he was used to open a door, then and cook after his sheltering squash plant died overnight.
Now, returning to Peter, we see in Acts 9 that his “keys” which had previously opened the door to the receipt of God’s grace to the Jews and Samaritans (partly of Jewish heritage and partly of Gentile), now to the most Gentile of Gentile peoples. Like Jonah, after that message was confirmed by a miraculous conversion without any eloquence or persuasion by Peter (read Acts 9), Peter likewise does not become ‘pastor’ / bishop / ruler over Cornelius, his community, or the Gentiles. Peter returns to Jerusalem having accomplished his great mission of Matthew 16.