These are the twelve He appointed: Simon (whom He named Peter),
Parallel translations
- WEB Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;
- KJV And Simon he surnamed Peter;
- NKJV Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter;
- NASB And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),
- NLT These are the twelve he chose: Simon (whom he named Peter),
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus names Simon 'Peter,' the first of the twelve listed. It matters because the new name marks his calling and role among the apostles.
Overview
By renaming Simon as Peter ('rock'), Jesus signals a transformed identity and future role. Peter heads every list of the apostles, reflecting his prominence among them. The act of naming shows Jesus' authority to shape and commission his people for service in his kingdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- John 1:42Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).
- Acts 1:13When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
- 1 Cor 9:5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
- 1 Cor 3:22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you,
- 1 Cor 1:12What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
- Matt 16:16–18Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Gal 2:7–9On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.
- Mark 1:16As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
- Matt 10:2–4These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
- 2 Pet 1:1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
- Luke 6:14–16Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 3:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.