These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter) — the name list of the twelve begins with Simon Peter, whose name-change is noted here rather than at the call scene (unlike John 1:42). The name Peter (Petros, rock) is not a commendation of Simon's character (which Mark will repeatedly show to be unreliable) but a vocational designation: Jesus is naming what Simon will become through the kingdom's formation rather than what he currently is. The parenthetical naming communicates that the appointment is not merely positional but transformative — Jesus names his disciples into their identities.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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