Mark 3:16

“And Simon he surnamed Peter.] Or Cephas, which signifies a rock, or stone, because of his courage and constancy, his strength and fortitude, steadiness and firmness of mind: this name was imposed upon him, not at the time of his mission as an apostle; nor when he made that noble confession of his faith in Christ, as the Son of the living God, at which time this name was taken notice of; but when Christ first called him to be his disciple and apostle; (see <430142>John 1:42).”

“For an account of the appointment of the apostles, see the notes at Matthew 10:1-4. And calleth unto him whom he would - Those whom he chose; whom he was about to appoint to the apostleship. See the notes at John 15:16. Mark 3:14 He ordained twelve - The word rendered “ordained” here does not express our notion of ordination to the ministry. It means, literally, “he made” - that is, he “appointed” twelve to be with him. Twelve - The reason why “twelve” were chosen was, probably, that such a number would be deemed competent witnesses of what they saw; that they could not be easily charged with being excited by sympathy, or being deluded, as a multitude might; and that, being destined to go…”

“He surnamed them sons of thunder - Both with respect to the warmth and impetuosity of their spirit, their fervent manner of preaching, and the power of their word. Mark 3:20”

“3:16-18 Simon and Andrew were brothers, as were James and John (1:16-20). • Peter is the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic kepa’, meaning “rock.””

“Simon: Mar 1:16; Mat 16:16-18; Joh 1:42; Co1 1:12, Co1 3:22, Co1 9:5; Gal 2:7-9, Cephas, Pe2 1:1 Mark 3:17”