Chapter III.—Of the Question Whether Mark’s Reports of the Repeated Occasions on
Which the Name of Peter Was Brought into Prominence are Not at Variance with the
Statement Which John Has Given Us of the Particular Time at Which the Apostle Received
that Name.
4. The same Mark continues as follows: “And there came a leper to Him, beseeching
Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me
clean;” and so on, down to where it is said, “And they cried out, saying, Thou art the Son
of God: and He straightway charged them that they should not make Him known.”1593
Luke1594 also records something similar to the last passage which we have here adduced.
But nothing emerges involving any discrepancy. Mark proceeds thus: “And He goeth up
into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. And He
ordained twelve that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach;
and He gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. And Simon He surnamed
Peter;” and so on, down to where it is said, “And he departed, and began to publish in
Decapolis how great things Jesus had done: and all men did marvel.”1595 I am aware that I
have spoken already of the names of the disciples when following the order of Matthew’s
narrative.1596 Here, therefore, I repeat the caution, that no one should suppose Simon to
have received the name Peter on this occasion for the first time, or fancy that Mark is here
in any antagonism with John, who reports that disciple to have been addressed long before
in these terms: “Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, A stone.”1597 For
John has there recorded the very words in which the Lord gave him that name. Mark, on
the other hand, has introduced the matter in the form of a recapitulation in this passage,
when he says, “And Simon He surnamed Peter.” For, as it was his intention to enumerate
the names of the twelve apostles here, and it was necessary for him thus to mention Peter,
he decided briefly to intimate the fact that the said name was not borne by that disciple all
along, but was given him by the Lord, not, however, at the time with which Mark was im-
mediately dealing, but on the occasion in connection with which John has introduced the
very words employed by the Lord. The other matters embraced within this paragraph,
present nothing inconsistent with any of the other Gospels, and they have also been discussed
previously.
1593 Mark i. 40-iii. 12.
1594 Luke iv. 41.
1595 Mark iii. 13-v. 20.
1596 See above, Book ii. chaps. 17 and 53.
1597 John i. 42.
Of the Question Whether Mark’s Reports of the Repeated Occasions on Which the Name of Peter Was Brought into Prominence are Not at Variance with the Statement Which John Has Given Us of the Particular Time at Which the Apostle Received that Name.
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Of the Question Whether Mark’s Reports of the Repeated Occasions on Which…