Tackling Tradition 66 - Simon & Cephas in Luke 24 & 1 Corinthians 15

To whom is Paul referring in 1 Corinthians 15:5?   Is it Peter or someone else? 

 

and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. (1 Corinthians 15:5, ESV)

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.  (Luke 24:12, ESV)

saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”  (Luke 24:34, ESV)

Most people believe that 1 Corinthians 15:5 is referring to Peter, based on their understanding that John calls Peter “Cephas” in John 1:42.

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).  (John 1:40–42, ESV)

—-But there’s a problem with that reasoning.   Just because one writer calls Peter “Cephas,” it doesn’t therefore follow that every NT writer is using “Cephas” as a synonym for Peter.   Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t.  To reach that conclusion, requires a larger argument, insofar as using a term or word  that one writer uses to define the meaning of a different writer without a deeper dive into the pertinent texts, generally speaking, commits Semantic Inflation, an exegetical fallacy in which Writer A usage is used to define Writer B’s usage based solely on the fact that these 2 writers use the same word or term.  Whether or not Writer A & Writer B are using the word or term to mean the same thing depends the context in which these terms appear.   After all, it’s well known that the same word can have an expanded or narrow range of meaning as well as more than one definition. 

For example, in an earlier article, we noted that Paul, in Galatians, draws a distinction  between Peter & someone whom he names “Cephas,” &, given the trajectory of the text, Joseph of Arimathea is a likely candidate for the title. 

I Corinthians is written by Paul, as is Galatians, & Luke, who traveled with Paul (Acts) is the author of Luke’s Gospel, & as, we also noted in another article, Luke understood Hebrew naming convention in which people may have a given name & another name, for example: Barnabas in Acts 4, whom Luke notes was also named “Joseph,” & Matthew whose name Luke changes to “Matthias,” & Saul, whom,  not long after his (Saul’s) first appearance in renames “Paul.” 

Luke says that when the 2 men who were on the Road to Emmaus (one of whom was Cleopas (Glory of the Father/Everything)), after meeting Yeshua & breaking bread with Him, found the eleven & testified that “the Lord has risen indeed & has appeared to Simon (the one who listens). 

Immediately preceding the account of the two men on the Emmaus Road, Luke informs us that Peter saw the empty tomb & the linen cloths — but the text doesn’t state that he saw Yeshua, thus, when the ESV footnote sends us from 1 Corinthians 15:5 to Luke 24:34, there’s a built in assumption on the part of the editors that Simon, Peter, & Cephas are one & the same individual.   

I don’t think that is the case at all: 

1. Luke’s Gospel doesn’t use the name “Cephas” to refer to Peter.   
2. In fact, he doesn’t use the name “Cephas” at all.   
3. He uses the name “Simon” in more than one sense: 
• To refer to Peter (Luke 6:14) 
• As the name of Simon the Pharisee (7:36 - 50) & 
• As the name of the person or persons who saw Yeshua after His resurrection. 
4. Luke, being one of Paul’s associates with whom he traveled, is likely targeting the Pauline churches as his receiving audiences, & since Paul draws a distinction between Peter & Cephas in Galatians, the identity of Simon in Luke 24 & Cephas in Galatians 2 is very likely one & the same.   

When we put all of this data together, I think the Simon in Luke 24 is Simon the Pharisee, the one who listened to Yeshua over a meal at his house & that he is Cleopas’ traveling companion on the Road to Emmaus.    In my personal opinion, Simon the Pharisee who listened at a meal (Luke 7), is the Cephas with whom Paul remonstrated in the Book of Galatians & is most likely Joseph of Arimathea. 

O LORD, Hear our prayer(s)!