Simon

As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen -- Shim`on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew -- throwing their net into the lake.

Yeshua went to Kefa's home and there saw Kefa's mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever.

These are the names of the twelve emissaries: First, Shim`on, called Kefa, and Andrew his brother, Ya`akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother,

Then Kefa called to him, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water."

"Come!" he said. So Kefa got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Yeshua.

Kefa said to him, "Explain the parable to us."

Shim`on Kefa answered, "You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God."

"Shim`on Bar-Yochanan," Yeshua said to him, "how blessed you are! For no human being revealed this to you, no, it was my Father in heaven.

I also tell you this: you are Kefa," [which means `Rock,'] "and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh'ol will not overcome it.

Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him, "Heaven be merciful, Lord! By no means will this happen to you!"

But Yeshua turned his back on Kefa, saying, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God's perspective!"

Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya`akov and his brother Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately.

Kefa said to Yeshua, "It's good that we're here, Lord. I'll put up three shelters if you want -- one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu."

When they came to K'far-Nachum, the collectors of the half-shekel came to Kefa and said, "Doesn't your rabbi pay the Temple tax?"

"Of course he does," said Kefa. When he arrived home, Yeshua spoke first. "Shim`on, what's your opinion? The kings of the earth -- from whom do they collect duties and taxes? From their sons or from others?"

"From others," he answered. "Then," said Yeshua, "The sons are exempt.

Then Kefa came up and said to him, "Rabbi, how often can my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? As many as seven times?"

Kefa replied, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?"

"I will never lose faith in you," Kefa answered, "even if everyone else does."

"Even if I must die with you," Kefa replied, "I will never disown you!" And all the talmidim said the same thing.

He took with him Kefa and Zavdai's two sons. Grief and anguish came over him,

He returned to the talmidim and found them sleeping. He said to Kefa, "Were you so weak that you couldn't stay awake with me for even an hour?

Kefa followed him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; then he went inside and sat down with the guards to see what the outcome would be.

Kefa was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him. "You too were with Yeshua from the Galil," she said.

After a little while, the bystanders approached Kefa and said, "You must be one of them -- your accent gives you away."