What's In a Name

Introduction

A person’s name matters. “His name is mud” is a phrase used to describe someone whose reputation is worthless. This phrase originated from a Dr. Mudd who helped to medically treat John Wilkes Booth after he had shot President Lincoln. Dr. Mudd was ostracized by his community and all of America. His reputation was ruined. His name became a laughingstock. He was derided and ignored because of his name. He died in disgrace. While his descendants have tried to restore his reputation, to this day the phrase “his name is mud” is still used to describe one who cannot be trusted.

Names matter. For most of us our names are carefully selected. You may be named after someone in your family. Or your name may come from a person who was admired by your parents. Or you name may have come from the Bible. Whatever the origination of your name, it has significance to you and to your family. In the Bible, names were not given without careful thinking and planning. Names had meanings and those meanings translated many times into the character of the person who wore that name.

Eve means “mother of all living” and was given to her by her husband as a way to honor her as the first mother. Abraham means “father of many” and was given to him by God as a way of signifying that from him a great nation would arise. Jacob means deceiver and indeed he was. Later his name was changed to Israel meaning “struggled with God” because Jacob did that literally and figuratively. Joshua in Hebrew means “God saves” and when translated into Greek carries the same meaning but is pronounced Jesus. Immanuel, another name given to Jesus, means “God with us.” In the Bible names matter. They are significant because they are designed to tell us something about the character and personality of the person. In our culture we don’t name our children for that necessarily.

In our culture we think in terms of the quality of person’s name in relationship to their character. When a person has poor character his name becomes despised. Not too many people name their little boys Adolf or Judas or their little girls Jezebel any longer. Names still have meaning. Tonight we begin a series on the life of a New Testament character. Among the better known apostles of Jesus this man wrote two letters in our New Testament. We know quite a few details about his life. But Jesus changed this man’s name because Jesus saw something in him that his parents did not see. His name was “Simon” which was a common Greek name. But Jesus gave him a new name “Peter” which means “rock.” We’ll look at character tonight.

Simon’s Character

What we know about Simon Peter comes primarily through the gospel accounts. We know some about him from Acts and from his two letters, but for the most part his interaction with Jesus and the other apostles in the gospel accounts tells us something about his character and personality. We will over the course of this series relive a number of episodes in his life, but for now, let’s take an overview of his life to understand better what type of man Simon was.

Simon was a fisherman by trade. He, Andrew, James, and John worked together. It appears that they were friends before Jesus came along. All four of course became fishers of men. Fishermen were generally rough men. It was a hard life. Catching fish, even at times spending all night fishing was hard work. One’s hands would become rough and calloused from throwing nets, handling nets, pulling in nets filled with fish. As difficult as work as a fisherman was, it also produced calloused hearts and minds. Peter from his denial of Jesus knew how to curse and knew how to use rough language. He didn’t learn it in one night and at one episode. It also appears that Peter acted without thinking. From the Mount of Transfiguration in which fear awed silence was anticipated, Simon speaks in less than rational and coherent ways. From sitting in an upper room stubbornly refusing to have Jesus wash his feet he fast forwards to the opposite end of the spectrum in wanting a bath, Simon Peter is reactionary.

But as reactive as Simon was he was also the first to respond in faith. When Jesus asks who the disciples think he is, Simon is the first to confess with great assurance that Jesus is the Christ. When Jesus is walking on the water, Simon while filled with awe and wonder still wants to take walk with Jesus. Such reactive faith is often rewarded and then chided because of its quick cooling as well. But through it all, Simon is impetuous, faith filled, stubborn, rough, and convicted. Simon strikes me as one who lived on the cutting edge. Ready to act and react and equally quick to be convicted of truth.

What Did Jesus See?

Look at John 1. Andrew and Peter have been following John the Baptizer around. They have become his disciples. During those days the Messiahs were a dime a dozen. There was high expectations that a Messiah would come soon. The prophecies pointed to this time period. Current Jewish leaders jealously protected their rule because they knew that the Messiah would come. Some who claimed to be the Messiah were killed. Others were ignored. Some brightly shone for a moment and then vanished. John was baptizing at the Jordan River. There was a spiritual revival taking place in Israel. Although some wanted to believe that John was the Messiah, John always pointed to Jesus. He always pointed his followers to one who was to come after him. Continually, John reminded his followers that the one who was to come after him would be the Messiah. And so one morning while Andrew and another disciple (most believe this is John) were with John the Baptizer, Jesus comes by and John points to him and says “Look, the Lamb of God.”

Andrew and John had been waiting for John’s signal and this was it. They immediately left John and began to walk with Jesus. Jesus wants to know what they want. Andrew proclaims that he just wants to be with Jesus. And so they spend the day and the night together. Undoubtedly, they spend much of the time talking about the future and what God’s plans are. The next morning Andrew leaves and finds his brother and announces with great assurance, “We have found the Messiah.” Simon goes with his brother. Now don’t let this pass you by. Andrew brings Simon to Jesus and at their first encounter John tells us something very interesting.

“Jesus looked at Simon.” Stop. Don’t read any further. The word for looked at doesn’t mean glanced at or saw him. It has the meaning of a searching gaze. Jesus looked at Simon as if he were looking into his very soul and immediately Jesus said, “So you are Simon son of John. Your brother has told me about you. You are a believer but you are also uncertain. That’s good. From now on I am going to call you Cephas.” This would have been Jesus’s native language. Cephas is Aramaic. We call him Peter. But both names mean the same thing—rock. So what does this tell us about Jesus and Peter?

First, Jesus saw something that Peter did not. When Jesus looked at Simon, he saw something which Simon did not see or know about himself. Jesus saw a rock. Peter had never been anything close to a rock. He worked hard, did what was necessary but was too impetuous, too fickle. And Jesus calls him a rock. Jesus saw something in Peter that even Peter did not see. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Jesus could rename us? Or would it? Jesus sees us as we would never see ourselves. He sees the potential. We, too often, focus on the negative. There is something inside which only God can see and hear. Paul wrote in Romans 8:29 that God wants us to become like Jesus. There is within each one the potential to be molded and shaped into the image of Jesus.

Second, developing a life consistent with our new name is a process. Peter didn’t change overnight. What we know about him demonstrates that Peter failed many times. But every time someone called him by his new name he was reminded of his new goal. What if Jesus gave you a new name? What would it be? For the impatient would Jesus call you “Mr. Patient”? For the hot-tempered, would your new name be “Mr. Calm”? A worrier might be renamed “Mrs. Peace.” A covetous person may be called “Miss Content.” What new name would Jesus give you? All who will demonstrate their faith in repentance and baptism are given a new name—Christian. And with this new name you begin the journey of becoming more and more like Jesus.

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