No, not that one (Rock of Gibraltar- Getty Images)
I’ve always liked nicknames. I had a grandfather who everyone knew as “Smiley”. It certainly seemed to fit him better than his given appellation of Hearl Joseph. He was always smiling, and there was just something about him that made others smile. “Smiley” was a reflection of what he did, what he caused in others, and if you got down to the heart of who he was as a person, summed up his life- he was full of joy because he belonged to Christ and he wanted to share that joy with anyone he came in contact with.
Nope, still not the right "Rock" (Alcatraz Island- San Francisco)
I’ve always really enjoyed sports nicknames as well. Football has some great ones- Sweetness and The Refrigerator[1], Broadway Joe, Slingin’ Sammy and Concrete Charlie[2]. Mean Joe Greene, The Galloping Ghost, Crazylegs, and Night Train Lane[3]. Basketball has Wilt the Stilt, the Round Mound of Rebound, Magic, Air, Iceman, and the Hick from French Lick[4]. But it is baseball, in my opinion, that has the best nicknames[5]. The Sultan of Swat, Sparky, The Splendid Splinter, and my favorite sports nickname of all time- Shoeless Joe[6]. And that is just a few of the ones that start with “S”.
Closer, but still not the Rock we are talking about
So why the discussion of nicknames on the FCC blog? What could The Manassa Mauler[7] have to do with Men’s Ministry? Today I was hoping we would look at Matthew 16.15-18, when Jesus ask the disciples who people believe He really is:
“But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to
you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
Peter, arguably the most well known and “first” among the apostles, was not actually named Peter. Part of the confusion is that the New Testament actually uses four names to refer to him. Least used is the Hebrew name Symeon[8]. The Greek name Simon is used quite a bit more, both by itself and in the double name Simon Peter[9]. The other two names- Cephas and Peter- have the same meaning, which is “rock”[10]. Different manuscripts may use different names, but “Peter” is used much more frequently than Simon in the Bible. The question I was hoping we could think about today is “Why is Simon known to us today primarily by his nickname and why did Jesus give it to him?”. According to John, Jesus gave him the nickname at their first meeting[11]. Looking back with the hindsight of history, “Rock” seems to be a strange choice of nickname for Simon. While he was undoubtably a leader among the disciples, he feels a little reckless and inconstant when we consider what the Bible tells us about him. He jumped out of the boat and walked to Jesus on the water, but he also despaired and started sinking (even though his faith had already taken him part of the way across it[12]. Peter claims that no matter who else deserted Jesus, he would remain with Him, even to the point of death, only to deny Jesus three times the same night[13]. Even later in life, after Peter had seen a resurrected Jesus and had taken his place as a prominent leader of the early church, Peter had moments of doubt and insecurity[14]. He was, like all of us, a deeply flawed human. But what is important about Peter is that God had guided him to the most important truth- that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised Son of God- and that he expressed his faith in Christ[15]. To me there is something profoundly comforting in that. It doesn’t matter what we struggle with, what we fear, what troubles we may face…we place our faith in Jesus and we build our lives on Him. I hope that this week we are seeking to be closer to that foundation and that the Men’s Ministry (and all of us) are building our lives on Jesus.
Have a great week and please let us know if there is anything we can do for you – FCC Grayson Men’s Ministry
Follow-up: This has really been on my mind the past few weeks, so for those who are interested, I’ve included a couple extra resources if you would like to think about this topic further. On the Scripture side of things, the parables of the wise and foolish builders (Matt 7.24-27 & Luke 6.46-49) and Isaiah 28.2. On the Worship side, listen to “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” (https://youtu.be/Ty8tw7ydxB4?si=gf-1tiEf8Q11g_Dt ) and “Christ is My Firm Foundation” (https://youtu.be/x9ndiD0_qNk?si=quUpjxPvskSgDjyz )
[1] Walter Payton (this name perfectly describes his style of running and the personality he become known for in his NFL career, but was supposedly given to him after he taunted opponents during the Senior Bowl) and William Perry, whose smaller younger brother was known as “The Ice Box”
[2] Joe Namath (who played in New York and was considered “flashy”), Sammy Baugh (who did, indeed sling the ball) and Chuck Bednarik (one of the last two-way players in the NFL who was known for being a hard tackler- Google “The Hit Chuck Bednarik” for his famous clothesline of Frank Gifford), who was actually a concrete salesman during the off-season
[3] Joe Greene didn’t just have a mean attitude on the field, he also played for the “Mean Green” of North Texas State, Red Grange (considered one of the greatest college football players of all time, he also helped popularize professional football, was given the name by writer Warren Brown, who said no player could catch him. I’ve always identified the name with Grantland Rice’s description of him after the 1924 Illinois-Michigan game), Elroy Hirsch (Google him to see the running style that gave him his name), and Dick Lane (who got the name because he loved the song “Night Train” by Jimmy Forrest or because of his fear of flying dictated he take a train home after away games)
[4] Wilt Chamberlain (for his long legs), Charles Barkley (also known as Sir Charles), Earvin Johnson (who first got the name after recording a triple-double as a sophomore in high school), Michael Jordan, George Gervin (for his attitude on the court and for rarely sweating while he was playing), and Larry Bird
[5] I spent way too much time on this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_nicknames
[6] George Herman Ruth (also known as Babe, The Bambino, and the Colossus of Clout), George Anderson (given the name for his “feisty” play), Ted Williams (also known as Teddy Ballgame, Thumper or Kid, got the Splendid Splinter nickname because of his hitting ability and slender build), and Joe Jackson (who adopted the name after a fan called him a “shoeless bum” after he ran the bases in socks due to blisters caused from new cleats)
[7] Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, also known as “Kid Blackie”
[8] Acts 15.14 & 2 Peter 1.1
[9] Almost all of the uses of Simon Peter occur in the Gospel of John. Also used in the Gospels is the phrase “Simon called Peter”
[10] Cephas is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word “rock”, while “Peter” is from the Greek word meaning “rock”
[11] John 1.42. In Mark 3.16 and Luke 6.14 Jesus gives him the nickname when He selects the 12 disciples. Regardless of the exact timing of when He gave the nickname, Jesus was the one who gave it to Peter sometime during His public ministry
[12] Matt 14.28-31
[13] Matt 26.31-35 & 69-75
[14] See Galatians 2.11-21, for example. I also have always liked the apocryphal “quo vadis” story about Peter. This story, circulated among some early church members, said that when persecutions of Christians broke out in Rome under Nero, Peter fled the city in disguise. One a road outside of the city, a hooded stranger asked Peter “Quo Vadis?” (Latin for “Where are you going?”) and when Peter looked back he saw the face of Jesus. His faith bolstered, Peter returns to Rome, and is crucified as a martyr for the faith (some say upside-down, as he felt unworthy to be put to death in the same exact manner as Jesus).
[15] See Acts 2.14-41 for Peter’s message on Pentecost
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