David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 3:13-19

And [Jesus] went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. ¹⁴ And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach ¹⁵and have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸ Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

I’ll admit it: I hadn’t thought much about Jesus giving his disciples nicknames. But sure enough, here is Simon whom Jesus calls Peter (Rocky!), along with James and John who are named Sons of Thunder. There are others as well. Jesus calls the Pharisees whitewashed tombs and a brood of vipers, for example. But these two nicknames convey something about the power of a name. In these two cases, Jesus’ new names for these apostles not only describe their character, but perhaps even shape these men.

It is encouraging to me to consider the lives of the apostles. Peter was impetuous and denied Jesus. Phillip seems to have been slow. Thomas doubted. Simon (not Rocky) was a zealot. And Judas, of course, betrayed Jesus. This is no gathering of white marble saints. This is a gaggle of men who had all sorts and kinds of flaws and foibles. Yet Jesus called them and they turned the world upside down.

What would be your nickname? Earnest? Rider? Speedy? Sourpuss? Happy? What would you like it to be? Maybe we don’t get to choose our nickname, but God does have the names of his own written in the book of life. He knows us for who we are. And whoever we are, he calls us to be with Jesus, and spread his word and cast out demons – or at least be part of his body (the church) which continues to do that to this day, no matter what name we may go under.