Simon, son of John
When Peter first began following Jesus, the Lord gave him a glimpse of what the future would hold. “You are Simon the son of John, but you shall be called Peter,” Jesus proclaimed to him. Soon after, whenever Jesus spoke to him, he would call Simon by his new name, “Peter.”
But there along the shores of Tiberias, Jesus reverted to calling Peter Simon. And he didn’t just say “Simon.” As if to put an exclamation point on it, he called him “Simon, son of John.” This was another one of those saying something without actually saying it things that Jesus did that morning.
Peter had taken a giant step backward. This reversal was so massive he was back to what he was doing and where he was doing it before Jesus called him to be an apostle. Now, since he went back there, Jesus accommodated his choice by giving him back his old name. Simon, who had become Peter, was now back to being plain old Simon, son of John again.
There is an allure to our old life when the going gets tough in our new one. It’s nothing new. The Israelites modeled this propensity for us after they crossed the Red Sea and were wandering about the wilderness. They somehow forgot about the whips and bricks and fantasized about the leeks and garlic of Egypt. They wanted to go back.
Peter did go back. The book of Hebrews is written to a people who, because of their present troubles, are considering going back. Therefore, they are exhorted, “Do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised,” (Hebrews 10:35-36).
He continues, “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls,” (Hebrews 10:39). That is the verse that precedes the great chapter about the heroes of faith, Hebrews chapter 11.
Don’t romanticize the past. Time has a way of making those old boats, ships, and fish; the leeks and garlic; that life before Christ and the trials that following Him bring far better than it was. It was what it sounds like – bondage and hard toil. Don’t forsake being Peter when the going gets tough, to go back to being Simon with the false idea that the Simon life was easier and better. It wasn’t and it won’t be now. Endure hardship for the sake of Christ.
