Peter – Growing into a Rock

In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus gave the Simon Bar-Jonah his more popular name of Peter, i.e., “Rock.” In the context, Peter had just made the great confession, saying that Jesus was the Son of God, and that statement was the rock upon which Jesus would build His church. The faith and boldness of Peter undeniably earns him this nickname from the Lord, but it seemingly takes him time to learn that his being a rock is not to be rock-solid in himself, but in his faith that earned him the name. By the time Peter writes his epistles that are included in the New Testament, he well understands the growth process he had to complete and encourages all Christians to similarly “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).