Chapter 3: The New Name

At their very first meeting, Jesus had looked at Simon and told him he would be called the Rock. But it was not until later that the full weight of those words became clear. In that culture a name carried the full weight of a person's identity and destiny. Jesus was declaring who Peter will be.

Peter became one of the three disciples Jesus took into the most private moments of His ministry. He was in the room when Jesus took the hand of a dead girl and called her back to life. Peter was not on the edges of what Jesus was doing. He was at the center of it.

Then one day near Caesarea Philippi in northern Israel, Jesus turned to His disciples and asked who they believed He was. Peter answered before anyone else.

PETER“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”— Matthew 16:16

What Peter said went beyond anything he could have reasoned on his own. God had placed that understanding directly in him, and Jesus knew it.

JESUS“Blessed are you, Simon. 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.”— Matthew 16:17-18

It was the highest moment of his life. God Himself had spoken through him. He was the rock. He had no idea what the name would cost him.