Petra

The "fiery fisherman" becomes the rock solid preacher..

"On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, He saw two boats at the edge of the lake.  The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.  Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore.  And sitting down, He taught the people from the boat.

When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.'

'Master,' Simon replied, 'We have worked hard all night without catching anything.  But because You say so, I will let down the nets.'  When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees.  'Go away from me, Lord, ' he said, 'for I am a sinful man.'

'Do not be afraid,' Jesus said to Simon.  'From now on you will catch men.' And when they had brought their boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him.

Matthew 16:16 - Peter declares, "you are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Matthew 16:17 - Jesus answers and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon:  for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father in heaven."

Matthew 16:18 - "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (Petros) and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Jesus uses the Greek word for a small rock (Petros) and for a large rock (petra) instead of the Aramaic orginal "Cephas" (a stone).  This was done by design.  It is the Petros - the man - declaring the petra - the foundational belief of Christianity.  It is the belief that Jesus is the Son of the living God that will stand against hell - and bring forth salvation.

John 1:42 records Jesus' first words to Simon:  "You will be called Cephas" (Aramaic for "rock")

 Jesus saw in Simon - what only HE could create.

This stone was hand-collected from the shores of Plymouth, Massachusetts — rough-hewn, porous, ancient. It doesn't pretend to be smooth. It carries its history on its surface, just as Peter carried his. And like Peter, it is exactly what it was always meant to be.

Some things are named before they're ready. Then they grow into it.