Meaning of Peter in the Bible

Simon bar Jonah was a fisherman from Bethsaida when Jesus called him from his nets, renamed him Peter — Greek Petros, 'Rock' — and promised to build His church on this confession (Matthew 16:18). Peter became the spokesman of the Twelve, the first to walk on water toward Jesus and the first to sink (Matthew 14:28–31), the one who declared 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' and moments later was rebuked as a stumbling block (Matthew 16:16–23). He witnessed the Transfiguration, cut off Malchus's ear in Gethsemane, and then denied knowing Jesus three times before a charcoal fire — fulfilling the Lord's prediction to the letter. His restoration came beside another charcoal fire on the shores of Galilee, where Jesus three times asked 'Do you love me?' and three times commissioned Peter to feed His sheep (John 21:15–17). At Pentecost, this same man who had cowered before a servant girl stood before thousands and preached with such power that three thousand were baptized (Acts 2). He led the Jerusalem church, was miraculously freed from prison, and brought the gospel to the Gentile household of Cornelius (Acts 10). His two epistles address persecuted believers with practical courage and eschatological hope.