WHY DID JESUS CALL SIMON, PETER (ROCK)?

Most of us are very familiar with the story in Matthew chapter 16 where Jesus said that Simon, who was one of His disciples, is Peter (which means rock). The question is, why did Jesus call him Rock?

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

(Matthew 16:18 NLT) Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Before we answer the question, it is of note that there are many Believers and non Believers alike, who do not accept Peter as the Rock. They usually twist the above verse and play on words from the Greek translation such as:

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

They say that what Jesus called Simon was "Petros" which refers to a pebble or small stone; and said He will build His church on "Petra" which refers to a big Rock or Stone: which would be Jesus Himself for Jesus is called the Chief Cornerstone. In other words, they say the Church is not built on Peter but on Jesus.

(Mark 12:10 KJV) And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.

(1 Peter 2:6 KJV) Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

(1 Corinthians 3:11 KJV) For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The above interpretation is considered inaccurate for the following reasons:

1. Jesus and His disciples are believed to have spoken Aramaic, which is the common language of Judea in the first century AD. John 1:42 points to Jesus using Aramaic in the naming of Peter. Read (John 1:42 KJV) And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
2. The name Cephas is an anglicized form of the Aramaic Kephas, which simply means “Rock.” There would have been no “small rock” to be found in Jesus’ original statement to Peter. Most probably, the word, Kephas was used both for a name and for a “rock.” 
3. In fact "Kephas" was supposedly transliterated to a feminine Greek name "Petra". However, Matthew, used the name "Petros", being a masculine name for Petra as Simon's Greek name.
4. The Syriac Version of the Bible, the Peshitta makes no distinction between the words for name and rock in the verse.
5. The view that Peter is the rock does not eliminate the significance of other biblical verses that states that Jesus or the gospel of Christ is the Rock. Scriptural symbols are usually not mutually exclusive and often build on each other. Notice that it was Jesus that deliberately called him Rock/ Stone (Cephas), why should anyone think otherwise? Jesus indeed is the great foundation, the chief cornerstone. However in this particular verse in Matthew 16:17, He does not appear as the chief stone/ foundation but as the Builder (architect): He said "On this rock will I build." He is portrayed as the Builder of the Church, not the building.
6. It is most unlikely that what Jesus wanted to communicate in that verse is that, "You are an small rock, and upon this big Rock (Stone) I will build my Church."
7. Another idea that Jesus could be referring to the confession of faith by Peter as the rock upon which He will build His church is quite inconceivable. For there is no reference in that passage to the faith of Peter, rather, the parallelism of “thou art Rock” and “on this rock I will build” shows that the second rock can only be the same as the first. It is therefore evident that Jesus is referring to Peter, to whom He called Rock.

So, why then did Jesus call him, Rock/ Stone? What is the significance of this Stone? Let's take a look a the entire story in Matthew chapter 16:

(Matthew 16:13-20 KJV) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

There are certain things that these verses teach that are very clear. According to Matthew 16:18, Jesus is the Builder of the church for He said, "I will build My church". The verse also teaches that the church belongs to Jesus for He called it, "my church". He equally said He will build (i.e develop or set up or put together) His church (meaning His assembly or called-out ones) based on the rock. So we know the Builder, we know the Owner of the Church; who is the rock or stone again? 

Jesus said Simon Barjona is the Rock or Stone which He will use to build the Church. Jesus Himself called him, Kephas (or Cephas) which means Rock or Stone. By calling him Stone does not mean he is the Foundational stone or Cornerstone. Jesus is the Foundational-stone, while Simon is the building-stone. Both individuals can be called Stone without contradiction. 1 Peter 2:4-5 is an example where Peter called both Jesus and the Saints, stone:

(1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV) As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The very structure and order of the sentence puts Jesus Christ, the Foundation, first; then building afterwards.

So why did He call Simon, Rock/ Stone? It is in connection with the prophecy/ dream interpretation in Daniel 2:34. Notice that immediately Peter learned by the Father's revelation of Jesus’ messianic role and that Jesus is the Son of the living God, Jesus identified Simon as the Rock/ Stone in Daniel 2:34. 

(Daniel 2:34 NIV) While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

(Daniel 2:34 NLT) As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.

(Daniel 2:34 KJV) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

Now what are the similarities or characteristics that connects the Rock/ Stone in Matthew 16:18 and Daniel 2:34

Firstly, Daniel in his interpretation of Daniel 2:34 said that "a stone cut out from a mountain without hands" means that the God of heaven will set up His kingdom. In Matthew 16:18, we read Jesus (Son of the living God) saying He will set up His assembly. The two verses are linked by the same event of setting up a kingdom/ congregation that will last forever by God/ Son of God. Note that the kingdom of God is made up of "called-out ones".

(Daniel 2:44 KJV) And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

(Matthew 16:18 YLT) And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 

Secondly, from the expression, "a stone cut out from a mountain without hands" we know that the God of heaven is the one setting up the kingdom as interpreted by Daniel. The expression "without hands" describes God in that verse. It is God/ the Son of God that cuts out the stone from the mountain. In other words, God/ Son of God (Jesus) is not the Rock/ Stone in this verse as He is the One that cuts out the stone from the mountain. Jesus in Matthew 16:18 identified Simon as that Stone. The stone was to be used to set up a kingdom.

Thirdly, the stone was cut out from a mountain. In the book of Michah, God referred to His assembly or congregation as the mountain. So, this stone was cut out from its existing assembly (i.e Jewish assembly). Simon was cut out from his existing assembly under Jewish religion to follow Christ.

(Micah 4:1 NLT) In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

Fourthly, in the book of Daniel, the stone that smote the image became a great mountain which filled the whole earth. In other words, the stone became a great congregation of God's people. In the book of Matthew 16, Jesus said He will build/ develop the stone to a congregation (church), which has now filled the whole earth. Jesus used Peter on the day of Pentecost to expand the kingdom of heaven to various parts of the earth. The rock indeed became a great mountain. Please read entire Acts chapter two.

(Acts 2:1-5 KJV) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

(Acts 2:14 KJV) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words.

Lastly, the stone in Daniel 2:45 smote the feet of the image (not the head or any other part), and brake into pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold. The feet of the image represents the Roman Empire. The Church is that "kingdom" that historically took over from (i.e. smote) the former Roman Empire ("the feet"). It started as a rock and has filled the whole world as a mountain. The Church is that kingdom that shall never ultimately be overcome or brake into pieces or disappear like the former man-made kingdoms.