Peter The Rock

The burly fisherman would've lived out his life
Netting the waters of old Galilee,
Unaware of supernatural strife,
Of fishing for men in a cosmic sea;
But a higher love than any he knew
Drew him relentlessly to the storm's eye,
That battered the days of Peter the Jew,
And called the Rock from brine to courts on high!
Is this he, hung inverted on the tree,
That trod the waves unwet in eager trust;
That taught preachers how pastors ought to be;
And set forever the measure of blust?
Yes, it is he, and see that you smirk not
At flaws; his ending's more than most have got!

When Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He left eleven apostles and many disciples to spread the word to the world. The leader of this uneducated polyglot group of men and women was Simon, who was given the name Peter by Christ., an ex-fisherman from Galilee. This man would never have become the Rock, strong, eloquent and determined, that he did become, without the teaching of Jesus and an influx of the Holy Spirit. From an impetuous bumbler to a powerfully effective advocate of Jesus Christ is a good description of the man that the poem above extols. Standing before a huge crowd, probably in the outer court of the temple, he preached the first sermon after those given by Jesus, and three thousand people converted to Christ. He quoted words from David, familiar to his listeners, to declare that the man they had recently crucified was Jesus the Son of God, now made the Lord and Christ:

"'Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.' When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" (Acts 2:36-37)

Gone was the impetuousity that compelled him to jump out of the boat and walk on the water, only to shift his eyes from Christ and sink; gone was the bellicose nature that caused him to draw his sword and cut off the ear of the temple guard in a useless attempt at protecting Jesus. What the people at Pentecost heard was a mature man of faith that would lead Christianity from the backwaters of the Roman empire to spread across the world.