Is Peter The Rock?
Is Peter the Rock?
It is a significant position that divides the Christian religion. For nearly five hundred years, Catholics and Protestants have quarreled over the meaning behind a verse in the gospel of Matthew, "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18, KJV). This essay will argue that the Apostle Peter is the rock in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew. It is apparent that Christ gave Peter primacy among the other disciples, declaring him the rock to which his church would be built upon. This theory is evident structurally, linguistically, and contextually.
A common objection among non-Catholics is that the original text does not allow for Peter to be the rock. The oldest known version of Matthew’s gospel …show more content…
“You are Petros” is the correct translation of the first clause, not just because of masculinity, but also because it is very likely Petros was already Peter’s name by the time Matthew wrote his Gospel. It is also possible that to Matthew’s original readers, Petros was so well recognized as Peter’s name that repeating Petros in the second line could have had a nonsensical or offbeat effect, similarly as saying it in English, “You are Peter, and on this Peter I will build my church.” Petros was a word meaning rock or stone, but in everyday usage it would always be petra for rock and Petros in reference to Peter the …show more content…
16:18, KJV), is so profound that it concludes the validity of an entire ideology of Christianity. The question becomes: Who or what is the foundation on which Jesus Christ said that he would build his Church? The Aramaic and the Greek, the languages which the original text was written, support the theory that Peter is the rock. In the first century, the New Testament was written in a form of Greek called koine, and words petra and petros were synonymous during this time. But beyond the linguistic and grammatical evidence, the structure and context of the account do not allow for Peter to have an insignificant role in the Church. Several times in the narrative St. Peter is blessed, he is given the keys to the kingdom, and with them, the authority to bind or loose on earth and in heaven. Taking these elements into account, Peter is undoubtedly the
It is a significant position that divides the Christian religion. For nearly five hundred years, Catholics and Protestants have quarreled over the meaning behind a verse in the gospel of Matthew, "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18, KJV). This essay will argue that the Apostle Peter is the rock in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew. It is apparent that Christ gave Peter primacy among the other disciples, declaring him the rock to which his church would be built upon. This theory is evident structurally, linguistically, and contextually.
A common objection among non-Catholics is that the original text does not allow for Peter to be the rock. The oldest known version of Matthew’s gospel …show more content…
“You are Petros” is the correct translation of the first clause, not just because of masculinity, but also because it is very likely Petros was already Peter’s name by the time Matthew wrote his Gospel. It is also possible that to Matthew’s original readers, Petros was so well recognized as Peter’s name that repeating Petros in the second line could have had a nonsensical or offbeat effect, similarly as saying it in English, “You are Peter, and on this Peter I will build my church.” Petros was a word meaning rock or stone, but in everyday usage it would always be petra for rock and Petros in reference to Peter the …show more content…
16:18, KJV), is so profound that it concludes the validity of an entire ideology of Christianity. The question becomes: Who or what is the foundation on which Jesus Christ said that he would build his Church? The Aramaic and the Greek, the languages which the original text was written, support the theory that Peter is the rock. In the first century, the New Testament was written in a form of Greek called koine, and words petra and petros were synonymous during this time. But beyond the linguistic and grammatical evidence, the structure and context of the account do not allow for Peter to have an insignificant role in the Church. Several times in the narrative St. Peter is blessed, he is given the keys to the kingdom, and with them, the authority to bind or loose on earth and in heaven. Taking these elements into account, Peter is undoubtedly the