EXEGETICAL STUDY OF MATTHEW 16:17-19 AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE “PETROS”, “PETRA” ARGUMENTS

The Gospel according to Matthew is one of the Synoptic Gospels. It was written by Matthew who was believed to be an eyewitness of many of the events he recorded. He was a tax collector before he was called by Jesus and had scribal skills and knowledge of Judaism. He was a competent witness of what he has recorded. He emphasized Jesus’ Jewish heritage and demonstrated how Jesus fulfils the Old Testament prophecies (Kapolyo 1105). Matthew’s gospel is a teaching gospel containing five blocks of teaching divided by narratives about Jesus’ ministry activities. The blocks are Sermon on the Mount, the mission of the twelve, the parables of the kingdom, the woes of the legalistic religion and the signs of the end.The writer wrote to Jewish audience; this is confirmed by the fact that there are about sixty references to the Jewish prophecies, and in it Christ’s mission to the Jews is emphasized (Thompson 4262); also the writer’s assumption that its readers know about matters of Jewish ritual and his use of Jewish terminology (like the kingdom of heaven, Son of David) is of great importance to the understanding of the motive of the writer (France 904). He also presented Jesus as the Great Teacher, who has the authority to interpret the Law of God, and who teaches about God’s kingdom. He stressed on Jesus’ public ministry (David 1). Matthew in his writing seeks to re-affirm the Messiahship of Jesus andcontrast the religious leadership of the Jews with the grace and truth that is revealed through Jesus (Dickson 1067).