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→Biblical texts: biblical exegesis on Mt 16:18 from Harmony of the Gospel (Conservative Version)
: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 to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.<ref>Gospel of Matthew: Chapter 16, Verse 18; see also 1 Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:20, [[1 Peter]] 2:5–6, and Revelations 21:14.</ref>
: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 to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.<ref>Gospel of Matthew: Chapter 16, Verse 18; see also 1 Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:20, [[1 Peter]] 2:5–6, and Revelations 21:14.</ref>
Peter (and Paul) did found a church in Rome in 42 A.D. and served as the bishop for 25 years until 67 A.D. when he was martyred. However, as Duffy points out, "wherever we turn, the solid outlines of the Petrine succession at Rome seem to blur and dissolve."<ref>Duffy, p. 2</ref> That is, the primacy of the bishop of Rome in the Western Roman Empire was not established for several centuries, and even then was rejected by eastern bishops who guide the Eastern Orthodox Church under the leadership of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
=====[[Historical-critical method (Higher criticism)|Textual exegesis]]=====
"'''I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven'''" Matthew 16:19. The Greek word '''σοι''' "''to you''" here is singular, not plural '''ὑμῖν''' "''to you''", and therefore this declaration was not addressed to the entire immediate group of his assembled disciples, ''[[Eisegesis|as some would have it]]'', but only to Peter. The structure of Greek grammar in this text clearly permits no other reading.
In the later apparently parallel text of Matthew 18:18 the phrase "''keys of the Kingdom of Heaven''" does not appear (see verses 15-20). On the principle of ''sola scriptura'', there is no linguistic textual basis for saying that Jesus gave the "''keys''" to all the apostles on that occasion, but only that he gave them all the collective authority to bind and loose together, an authority which is distinctly different from the authority to open and shut the "''Kingdom of Heaven''" (see Revelation 1:17-18; 3:7). Catholics maintain that there is a significant distinction here, and that the previous occasion in Matthew 16:18 is a specific fulfillment of the prophesy in Isaiah 22:22 pointing to one man, not many. Other Christians maintain that the "''keys''" are necessary to bind and to loose, to "''open and no man shall shut, and shut and no man opens''" (Revelation 3:7), thus equating binding and loosing with opening and shutting, and that this therefore does linguistically imply that all of the apostles were each given the "''keys of the Kingdom of Heaven''" simultaneously together in Matthew 18:18, so that what he had conferred on Peter is now expanded and conferred on them.
'''Old Testament parallels''' show that God gave to particular men divine authority to act, and that He obeyed their word: Exodus 14:15-16 and Joshua 10:12-14; see also 1 Kings 17:1, 2 Kings 20:9-11, Matthew 9:8, Luke 2:51, and John 9:31 and 20:21-23; Romans 13:1-2, 1 Timothy 1:19-20, Hebrews 13:17, and Revelation 3:7. Compare the Catholic Bible [http://usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/index.cfm footnotes] on these verses with [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/1-1.htm multiple Protestant commentaries]. The controversy over divine authority is a key doctrinal issue in the [[Protestant Reformation]]. See [[Apostolic succession]].
There is a difference in Matthew 16:18 in the Greek words for "stone" and "rock". '''''Petros'' Πέτρος''' is the masculine form, meaning "stone", "boulder" or "large rock", and '''''petra'' πέτρα''' is the feminine form, meaning "stone", "boulder" or "massive rock". They essentially mean the same thing.
:Πέτρος, Πέτρου, ὁ (an appellative proper name, signifying 'a stone,' '''a rock, ledge or cliff''').
:πέτρα, πέτρας, ἡ, from Homer down; the Septuagint reading for סֶלַע and צוּר; '''a rock, ledge, cliff'''.
See Strong's numbers [http://biblehub.com/greek/4074.htm ''4074''] and [http://biblehub.com/greek/4073.htm ''4073''].
See also [http://biblehub.com/greek/2786.htm ''2786''].
:Κεφας, κεφα, ὁ (Chaldean כֵּיפָא, '''a rock'''), Cephas (equivalent to Πέτρος), the surname of Simon the apostle.
(Jesus did not give Simon Bar Jonah a feminine name.) A more literal translation of verse 18 is, "''I tell you, you are Rock, and on this Rock I will build my gathering (my assembly)''". Linguistically, according to the Greek construction, and Greek grammar, the person indicated by the phrase "''on this rock''" is Peter, not Jesus.
:'''καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ''' The emphasis is on ΤΑΎΤῌ '''ταύτῃ''', which points to Peter (''not to Jesus, as Augustine would have us suppose''), and to be understood thus: on no other than on this rock.
The equivalent Aramaic term in the Syriac ''[[Peshitta]]'' translation of the New Testament is '''κεφα''' ''Kepa / Cep-ha'', simply "rock":
:"''I tell you, you are ''Kepha'', and on this ''Kepha'' I will build my church.''
The Greek form of this Aramaic word is "''Cephas''", pronounced "''kepas''". This can be seen as a fulfillment of the prophesy of the stone (rock) formed without hands which became a great mountain which filled the whole earth in Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45, and in Isaiah 2:1-5. Catholics point to the fact that the whole Catholic Church "founded by Jesus on Peter the Rock" is worldwide and the largest Christian denomination on earth.
=====Peter and Paul=====
Peter (and Paul) did found a church in Rome in 42 A.D. and he served as the bishop for 25 years until 67 A.D. when he was martyred. However, as Duffy points out, "wherever we turn, the solid outlines of the Petrine succession at Rome seem to blur and dissolve."<ref>Duffy, p. 2</ref> That is, the primacy of the bishop of Rome in the Western Roman Empire was not unequivocally established for several centuries, and even then was rejected by eastern bishops who guide the Eastern Orthodox Church under the leadership of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
===Early history to 350===
===Early history to 350===