Worshiping the Father, Worshiping the Son: Cultic Language and the Identity of God in the Gospel of Matthew

This article attempts to provide a more coherent account of Matthew's theological grammar than is currently on offer by closely examining two linguistic patterns in the Gospel: Matthew's literarily sophisticated use of the word "worship/pay homage" (προσκνέω) and its relation to Jesus' identity as Son of God. I argue that the pattern of Matthew's προσκνέω language vis-à-vis Israel's God and Jesus creates an "ungrammaticality" (à la Riffaterre) that requires of the reader a second or "hermeneutic" reading to discover how the narrative coherently holds this tension together. Matthew, I contend, rearticulates the identity of God around the Father-Son relation.