19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Keys unlock and open doors. The Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself has “the keys of death and of Hades”(Rev 1:18), using similar and, in light of today’s theological debates, controversial language, gives Peter “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” and an ability to “bind” and “loose.” What does this mean?
A basic principle for understanding the Bible is to let Scripture interpret Scripture; let the clear passages help us understand the less clear passages. Can we find clarification for this in other passages? As we see Christianity spread after the resurrection and Pentecost, we notice Peter having a time-limited prerogative to introduce the three main ethnic groups of the world (from the Jewish perspective) into the “kingdom,” the community of believers in Jesus. First, Peter was the primary spokesperson to the Jews at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-42) and the Holy Spirit came upon them in a distinctly phenomenal way. He “unlocked the door” to the kingdom to the Jews, who had rejected Christ.
Second, Peter was present when the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit. They were people of mixed Jewish and non-Jewish blood, and hated by the pure-blood Jews. The gospel message had already gone there through the non-apostle Philip (Acts 8), but although the new believers had been baptized with water, the Holy Spirit did not fall on them until the apostle Peter (along with John) arrived (Acts 8:15-16)! This fact is not just incidental, historical filler. Rather, apostolic presence validated the Samaritan’s experience to be truly from God, something that would have otherwise been difficult for Jewish believers to accept. Peter was the key agent in unlocking the door to the Samaritans.
Acts 10-11 records the movement of the kingdom into Gentile lands and Peter is again the key agent. He was “amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles as well” (Acts 10:45). He then reported back to the church in Jerusalem, recounting the whole event in detail. His personal witness was proof positive that the doors of the kingdom of God were open to all who believe, regardless of whether they were Jew or non-Jew. There was not to be two or three different movements of God, but one unified Church.
So, we see Peter unlocking the door of the kingdom to all people groups. Once this was done, his role as the “keeper of the keys” was done. Now, anyone who comes to Christ by faith is saved and included into the Church of God.
Lord, thank You for opening the door to me and inviting me into Your Kingdom. Please use me to help others see the open door and enter in as well.
Interesting interpretation. But do you think this prophecy applies to Peter alone? Perhaps you will comment on it when we get there, but Matthew 18:18 suggests that these keys would be given to more than just Peter.
Robert