Matthew 16
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
[Matthew 16:17-19, NKJV]
The Roman Catholic Church defends its ecclesiastic hierarchy and authority upon Peter and the Keys of the Kingdom mentioned in The Gospel of Matthew. The Eastern Orthodox Church considers patriarchal councils similarly. Martin Luther effectively argued The Keys were being misused in granting indulgences (to escape purgatory; temporal punishment). Evangelical Protestants vigorously question anyone or any council’s authority to speak “in cathedra”, or to authoritatively represent Christ on contemporary spiritual matters. The irony for all concerned is that in all likelihood both sides are correct to some degree, but not in the way they think.
Rather than specific practices, such as indulgences, or an apostolic succession, we find a principle of spiritual authority and responsibility for all shepherds—including the Pope of Rome, Patriarch of Constantinople, local pastor, or our Sunday School teacher. The sobering truth is that spiritual keys are often wielded without the least thought of consequences or responsibility among most evangelicals. Perhaps the “keys” are the conditions or barriers we establish between our community and Gospel of Christ.
Roman Era Keys
As one reads the narrative of the Keys of the Kingdom one suspects those hearing Peter’s profession and Jesus’ response had an understanding of keys. Jesus followers were not thinking in terms of the metal things we inserted in padlocks or deadbolts—their experience, if any, would have been simple latches or door bolts. In fact, the original Greek word used for “key” originally meant, “bolt”. What is noteworthy is that in Jesus’ day a door was only bolted or latched from the inside. Common security in Jesus’ day was to close and bolt one’s home from the inside at night and keep someone at home, watching the door, during the day. The one holding the “key” or bolt was inside and could make the door impassible to those outside.
Therefore, when Jesus said, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom,” his disciples were imagining someone inside a house or fortress who controlled the door or entrance. Once someone was inside, they, too, could bolt the door. In essence, he was telling Peter he could bar the door to the kingdom. How was Peter to know when and to whom to bar the door?
As one reads the New Testament and history, one may rightly conclude a number of things:
1. Jesus’ followers began the first church in Jerusalem after his ascension.
2. Peter “watched the door” and was considered the spokesman, leader, and shepherd of the group.
3. The approximately 120 members of the group (Acts 1:15) identified themselves as Jews.
4. The membership included the elite of all Christendom—Jesus’ mother, family, Apostles, and other followers who personally knew Christ.
5. The congregation grew as Peter preached and other Jews repented and were baptized into faith in Christ and membership in the group.
6. Peter and the first church faced a dilemma when unbaptized Gentiles were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:47).
7. Eventually, Peter and members of the first church formed a council to decide whether to bolt the door to the kingdom to Gentiles and uncircumcised (Acts 15).
8. The council decided, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.”
Peter and the Jerusalem Council, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, all agreed it was not good to burden new believers beyond a very few gently worded recommendations on minor points of the Law.
What?!
Given the opportunity to define orthodoxy for the new church, the Council of Jerusalem put together a letter to the Church in Antioch that said nothing about baptism, sacraments, or other doctrines—they chose to unbolt the door and trust the Holy Spirit to lead.
Another conclusion one may draw is that all of the Apostles and followers of Jesus witnessed him using his keys. Jesus used his keys to unlock the Law and open Grace. He dined with sinners, visited with Samaritans, blasphemed church leaders, healed and journeyed on the Sabbath—taking liberties with the Jewish Law and the cultural assumptions of his day. Jesus made it clear that the Law was to serve, not rule. Jesus revealed “sin” as an obstacle to one’s relationship with God and others. The Apostles and Jesus’ followers regularly witnessed Jesus us his keys for the sake of the lost and downtrodden.
How do you use your keys?
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