I think theres some merit in which CJ has said, but Id like to divorce it from the anti-Catholic polemic that has been inching into some of this discussion.
I too would wish to see a divorce between the substance of the argument and the polemic against catholicism.
What is the power of the keys? Both commentaries I consulted (Word and Hermeneia) connect it to Jewish rabbinical practice and say that it is primarily the power to make authoritative interpretation, i.e. to determine what actions and permitted and what are not. It is not an arbitrary power to include or exclude people from the Kingdom. If applied to specific cases it can show itself as Church discipline.
There is a link between what is said here in Matt 16:19 and what was said in the book of the prophet Isaiah regarding the keys of that ancient kingdom of Israel and its prime minister, Eliakim, who governed with the consent of the king (see Isaiah 22:15-22 and following). But you are right to point to the Jewish view in ancient times that the giving of keys was symbolic. The Cambridge bible for schools and colleges says, "
To a Jew it would convey a definite meaning. He would think of the symbolic key given to a Scribe when admitted to his office, with which he was to open the treasury of the divine oracles. Peter was to be a Scribe in the kingdom of heaven. He has received authority to teach the truths of the kingdom." But it must be born in mind that the author of saint Matthew's gospel presents this story in an isolated place where the Lord speaks to his disciples of what the crowds say about him. So the keys are given in a context without a crowd present and no Jews other than those chosen by the Lord to be his disciples. The meaning then may not correspond to the Jewish custom of the time but to something more specific and something that the Lord has taught the disciples in the months and years he has spent instructing them about his own authority as king so it would be no surprise for them to hear these words and upon reflection see a fulfilment of the keys of David given to Eliakim with saint Peter being the anti-type of Eliakim. And the words following the giving of the keys point to binding and unbinding on earth with heavenly consequences. So it is that the Catholic Church has seen in these words the giving of authority to define both
the faith and
heresy as well as, in specific cases, to declare
blessings and
anathema according to a person's deeds and teachings.
To whom is it given? Because of the reference to Church in Mat 16:18, I assume that the authority given to Peter was intended for the Church and not just him personally. I dont know many interpreters who claim it was just a personal grant. Its kind of irrelevant whether Jesus was referring in the first place to Peter or his faith, since in either case the authority is intended for the Church.
The reasoning presented above seems well thought through but it also ignores the grammar of what is spoken by the Lord because he says "
I will give thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven." by which only one person is signified and that person cannot be any other than saint Pater to whom this discourse is addressed. So speaking of the keys given to the church, as if the Lord stopped conversing to saint Peter addressing this remark to a plurality of persons or to an abstraction (as some see the church to be) cannot be right because the words are
I will give thee and this can mean nothing about abstractions nor about pluralities of persons. It is singular and the one to whom it is addressed is singular; namely, saint Peter.
However CJs point that Scripture doesnt specify that the authority is passed to only some part of the Church seems quite sensible. The most obvious understanding would be that the authority passes to the entire Church. If the Church isnt united, that is a significant problem with exercising it, but attempts to say that ones own Church is the only one with this authority is unlikely to convince anyone else. Thats a mode of dealing with ecumenical relations that I think were in the process of recovering from.
CJ's point seems sensible only if "
I will give thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven." is taken as addressing the church and not as addressing one person but as my comment above indicates such seeming cannot be right because "
I will give thee" is an exchange between persons ,one to one other, as the grammar demands.
What do we do in a situation where different communities make different decisions? I think we're subject to whatever community we are part of. Yes, people can shop around for communities whose judgement lets them to what they want, but remember that ultimately we have to face Jesus. Similarly, I am convinced that those of us in leadership will be asked to explain how we exercised the authority given to us.
