The keys

[Xeno.of.athens]

On an occasion while Jesus was with his disciples walking he asked them who people said he was and also who they said he is. That passage is one that in Catholic teaching has some significance for church hierarchy and government. Here is the passage
Matthew 16:

13 Then Jesus came into the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi; and there he asked his disciples, What do men say of the Son of Man? Who do they think he is?​

14 Some say John the Baptist, they told him, others Elias, others again, Jeremy or one of the prophets.​

15 Jesus said to them, And what of you? Who do you say that I am?​

16 Then Simon Peter answered, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.✻​

vv. 13-16: Mk. 8.27; Lk. 9.18.​

17 And Jesus answered him, Blessed art thou, Simon son of Jona; it is not flesh and blood, it is my Father in heaven that has revealed this to thee.​

18 And I tell thee this in my turn, that thou art Peter, and it is upon this rock that I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it;​

19 and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.​

20 Then he strictly forbade them to tell any man that he, Jesus, was the Christ. [Knox Bible]​

How do you handle the passage? What about your denomination, does it has a written view about the passage?

 

[Soyeong]

"The keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" is a concept that existed with Judaism prior to when Jesus said these words, so the way that my denomination handles this passage is by examining what it meant in that context.

 

[Hawkins]

OT basically is a testimony on who God is as witnessed by the prophets. NT is a testimony on who Jesus is as witnessed by the disciples/apostles. Both are basically testimonies from the Jews, as God's chosen people with their testimonies authenticated by God. However since the Jews failed their role, that the authority as God's earthly representative needs to be shifted from the Jews/Judaism to Christians/Christianity. The meaning of the "keys" can be multi-fold.

Firstly it is through Jesus Christ that God's Grace is granted, vs. God's Law as how it was granted to the Jews. To simply put, through Moses God's Law was granted to the Jews, that's the core of OT. Through Jesus God's Grace has been granted to all mankind, that's the core of NT. So the big rock is Jesus upon whom things are built. Secondly, the small rock is Peter (by the meaning of Peter's name), as he represents the discipleship responsible for how Jesus is witnessed, and how authority has been shifted from the Jews to Christians, from Judaism to Christianity, and from the Jewish Temple to God's Church on earth.

The term "bind and loose" is often used by the high priests in declaring God's Law. It is the wording which represents such an authority shift when recorded in the NT Bible. Keys also represents the same authority from the perspective of God's salvation to human kind.

 

[Bob Crowley]

Christ, the Son of God in person, was speaking directly to Peter the Fisherman when He said "I will give YOU the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven"

Matthew 16:19 "I will give YOU the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever YOU bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever YOU loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

We can stuff around making all the excuses we want by trying to explain away the obvious - Christ was setting up an office and giving it authority. Those were my old Protestant pastor's words "God was setting up an office and giving the church authority.... What's the use of having a church if you're not going to give it any authority?"

That office is still with us today 2000 years later, and it will remain, no matter how the proud gates of Hell try to get us to ignore it.

Secondly the business about big rock and small rock owes its origin to nothing more than the rules of Greek grammar. Christ wasn't speaking in Greek - He spoke in Aramaic, and the word He used was "Kepha", which means "Rock", full stop. It was only when years later the Gospels were written that the Greek translation, following the rules of Greek grammar, seemed to modify the context. It's nothing but a linguistic foible as a result of the translation into another language.

Christ meant "ROCK", and He was referring to Peter, and by extension those who would occupy the OFFICE Christ was setting up beginning with Peter.

 

[Dan Perez]

On an occasion while Jesus was with his disciples walking he asked them who people said he was and also who they said he is. That passage is one that in Catholic teaching has some significance for church hierarchy and government. Here is the passage
Matthew 16:

13 Then Jesus came into the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi; and there he asked his disciples, What do men say of the Son of Man? Who do they think he is?​

14 Some say John the Baptist, they told him, others Elias, others again, Jeremy or one of the prophets.​

15 Jesus said to them, And what of you? Who do you say that I am?​

16 Then Simon Peter answered, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.✻​

vv. 13-16: Mk. 8.27; Lk. 9.18.​

17 And Jesus answered him, Blessed art thou, Simon son of Jona; it is not flesh and blood, it is my Father in heaven that has revealed this to thee.​

18 And I tell thee this in my turn, that thou art Peter, and it is upon this rock that I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it;​

19 and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.​

20 Then he strictly forbade them to tell any man that he, Jesus, was the Christ. [Knox Bible]​

How do you handle the passage? What about your denomination, does it has a written view about the passage?

Here is the what I believe what Matt 16:18 and 19 mean !!


#1 And the verse 18 says the the rock / PETROS is Peter

#2 The Greek word PETRA is speaking about CHRIST .

#3 Peter is NEVER called a CHIRCH as there is NOT a Greek word for CHURCH ,

#4 The Greek word EKKLESSIA means an ASSEMBLY or Congregation and that was the name of Israel as they left EGYPT an called out ASSEMBLY .

#5 THE Greek words , I WILL BUILD / OIKODMEO is a Greek , FUTURE TENSE , ACTIVE VOICE , INDICATIVE MOOD and is SINGULAR .

#6 No where in the bible do we see that Peter built an ASSEMBLY , PERIOD .

#7 Verse 18 i will build MY / MOU is a PERSONAL POSSESSIVE PRONOUN , in the GENITIVE CASE , SINGULAR '

#8 AND IN VERSE 19 , Christ says , I WILL GIVE / DIDOMI is a verb in the Greek FUTURE TENSE , ACTIVE VOICE , INDICAIVE MOOD , SINGULAR .

#9 So where did Peter use the KEYS of the KINGDOM of HEAVEN :

#10 The first use of the KEYS used were in Acts 2:38 ,

#11 And in Acts 2:41 and in Acts 2:47 Jews were being SAVED .

#12 And what most , so-called believers , refuse to believe that Israel was SET ASIDE ,I=in Acts 28:26-29 and also in 2 Cor 3:13---15 , that UNTIL this DAY , , when Moses is being read , a COVERING LIES upon their HEART .

#13 This then means that in the BODY of Christ there are NO PRIESTS , as to be a PRIEST , all Priest have to be a descendant of ARRON , PERIOD .

dan p

 

[ViaCrucis]

From the Lutheran Confessions

"The keys are an office and power given by Christ to the Church for binding and loosing sin, not only the gross and well-known sins, but also the subtle, hidden, which are known only to God, as it is written in Ps. 19:13: Who can understand his errors? And in Rom. 7:25 St. Paul himself complains that with the flesh he serves the law of sin. For it is not in our power, but belongs to God alone, to judge which, how great, and how many the sins are, as it is written in Ps. 143:2: Enter not into judgment with Thy servant; for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified. And Paul says, 1 Cor. 4:4: For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified." - The Smalcald Articles, Article VII

I won't quote the entirety of Article VIII here, which continues by speaking of the Sacrament of Holy Absolution, but I will link it:

Article VIII - Of Confession.

1 Since Absolution or the Power of the Keys is also an aid and consolation against sin and a bad conscience, ordained by Christ [Himself] in the Gospel, Confession or Absolution ought by no means to be abolished in the Church, especially on account of [tender and] timid consciences and on...

bookofconcord.org

Article VII isn't exhaustive, but it captures the simple and bare essence of what we believe: Namely that the Keys were given by Christ to the Church, and as such are the common property of the Church, and not the possession of a single individual.

Because we understand that John 20:21-23 constitutes, along with Matthew 16:19, as the Institution of the Keys. St. Peter did not alone and exclusively receive the Keys; but the whole Church did, because they were given to the Apostles, and thus retained in the Sacred Ministry of the Church.

Pastors, therefore, exercise this office and ministry by their vocation to which they were called and ordained by the Church, that they should as Christ's ministers, and ministers of the Church, serve in the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. And thus, for the good and health of the Church they, in the same way that to them falls the honor of administering the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, they too administer the Sacrament of Holy Absolution. So that when the words are said, "Your sins are forgiven" the penitential Christian can be confident that they are indeed really and truly forgiven because God Himself promises our forgiveness here. Having told us through the Apostle St. John, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). But, conversely, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). Thus sins are loosed and retained by the Office and Power of the Keys.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

the Keys were given by Christ to the Church, and as such are the common property of the Church, and not the possession of a single individual.

Yes Christ says, in the singular,

Matthew 16:18-19 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.​

If the Lord had intended to embrace all the Church or all who lead the Church then "you" would be the correct form rather than "thou".

 

[ViaCrucis]

Yes Christ says, in the singular,

Matthew 16:18-19 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.​

If the Lord had intended to embrace all the Church or all who lead the Church then "you" would be the correct form rather than "thou".

And if John 20:21-23 didn't exist, I think the argument that Peter alone received the Keys would be stronger. But John 20:21-23 is right there, Jesus said to His apostles, "Receive the Holy Spirit, whoever's sins you forgive are forgiven them and whoever's sins you retain are retained." To bind and to loose was not given exclusively to Peter.

This opinion is not mine, nor Luther's, but is the historic view of the Church Catholic as we see in the writings of the holy fathers:

"If any one consider and examine these things, there is no need for lengthened discussion and arguments. There is easy proof for faith in a short summary of the truth. The Lord speaks to Peter, saying, "I say unto you, that you are Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." And again to the same He says, after His resurrection, "Feed my sheep." And although to all the apostles, after His resurrection, He gives an equal power, and says, "As the Father has sent me, even so send I you: Receive the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins you remit, they shall be remitted unto him; and whose soever sins you retain, they shall be retained;" yet, that He might set forth unity, He arranged by His authority the origin of that unity, as beginning from one. Assuredly the rest of the apostles were also the same as was Peter, endowed with a like partnership both of honour and power; but the beginning proceeds from unity." - St. Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise 1.4 On the Unity of the Church

"He has given, therefore, the keys to His Church, that whatsoever it should bind on earth might be bound in heaven, and whatsoever it should loose on earth might be loosed in heaven; that is to say, that whosoever in the Church should not believe that his sins are remitted, they should not be remitted to him; but that whosoever should believe and should repent, and turn from his sins, should be saved by the same faith and repentance on the ground of which he is received into the bosom of the Church. For he who does not believe that his sins can be pardoned, falls into despair, and becomes worse as if no greater good remained for him than to be evil, when he has ceased to have faith in the results of his own repentance." - St. Augustine of Hippo, On Christian Doctrine, Book I.18

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

And if John 20:21-23 didn't exist, I think the argument that Peter alone received the Keys would be stronger. But John 20:21-23 is right there, Jesus said to His apostles, "Receive the Holy Spirit, whoever's sins you forgive are forgiven them and whoever's sins you retain are retained." To bind and to loose was not given exclusively to Peter.

Receiving the Holy Spirit, forgiving sins, these are gifts common to the bishops and those to whom they delegate the authority. The keys is a somewhat different matter.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Receiving the Holy Spirit, forgiving sins, these are gifts common to the bishops and those to whom they delegate the authority. The keys is a somewhat different matter.

According to the ancient and historic teaching of the Church it is the authority vested in the Church through her bishops to bind and loose, to forgive and retain sin.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[prodromos]

Yes Christ says, in the singular,

Matthew 16:18-19 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.​

If the Lord had intended to embrace all the Church or all who lead the Church then "you" would be the correct form rather than "thou".

Unless Jesus is using Simon as an example, showing him to be a "type" of the Apostles and consequently their successors the Bishops. Thus all who confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God are named "rock".

The Church on earth reflects the Church in heaven, thus if Peter was something above the other Apostles then that would be seen in the heavenly kingdom as well. However no such distinction is described in the Scriptures. In John's vision in Revelations

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.​

Or as Jesus said in Matthew 19

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.​

Nowhere is there any indication that Peter occupies a position of greater authority among or over the others. St John Chrysostom says that the others deferred to Peter because he was the eldest, not because they imagined Christ had ordained him to a position above them.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Unless Jesus is using Simon as an example, showing him to be a "type" of the Apostles and consequently their successors the Bishops. Thus all who confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God are named "rock".

That is an interesting speculation but the passage doesn't add anything to make it seem that the Lord intended his words that way.

The Church on earth reflects the Church in heaven, thus if Peter was something above the other Apostles then that would be seen in the heavenly kingdom as well. However no such distinction is described in the Scriptures. In John's vision in Revelations

It's a bit of folk religion I know, but the image of saint Peter at the pearly gates, questioning each applicant for entry, does seem to be a "special" role for him in heaven.

Microsoft co-pilot says: "According to Catholic teaching, Jesus promised the keys to heaven to Saint Peter, empowering him to take binding actions. The keys of heaven or keys of Saint Peter are seen as a symbol of papal authority 1. Saint Peter is often depicted in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox paintings and other artwork as holding a key or a set of keys 1."

It may be an error of interpretation to extend saint Peter's earthly role (and that of his successors) to the heavenly realm. One may be better advised to exercise patience and see what God does rather than attempt to guess at what God may do in heaven.

Nowhere is there any indication that Peter occupies a position of greater authority among or over the others. St John Chrysostom says that the others deferred to Peter because he was the eldest, not because they imagined Christ had ordained him to a position above them.

There is the story of saint Peter's restoration, as many call it, in saint John's gospel. In that story saint Peter is given a distinct role and a distinct task to perform in the governance of the Church.

Jesus and Peter

John 21:15-19 When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs. 17 He said to him the third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he had said to him the third time: Lovest thou me? And he said to him: Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee. He said to him: Feed my sheep. 18 Amen, amen, I say to thee, When thou wast younger, thou didst gird thyself and didst walk where thou wouldst. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and lead thee whither thou wouldst not. 19 And this he said, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had said this, he saith to him: Follow me.​

Saint Peter had a duty and a cup of suffering to drink, one would not seek that cup but it was given, and one could not take the duty but it was given.

 

[Strong in Him]

The most affirming and life changing comment I heard recently was that all Christians have keys to the kingdom.
All of us can open the way for others to find God, introduce King Jesus to others and show what life can be like when those of us who accept Jesus as King of our lives live as he wants us to live and are the people he made us to be.
Or we can be people who keep the kingdom of heaven locked for others - keep them away from God by our actions, words, prejudices, unforgiveness, demand that they confirm to our church practices, or whatever.

It is God who furthers his kingdom and causes people to be born again so that they enter his kingdom.
No church, or individual, gets to say who comes into the kingdom. No church, or individual, gets to say whom God forgives and accepts.

 

[prodromos]

There is the story of saint Peter's restoration, as many call it, in saint John's gospel. In that story saint Peter is given a distinct role and a distinct task to perform in the governance of the Church.

Simon is restored to the same role all the Apostles had, to feed His sheep. Have you not noted that Jesus doesn't call him Peter again.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Simon is restored to the same role all the Apostles had, to feed His sheep. Have you not noted that Jesus doesn't call him Peter again.

The Lord, Jesus Christ, spoke to Simon Peter, and Peter replied to him. Jesus called him to feed his lambs twice and to feed his sheep once. That is his calling, who am I to decide the meaning of that calling. Yet following the resurrection of the Lord, Peter continued to lead the apostles. That is sufficient for me.

 

[RileyG]

"The keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" is a concept that existed with Judaism prior to when Jesus said these words, so the way that my denomination handles this passage is by examining what it meant in that context.

Isaiah 22 and Matthew 16. Compare the two.

 

[RileyG]

The Lord, Jesus Christ, spoke to Simon Peter, and Peter replied to him. Jesus called him to feed his lambs twice and to feed his sheep once. That is his calling, who am I to decide the meaning of that calling. Yet following the resurrection of the Lord, Peter continued to lead the apostles. That is sufficient for me.

Amen. I agree completely. Especially when looking at the meaning of the Davidic Kingdom and the Messianic prophecies in Isaiah.

 

[prodromos]

Yes Christ says, in the singular,

Matthew 16:18-19 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.​

If the Lord had intended to embrace all the Church or all who lead the Church then "you" would be the correct form rather than "thou".

Also forgot to add that Matthew 16:19 is future tense. What Peter receives in the future, all the Apostles receive.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

What Peter receives in the future, all the Apostles receive.

Why do you think that?

 

[prodromos]

Why do you think that?

From the consensus of the Church Fathers.

Where do you see anything different?