Matthew 16:18-20 “Using the Keys of the Kingdom”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson[1] for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 04 Nov 2012

Translation

16:13 After Jesus came into the limits of Caesarea Philippi, He started quizzing His disciples, saying, “Who am I that the people are saying to be the Son of Man?”

16:14 So they said, “Some [say] John the Baptizer, and others Elijah, and various ones Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

16:15 He says to them, “Now [how about] y’all? Who do y’all say me to be?”

16:16 And, in answer, Rock Simon said, “You are The Anointed One, The Son of the Living God.”

16:17 Then in answer, Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not make a revelation to you, but rather my Father in the heavens did!

16:18 And I also say to you that you are Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not be as strong as she!

16:19 And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens

and whatever you might bind upon the earth will be so, having been bound in the heavens,

and whatever you might release upon the earth will be so, having been released in the heavens.

16:20 Then He laid down the law to His disciples that they should say to no one that He was the Anointed One.

Review

 

Now with that background, Jesus turns to the duties of a leader in this church movement that He is building and, like a good king, He equips Peter (the particular leader He is talking to) with the tools Peter will need to carry out his responsibility in the church:

Exposition

16:19 And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens and whoever you might bind upon the earth will be so, having been bound in the heavens, and whatever you might release upon the earth will be so, having been released in the heavens.

[και[2]] δωσω σοι τας κλεις[3] της βασιλειας των ουρανων και ὃ εαν δησης επι της γης εσται δεδεμενον εν τοις ουρανοις και ὃ εαν λυσης επι της γης εσται λελυμενον[4] εν τοις ουρανοις

 

There is one more thing I’d like to address concerning this binding and loosing, and that is the relationship between earth and heaven in this process:

 

 

One more point bears mention concerning this verse, and that is the position of Peter relative to the other apostles.

 

 

16:20 Then He laid down the law to His disciples that they should say to no one that He was the Anointed One.

Τοτε διεστειλατο[12] τοις μαθηταις [αυτου[13]] ‘ινα μηδενι ειπωσιν ‘οτι αυτος εστιν [14] ‘ο χριστος

Conclusion



[1] Thanks to Timothy Zachary, who helped edit commentary material and compiled the material for the word studies!

[2] Not in א, B, C2 or f1 and thus not in Critical editions. Whether or not a conjunction was original, continuity with the previous discourse can be assumed.

[3] א, B, L, W, Θ, and Critical editions spell this word differently (κλειδας) but it’s just an alternate spelling of the same word with the same parsing as the other.

[4] A few Greek and Italian manuscripts and Church fathers render these participles in the plural, but the nominative neuter participles obviously refer to the singular nominative relative pronouns .

[5] A.T. Robertson (1930) also seemed to promote this view in his Word Pictures in the New Testament.

[6] “binding” and “loosing” (meaning “forbidding” or “allowing”) were familiar terms in the laws of the Jewish rabbis. “They represented the legislative and judicial powers of the Rabbinic office. These powers Christ now transferred… to his apostles; the first, here, to Peter, as their representative, then second, after his resurrection, to the church (John 20:23 – Jesus says to His disciples “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive [αφητε] the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain [κρατητε] the sins of any, they have been retained.” NASB),”~ Marvin Vincent (1886)

[7]  “Your business shall be to explain to the world the will of God, both as to truth and duty…. When Peter was first taught himself, and then taught others, to call nothing common or unclean, this power was exercised. ~Matthew Henry (1662 - 1714)

[8] “declarations of what is lawful and unlawful, free, or prohibited… Christ gave not only to Peter but to all the disciples was the authority to declare certain practices righteous or unrighteous, such as loosing believers from bondage to Jewish ceremonies like circumcision Gal. 5:1, Jewish holidays Gal. 4:9, disassociation with Gentiles Acts 10:28., and kosher food laws Matt. 15:11, Rom. 14:14.] And these things now being by them bound or loosed, pronounced unlawful or lawful, are confirmed as such by the authority of God, and are so to be considered by us.” ~John Gill (1690-1771)

[9] See also commentary on Eccl. 12:11 by T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 3. 2 "these are the disciples of the wise men, who sit in different collections, and study in the law; these pronounce things or persons defiled, and these pronounce things or persons clean, אוסרין והללן מתירין הללו, these bind, and these loose; these reject, or pronounce persons or things profane, and these declare them right.'' – Translation by John Gill

[10] See also Matthew Henry on this position: “The key of discipline… power to expel and cast out such as have forfeited their church-membership, that is binding; refusing to unbelievers the application of gospel promises and the seals of them; and declaring to such as appear to be in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity, that they have no part or lot in the matter, as Peter did to Simon Magus, though he had been baptized; and this is a binding over to the judgment of God. They have a power to restore and to receive in again, upon their repentance, such as had been thrown out; to loose those whom they had bound; declaring to them, that, if their repentance be sincere, the promise of pardon belongs to them…”

[11] This line of argument comes from Calvin’s Institutes, Book iv, Chapter VI, which contains a good and thorough rebuttal to papacy.

[12] I think unnecessary ink is spilled in excitement over the B & D Uncials having a synonym here. This Greek word (not the Vaticanus synonym) is found also in Mark 5:43, Mark 7:36, Mark 8:15, Mark 9:9, Acts 15:24, and Hebrews 12:20.

[13] Implied, but not explicitly in א, B, C, or D, and thus not in Critical editions of the GNT.

[14] The Majority, Byz, and T.R. editions have the word Ιησους “Jesus” here, following א2, C, D, W, and the Vulgate.