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SUBJECT: Matthew 16:19
QUESTIONS: What does this verse mean? What are the
keys of the kingdom of heaven? What does this binding and
loosing mean?
ANSWER:
The Verse:
Matthew 16:19
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.
The Setting:
Jesus Christ had taken the disciples to the town of Caesarea
Philippi which was a very pagan place that worshipped
idols. It represented the world. It was here that Christ
says to Peter that He is going to build His church. He
could have brought up this subject anywhere but He chose to
state it in a most worldly place. When He says, "On this
rock”, he was referring to Caesarea Philippi....in the midst
of the world. He was saying that He would build His church
in front of and in opposition to the world. Jesus did not
take them to a hiding place of some kind. See below for
some commentary on Caesarea Philippi.
Now, in the process of telling Peter that He was about to
build His church, He told Peter something that we see in
verse 19. The first part of the verse talks about Jesus
giving him (Peter)
some keys. Keys represent stewardship. Just like if you
were watching my house while I was gone, I would give you
the keys to the house thus putting you in charge of it.
The second part of the verse is giving Peter, and therefore
those that would follow him, some authority while He (Jesus
was gone). If I had you watching for and caring
for my house while I was gone, I might tell you, "If
something comes up, go ahead and make a decision as if you
had my permission to do so". I might add, "Now I know you
know me and how I run things at my house...you do
likewise." That is what Jesus is saying in verse 19. He is
saying, "Look, you are not going to have instructions on
every little thing that has to do with running this church
but you have my authority to make decisions about these
things (THINGS)
concerning the church. Note, not people...not members but
things meaning organization, plans, ceremonies, Feast sites,
church locations, hymnals, publications, letters, resolving
disputes and the like. Christ is saying that whatever you
decide will be okay with Him in heaven. However, simple
logic and scripture would tell us that whatever decisions
the church make must be based and never in conflict with the
Word of God. Absurd example: The church could not decree
that we begin meeting on Sundays as this flies in the face
of the 4th commandment. The church can however (and
has) established a format for Sabbath services.
We have opening hymns, opening prayer, a sermonette, a hymn,
announcements, a hymn or special music, the sermon, a
closing hymn and a final prayer. There is no specific
outline for Sabbath services, but because of Matthew 16:19
we have the power and authority to establish this Sabbath
format. Note however that these services were created based
on several scriptures:
1) Do a study about singing hymns and you will see that the
opening hymns are a call to service and actually prayer and
praise to God.
2) Do a study on prayer and you will easily see that it must
be a part of services before God. It is acknowledgement
that the congregation has come before the very throne of
God. It is also about thanking Him and asking for His
presence and His Spirit.
3) The sermonette and sermon fulfill the commission to feed
the flock.
4) Notice this verse:
1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in
all churches of the saints.
Notice how this verse is established. First it states that
God is not the author of confusion so we know that whatever
we establish for how services will be conducted, it must be
in a plain and simple manner. Now notice the last phrase of
the verse..."as in all the churches of the saints". Clearly
showing that this admonition and fact about God is also true
for the churches. There can be no confusion there,
especially in its organization and in its preaching of the
Word.
Commentary:
Matthew 16:13-20
Verse 19. [And I will give unto
thee ...] A key is an instrument for opening a door.
He that is in possession of it has the power of access, and
has a general care of a house. Hence, in the Bible, a key is
used as a symbol of superintendence an emblem of power and
authority. See the notes at <Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 1:18;
3:7>. The kingdom of heaven here means, doubtless, the
church on earth. See the notes at <Matt. 3:2>. When the
Saviour says, therefore, he will give to Peter the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, he means that he will make him the
instrument of opening the door of faith to the world the
first to preach the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. This
was done, <Acts 2:14-36; 10>. The "power of the keys" was
given, on this occasion, to Peter alone, solely for this
reason; the power of "binding and loosing" on earth was
given to the other apostles with him. See <Matthew 18:18>.
The only pre-eminence, then, that Peter had was the honor of
first opening the doors of the gospel to the world.
[Whatsoever thou shalt bind ...]
The phrase "to bind" and "to loose" was often used by the
Jews. It meant to prohibit and to permit. To bind a thing
was to forbid it; to loose it, to allow it to be done. Thus,
they said about gathering wood on the Sabbath day, "The
school of Shammei binds it"-- i. e., forbids it; "the school
of Hillel looses it"-- i. e., allows it. When Jesus gave
this power to the apostles, he meant that whatsoever they
forbade in the church should have divine authority; whatever
they permitted, or commanded, should also have divine
authority-- that is, should be bound or loosed in heaven, or
meet the approbation of God. They were to be guided
infallibly in the organization of the church:
1. by the teaching of Christ, and,
2. by the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
This does not refer to persons, but to things--
"whatsoever," not whosoever. It refers to rites and
ceremonies in the church. Such of the Jewish customs as they
should forbid were to be forbidden, and such as they thought
proper to permit were to be allowed. Such rites as they
should appoint in the church were to have the force of
divine authority. Accordingly, they commanded the Gentile
converts to "abstain from pollutions of idols, and from
fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood"
<Acts 15:20>; and, in general, they organized the church,
and directed what was to be observed and what was to be
avoided. The rules laid down by them in the Acts of the
Apostles and in the Epistles, in connection with the
teachings of the Saviour as recorded in the evangelists,
constitute the only law binding on Christians in regard to
the order of the church, and the rites and ceremonies to be
observed in it. ~from
Barnes' Notes
Now some commentary on Caesarea Philippi:
CAESAREA PHILIPPI
(2) Caesarea Philippi (fi-lip'-i) (Kaisareia he Philippou).
At the Southwest base of Mt. Hermon, on a rocky terrace,
1,150 ft. above sea-level, between Wady Khashabeh and Wady
Za`areh, lie the ruins of the ancient city. It was a center
for the worship of Pan: whence the name Paneas, applied not
only to the city, but to the whole district (Ant, XV, x, 3).
It is possible that this may have been the site of ancient
Baal-hermon; while Principal G. A. Smith would place Dan
here (Historical Geography of the Holy Land, 480). The
district was given by Augustus to Herod the Great 20 BC, by
whom a temple of white marble was built in honor of the
emperor. Paneas formed part of the tetrarchy of Philip. He
rebuilt and beautified the town, calling it Caesarea as a
compliment to Augustus, and adding his own name to
distinguish it from Caesarea on the coast of Sharon (Ant,
XVIII, ii, 1; BJ, II, ix, 1). From Bethsaida Jesus and His
disciples came hither, and on the way Peter made his famous
confession, after which Jesus began to tell them of His
coming passion (<Matthew 16:13> ff; <Mark 8:27> ff). Some
think that on a height near Caesarea Philippi Jesus was
transfigured. See TRANSFIGURATION, MOUNT OF. Agrippa II
renamed the town Neronias (Ant, XX, ix, 4). The ancient name
however outlived both Caesarea and Neronias, and survives in
the Arabic form Banias. The modern village, built among the
ruins, contains 350 inhabitants. The walls and towers of
which the remains are seen date from Crusading times. The
castle, ec-Cubeibeh, crowns the hill behind the town, and
must have been a place of strength from the earliest times.
Its possession must always have been essential to the
holding of the valley to the west. Immediately to the north
of the town, at the foot of a steep crag, the fountain of
the Jordan rises. Formerly the waters issued from a cave,
Magharet ras en-Neba`, "cave of the fountain head," now
filled up with debris. Two niches cut in the face of the
rock recall the idolatries practiced here in olden times. A
shrine of el-Khudr stands on the west of the spring. With
the rich soil and plentiful supplies of water, in a
comparatively temperate climate, average industry might turn
the whole district into a garden. As it is, the surroundings
are wonderfully beautiful.
W. EWING ~from
International Standard Bible Encylopaedia |