Did The Catholic Church Give Us The Bible + Doctrine? - Part Two Series

PART 2

PETER THE LITTLE ROCK

‘In that day, I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” (Isaiah 22:20-22 ESV)

Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter and ON this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” (Matthew 16:13-30 ESV - emphasis mine)

Keys To The Kingdom

There are two Old Testament references to “keys” (See Isaiah 22:22; Judges 3:25), and six New Testament references (See Matthew 16:19, Luke 11:52; Revelation 1:18;3:7;9:1;20:1). The word "key" has a range of meanings and can refer to a literal, physical key as with the Moabite in King Eglon's private chamber (Judges 3:25). Jesus used the phrase "key to knowledge" to refer to the Jewish rabbis' teaching authority to interpret and apply the Torah (Luke 11:52). A key can refer to power over something, such as Jesus' victory over death and Hades (Revelation 1:18), an angel having the power to open the Abyss (Revelation 9:1), and the Archangel Michael named as the angel having the key to the Abyss (Revelation 20:1).

Jesus giving keys to Peter was comparable to a King giving keys to his Vizier (second in command). God gave a prophecy to Isaiah about Shedba and Eliakim who were two Visiers of King Hezekiah who would be given keys to opening and closing doors for judgment (Isaiah 22:15-25). Shebna will be thrown away (v. 17), and Eliakim would be like a peg in the wall sheared off (v.25 see also Isaiah 36-37; 2 Kings 18).

Jesus never emphasized the 'keys' but on the power He gives that goes with the keys to bind and loose (Matthew 16:19). Jesus used the second person plural to describe that power, and this means that the power of the keys given to Peter was also given to the other Apostles as well (Matthew 18:18).

The "keys of the kingdom of heaven" is a metaphorical expression referring to the custom of admitting a Rabbi to his office by giving him a key (Matthew 16:19). Eliakim alone was to decide who would be accepted into the king's chamber and for whom the king's treasury was to be opened. The symbolism is reproduced in its higher application to Jesus, the King of kings (See Revelation 3:7). Just like Eliakim, the Stewards of great families, especially of the royal household, bore a key or keys in token of their office, the phrase of giving a person the keys naturally grew into use as an expression of raising them to great authority and power.

Jesus used Peter in helping to build the foundation of the Body of Christ, His Church, as he was the one who first proclaimed the Gospel on the day of Pentecost and the first to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 2:14-47,10:1-48). The “rock” (boulder) isn’t Peter’s faith or the truth which he confessed but Jesus Himself, who is the solid foundation and chief cornerstone (Gk: ‘akrogóniaios’) that the body of Christ is built upon (1 Corinthians 3:11,10:4 - See also Ephesians 2:20). In the Old Testament the idea of a rock (Heb: ‘tsur’ – a huge boulder/cliff) was associated with the greatness and steadfastness of God, not with any fallen human (See Deuteronomy 32:4,18; 2 Samuel 22:3,23:3; Psalm 18:2,31,46; Isaiah 17:10; Habakkuk 1:12)

The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that it is Jesus alone who is both the foundation and the head of the universal Church (Acts 4:11,12; 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 5:23). However, using the rules of biblical hermeneutics to exegete the verses there is no way to be 100% sure which view is correct because the grammatical construction allows for either view. It could be that Jesus was in deed declaring Peter would be a little "rock" on which He would use to build His church.