Mat 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.
Mt 16:19(The Message)“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
Kingdom-basilleah power kingship dominion rulership
Heaven- ooranos- (through the idea of elevation); the sky; by extension heaven (as the abode of God); by implication happiness, power, eternity; specifically the Gospel (Christianity)
Is 22 God said send Shebna (growth) a message. He had a high position. He has a pride problem. He is too self focused so God said you will carried away w/ a mighty captivity you will be covered you will driven away and pulled down.
Then the Lord says he will raise up Eliakim (God of raising)
Isa 22:21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
Isa 22:22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Isa 22:23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
And did you know that the Lord Jesus—our great High Priest—later claimed that same authority to Himself? In the Lord's seven letters to the seven churches, found in the Book of the Revelation, He introduced Himself to the church at ancient Philadelphia with these words:
"These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens . . ." (Revelation 3:7).
In saying that He had possession of the keys of David, He was affirming that He possessed full authority over the covenant people of God.
I believe that the greatest expression of the authority that came from possessing "keys" is found in Revelation 1:17-18. There, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ appears in a vision to the apostle John. It was a heavenly vision of our Lord in His resurrected glory and majesty. John was terrified at the glory of our Savior; but Jesus said,
"Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death" (Revelation 1:17-18).
Clearly, this meant that our risen Savior had utterly conquered death and hell through His cross; and now holds full authority over them.
And so, it is greatly significant that, in our passage this morning, our Lord tells Peter, who is the church's representative 'confessor' and 'testifier' of Christ—and through Peter, also tells the whole church—that He entrusts a set of keys to him. They are the keys, He says, "of the kingdom of heaven"; that is, the kingdom that Jesus Himself taught about in great detail in various parables in Chapter 13; that spiritual kingdom over which He Himself reigns as King, and which will one day be fully realized in His physical reign on the earth upon His return.
In our passage this morning, Jesus is about to go to the cross, die in our place for our sins, be raised on the third day, and then ascend to His Father—from where He will await the day of His glorious return to receive His church to Himself. He is about to leave His disciples and return to His heavenly home.
And if I may put it this way, it's as if He turns to Peter and says, "The work of the kingdom has been started; and I'm about to go now. Until I return for you, you—and all of the people who believe on Me because of your testimony—are going to be here while the work of the spread of the kingdom goes on. Here are the keys."
Think of it! The very keys of the kingdom of heaven! What great authority it is that our Savior and Lord has entrusted to His church on earth!
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Let's look at this passage closer. And as we do, we see—first—that the church's great authority is . . .
1. DERIVED FROM JESUS CHRIST.
Jesus begins by saying, "And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom . . ." They are His to give; and they cannot be possessed except that He Himself gave them and entrusted them.
Jesus had already demonstrated His authority to His disciples. When He taught, the people who heard Him were astonished, "for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:29). He would stand up in a boat in the midst of a storm at sea, and command the storm to be quiet; and His disciples would marvel, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" (Matthew 8:27). Fearsome demons and unclean spirits would shriek in terror and cringe in His presence; crying out, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" (Matthew 8:29).
And if this were not enough, Jesus even spoke plainly, and affirmed His own great authority. He said—just before ascending to the Father, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). Furthermore, the Bible itself teaches us that
. . . by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consists. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence (Colossians 1:16-18).
And we are assured that, because He has died and has been raised,
. . . God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
And now, as we find in our passage this morning, He has passed some of His great authority on to us as His church on earth.
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It's important to recognize that this authority is being pass on by our Lord in a particular context. It's not an authority that just anyone can claim.
What is it the authority to do? What is it that the church is being authorized to "bind" or "loose"?
Jesus speaks in broad terms. He says, "whatever you bind on earth . . . whatever you loose on earth . . ." Obviously, we know that it is not an unqualified authority to bind or loose whatever WE may wish; because it is His authority—delegated to us for His cause and purposes; and surrendered to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who always guides us in accordance with the Scriptures. Jesus told His disciples, "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 16:13-14). We're not promised "anything we ask"; but rather, anything we ask in Christ's "name"—that is, as if asking what He Himself would ask. We're told that "if we ask anything in according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14). We're not promised to be heard regarding anything in accordance "with our own will"; but rather, anything we ask according to "His will".
So here, we, as the church on earth, are entrusted with "the keys of the kingdom of heaven"—Christ's own authority to "bind" and to "loose" on earth according to His will, in His name and as His representatives. So then, what is it that we are thus authorized to "bind" or "loose"?
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You'll notice that Jesus didn't give just one "key". Rather, He gave a set of "keys". And in the Bible, I see at least three main ways our delegated authority is to be exercised.
First, the church is authorized to "bind" or "loose" in the spread of the gospel of the kingdom. We have already touched on this to some degree. Jesus, in His great commission to the church, said,
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).
And as we study the book of Acts, we find that this is exactly what Peter, and the other apostles, and the rest of the followers of Jesus, did with the authority that was given to them. Jesus told them, "[Y]ou shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). They turned the keys that had been entrusted to them; and they opened the doors for the whole world to hear the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It even went to the Gentiles (Acts 10-11).
What's more, it was an opened door that no one could shut! The authorities and religious leaders of Jerusalem commanded that the disciples stop preaching about Jesus. But they gathered together and turned the keys entrusted to them by prayer. Acts 4:29 tells us that they prayed,
"Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:29-31).
Jesus promised that "this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations" (Matthew 24:14). And it will be! And the keys have been entrusted to us. No one can bind what the church opens—if we will but "turn the keys" of authority that have been granted to us, and ask!
Isaiah 22:22 says:
“I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” [NIV]
The ‘key’ here is a key of power – it means “anointing oil” (taken from Strong's 4668 – Myrna, anointing oil). As David is a type of Christ, this key represents the power God can give to man. It is not available for everybody – only for selected people. Notice that this ‘key’ is a burden – it lays upon the shoulder like a yoke.
After the New Covenant everything changed.
Matthew 16:19 says:
“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.” [NIV]
(note that bind = forbid and loose = permit)
He passed the authority of the key to Peter which was then passed to all the Apostles and Disciples and then to all Christians.
Points:
the Key of David, which is often called the “The Power Of The Keys” (New Bible Dictionary), meant “anointing oil” in ancient Hebrew
this Key was bestowed upon individual men, it was not offered to everyone
this Key was also a burden – there was a responsibility to having it
Jesus was the holder of this Key
Jesus handed over His power, through the Key, to the first Disciples, and therefore to the rest of the church
the Key was symbolized by the scribes who were given a key on ordination
this Key unlocked the storerooms and the vaults – symbols of the Gifts of the Spirit
we have the same opportunity to exercise the power of the Key as did the first Disciples after Pentecost
In the letter to the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3, we have another mention of keys. This time it is referring to the key of the house of David. Note the similarities between Revelation 3:7 and Matthew 16:19. “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
