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Quotes & Notes on:
Matthew 16:19
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John Wesley's Notes:
I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven-Indeed not to
him alone, (for they were equally given to all the apostles at the same
time, Joh 20:21-23;) but to him were first given the keys both of
doctrine and discipline. He first, after our Lord's resurrection,
exercised the apostleship, Ac 1:15. And he first by preaching opened the
kingdom of heaven, both to the Jews, Ac 2:14 &c., and to the Gentiles,
Ac 10:34 &c.
Under the term of binding and loosing are contained all those acts of
discipline which Peter and his brethren performed as apostles: and
undoubtedly what they thus performed on earth, God confirmed in heaven.
Mt 18:18.
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The Fourfold Gospel:
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Continuing
his metaphorical language, Jesus promised to Peter the keys; that is,
the authority to lay down the rules or laws (under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit, however) for admission to or exclusion from the kingdom or
church. This office was, of course, given to Peter in a secondary sense,
since it must ever belong to Christ in a primary sense (Re 3:7). The
figure of key-bearer is taken from Isa 22:22. Peter used the keys on the
day of Pentecost to open the church to the Jews, and about seven years
afterward, at Caesarea Palestinae, he used them again to admit the
Gentiles. In fixing the terms of admission, he also fixed the terms of
exclusion, for all who are not admitted are excluded. The keys as used
by Peter have never been changed; that is to say, the terms of admission
abide forever. Plurality of keys is merely part of the parabolic
drapery, since cities were accustomed to have several gates, thus
requiring a plurality of keys. The kingdom was not opened to Jews and
Gentiles by different keys, since both were admitted on the same terms.
Whatsoever thou shalt bind . . . whatsoever thou shalt loose. The words
"bind" and "loose" were commonly used among the Jews in the sense of
forbid and allow. Abundant instances of this usage have been collected
by Lightfoot. They relate to the binding and annulling of laws and
rules. In this sense the word "loose," is used very many times in the
New Testament, but it is translated by the word "break" or "broken" (Mt
5:19; Joh 7:23; 10:35). The power here given to Peter was soon after
extended to the rest of the apostles (Mt 18:18). The apostles were to
lay down, as they afterward did, the organic law of the new kingdom,
defining what things were prohibited and what permitted. Their actions
in this behalf would of course be ratified in heaven, because they were
none other than the acts of the Holy Spirit expressed through the
apostles.
(TFG 413-414)
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge:
* give. Ac 2:14-42; 10:34-43; 15:7
* the keys. Isa 22:22; Re 1:18; 3:7; 9:1; 20:1-3
* and whatsoever. Mt 18:18; Joh 20:23; 1Co 5:4,5; 2Co 2:10; 1Th 4:8; Re
11:6
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Robertson's Word Pictures:
The Keys of the kingdom (tas kleidas tęs basileias). Here
again we have the figure of a building with keys to open from the
outside. The question is raised at once if Jesus does not here mean the
same thing by "kingdom" that he did by "church" in verse Mt 16:18. In Re
1:18; 3:7 Christ the Risen Lord has "the keys of death and of Hades." He
has also "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" which he here hands over to
Peter as "gatekeeper" or "steward" (oikonomos) provided we do not
understand it as a special and peculiar prerogative belonging to Peter.
The same power here given to Peter belongs to every disciple of Jesus in
all the ages. Advocates of papal supremacy insist on the primacy of
Peter here and the power of Peter to pass on this supposed sovereignty
to others. But this is all quite beside the mark. We shall soon see the
disciples actually disputing again (Mt 18:1) as to which of them is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven as they will again (Mt 20:21) and even
on the night before Christ's death. Clearly neither Peter nor the rest
understood Jesus to say here that Peter was to have supreme authority.
What is added shows that Peter held the keys precisely as every preacher
and teacher does. To "bind" (dęsęis) in rabbinical language is to
forbid, to "loose" (lusęis) is to permit. Peter would be like a rabbi
who passes on many points. Rabbis of the school of Hillel "loosed" many
things that the school of Schammai "bound." The teaching of Jesus is the
standard for Peter and for all preachers of Christ. Note the future
perfect indicative (estai dedemenon, estai lelumenon), a state of
completion. All this assumes, of course, that Peter's use of the keys
will be in accord with the teaching and mind of Christ. The binding and
loosing is repeated by Jesus to all the disciples (Mt 18:18). Later
after the Resurrection Christ will use this same language to all the
disciples (Joh 20:23), showing that it was not a special prerogative of
Peter. He is simply first among equals, primus inter pares, because on
this occasion he was spokesman for the faith of all. It is a violent
leap in logic to claim power to forgive sins, to pronounce absolution,
by reason of the technical rabbinical language that Jesus employed about
binding and loosing. Every preacher uses the keys of the kingdom when he
proclaims the terms of salvation in Christ. The proclamation of these
terms when accepted by faith in Christ has the sanction and approval of
God the Father. The more personal we make these great words the nearer
we come to the mind of Christ. The more ecclesiastical we make them the
further we drift away from him.
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William Burkitt's Notes:
Observe here, 1. The person to whom this promise is made, namely to
Peter, with the rest of the apostles; the confession being made by him
in the name of the rest. Elsewhere we find the same authority and power
given to them all, which is here committed unto Peter; Whose sins soever
ye remit, they are remitted. Joh 20:23. Although there might be a
priority of order among the apostles, yet no superiority of power was
founded in any one of them over and above the rest.
Observe, 2. The power promised; I will give thee the keys of the kingdom
of heaven; that is, the key of doctrine, and the key of discipline, or
full power and authority to preach the gospel, to administer sacraments,
and execute church censures. The speech is metaphorical, and alludes to
stewards and officers in great houses, to whose trust the keys of the
household are committed. Christ's ministers are the stewards of his
house, into whose hands the keys of his church are committed by Christ;
the pope would snatch them out of all hands, and keep them in his own;
he snatches at Peter's keys, but makes shipwreck faith, arrogating
Peter's power, but abrogating his holy profession.
Learn, 1. That the authority and power which the ministers of the gospel
do exercise and execute it from Christ; I will give thee the keys of the
kingdom.
2. That this power of the keys Christ dispensed promiscuously to all his
apostles, and never designed it as a peculiar for St. Peter. As they all
made the same profession of faith by Peter, so they all received the
same authority and power with Peter. And accordingly, the apostles
exercised their office independently upon Peter, in converting those of
the circumcision as well as he.
And St. Paul who was the apostle of the Gentiles, opened the kingdom of
heaven to far more Gentiles than ever Peter did; and therefore had this
key of the kingdom of heaven given to him, as much as to St. Peter.
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Family Bible Notes:
The keys of the kingdom of heaven; keys are a symbol of power and
authority. Bind--loose; the same gift is elsewhere bestowed on all the
apostles and the disciples generally. Chap Mt 18:18. The words of this
verse may be understood, first, of the authority which Christ bestowed
upon the inspired teachers and guides of his primitive church to settle
all questions respecting her. For eminent examples of the exercise of
this power, see the decisions concerning gentile converts, Ac 11:1-18;
15:1-29. In this sense, the power ceased with inspiration. Secondly, the
words may be understood of the common power conferred by Christ on his
churches to regulate their own affairs, to administer discipline, and to
admit to or exclude from their communion. In this sense this power
continues in the visible church, and is valid so far as it is exercised
in accordance with Christ's word. Apostles, in making known the will of
God, and recording it in words which the Holy Ghost taught them, and
faithful ministers in proclaiming it, allow or condemn on earth what God
allows or condemns in heaven. Churches, when they act in accordance with
his truth, bind or loose, that is, allow or disallow on earth what will
be bound or loosed, allowed or disallowed, in heaven. Chap Mt 18:18.
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1599 Geneva Bible Notes:
The authority of the Church is from God. (n)
A metaphor taken from stewards who carry the keys: and here is set forth
the power of the ministers of the word, as Isa 22:22 says, and that
power is common to all ministers, as Mt 18:18 says, and therefore the
ministry of the gospel may rightly be called the key of the kingdom of
heaven. (o) They are bound whose sins are retained; heaven is shut
against them, because they do not receive Christ by faith: on the other
hand, how happy are they to whom heaven is open, who embrace Christ and
are delivered by him, and become fellow heirs with him!
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People's New Testament Commentary:
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the
heaven. That is, of the church. The office of the keys is to open the
doors, or close them. On Pentecost, Peter first opened the doors and
declared the conditions of which men could have their sins forgiven, be
bound or loosed, and thus enter into the church. Seven years later at
Caesarea he declared the same conditions to the Gentiles. While Peter
took the lead the keys were given to all the apostles, and to no other
mortal. See Mt 18:18; Joh 20:19-28 All that is here said to Peter is
said to all the apostles.
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Albert Barnes' Commentary:
And I will give unto thee, etc. 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 and administration of a house. Hence, in the
Bible, a key is used as a symbol of superintendence, an emblem of power
and authority. See Isa 22:22; Re 1:18; 3:7. The kingdom of heaven here
means, doubtless, the church on earth, See Barnes for Mt 3:2. When he
says, therefore, he will give him 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, Ac 2:14-36,1. The "power of the keys" was given to Peter
alone solely for this reason; the power of "binding and loosing" on
earth was given to the other apostles with him. See Mt 18:18. The only
pre-eminence, then, that Peter had, was the honour of first opening the
doors of the gospel to the world.
Whatsoever thou shalt bind, etc. 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 forbid 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 forbid circumcision and the eating of things offered
to idols, and strangled, and blood, Ac 15:20. They founded the church,
and ordained its rites, as of Divine authority.
{u} "whatsoever thou" Mt 18:18
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Jamieson-Faussett Brown:
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven--the kingdom
of God about to be set up on earth
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven--Whatever
this mean, it was soon expressly extended to all the apostles (Mt
18:18); so that the claim of supreme authority in the Church, made for
Peter by the Church of Rome, and then arrogated to themselves by the
popes as the legitimate successors of St. Peter, is baseless and
impudent. As first in confessing Christ, Peter got this commission
before the rest; and with these "keys," on the day of Pentecost, he
first "opened the door of faith" to the Jews, and then, in the person of
Cornelius, he was honored to do the same to the Gentiles. Hence, in the
lists of the apostles, Peter is always first named. See on JFB for Mt
18:18. One thing is clear, that not in all the New Testament is there
the vestige of any authority either claimed or exercised by Peter, or
conceded to him, above the rest of the apostles--a thing conclusive
against the Romish claims in behalf of that apostle.
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Spurgeon Commentary:
The new kingdom would not be all-comprehensive, like Noah's ark; but
would have its dove and its keys. For practical purposes the people of
God would need discipline, and the power to receive, refuse, retain, or
exclude members. Of these keys our Lord says to Peter, "I will give unto
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Foremost among the apostles,
Peter used those keys at Pentecost, when he let three thousand into the
church; in Jerusalem, when he shut out Ananias and Sapphira; and at the
house of Cornelius, when he admitted the Gentiles. Our Lord committed to
his church power to rule within herself for him; not to set up doors,
but to open or shut them: not to make laws, but to obey them and see
them obeyed. Peter, and those for whom he spoke, became the stewards of
the Lord Jesus in the church, and their acts were endorsed by their
Lord.
Today the Lord continues to back up the teaching and acts of his sent
servants, those Peters who are pieces of the one Rock. The judgments of
his Church, when rightly administered, have his sanction so as to make
them valid. The words of his sent servants, spoken in his name, shall be
confirmed of the Lord, and shall not be, either as to promise or
threatening, a mere piece of rhetoric. When he was here on earth
our Lord himself personally admitted men into the select circle of
disciples; but on the eve of
his departure he gave to their leading spirit, and thus to them also,
the power to admit others to their number, or to dismiss them when found
unworthy. Thus was the church or assembly constituted, and endowed with
internal administrative authority. We cannot legislate, but we may and
must administer the ordinances and statutes of the Lord; and what we do
rightly in carrying out divine law in the church on earth is ratified by
our Lord in heaven. A church would be a mere sham, and its acts a solemn
farce, if the great Head of the Church did not sanction all that is done
according to his statute-book.
We need not at any length deal with the claims of the Pope of Rome. Even
if Peter had been made the head of the church, how would that affect the
bishop of Rome? As well say that the Cham of Tartary is the successor of
Peter, as make that claim for an Italian Pontiff. No unsophisticated
reader of his Bible sees any trace of Popery in this passage. The wine
of Romanism is not to be pressed out of this cluster.
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Adam Clarke's Commentary:
By the kingdom of heaven, we may
consider the true Church, that house of God, to be meant; and by the
keys, the power of admitting into that house, or of preventing any
improper person from coming in. In other words, the doctrine of
salvation, and the full declaration of the way in which God will save
sinners; and who they are that shall be finally excluded from heaven;
and on what account. When the Jews made a man a doctor of the law, they
put into his hand the key of the closet in the temple where the sacred
books were kept, and also tablets to write upon; signifying, by this,
that they gave him authority to teach, and to explain the Scriptures to
the people.-Martin. This prophetic declaration of our Lord was literally
fulfilled to Peter, as he was made the first instrument of opening, i.e.
preaching the doctrines of the kingdom of heaven to the Jews, Ac 2:41;
and to the Gentiles, Ac 10:44-47; 11:1; 15:7.
Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth] This mode of expression was
frequent among the Jews: they considered that every thing that was done
upon earth, according to the order of God, was at the same time done in
heaven: hence they were accustomed to say, that when the priest, on the
day of atonement, offered the two goats upon earth, the same were
offered in heaven. As one goat therefore is permitted to escape on
earth, one is permitted to escape in heaven; and when the priests cast
the lots on earth, the priest also casts the lots in heaven. See Sohar.
Lev. fol. 26; and see Lightfoot and Schoettgen. These words will receive
considerable light from Le 13:3,23: The priest shall look upon him (the
leper) and pronounce him unclean. Hebrew
 vetime otho, he shall pollute him,
i.e. shall declare him polluted, from the evidences mentioned before.
And in Le 13:23: The priest shall pronounce him clean,
 vetiharo hacohen, the priest shall
cleanse him, i.e. declare he is clean, from the evidences mentioned in
the verse. In the one case the priest declared the person infected with
the leprosy, and unfit for civil society; and, in the other, that the
suspected person was clean, and might safely associate with his fellows
in civil or religious assemblies. The disciples of our Lord, from having
the keys, i.e. the true knowledge of the doctrine of the kingdom of
heaven, should be able at all times to distinguish between the clean and
the unclean, and pronounce infallible judgment; and this binding and
loosing, or pronouncing fit or unfit for fellowship with the members of
Christ, being always according to the doctrine of the Gospel of God,
should be considered as proceeding immediately from heaven, and
consequently as Divinely ratified.
That binding and loosing were terms in frequent use among the Jews, and
that they meant bidding and forbidding, granting and refusing, declaring
lawful or unlawful, &c., Dr. Lightfoot, after having given numerous
instances, thus concludes:-
"To these may be added, if need were, the frequent (shall I say?) or
infinite use of the phrases,  bound
and loosed, which we meet with thousands of times over. But from these
allegations the reader sees, abundantly enough, both the frequency and
the common use of this phrase, and the sense of it also; namely, first,
that it is used in doctrine, and in judgments, concerning things allowed
or not allowed in the law. Secondly, that to bind is the same with, to
forbid, or to declare forbidden. To think that Christ, when he used the
common phrase, was not understood by his hearers in the common and
vulgar sense, shall I call it a matter of laughter, or of madness?
To this, therefore, do these words amount: When the time was come
wherein the Mosaic law, as to some part of it, was to be abolished, and
left off, and, as to another part of it, was to be continued and to last
for ever, he granted Peter here, and to the rest of the apostles, Mt
18:18, a power to abolish or confirm what they thought good, and as they
thought good; being taught this, and led by the Holy Spirit: as if he
should say, Whatsoever ye shall bind in the law of Moses, that is,
forbid, it shall be forbidden, the Divine authority confirming it; and
whatsoever ye shall loose, that is, permit, or shall teach that it is
permitted and lawful, shall be lawful and permitted. Hence they bound,
that is forbade, circumcision to the believers; eating of things offered
to idols, of things strangled, and of blood, for a time, to the
Gentiles; and that which they bound on earth was confirmed in heaven.
They loosed, that is, allowed purification to Paul, and to four other
brethren, for the shunning of scandal; Ac 21:24 and, in a word, by these
words of Christ it was committed to them, the Holy Spirit directing,
that they should make decrees concerning religion, as to the use or
rejection of Mosaic rites and judgments, and that either for a time, or
for ever.
"Let the words be applied by way of paraphrase to the matter that was
transacted at present with Peter: 'I am about to build a Gentile
Church,' saith Christ, and to thee, O Peter, do I give the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, that thou mayest first open the door of faith to
them; but if thou askest by what rule that Church is to be governed,
when the Mosaic rule may seem so improper for it, thou shalt be so
guided by the Holy Spirit, that whatsoever of the law of Moses thou
shalt forbid them shall be forbidden; whatsoever thou grantest them
shall be granted; and that under a sanction made in heaven.' Hence, in
that instant, when he should use his keys, that is, when he was now
ready to open the gate of the Gospel to the Gentiles, Acts 10, he was
taught from heaven that the consorting of the Jew with the Gentile,
which before had been bound, was now loosed; and the eating of any
creature convenient for food was now loosed, which before had been
bound; and he in like manner looses both these.
"Those words of our Saviour, Joh 20:23, Whose sins ye remit, they are
remitted to them, for the most part are forced to the same sense with
these before us, when they carry quite another sense. Here the business
is of doctrine only, not of persons; there of persons, not of doctrine.
Here of things lawful or unlawful in religion, to be determined by the
apostles; there of persons obstinate or not obstinate, to be punished by
them, or not to be punished.
"As to doctrine, the apostles were doubly instructed. 1. So long sitting
at the feet of their Master, they had imbibed the evangelical doctrine.
"2. The Holy Spirit directing them, they were to determine concerning
the legal doctrine and practice, being completely instructed and enabled
in both by the Holy Spirit descending upon them. As to the persons, they
were endowed with a peculiar gift, so that, the same Spirit directing
them, if they would retain and punish the sins of any, a power was
delivered into their hands of delivering to Satan, of punishing with
diseases, plagues, yea, death itself, which Peter did to Ananias and
Sapphira; Paul to Elymas, Hymeneus, and Philetus, &c."
After all these evidences and proofs of the proper use of these terms,
to attempt to press the word, into the service long assigned them by the
Church of Rome, would, to use the words of Dr. Lightfoot, be "a matter
of laughter or of madness." No Church can use them in the sense thus
imposed upon them, which was done merely to serve secular ends; and
least of all can that very Church that thus abuses them.
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Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:
(No comment on this verse).
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Proper
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