Why is Peter holding the keys of heaven? Isn't he a fisherman?

Answer 1

Peter is not holding the keys to Heaven, Jesus is. (This is a common misunderstanding of Matt 16:19; if you read from verse 13 you'll understand that Jesus was speaking about Himself and that Peter's understanding and observation that "'You (Jesus) are the Christ (that is Messiah, anointed of God), the Son of the Living God.'" caused Jesus to tell Peter that he would inherit eternal life. This is the same Peter who first swore to defend Jesus when the Pharisees came to arrest Jesus and later denied Him 3 times.

Originally Peter (Simon bar Jonah) was a fisherman, but became a disciple of Jesus. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Peter's mission was to preach to the faithful in Israel and Judah(Acts 2). Peter was eventually arrested by the Romans under Nero and crucified upside down (see John 21:18-19). He rests in the grave with the saints awaiting the resurrection to eternal life when Jesus returns again (see 2 Peter 3 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).

Answer 2

Fisherman was his trade. He was chosen for specific reasons: his experiences, some qualities he possessed, his lowly position, ... not his resume. A fisherman was fitting because Jesus said they would become "fishers of men". Anyway, Peter isn't holding the keys anymore. They have been passed down.

Why? Does a person's vocation make them a better candidate, a better person? He wasn't one of the "holy crowd". He was an ordinary guy who happened to be righteous and zealous for God.

Answer 3

Pilgrim actually believes that Greek nonsense he's spouting.

Don't ever go to a Greek restaurant with him. You'll never get what you think you ordered.

Jesus gave Peter the keys, which is an old testament symbol of authority, equivalent to something like a prime minister.

Then, Jesus gave him the power to bind and to loose.

Then, Jesus promised to back him up 100 percent.

Then, Jesus went back to heaven, leaving Peter in charge.

Today, Benedict the XVI sits on the chair of Peter, head of Christ's universal church on earth, and answerable only to God.

Now, he has the keys!

Answer 4

It is one of the buffet style religious teachings that has been the genesis of an entire religious sect.(Catholicism) If the scripture is looked upon through faith, you can see that Jesus was saying that upon the rock of truth, the church shall be erected, not on Peter. For His entire ministry Christ spoke of sinful, feeble, weak and unrighteous man. Why would He then turn around and hand over the plans of God to a man? Furthermore, a man who had already proven he could not handle the pressure. Some would say that info was not known as yet. Is that so? Does'nt God know all? was Jesus not God? So let's take a look shall we?

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

At this point Christ has asked who do they think He is. Peter answered that He was the son of God. Jesus knew that no one had known this save His father, Himself and the Holy Spirit. So Jesus responded by stating that on this truth, truth will be the foundation of the church, not Peter. The keys would be better described as the Gospel.

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 keys would be the Gospel that would lead those that were astray to the Kingdom. The key is to believe on Him(Jesus) to be saved. Peter demostrated this belief first by acknowledging this truth, or foundation.
Finally, those who wish to build a religion upon the shoulders of a man must continue to read that very same chapter.

But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

So there we have it. The final evidence that nothing shall be built upon sinful nature. Otherwise there was no need for Christ to come down to us. If God could've used Peter from the get go, why kill His son? Peter is no more saint than the last saved man the angels rejoiced about when you started reading this answer. The only man ever strong enough, wise enough, loving enough, Godly enough, righteous enough, and able enough to hold the keys to heaven, has always been and always will be Jesus of Nazareth. The son of the almighty God.

Answer 5

Because Jesus gave Peter the keys (Matthew 16). Peter was a fisherman - Jesus does not require us to be important, famous, powerful, or educated in order to do His will.

Answer 6

Tim hasn't studied New Testament Greek.

Jesus didn't tell Peter that the church would be established upon Peter. If he did, he would have used the second person singular.

Jesus used a near demonstrative. You may be Peter (which means "stone"), but upon this rock (near demonstrative, referring to himself, the Christ, the son of the living God) will I build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Then he said "And I will give unto thee the keys . . ." But the word "thee" is plural, not singular. If it were singular, it would have been translated "thou". The keys to bind and destroy were given to all believers as indicated by Jesus' words to all the disciples.

Answer 7

Maybe heaven is a tackle box and Peter's actually going to use the Christians for bait.

Answer 8

He has got a kind of a shitty job in my opinion because if you think about he is not really in Heaven...he can never leave the front door since people are dying all the time. Well I guess that's what you get for denying Jesus three times. To quote what (I think) God said to him "No one f*cks with my son, oh ye of little faith, now go and stand at heaven's door in the freezing cold you denier of the messiah!"

Answer 9

Peter does not hold the keys to heaven because Christ holds those keys. Peter is NOT what the church is built on. The church is built upon Peter's assertion that Jesus IS the Christ. And Christ indicated that the information was revealed to Peter through the Holy Spirit and not of man. It is not God's intention to let anyone else build His Church.

Answer 10

the keys of the kingdom of heaven

Peter was a untrianed fisherman, thats part of the reason that God was glorified. God uses things other people look down on and God's grreatness sometimes comes through more strongly in a person like that

and God can work in your life as well