What do the keys that Peter received represent?

Question

Matt 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."

How do the keys spoken of in Matt 16 corrolate to the keys spoken of in Is 22:21-22 "I will put your official robe and belt on him and give him all the authority you have had. He will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will give him complete authority under the king, the descendant of David. He will have the keys of office; what he opens, no one will shut, and what he shuts, no one will open.

Answer 1

Peter was the first disciple to profess faith if Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). This was more than an insight; according to Jesus, this truth was a special revelation to and through Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

Jesus then affirmed Simon's new name—Peter, meaning the Rock—and told announced, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

What did it mean to be the founder of Jesus' human organization, the Church? "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19). Jesus gave Peter the authority to forgive sins and make disciplinary rules. Peter was the first to receive powers later give to the apostles as a whole (Matt.18:18).

But Jesus' bequests were not complete: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 16:19). The keys to a city were symbols of authority in the ancient world. Cities had walls for protection, and usually a single great gate, opened by one great key. To receive the key to the city bestowed not only free access to the city, but also authority over the city.

Granting keys as symbols of authority had precedent in the Old Testament, too; Is 22:22 reads, "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."

In 248 AD, Origen explained the extent of Peter's grant of authority: "If we were to attend carefully to the Gospels, we should also find, in relation to those things which seem to be common to Peter, a great difference and a preeminence in the things Jesus said to Peter, compared with the second class of apostles. For it is no small difference that Peter received the keys not of one heaven but of more, and in order that whatsoever things he binds on earth may be bound not in one heaven but in them all, as compared with the many who bind on earth and loose on earth, so that these things are bound and loosed not in all the heavens, as in the case of Peter, but in one only; for they do not reach so high a stage with power as Peter to bind and loose in all the heavens" (Commentary on Matthew 13:31).

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 2

Simply put....giving someone your keys is symbolic of giving that person the same authority you have, and that person has that authority because you gave it to them. You could take the keys back and that given authority is revoked.

Example: If I give you the keys to my car... you can drive it. It is my car but you're the one driving it down the road and have control over it. But you are only in control of it because I allowed it.

This is basically the case with Christ giving His "Keys" to Peter and the Church.

Answer 3

Opening the way for people to join in the covenant with Jesus to be corulers with Jesus in his Kingdom...

Peter made use of the first key at Pentecost when about 3000 Jews signed on to the Christian faith (Jews were still a priority). Next were the Samarians. The last key was used to allow uncircumcised Gentiles to become part of the Kingdom covenant, and Peter used this key when Cornelius was converted.

Answer 4

The keys are the priesthood power which is spoken of in the Old Testament. The priesthood power is basically the power of God by which everything is done, including how the world was created.

Oh my goodness people, read the Bible. The keys cant be more specific when it speaks of the priesthood power. That additional part the asker asked about confirms what I was saying about the keys.
The priesthood authority was given to specific people to have authority over Gods church in the Old Testament. God, thru the laying on of hands, in the Bible, had this authority passed on. When one has the keys for the entire church he is a prophet of God speaking on behalf and having the power on behalf of God.
I really dont get why the priesthood authority is not of more importance and stressed more in christian churches. It is a huge part of the churches in the Bible.

Answer 5

The keys are the power of everlasting life given to all who choose to believe.

Answer 6

First of all, Peter was not the "rock" upon which the church was to be founded. The gates of hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. The church was built upon One against whom the gates of hell could not prevail.

The "keys of the kingdom of heaven" are the words of Christ. All the words of Holy Scripture are His, and are here included. These words have power to open and to shut Heaven. They declare the conditions upon which men are received or rejected. Thus the work of those who preach God's word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. This is a misson weighted with eternal results.

Jesus did not commit the work of the gospel to Peter individually. At a later time, repeating the words that were spoken to Peter, He applied them directly to the church. If Jesus had delegated any special authority to one of the disciples above the others, we should not find them so often contending as to who should be the greatest. They would have submitted to the wish of their Master, and honored the one whom He had chosen. Instead of appointing one to be their head, Christ said to the disciples, "Be not ye called Rabbi;" "neither be ye called masters; for one is your master, even Christ." Matt.23:8,10.

Answer 7

this relates to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.