the keys of the kingdom of heaven This expression was not altogether new. To a Jew it would convey a definite meaning. He would think of the symbolic key given to a Scribe when admitted to his office, with which he was to open the treasury of the divine oracles. Peter was to be a Scribe in the kingdom of heaven. He has received authority to teach the truths of the kingdom.

whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven To bind (cp. ch. Matthew 23:4) is to impose an obligation as binding; to loose is to declare a precept not binding. Such expressions as this were common: "The school of Shammai binds it, the school of Hillel looseth it." The power is over things, not persons. The decisions of Peter as an authorized Scribe of the Kingdom of God will be ratified in heaven.

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