Matthew 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. 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 means, it was soon expressly extended to all the apostles (); 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 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 doo...

19._And I will give thee the keys _Here Christ begins now to speak of the public office, that is, of the Apostleship, which he dignifies with a twofold title. First, he says that the ministers of the Gospel are porters, so to speak, of the kingdom of heaven, because they carry its _keys; _and, secondly, he adds, that they are invested with a power of _binding and loosing, _which is ratified in heaven. (440) The comparison of _the keys _is very properly applied to the office of teaching; as when Christ says (Luke 11:52) that the scribes and Pharisees, in like manner, have _the key _of the kingdom of heaven, because they are expounders of the law. We know that there is no other way in which the gate of life is opened to us than by the word of God; and hence it follows that the key is placed, as it were, in the hands of the minister

13-20 Peter, for himself and his brethren, said that they were assured of our Lord's being the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God. This showed that they believed Jesus to be more than man. Our Lord declared Peter to be blessed, as the teaching of God made him differ from his unbelieving countrymen. Christ added that he had named him Peter, in allusion to his stability or firmness in professing the truth. The word translated "rock," is not the same word as Peter, but is of a similar meaning. Nothing can be more wrong than to suppose that Christ meant the person of Peter was the rock. Without doubt Christ himself is the Rock, the tried foundation of the church; and woe to him that attempts to lay any other! Peter's confession is this rock as to doctrine. If Jesus be not the Christ, those that own him are not of the church, but deceivers and deceived. Our Lord next declared the au...

Verse Matthew 16:19. _THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM_] 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...

See also Mark 8:27, and Luke 9:18. CESAREA PHILIPPI - There were two cities in Judea called Caesarea. One was situated on the borders of the Mediterranean (See the notes at Acts 8:40), and the other was the one mentioned here. This city was greatly enlarged and ornamented by Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod, and called Caesarea in honor of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar. To distinguish it from the other Caesarea the name of Philip was added to it, and it was called Caesarea Philippi, or Caesarea of Philippi. It was situated in the boundaries of the tribe of Naphtali, at the foot of Mount Hermon. It is now called Panias or Banias, and contains (circa 1880’s) about 200

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 16:1 _The Pharisees and Sadducees desire a sign. _(Mark 8:11.) MATTHEW 16:1 THE PHARISEES ALSO WITH THE SADDUEEES; rather, _and the Pharisees and Sadducees. _The scribes and Pharisees are often mentioned together as watching or attacking Jesus; but this is the first time that we hear of Pharisees combining with Sadducees for this purpose. The two sects were directly opposed to each other, the traditional belief of the former being antagonistic to the scepticism and materialism of the latter. But both were hostile to Christ, whose teaching, on the one hand interfered with rabbinism, and on the

AND I WILL GIVE UNTO THEE THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN,.... By the kingdom of heaven is meant the Gospel, which comes from heaven, declares the king Messiah to be come, speaks of things concerning his kingdom, is the means of setting it up, and enlarging it, displays the riches of his grace, and gives an account of the kingdom of heaven, and of persons' right unto it, and meetness for it. "The keys" of it are abilities to open and explain the Gospel truths, and a mission and commission from Christ to make use of them; and being said to be given to Peter particularly, denotes his after qualifications, commission, work, and usefulness in opening the door of faith, or preaching the Gospel first to the Jews, Acts 2:1 and then to the Gentiles, Acts 10:1 and who was the first that made use of the keys of evangelical knowledg

KEYS OF THE KINGDOM Not the keys of the church, but of the kingdom of heaven in the sense of Matthew 13, that is, the sphere of Christian profession. A key is a badge of power or authority (cf) (Isaiah 22:22); (Revelation 3:7). The apostolic history explains and limits this trust, for it was Peter who opened the door of Christian opportunity to Israel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38) and to Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. (Acts 10:34). There was no assumption by Peter of any other authority (Acts 15:7). In the council James, not Peter,

4. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE REJECTED KING CONCERNING HIMSELF. CHAPTER 16 1. Pharisees and Sadducees Asking a Sign. (Matthew 16:1 .) 2. Instructions Concerning the Leaven. (Matthew 16:5 .) 3. Peter's Confession. (Matthew 16:13 .) 4. The Future Building of the Church Announced. (Matthew 16:17 .) 5. The Announcement of His Death and Resurrection. (Matthew 16:21 .) 6. Peter's Rebuke and the Lord's Answer. (Matthew 16:22 .) 7. The Pa

THE GREAT CONFESSION AND THE FIRST VIEW OF THE CROSS (Mark 8:27 *, Luke 9:18). Omitting the cure of the blind man (but _cf. Matthew 9:27_), Mt. passes to the significant episode of Cæ sarea Philippi. Matthew 16:13 = Mark 8:27, but note the substitution (Matthew 16:13) of Son of Man for I, which gives the position away (especially if we read I, the Son of Man), and the addition of Jeremiah ...