PETER AND THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

MY INTERPRETATION OF THE MEANING OF MATTHEW 16:15-19

PETER AND THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Matthew 16:15 - Jesus said to His disciples, Who do you say that I am? 

Matthew 16:16 - And Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ (God's anointed One and Israel's Messiah), the Son of the living God. 

Matthew 16:17 - And Jesus said to him, You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed My identity to you, but My Father, Who lives in heaven, has! 

Matthew 16:18 - And I say to you, you are Peter (petros - a masculine noun meaning a small stone), and upon this rock (petra - a feminine noun meaning a huge boulder large enough to be a foundation - see Mt. 7:24), I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (this world is Satan's - see Mt. 4:8-9; 2 Cor. 4:4 - therefore, Satan wants to keep those who belong to him from being saved - the Church will not be stopped from trying to rescue those who are perishing by his walls or his gates - see Jude 1:23). 

Matthew 16:19 - And Peter, I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven:  and those who you shall bind on earth (accept as a part of My Church here on earth), shall be bound in heaven (also be accepted in heaven): and those who you shall loose on earth (reject as a part of My Church here on earth) shall be loosed in heaven (also be rejected in heaven).

[Note:  Christ's Church would not begin until Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47), and when it began, the Jews understood that there were three divisions of humanity:  Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles.  Peter, the one to whom Jesus gave the responsibility to determine who would be accepted as members of the Lord's Church, was present when all three came to faith:   Jews (Acts 2:14-47); Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17); and Gentiles (Acts 10:1-48).  In other words, the Gospel message was the power of God that offered salvation to all people (Jn. 3:15-16; Acts 2:21; 10:43; Rom. 1:16;  10:13; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; etc.)!]

It is interesting how the Apostle Peter is revered by so many who call themselves Christians.  He, himself, had no delusions of grandeur; he knew he was a flawed soul like the rest of us.  Here are a couple examples:

Acts 10:25-26 - "And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.  But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man."

Galatians 2:11-14 - "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles:  but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?"

2 Peter 3:16-17 - "...our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction."

FOCUS UPON JESUS - HE IS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!