KEYS OF THE KINGDOM
When Jesus was in the region of Caesarea Philippi with His disciples, He asked them who they believed Him to be. Simon answered for them and confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. The Lord pronounced a blessing on him for that acknowledgment and said he would be called Peter, a rock, and upon the Rock confessed by him, He would build His church. He then added, And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:16-19).
The keys given included, as v 19 goes on to say, the ambassadorial authority to bind and loose with heaven’s approval. This authority was not given to Peter alone but to all the apostles, as we see in later passages (Mt 18:18; Jn 20:22, 23). In Scripture, the word “key” has a figurative use. It is a symbol of authority. For example, a Messianic prophecy says, “The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut and no one shall open” (Isa 22:22). In His letter to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus quoted this passage and applied it to Himself (Rev 3:7). Similarly, He said, “I have the key of Hades and Death” (Rev 1:18). The same verse explains that He had used this authority by rising from the dead never to die again.
How did the apostles use the keys given to them by our Lord? We want to look at that briefly and follow the apostle Peter precisely since he is the one to whom Jesus spoke directly in Mt 16.
UNLOCKING THE DOOR FOR THE JEWS Peter was the chief spokesman –at least, it was his speech that Luke recorded in Acts chapter 2 that gives an account of what happened on the first Pentecost after Jesus ascended to the Father. Peter offered salvation first to the people of Israel. His audience was composed of Jews from all the lands of the Dispersion (v 5). Yet he did not open this door to them by the Law of Moses or any part of it. In his sermon, the apostle referred to the resurrection of Christ, based on Psa 16:8-11 (vv 25-28). He then used Psa 32:11 to show that the purpose of God raising Jesus was that He might sit on the throne of David (v 30). He declared that this purpose has been fulfilled; Jesus is on the throne of David, in the very place God had promised in Psa 110:1, that is, at God’s right hand. Christ is reigning; the kingdom has come. Israel had made a terrible mistake in rejecting Him while He was here and was responsible for His crucifixion. When those present were convicted in their hearts and inquired of the apostles what they should do now, Peter told them, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (v 38). The door was unlocked, and those who believed what they heard could enter the kingdom of the Lord. Interestingly, Peter said the promise was to Israel and those afar off. I take this to refer to the calling of the Gentiles. And this brings us to our next point.
UNLOCKING THE DOOR FOR THE GENTILES Cornelius was a centurion in the Roman army stationed in the Judean headquarters at Caesarea Maritima. The record of his conversion is found in Acts chapter 10, with some supplemental information in chapter 11. A definitive statement about the matter was made by Peter when he was speaking at the Jerusalem conference of apostles and elders: “You know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe” (Acts 15:7). Cornelius was a devout man who prayed much. We are not explicitly told that he attended a Jewish synagogue, but he probably did. He knew Israel’s God and held Him in reverence. He practiced both prayer to the true God and charitable giving, two of the three primary religious duties of faithful Jews. At any rate, he was praying one afternoon when an angel appeared to him. The angel told him that his prayers and alms were seen as a memorial to God. It seems clear that the meaning of that statement had to do with the promise made many centuries earlier to Abraham that through one of his descendants, all nations would be blessed. Cornelius’ character exhibited in his devotions before God looked on God as a memorial of that ancient promise. The Jews had already been offered the blessing of salvation through Christ –but they were the fleshly descendants of Abraham. It was time for the Gentiles to be admitted through an open door.
The angel instructed Cornelius to send to Joppa, where Peter was living temporarily, and urged Peter to come and “tell you what you must do” (Acts 10:6). Cornelius immediately called in two of his servants and a soldier under him who was also devout. He told them of the angelic vision and sent them to Joppa. As they were getting near, Peter was praying on the housetop. He was entranced and saw a vision, repeated three times, teaching him that he should not distinguish between Jew and Gentile. While he was thinking about this, the messengers from Cornelius arrived, and Peter went with them to Caesarea. He was welcomed by Cornelius, who had called together all his relatives and close friends. Peter preached the gospel to them. His sermon about Jesus is almost a point-by-point outline for the Gospel According to Mark. While Peter spoke, the Holy Spirit came upon the hearers as a sign that God was willing for Gentiles to believe and obey the gospel (See again 15:7 and surrounding verses). That fact being clear, Peter then commanded them to be baptized, just as he had with the Jews on Pentecost, at the time of the earlier pouring out of the Holy Spirit. The door was now unlocked for the Gentiles.
UNLOCKING THE DOOR FOR THE BACKSLIDERS Acts chapter 8 tells us that when the Hellenist disciples had to flee from Jerusalem because of persecution, Philip the evangelist (not the apostle) went down to a city in Samaria and preached Christ. The resulting conversions were numerous. There was in the city a man named Simon who was a sorcerer. But he was impressed, as were others, with the preaching of Philip. “Then Simon himself also believed, and when he was baptized he continued with Philip and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done” (Acts 8:13). Since Jesus had promised that “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mk 16:16). Simon did just that in response to the gospel, one should not doubt the genuineness of his conversion. However, he may have been unduly impressed with the miraculous signs he saw. They were real, whereas the ones he had been performing were trickery. Still, he became a disciple. The apostles Peter and John came down to that city and laid their hands on the new converts so they would receive the Holy Spirit. We may assume that this refers to the supernatural spiritual gifts often given to believers in the early days of the church. Results of the apostolic bestowal were visible, so not the indwelling of the Spirit received by everyone baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Simon saw what was done, and his new faith was overcome by an unholy desire to have the same power the apostles had. He offered them money for that power. Peter firmly told him that his heart was not right with God. “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity” (Vv 21-23). Simon then asked Peter to pray for him. We do not know if Simon was sincere in his repentance. But repentance and prayer is the way back for a citizen of God’s kingdom who has gone astray.
UNLOCKING THE DOOR FOR CHRISTIAN GROWTH The blessed apostle Peter not only used the keys of the kingdom to show how one becomes a disciple and how one returns to the Lord after sliding back into sinful behavior; he also recognized that one cannot stand still, and survive on the first principles of the gospel. One must grow from spiritual infancy to maturity. In his first epistle, written primarily to new converts, he told them to desire the milk of the word that they might grow. In his second epistle, he points out that God has given us in His word all things that pertain to life and godliness and has made some very precious promises. Then he proceeds, “For this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (2 Pet 1:3-7).
The door of the kingdom has been opened to whosoever will. The invitation is extended to all of every nation. There is a plan for the restoration of the backslider. And the way to keep from backsliding by diligently studying the apostolic word so that one may add to his faith is made known. Peter used the keys of the kingdom to open the door to all. And there can be little doubt that the other apostles did the same in their places and times. We have their instructions in what they have written in the New Testament Scriptures.