The Keys of the Kingdom

The disciples were slow to believe Christ's predictions of the overthrow of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. This was re­vealed when they drew His attention to the permanence of the Temple masonry, and "how it was adorned." Instead of modifying His pronouncements, He amplified them, and said, "Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." That stronger statement si­lenced the disciples, but they remained unconvinced. This was evidenced even as late as the time of the death of Stephen. Their attitude was the result of Jewish prophetic interpreta­tion, and followed popular opinion.

Matthew 16:21, 22 records another experi­ence revealing the slowness of the disciples to believe anything contrary to generally accepted ideas. Christ had already told them plainly who He was. Now He endeavored to tell them of His approaching death. "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." Then Peter said, "Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee." We can readily imagine Peter's thinking, "Why, those church leaders in Jerusalem would not kill you or cause you to suffer. Never !" He would not suspect it of them any more than we would believe our General Conference leaders would persecute anyone.

Jesus pointed out to Peter that he was too much influenced by men and their teachings. He said, "Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Jesus later found them doubting His resurrection. No wonder He exclaimed, "0 fools, and slow of heart to believe." He said that He had many things to tell them, but they could not receive them. He had to proceed "as they were able to hear it." Mark 4:33. ( John 16:12.)

This careful approach is seen in Matthew 16:13, where Jesus asked His disciples this question : "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" They readily answered that in the popular opinion He was considered to be Elias or one of the prophets. The disciples doubtless shared that belief, having in mind that it was fundamental in Jewish theology that Elias, or "that prophet," must come first. Shortly after the plain revelation found in this chapter that Christ was the "Son of the living God" they came to Him with the significant question, "Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?" Matt. 17 :1 o.

In chapter sixteen Jesus had brought the question closer and asked the disciples, "But whom say ye that I am?" Now, they could not answer that as readily as they did His first question. They were so strongly influenced by popular opinion that it is doubtful that they could have answered this question differently from the first. The silence that fell upon the group was finally broken by a revelation from God to Peter. Inspiration caused him to utter those wonderful words that revealed no doubt : "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matt. 16 :16. Jesus quickly acknowledged the correctness of this answer and revealed its source as He said, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." Verse 17.

It should be noticed that the subject of the discussion in these verses was the identity of Christ. It was not a question of the identity of Peter. The question was plainly stated, "Who am I?" The God-inspired answer is equally clear and unmistakable : "Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus took the words of that revelation to Peter and enlarged upon them. He told him that the Son of the living God would build a living church upon the living Rock. Can we not picture Christ pointing to Himself and say­ing, "Upon this rock I will build My church"? Such a declaration fitted Isaiah's prophecy that the sure foundation for Zion, the church, would be a stone, tried, precious, and God prepared. Peter makes this application of the prophecy himself when he says the Lord is a Living Stone chosen of God, that believers are living stones "built up" to be a living temple (spirit­ual house). In proof he quotes Isaiah 28:16. (See I Peter 2:4-6.) It is not necessary here to prove from Scripture that Christ is the Rock, Peter's words establish it beyond doubt. It is not necessary here to quote the prophecies that speak of Christ building the church. Christ has summed them all up in one brief sentence, "Upon this rock I will build My church." How­ever, notice the little word that introduces the statement, the conjunction and. First the fact could be stated, I am "the Son of the living God"; and "upon this rock I will build My church" (the added fact). But a further reve­lation is added by the same conjunction. "And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (the Rock).

This is more than a summing up of Scrip­ture truth; it is almost a direct quotation. Again Peter is the commentator, for he quotes from Psalms 16:10 as recorded in Acts 2 :31: "Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell" (the grave). This scripture reveals that He would be in hell, or the grave, but that he would not be left there. Christ's own words suggest that the gates of hell, or the grave, would be shut upon Him, but would not prevail, or hold Him. When his tomb was shut upon Him by a great stone rolled against it, and sealed and guarded, how wonderfully were those words fulfilled, "Thou [the living God] wilt not leave My [Christ's] soul in hell." The psalmist said more, "Neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption." The identity of the person is very clear in the words "Thine Holy One." God would not leave His Holy One there long enough to corrupt. Paul clearly states the ful­fillment of that promise : "God . . . raised Him from the dead."

Once more we have our conjunction intro­ducing another revelation ; "And I will give unto Thee the keys of the kingdom of heathen." Matt. 16:19. God had promised just that in the words of the prophet Isaiah. (Isa. 22:22.) "The key of the house of David [the church] will I lay upon His shoulder; so He shall open, and none shall shut; and He shall shut, and none shall open." The key of the house of David in Revelation 3:7 is in the hands of God's Holy One. "He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David ; He that openeth and no man shutteth ; and shutteth, and no man openeth." Hear this Holy One say to His church, "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. . . . Be­cause thou hast kept the word . . . I also will keep thee. . . . Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God." "Be­hold, I come quickly." In these scriptures there can be no mistake in the identity of that wonderful Person, the Son of the living God, the Builder of His church, the One against whom the gates of hell did not prevail, the One to whom God gave the keys of the king­dom of heaven, the one who opened as with a key the door of salvation that none can shut.

"He shall open," said Isaiah. "There shall be a fountain opened . . . for sin and for un­cleanness," said Zechariah. There flowed from His side that blood of Jesus Christ, which the apostle John declares "cleanseth us from all sin." "There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved," said Peter. "No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." "I am the door : by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved," Jesus said. This key could not be provided by any mere man ; nor could it be delivered to anyone but the Son of the living God. This is the number I key, shall we say; and the door is open wide.

But there is another key under the control of God's Holy One. Hear his testimony of tri­umph. "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen ; and [I] have the keys of hell and of death." Rev. i :18. "In Christ shall all be made alive." This power could not be vested in any other. Christ has the key that will open every tomb. God fulfilled the promise of giving to Him the keys of the kingdom of heaven when He raised Him from the dead, and "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make inter­cession." He is the "beginning and the ending" of the plan of salvation, but He employs human instrumentalities in accomplishing the gospel work.

In Matthew 18 :17-20 Jesus outlined methods of church discipline to be operated by the be­lievers to the end of time. In the operation of church decisions He gave assurance that those decisions would have the authority of heaven, as he said, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven." It should be no­ticed that the term "ye" is plural and refers to at least two or three persons, and not Peter or any other individual. "He that receiveth you receiveth Me," Jesus said. The disciples were to share Christ's power as well as His author­ity, and to such degree that even the dead were raised to life, but in every reference the lan­guage is in the plural. The position may be made clearer by setting the texts in relation to each other with supporting references:

1.  "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Ezke 1 :32, 35; Matt. 3 :17 ; Matt. 16 :16 ; Mark 9:7.)