Matthew 16:19 (NRSVCE)
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Jesus Christ having all the authority in heaven and on earth (Mat. 28:18), have the keys not only of the Kingdom of Heaven but of Death and of Hades (Rev. 1:18). Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy has also the key of the house of David, (Isa. 22:22, Rev. 3:7). And it is amazing that Jesus Christ had given Peter and His disciples the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In our verse for today, the keys that we are going to find are the keys for the Kingdom of Heaven. But let us know first what is the Kingdom of Heaven or as Jesus also termed it, the “Kingdom of GOD”. This Kingdom that Jesus Christ was referring to, was first mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew 4:17 when He began His teaching there in the place of Zebulun and Naphtali which He called the Galilee of the Gentiles. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”— But in Jerusalem, when asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of GOD was coming, He answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” (Luke 17:20-21). It is implied that this Kingdom of Heaven is invisible to our eyes, and the one who will reign in this Kingdom is the One who has dominion in Heaven. It is also open to all, both Jews and Gentiles. Undoubtedly, we are talking about the dominion in our Spirituality, which is in the invisible core of our being, in the midst of us while we are in this world, and not to be viewed as of part of this world. It is simply said in Matthew 6:10 that ‘His Kingdom will come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven’. If His will is followed, then this Kingdom of Heaven is there and this will happen nowhere but in our hearts.
Jesus said to Pilate when He is interrogated in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Jesus is implying that His kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, although it is in this world, is NOT FROM this world but from Heaven above. But what is He going to do to establish this kind of Kingdom, and what it is all about?
In John 18:37, Jesus affirmed that the purpose of His kingship is about testifying to the truth and that everyone who belongs to His Kingdom listens to the truth and listens to His voice.” This is the same thing in the aforementioned verse; Matthew 6:10. Again, if ‘His will is followed, then this Kingdom of Heaven is there’ and this will happen in our hearts.
However, before Jesus established the Kingdom of GOD in this world, Satan already established his kingdom same here in this world, also, in the hearts of men, by entangling people to worldliness. We know that Satan is the father of lies and there’s no truth in his kingdom (John 8:44). Satan even deceived himself that he tried to lured Jesus not to establish the Truth by the same tactics, he offered his authority and his kingship to Jesus. Satan said, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.” (Luke 4:6). Before Jesus came, this world was under the kingship of Satan, the people were living in darkness and in lies. That’s why Jesus purpose is to establish the Truth in the Kingdom of Heaven, and to demolish the lies in the kingdom of Satan.
So, what now are the keys of this kingdom of Heaven which must be also invisible to our eyes, that is not from this world but is here in this world? These keys were utilized and equipped the apostles to bind or loose on earth. Their authorities as the key keepers came from Jesus Christ as the key owner. If Satan’s key is his lies, then Jesus’ key is the Truth.
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). But to those Jews who were the experts of the law, He expressed great sorrow for they taken away the key of knowledge that they did not enter themselves, and they hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:52). The Truth which is GOD’s Word, (John 17:17) is the key that Jesus had given to His apostles, which they should hold, which is the same key that Jesus used in them to bind them and loose them. When Jesus prayed for them, Jesus mentioned about this key, He said in John 17:14, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.”
In conclusion, those who hold the teaching belong to the Kingdom of Heaven, those who accepted and believed the Truth, the Word of GOD, are the key keepers in the Kingdom of GOD. AMEN.
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