Can You Clarify the Meaning of Matthew 16:19?

Answer: Before we can answer this question, let us make sure we understand the context. Jesus was directly addressing Peter, and had just made His famous statement about the Church in verse 18. However, in verse 19 the subject is clearly the Kingdom of Heaven. The wording between verse 18 (church - ἐκκλησίαν) and verse 19 (kingdom – βασιλείας) is vastly different. This alone should signal to the reader that Jesus was not identifying the Church with the Kingdom of God. Therefore, we can be certain that Christ was not testifying that Peter (and his alleged successors) had a unique authority in the Church, as Roman Catholicism suggests.

With verse 19 there is somewhat of a shift in the text as Jesus once again brought up the subject of the Kingdom. Introducing the Kingdom at this point should have made it clear to the disciples that the Church and the Kingdom are not one and the same. The Church is God’s program for this present age and the Kingdom is God’s program for the future, which will be inaugurated at the Second Coming of Christ. The Church is to be proclaiming the message of the coming Kingdom of Christ.

The Kingdom of Heaven consistently refers to the future Messianic Kingdom. This is the same kingdom that Christ referred to throughout His ministry. A key was a symbol of authority. But what authority would Peter have? A couple of different ideas have been suggested.

One interpretation proposed is that Peter was given a promise by Christ of authority (keys) in the coming Messianic Kingdom. Proof for this interpretation includes Matthew 19:28 which states, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’” This authority would extend to the twelve Apostles.

A second interpretation is that Peter would have the authority to give access to the Kingdom (sharing the Gospel) to different groups of people. This would include the Jews (Acts 2-3), the Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17), and the Gentiles (Acts 10). Peter’s mission was to give people access to the Kingdom by the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. By extension, under this interpretation, all believers now have this same authority. This appears to be the most common understanding of this difficult text.

Peter was told that he would have 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.” It is important to understand that keys represent authority. If I were to entrust the keys to my home to someone it would represent that I was entrusting the authority to enter my home to that specific individual. With access to the door, they could also present the opportunity to enter my home to others. This is the way that Jesus was using the idea of a key, in regard to His Kingdom. Peter was entrusted by Christ as a steward of the Gospel message. Peter could open the door to the Kingdom by presenting the Gospel message, which is what we see fulfilled in Acts 2-3, 8, and 10.

The confusion around binding and loosing is because we have lost the cultural connotation and the idea of the words used. Binding and loosing were expressions that were used by the rabbis that mean to exclude or include (forbid or permit). Peter (and by extension the rest of the Apostles of Christ as seen in Matthew 18:18) had the authority to permit or forbid people from entering God’s Kingdom. Those who believe the Gospel have been loosed (permitted or allowed) on earth and in heaven the privilege of entering into the Kingdom of God when Christ ushers it in at His Second Coming. Those who reject the Gospel will be bound (not permitted or not allowed) into the Kingdom of God. Believers in the Church Age are to be preaching the Gospel of Christ. As people become Christians, they become citizens of the coming Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13).