Peter acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ and then we find the answer of Jesus to Peter in Matthew 16:17-20: And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. The statements of Jesus in the verses cited present an interesting relationship between him and Peter, and then Jesus extends the relationship into the future by alluding to the events that will further change and shape the lives of humanity.

The answer that Peter gave Jesus is the foundation on which the answer of Jesus must be understood. Peter recognized who Jesus was by using the Greek word form for the Hebrew word messiah, which means the anointed one, and with its use, he showed his recognition of Jesus. Peter’s use of the terms, Son of the living God, in the confession, Matthew 16:16, further showed the recognition that Peter also knew his origin and relationship to God. The one word that can be used to sum up the statements made by Peter to Jesus is recognition. Jesus told Peter that God and not flesh and blood of man had revealed who he was. The revelation came from God for Peter. Peter knew the messiah was to come and by knowing the Jewish scriptures, Peter recognized who stood in their midst.

 By the same token, Jesus said I know who you are too, Simon the son of Jona, a common way of recognizing people in that day and time. Yet, it goes deeper than that. Peter in knowing who Jesus was, and in making the statement in front of the people assembled, showed that Jesus knew Peter was loyal and trustworthy, though later Peter denied Jesus three times. And upon the man Peter, the proclamation of the future gospel plan of salvation would be entrusted. That in no way designated any higher authority for Peter other than the responsibility of preaching the first gospel message on the first Day of Pentecost after the resurrection.

Jesus said he would give him the keys to the kingdom, not to heaven as such, since they are two different entities or concepts. (A lesson on the words “upon this rock” will follow next week.) The kingdom in the verse refers to the rule or reign of Christ, and through that rule, the church (assembly belonging to Christ, the ones leading a new way of life) would be established on earth some days hence. Jesus said he would give Peter the keys to the kingdom. In other words, Peter would unlock the door, so to speak, for entrance unto the rule of God through Jesus Christ. Peter would be told what was required and not required for the people to follow in the binding and loosening of the message.

Jesus told the apostles in Luke 24:47-49: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. In Acts Chapter 2, Luke gives the record of the events that revealed the power from on high and the keys being given to Peter. Peter stood and spoke, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the gospel to the assembled Jews.  Then in Acts 2:38 he gave the keys to the kingdom, the first two which opened the door to the kingdom, and which are part of that which is bound and required for salvation: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The two keys Peter gave are repent and the second one is be baptized. Repent or have change of mind about your life and then to show that repentance by being baptized, the first act of faith in Christ.  

The keys of repentance and baptism were bound on that day and are still bound if one wants to be saved. Other things bound are the necessity of living by faith, showing the professed faith through good works done for the benefit of the believer’s fellow man. That can be seen happening in the first days of the church in Acts 2:44-47: And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. That the apostles spoke more than what Luke recorded is shown by verses 42-43: And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. The apostle’s doctrine is the gospel of Christ and was the teaching that they did to the people.

A study of the Bible shows the things bound and loosened. Faith in Christ was bound; staying away from the practice of sin was bound as Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:17 about the new life in Christ: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Good works are now part of the new requirement: As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith in Galatians 6:10 and taught by James in 1:27: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. These are but a few of the many things that were bound to show the new way of Christ to the world. One of the things that were loosed was freedom from the law Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. The Jews were trying to go back to the law and even attempted to make it binding on the Gentiles who had never had the law in the first place. The keeping of the law wasn’t necessary since it had been fulfilled by Jesus who did away with its requirements. It was loosened when Peter preached the gospel.

When Peter confessed Jesus, Jesus in turn gave him the responsibility for preaching the gospel on the Day of Pentecost as has been stated.  He was given the keys to the kingdom and had the authority to bind and loosen as instructed by the Holy Spirit. That he did along with the other apostles from that day on. Peter fulfilled his charge to preach the saving news of Jesus Christ who was born, lived, died, and was raised from the grave to give the lost world the living hope of eternal salvation.