Matthew 16:19

And I will give unto thee the keys— As stewards of great families, especially of the royal household, bore a key, (probably a golden one, as Lords of the bed-chamber do with us, in token of their office,) the phrase of giving a person the key naturally grew into an expression of raising him to great power. See the note on Isaiah 22:22. The keys of the kingdom of heaven, which on this occasion are given to Peter, are to be understood metaphorically: for our Lord's meaning was, that Peter should open the gates of the kingdom of heaven, or Gospel dispensation, both to Jews and Gentiles; that is to say, should be the first who preached the Gospel to them, particularly the latter; and in this sense Peter seems to have understood the matter himself, Acts 15:7. Or by the keys, we may understand prayer and authority, which is sometimes the meaning of the metaphor: and according to this interpretation, the power of binding and loosing, added to the power of the keys, maybe considered as explicatory thereof: "After my ascension into heaven, I will give thee, and thy companions in the apostolate, authority to order all the affairs of my church; so that whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, &c." It can be no objection against this interpretation, that it connects the idea of binding and loosing with that of the keys, contrary to the exact propriety of the two metaphors; for all who have studied the Scriptures know, that in many passages the ideas and expressions are accommodated to the subject matter, rather than to the precedent metaphors. The power of binding and loosing now conferred on Peter, and afterwards on all the Apostles, (see ch. Matthew 18:18.) was a power of declaring the laws of the Gospel, and the terms of salvation; for in the Jewish nation, to bind and loose are words made use of by the doctors to signify the unlawfulness or lawfulness of things. Wherefore our Lord's meaning was, "Whatever things thou shalt bind up from men, or declare forbidden on earth, shall be forbidden by heaven; and whatsoever things thou shalt loose to men, or bid to be done, shall be lawful and obligatory in the esteem of heaven." Accordingly it may be observed, that the gender made use of in both passages agrees to this interpretation: in that under consideration it is ο, not ον; in the other it is οσα, not οσους. This high power of declaring the terms of salvation, and precepts of the Gospel, the Apostles did not enjoy in its full extent till the memorable day of Pentecost, when they received the Holy Ghost in the plenitude of his gifts. After this their decisions on points of doctrine and duty being all given by inspiration, were infallible definitions, and ratified in heaven. Here then was an immense honour conferred on theApostles, and what must yield great consolation to all believers. There is nothing doubtful in the Gospel, much less false; but we may safely rest the salvation of our souls on the discoveries made to us there, since they are all originally derived from God. See Doddridge, Macknight, Lightfoot, Bishop Hoadly, and the other writers on this controverted passage of Scripture.