Protestant Question on Matthew Chapter 16 verse 19

[Mannyfit75]

And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and** whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven**. -Gospel of Matthew Chapter 16 verse 19.

Protestants,

In this passage, who is given the authority to bind and loose? I like to know the Protestant interpretation of the passage. Did Jesus gave Peter the power to bind and lose as the Bible states, or is Jesus addressing his apostles?

What does binding and loosing mean? Does it mean teaching authority, or something else?

 

[ALLFORHIM]

The concept of “binding and loosing” is taught in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” In this verse, Jesus is speaking directly to the Apostle Peter, and indirectly to the other apostles. Jesus’ words meant that Peter would have the right to enter the kingdom himself, would have general authority therein symbolized by the possession of the keys, and preaching the gospel would be the means of opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers and shutting it against unbelievers. The book of Acts shows us this process at work. By his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40), Peter opened the door of the kingdom for the first time. The expressions “bind” and “loose” were common to Jewish legal phraseology meaning to declare forbidden or to declare allowed.

Peter and the other disciples were to continue on earth the work of Christ in preaching the gospel and declaring God’s will to men, and were armed with the same authority as He Himself possessed. In Matthew 18, there is also a definite reference to the binding and loosing of church discipline. The apostles do not usurp Christ’s lordship and authority over individual believers and their eternal destiny, but they do exercise the authority to discipline and, if necessary, excommunicate disobedient church members.

Christ in heaven ratifies what is done in His name and in obedience to His Word on earth. In both Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, the syntax of the Greek text makes the meaning clear. What you bind on earth will already have been bound in Heaven. What you loose on earth will already have been loosed in Heaven. In other words, Jesus in heaven, looses the authority of His Word as it goes forth on earth for the fulfillment of its purpose.

Im NOT looking to debate on this BTW Im just giving you our version of it. I know you dont believe this but you asked and there it is.

 

[NotWorthy]

Although I’m not Protestant, I’d like to add my two cents worth, since I so recently came across this passage in my studies. It seems the “binding and loosing” was a phrase familiar to the Jewish ear in Jesus’ times. This is critical to understanding the meaning of Matthew’s passage:

Jesus told the leaders of his Church, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19, 18:18). The language of binding and loosing (in part) was a rabinnic way of referring to the ability to establish binding halakah or rules of conduct for the faith community. It is thus especially appropriate that the references to binding and loosing occur in Matthew, the “Jewish Gospel.” Thus the *Jewish Encyclopedia *states:

"BINDING AND LOOSING (Hebrew, asar ve-hittir) . . . Rabinnical term for ‘forbidding and permitting.’ . . .
"The power of binding and loosing as always claimed by the Pharisees. Under Queen Alexandra the Pharisees, says Josephus (*Wars of the Jews *1:5:2), ‘became the administrators of all public affairs so as to be empowered to banish and readmit whom they pleased, as well as to loose and to bind.’ . . . The various schools had the power ‘to bind and to loose’; that is, to forbid and to permit (Talmud: Chagigah 3b); and they could also bind any day by declaring it a fast-day ( . . . Talmud: Ta’anit 12a . . . ).
"In this sense Jesus, when appointing his disciples to be his successors, used the familiar formula (Matt. 16:19, 18:18). By these words he virtually invested them with the same authority as that which he found belonging to the scribes and Pharisees who ‘bind heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will not move them with one of their fingers’; that is ‘loose them,’ as they have the power to do (Matt. 23:2-4).

In the same sense the second epistle of Clement to James II (‘Clementine Homilies,’ Introduction [A.D. 221]), Peter is represented as having appointed Clement as his successor, saying: 'I communicate to him the power of binding and loosing so that, with respect to everything which he shall ordain in the earth, it shall be decreed in the heavens; for he shall bind what ought to be bound and loose what ought to be loosed as knowing the rule of the Church.’" (Jewish Encyclopedia 3:215).

Thus Jesus invested the leaders of this Church with the power of making halakah for the Christian community. This includes the setting of fast days (like Ash Wednesday).

 

[Nita]

Christ in heaven ratifies what is done in His name and in obedience to His Word on earth. In both Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, the syntax of the Greek text makes the meaning clear. What you bind on earth will already have been bound in Heaven. What you loose on earth will already have been loosed in Heaven. In other words, Jesus in heaven, looses the authority of His Word as it goes forth on earth for the fulfillment of its purpose.

Im NOT looking to debate on this BTW Im just giving you our version of it. I know you dont believe this but you asked and there it is.

ALLFORHIM, thanks for your response.
I’m not sure why our English translations don’t carry the Greek syntax, for I’ve always found it more meaningful, especially in regards to our Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility. It clearly shows that Our Lord will “oversee” what the leader of His church ("…My church…" Mt 16:18) binds and looses. We have His assurance that it will be in conformity with what is bound in heaven.

In Matthew 16, “whatever you bind…” has no limiting context. It’s just “whatever”! The words are spoken to Peter (“you” is singular). In Mt 18, their is a context - church discipline/excommunication. The words are spoken to the apostles (“you” is plural).

Nita