What is the meaning of "Keys to the Kingdom"?

[SeanTom]

The following is my interpretation of the “Keys to the Kingdom”. Please give me your interpretations.

I quote Matt. 16:19. “And 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."

As we all know, these “keys” aren’t like the keys to our homes, or whatever. They are not material devices to open doors. They are more like, in modern day language, the keys to the city as given to some dignitaries by the Mayor. Only the keys the Mayor presents will not unlock or open doors as the keys given to Peter. Peter’s keys were spiritual keys used under the authority of the Gospels, to open the gate of Heaven to those of us who have lived the way Jesus intended. .

In my opinion, the keys to the Kingdom refers to the powers of the Gospel, which will unlock the hearts of people, leaving them open to accept salvation leading them to God’s Kingdom. Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…” (Rom. 1:16). Peter used the keys (power) of the Gospel to open the door for the Jews on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

I believe these keys represent the powers of the Gospels, and were handed down by Peter to the other apostles, disciples, ministers of the church, etc., who were and are involved in evangelizing the good news of the Gospel to all people. In the case of Peter, these keys (powers of the Gospel) were the means by which a man’s heart can be unlocked and opened to receive and accept Jesus as Savior of the World… These “spiritual” keys were given to Peter by Jesus and were eventually passed down to and in the custody of our reigning Popes, who then passes them down to those who are ministers of the Gospel. Obviously, as said before, these were not keys as we know them to be, they do not lock or unlock doors; but rather are spiritual keys that can unlock our hearts and souls for the glory of God. I believe that Priests today do have these spiritual keys and are deputized and commanded to use them for the purpose of unlocking our hearts and souls through the professing of God’s teachings from the pulpit and personal counseling.

Again, please remember that this is my opinion as I have no references to confirm what I said about the true meaning of the “Keys”. In large part, I am using my God given common sense to come up with something that satisfies my curiosity.

Comments on what you think the “Keys to the Kingdom” mean are are most welcome.

 

[Cranch]

I believe Jesus’ giving the keys to Peter was an act of granting authority to Peter as head of the Church. Here is how the Catechism puts it:**553 **Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The “power of the keys” designates authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: “Feed my sheep.” The power to “bind and loose” connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgements, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of the kingdom.

The power of the keys is that power to bind and loose, in other words the authority, granted to the Church by Jesus, to absolve sins. As St. Augustine says (quoted in the CCC in paragraph 981):[The Church] has received the keys of the Kingdom of heaven so that, in her, sins may be forgiven through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit’s action. In this Church, the soul dead through sin comes back to life in order to live with Christ, whose grace has saved us.

 

[Eileen_T]

I believe Jesus’ giving the keys to Peter was an act of granting authority to Peter as head of the Church.

I agree. It was an appointment to be the Prime/Chief Minister of God’s Kindgom, just as the OT kings had a Prime Minister who had the authority of the keys.

Isaiah 22:20-22
“In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”

In Revelation 3:7 where it says that Jesus “has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens”, that just reinforces the fact that it is Jesus who is watching over and protecting what is being done with those keys.

 

[NotWorthy]

It was customary in the ancient near East to use the keys as a symbol of authority in the kings absence. Any Jew (or Greek for that matter) would have understood the meaning behind this phrase.