The Key 

Matthew 16.13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 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.

(Among the Hebrews the symbol of keys did not refer to the priests; it referred to the scribes, the teachers of the law whose duty it was to unlock the truth of God. The scribes had failed miserably in their office by not recognizing their Messiah- and now the Lord committed the keys to Simon Peter.)

After telling the parables of the kingdom, the Lord had said, “Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52). 

When Peter made His inspired confession of faith (16:16), he became a scribe “instructed unto the kingdom of heaven.” When the Lord said to him, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (16:19), He was saying in effect, “You are my scribe.” Simon Peter used these keys to open the door first to the Jews, and then to the Samaritans and then the Gentiles—  he was in essence the scribe to show them the way of truth. He took the key Jesus gave him and unlocked the door.

But these keys were much more than the doors they unlocked in Acts 2, 8, &10. Jesus had given Peter the key of David, which is prophesied to be given to Messiah in Isaiah 22.22.  

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder;

so he shall open, and none shall shut;

and he shall shut, and none shall open.Jesus had the keys to give to Simon Peter. 

Rev 1.18 Jesus has the keys of death and hell. 

In Rev 9 and also in chapter 20 Jesus has the key of the bottomless pit. The keys belong to Jesus to give to whomever he chooses. 

It is altogether possible he has a key he would like to give you today.

For the next few blogs I would like to write a few things about a key that will transform your life.

Stay tuned…