Mat 16:19 | KingComments | STEP | Christ has provided enough evidence of Who He is. But all these proofs have clearly had no effect whatsoever on the heart of any human being. The revelation of the Father is the only way to know Who He is, and that goes far beyond the expectation of a Messiah. The Lord Jesus adds a new revelation on top of the Father’s revelation to Peter. By saying “I also say to you” He places Himself on the same level as the Father. He and the Father are one ( ). The Father has revealed something and now He will reveal something. For this revelation, He uses the meaning of Peter’s name in saying to him, “you are Peter”. Peter means ‘stone’. The Lord thus indicates that Peter is one of the stones that will be built on the rock, in Greek petra . We see in Peter’s first letter that he made an allusion to the Lord in his name. In it he writes about the believers as “living stones” which together form a spiritual house ( ). The building of the church is still future here because the Lord says: “I will build.” This also makes it clear that the church does not exist from Adam. He further points out that this work of God cannot be disrupted by the power of the enemy. When it comes to man building the church, there is a possibility of disruption ( ). The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is proof that He is the Son of the living God ( ) and that death has no power over Him. He Himself has the keys of death and Hades ( ). He gives Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. These are not the keys of the church. The kingdom is shaped by people, while the church as presented here is God’s work alone. From the use Peter makes of the keys, we see that the kingdom and the church are two different areas. We see Peter using the keys in Acts 2 to “loose” the Jews, that is, to free them from their Jewish environment ( ). In Acts 10 he uses those keys to “loose” the Gentiles, that is, to separate them from their Gentile environment ( ). Baptism is the gate through which they enter the kingdom of heaven. In Acts 8 he uses the keys to “bind” Simon the magician, that is, to bind his sins upon him ( ). Although Simon the magician was baptized, he appeared to be bound to his sins, which is, as it were, confirmed by the action of Peter. After these special announcements from the Lord, perhaps the disciples have a great desire to make Him known as the Christ. The Lord does not want that. The time for that has passed. The people have rejected Him. It is now about something else, namely the work on the cross. He presents this in the following verse.

‏ Matthew 16:19

The Church and the Kingdom

Christ has provided enough evidence of Who He is. But all these proofs have clearly had no effect whatsoever on the heart of any human being. The revelation of the Father is the only way to know Who He is, and that goes far beyond the expectation of a Messiah. The Lord Jesus adds a new revelation on top of the Father’s revelation to Peter. By saying “I also say to you” He places Himself on the same level as the Father. He and the Father are one (Jn 10:30). The Father has revealed something and now He will reveal something.

For this revelation, He uses the meaning of Peter’s name in saying to him, “you are Peter”. Peter means ‘stone’. The Lord thus indicates that Peter is one of the stones that will be built on the rock, in Greek petra. We see in Peter’s first letter that he made an allusion to the Lord in his name. In it he writes about the believers as “living stones” which together form a spiritual house (1Pet 2:5).

The building of the church is still future here because the Lord says: “I will build.” This also makes it clear that the church does not exist from Adam. He further points out that this work of God cannot be disrupted by the power of the enemy. When it comes to man building the church, there is a possibility of disruption (1Cor 3:12-17). The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is proof that He is the Son of the living God (Rom 1:4) and that death has no power over Him. He Himself has the keys of death and Hades (Rev 1:18).

He gives Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. These are not the keys of the church. The kingdom is shaped by people, while the church as presented here is God’s work alone. From the use Peter makes of the keys, we see that the kingdom and the church are two different areas.

We see Peter using the keys in Acts 2 to “loose” the Jews, that is, to free them from their Jewish environment (Acts 2:37-40). In Acts 10 he uses those keys to “loose” the Gentiles, that is, to separate them from their Gentile environment (Acts 10:44-48). Baptism is the gate through which they enter the kingdom of heaven. In Acts 8 he uses the keys to “bind” Simon the magician, that is, to bind his sins upon him (Acts 8:20-23). Although Simon the magician was baptized, he appeared to be bound to his sins, which is, as it were, confirmed by the action of Peter.

After these special announcements from the Lord, perhaps the disciples have a great desire to make Him known as the Christ. The Lord does not want that. The time for that has passed. The people have rejected Him. It is now about something else, namely the work on the cross. He presents this in the following verse.