The Keys of the Kingdom

“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.” Matthew 16:19

This verse and passage of Scripture are absolutely amazing to me.

Read Matthew 16:16-19 and consider Jesus' words.

After reading this passage in several different translations, it appears to me that Jesus is talking to Peter directly here, though He may be talking to all of the disciples who were also present.  In either case, this is some very serious spiritual authority Jesus is imparting.

When reading it in the Greek Interlinear Bible, the authority conveyed by Jesus becomes even more profound, "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens and whatever if you might bind on the earth will be bound in the heavens; and whatever if you might loose on the earth will be loosed in the heavens."

It is authority from and over another dimension, a spiritual authority.  It is something that today we know and understand very little about.  Consider, too, that Jesus did not take this authority away from Peter.  Though Peter sinned, though Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus never took this authority away from him.

And consider something else.

Peter had a spiritual authority that was so aligned with Jesus that he didn't hesitate to lay down his life, crucified upside down on a cross, as a witness, a testimony of his faith in Jesus.  I may be mistaken here, but it appears Peter had the authority to keep his life, if he had chosen to do so. Though Jesus had already taught the disciples (Matthew 10:39) that, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."

I wonder.

Are you, am I so aligned with our Jesus, our Heavenly Father that He could trust us with the keys of the Kingdom?  Has He, in fact, already done so?

Goodnight, Runners.