Read John 20:19-31; Matthew 16:13-19; Matthew 18:15-20.

A Consideration of Matthew 16:16-19⤒🔗

Jesus not only declares that He will build His church upon Peter, (in his capacity as an apostle and in conjunction with the other apostles), but He also defines the authority bestowed upon Peter when He speaks of entrusting to him “the keys of the kingdom” (vs. 19). The use of the “keys” must be understood as being the authority to grant admittance, or forbid entry, into the kingdom of heaven. Peter, and his fellow apostles, are commissioned to be the caretakers of the kingdom, the ones to whom the Master entrusts the keys (cp. Isa. 22:22). In effect, Peter and the apostles will now replace the leaders of Israel who had misused the spiritual authority entrusted to them during the Old Testament dispensation (cp. Matt. 23:13). Peter, as representative of the apostles, is authorized by Christ to open and shut the kingdom of heaven. This certainly does not mean that he will replace Christ on the Day of Judgment (Matt. 25:31-33), but it does mean that now on earth he is already authorized to pronounce judgment as to who will enter the kingdom and who will be forbidden entrance. There is entrusted to him a judicial authority. Note, this is a delegated authority, bestowed upon Peter and all the other disciples whom he represents. These words are spoken directly to Peter because he is the disciple who has just made the profession of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (vs. 16). Furthermore, as becomes clearer from John 20:22-23, this authority is given in conjunction with the giving of the Holy Spirit, as such it is under His supervision and direction and is intended for the building up and the maintenance of Christ’s church.

This judicial authority is defined in Matthew 16:19, “whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The terms “bind” and “loose” are technical rabbinical terms, meaning “to decide with authority,” or, “to make authoritative decisions.” They were used with respect to the doctrinal authority of the rabbis. “Binding” meant something like, “to declare to be unlawful or unorthodox;” “loosing” meant declaring something to be lawful or doctrinally correct. The terms “binding” and “loosing” may also have included the meaning of “consigning to divine judgment,” or, “pronouncing acquittal from divine judgment,” (notice John 8:10-11, where Jesus, as a rabbi, makes such a declaration with regard to the woman caught in the act of adultery). In the apostles’ exercise of this kingdom authority a heavenly verdict will correspond with the earthly verdict pronounced by the apostles: “whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” We must understand this to be the case for the specific reason that the apostles are acting on Christ’s behalf, as His divinely-appointed representatives, and, Christ Himself is acting through them (cp. Jn. 13:20).

Within Jewish society, an 'apostle' served the function of what we would call a 'plenipotentiary diplomat.' That is to say, he was a person who represented the one by whom he was sent, invested with full authority to transact any business in the name of the one he represented and whose word was received as the utterance of the one who had sent him.

A Consideration of Matthew 18:15-20←⤒🔗

Now we must turn to the passage of Matthew 18:15-20. Here the instructions concerning “binding” and “loosing” are repeated verbatim, with the only difference being that this time the pronoun “you” occurs in the plural, (whereas in Matthew 15:19 it occurs in the singular). Furthermore, the instructions contained in Matthew 18 pertain to a more specific, localized, situation: the passage is outlining the procedure to be followed in the event that a professing Christian is found to be in sin and must be called to repentance. If this individual fails to respond to private admonition, and also refuses to heed the counsel of a delegation composed of several more believers, then, as a last resort, the matter is to be reported to the church, (probably being represented by their elders). If the man refuses to listen to the church, he is to be considered as being a “Gentile” and a “publican;” in other words, not a member of the covenant community, or one who, due to his sinful lifestyle, has been excluded from the covenant community.

It is clear that the term, 'church,' as used in Matthew 18 has a more concrete sense than in Matthew 16. In the latter passage, Jesus speaks of the 'church' in the abstract, in general terms. But in Matthew 18 He has in mind a specific congregation, the church as it manifests itself in the form of a local, organized congregation.

Then, in verse nineteen, follow the words about “binding” and “loosing.” So, in Matthew 18 these words are more closely connected with the activities of the local church, or, as H. Ridderbos expresses it, a church with a definite “address.” From the context, it becomes evident that this “binding” and “loosing,” as it pertains to the local congregation, is referring to judicial acts, including the expulsion from and the re-instatement into the covenant community, as the covenant community manifests itself in a specific locale and congregation. Thus, we find the local congregation entrusted with and exercising the same spiritual authority originally invested in the apostles, with the same confirmation in the heavenly realm of the actions taken on earth (vs. 18).

We are now confronted with the question as to how the spiritual authority originally bestowed upon Peter also has applicability (or, transferability) to the church that was founded by him in his apostolic labors and would carry on after his departure into glory. From Matthew 18 it becomes clear that this spiritual authority entrusted to Peter (and the rest of the apostles) would also come to function in the local church. Thus, it becomes impossible to maintain that the “keys of the kingdom” were entrusted to Peter exclusively, they have also been entrusted to the church as the people of the Messiah. When we look more closely at the situation, we discover that two distinct elements are present here: foundation and authority.

The Distinction Between “Foundation” and “Authority”←⤒🔗

When Jesus declares, “upon this rock I will build my church,” He is designating Peter in his apostolic ministry as the foundation of the church. Again, as noted earlier, Peter must be seen as the representative of all twelve apostles; together, they in their ministry provide the foundation of the church, with Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone (Eph 2:20). In serving as the “foundation” of the church, by virtue of the ministry committed to them by Christ, the apostles occupy a unique and non-transmittable (or, transferable) role: a foundation is laid once, and others build upon it (cp. 1 Cor. 3:10-11).

In the Ephesians passage, “the apostles [plural] and the [N.T.] prophets” are said to be the “foundation” of the church, with Christ Himself being “the chief cornerstone.” Again, in the imagery of Revelation 21:14, the apostles are seen to collectively be the foundation of the church.

But things are different with respect to authority. From Matthew 18 it becomes evident that the spiritual authority originally entrusted by Christ to the apostles can be exercised by the local church; in other words, this authority is transmittable. Thus, in contradistinction to what Christ says about “this rock,” (i.e.; the foundation of the church), the authority has been bestowed not upon the apostles exclusively, but also upon the entire church. From the very outset, the task of “binding” and “loosing” has been entrusted to the church and not exclusively to Peter and the rest of the apostles.

Here we pause to look more closely at Matthew 18. The subject under consideration throughout this chapter is the mutual relationship that should exist among Christ’s disciples. Although the Lord begins by addressing the twelve disciples, (verse one merely speaks of “disciples,” but we may assume that the twelve are intended), the discourse fluidly transitions to believers in general, (note the reference to “the little ones who believe in me” in verse six and “your brother” in verse fifteen), and concludes with the church.

In verses 15-20 the discourse focuses on the course of action to be taken in the event that a “brother” has transgressed against a fellow believer. In verse seventeen the church is designated as the body that must intervene if all other means of bringing the erring brother to repentance has failed. Again, it is clear that Matthew 18 is concerned with the life of the church. This is why there can be no doubt that the spiritual authority spoken of in verse nineteen is an authority that has been conferred upon the church and is an authority exercised by the church. This exercise of authority would be inconceivable if such authority first mentioned in Matthew 16 were the exclusive prerogative of Peter and the original apostles and them alone. All this is confirmed by Christ’s declaration found in verses 19-20, “I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven; ²⁰ for where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them.” This statement must be understood in connection with the previous pronouncement regarding authority (vs. 18); note how the expression “on earth,” found in verse eighteen, is repeated in verse nineteen. The pronoun “they” (vs. 19) is in reference to the church, or, more explicitly, an individual congregation, that has come together to render a judgment with regard to such a matter as is described in verses 15-16. The “keys of the kingdom” are not only given to the apostles, but in a wider sense to the church, the use of which “keys” are exercised by the elders in conformity with the apostolic teaching (i.e. foundation) concerning the faith and life of the church.

The mention of “two or three gathered together in my name” should not be taken to mean a few individual members of the congregation acting in isolation from the main body; rather, the smallness of the number emphasizes the smallness of the particular congregation. But Christ is giving His assurance that even such a small number of believers still constitutes a gathering of His church, enjoying His presence and possessing the right to exercise the spiritual authority He has entrusted to His church.

It must be understood that the promise Christ makes to His church with regard to the authority He has conferred upon it is not the promise of infallibility; that is to say, the church is not infallible with regard to any and every utterance it may make. On the contrary, Christ guarantees the validity of the church’s judgments when they are in agreement with each other and in communion with Christ Himself. In other words, the divine sanction of their judgment is dependent upon agreement with His revealed will, as that will has been communicated in the Scriptures of the Old Testament and the apostolic formation of the New Testament. This is the great presupposition upon which the legitimate exercise of this authority is based. Christ will build His church. This is His sure promise. But He will do so by means of those who are His disciples, committed to His Word, building the church upon the foundation laid by His apostles, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.