Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, our Lord refers to the Kingdom of Heaven in His teaching, and in particular, in His parables. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus continues to establish His Kingdom by appointing Simon Peter to a special role of authority. The context of our Lord's giving Peter the keys to Kingdom is provided by the first reading from Isaiah. In this reading, Isaiah records the words of the Lord who is removing one man, Shebna, and replacing him with Eliakim, as what would be the equivalent of the position of prime minister. He is given the keys to the kingdom of David. He has the same authority as the king, and his authority is binding. With that background, our Lord gives Peter the keys to His Kingdom and with those keys, he receives the authority to bind and loose. Similar to the prime minister, the keys are given to the trusted servant. Also, similar to a prime minister, the office remains although the person in the office might change. In addition, our Lord also gives Simon the new name of Peter which means rock. As with other figures in the Bible, the change of a name signifies a significant shift in the person's mission. Finally, it should be noted that the kingdom remains our Lord's Kingdom. It is the Kingdom of Heaven which is ruled by God who created Heaven and earth. By establishing Peter as His "prime minister", our Lord continued the office that was mentioned in the first reading. He has provided an earthly authority for His Kingdom. And by granting Peter the authority of the binding and loosing, He has given this office the necessary authority to rule His kingdom in His stead.

Readings:

Isaiah 22:15, 19-23
Psalm 138:1-3, 6, 8
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• Who Do You Say I Am? - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• 'Oh, the Depths!' (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Peter, the Pope and the Bible (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from The Crossroads Initiative