The King and His Kingdom

Matthew 16:13-18

About the Sermon

Scripture gives us many metaphors for the church: a flock, a building, a bride, a body. Each metaphor teaches us about who we are, who Christ is for us, and how we’re to go about our life together in his name. Here’s another metaphor we need: a kingdom. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus said to Peter, “I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” What are these keys? Who holds them? What do they do? These are the questions that we’ll address in this series, Who Holds the Keys?, beginning with Matthew 16:13-18.

About the Series

Keys lock and unlock things, they open and close, they let people in and out. To be entrusted with keys to be given rights and responsibilities and privileges. In Matthew 16, Peter confesses that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responds, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus chooses his metaphors carefully. Why did he choose this metaphor of keys? What do they do exactly? Crucially, who holds them? These are a few of the foundational questions we’ll explore in this short series.
Keys lock and unlock things, they open and close, they let people in and out. To be entrusted with keys to be given rights and responsibilities and privileges. In Matthew 16, Peter confesses that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responds, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus chooses his metaphors carefully. Why did he choose this metaphor of keys? What do they do exactly? Crucially, who holds them? These are a few of the foundational questions we’ll explore in this short series.

Sermons in the Series