Why Did the Lord Jesus Give Peter the Keys of the Heavenly Kingdom?

In Matthew 16:19, the Lord Jesus said to Peter, “And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” From these words, we can see that Peter was praised by the Lord, so why did the Lord Jesus praise Peter and give the keys of the heavenly kingdom to him rather than other disciples? If we know the reason, we will be able to find the way to gain the Lord’s praise from Peter’s successful experience.

As it is recorded in Matthew 16:13–16, when the Lord Jesus asked His several disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am,” some of them said He was John the Baptist, some said Elijah, some said Jeremiah, and only Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” From this, we can see that among the twelve disciples, only Peter knew the Lord Jesus is the coming Messiah and Christ, and comes from the Holy Spirit. No matter how the Pharisees condemned, attacked and judged the Lord Jesus, he wasn’t deceived but followed the Lord Jesus all the time. We can see that Peter had true knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Exactly how did Peter pursue to know the Lord and love Him? God’s word explains this truth very clearly.

Almighty God says, “Peter followed Jesus for a number of years and saw much in Him that was not in other people. … In life, Peter measured himself by everything Jesus did. Most notably, the messages that Jesus preached were etched in his heart. He was utterly dedicated and loyal to Jesus, and he never spoke any grievances against Him. As a result, he became Jesus’ faithful companion everywhere He went. Peter observed Jesus’ teachings, His gentle words, what He took for His food, His clothing, His shelter, and how He traveled. He emulated Jesus in every regard. He was never self-righteous, but cast off all that was outdated, following Jesus’ example in both word and deed. It was then that Peter felt that the heavens and earth and all things were in the hands of the Almighty and that, for this reason, he was without personal choice. Peter also assimilated all that Jesus was and used it as an example” (“On the Life of Peter”).

“After a period of experience, Peter saw in Jesus many of the deeds of God, he saw the loveliness of God, and he saw much of God’s being in Jesus. So too did he see that the words Jesus spoke could not have been spoken by man, and that the work Jesus did could not have been done by man. In Jesus’ words and actions, furthermore, Peter saw much of the wisdom of God, and much work of a divine nature. During his experiences, he did not merely come to know himself, but also paid close attention to Jesus’ every action, from which he discovered many new things, namely, that there were many expressions of the practical God in the work that God did through Jesus, and that Jesus differed from an ordinary man in the words He spoke and the actions He took, as well as the way in which He shepherded the churches and the work He carried out. So, Peter learned from Jesus many lessons that he was supposed to learn, and by the time Jesus was about to be nailed to the cross, he had gained a certain amount of knowledge of Jesus—knowledge that became the basis of his lifelong loyalty to Jesus and of his upside-down crucifixion which he suffered for the sake of the Lord” (“Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God”).

From these words of God, we can see Peter desired to know the Lord. When he was in contact with the Lord Jesus, he observed His every word and action. In the Lord Jesus, he saw much of the being of His divinity. For example, His words are full of authority and power; no one is capable of doing His work; no one possesses His mercy, love, patience and tolerance toward man. In addition, from the different ways that the Lord Jesus treated ordinary people and the Pharisees, Peter could see His holiness and righteousness. The Lord’s revelations and living out are all positive things and can bring light to man, etc. These stirred up his love for the Lord. He took the Lord Jesus as an exemplar, was mindful of His will and had the utmost loyalty to Him, shepherding the churches and spreading His gospel. Due to his pursuit, finally Peter could obey God unto death and love God to the utmost, and be nailed upside down on the cross for God’s sake. The Lord Jesus favored his humanity and caliber, and his pursuit in believing in God, and knew he was the most worthy of His commission and His trust. Therefore, the Lord Jesus gave the keys of the heavenly kingdom to Peter.

Through this, the Lord was also telling us that Peter was a person after God's heart, and that his pursuit was praised by God. If we want to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must emulate Peter and pursue to know God and love Him, practice His words in our lives, and be people who love and know God. Only in this way can we inherit God’s promise and have the opportunity to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Seeing this, friends, do you now feel God’s good intentions? Do you want to study God’s words and become a person who knows and loves God? Please feel free to click on the link. Let us study and communicate together online.