Whatsoever you bind on earth...will have been bound in heaven!

Matthew 16:1-4 – The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.

There is a connection here between signs of earthly things which come to pass, and the signs of the heavenly things which will shortly come to pass. The Pharisees can perceive the earthly things, but not the heavenly. They can tell the weather by various events, but they lack a heavenly connection. This lack of heavenly connection and understanding is the recurrent theme of this passage.

Matthew 16:5-12 – When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread." Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The disciples again fail to discern a heavenly reality (the danger of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees) instead focusing on earthly things. They focus fails to understand the heavenly realms, which Jesus reminds them of when he points to his feeding of the multitude.

Matthew 16:13-16 – When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Here is a clear distinction between the earthly and the heavenly minds. The people are displaying earthly (indeed Pharisaical) opinions. They are trying to fit Christ within the framework of the rabbinical teachings. Yet Peter identifies him as the messiah, the promised Christ, he now is seeing not just with the earthly understanding, but beginning to understand the mysteries of God. This is not a replacement, but a merger or incarnation.

Matthew 16:17-18 – Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Much discussion has been here in place on the use of this verse to establish an apostolic succession. So much in fact that often commentators miss the distinctiveness of this text. Peter is now leaving what has been revealed by man and passing into what is revealed by the Father. Hence you are peter (petros or rock – the human distinctive) and on this rock (petra – the heavenly distinctive of faith) I will build my church. In this verse Heaven meets earth. The Petros (man) is joined with the Petra (rock of faith) this is the incarnation of faith through Jesus Christ!

Matthew 16:19 – I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Now we get to the direct statement. Whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven. There is a fascinating ambiguity to the underlined verbs. They are future indicative verbs. The semantical range of the two “esomai” with the passive particples for bind (deo) and loose (luo) carries both the concept of shall be and shall have been. There is an ambiguity in the text. Hence the choice of words here can carry an eternal/temporal distinction…of will do (future) and will have been done (future perfect). The focus important to this discussion is the “will have been” done. My argument here is that the concept; what we do on earth “will have been” done in heaven makes no sense in a deterministic universe. What then seems more likely is that given the contextual meeting together of the earthly (temporal) and heavenly (eternal) that this pivotal statement is the nexus of this passage. It gives a direct statement of how what we do has eternal consequence (what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven) but at the same time of how what we do has an eternal dependence (what you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven) therefore on the question of eternal/temporal choice the answer is yes! Does God regenerated man so that man might believe? YES! Does Man choose God, so that he might be regenerated? YES! The question cannot be answered with an either or but a both and. For various reasons of 16th century rationalism (which will be adduced later) these ideas were set in opposition to each other in the Arminian/Calvinist distinctions, but this was wrongheaded.


Matthew 19:20-21 – Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Here again we connect this new reality, where the things of man are merged with the things of God, this incarnational understanding of how man will be united with Christ, centered around the historical reality of the death and resurrection of Christ!