Keys. Those wonderful, important keys. They empower us. They open things that are otherwise off-limits to us. Keys open our boundaries and our possibilities. There is a sense of power in having the right keys, a sense of comfort and security.

Joseph Bonomi describes the most ancient lock and key ever documented in his book, Nineveh and its Palaces. Bonomi observed this lock on a door in a palace at Khorsabad in Mesopotamia. It was a heavy wooden lock, a type that may still be seen in the East today. The key, also of wood, was of such dimensions that it had to be carried on the shoulder. The key operated a wooden bar, which slides from right to left and enters a square mortise in the wall.

In the book of Matthew, we learn of some very important keys (Matt. 16.13-19). People had been speculating as to Jesus’ actual identity. Jesus turns to his disciples to ask them what is being said about Him. It seems several ideas of his identity were circulating among the people. But then Peter gives the correct answer: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). This is the monumental truth that would become the foundation for the kingdom of God. No one, no place, and no thing could be worthy of being the Rock on which the Christ’s Church would be built, other than the perfect Son of God, the Messiah Himself. The Church will not be built on the weakness of human flesh, rather on the perfect and absolute divinity of Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells Peter that he has been blessed by God, and that Peter would soon hold the keys to the kingdom. The other apostles were also given this promise of authority (Matt. 18.18-19).

And what are these all important keys? We soon see, after Christ’s death, that the Jews are convicted by their sin and ask, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2.37). They are essentially asking, “Are there any keys for us to open the door of salvation which is now closed to us?” In response, Peter fulfills Christ’s words by sharing the keys of the kingdom, those precious keys that allows every sinner then and now to be covered by the saving blood of Christ: “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2.38).

Those same “keys” will unlock the door of God’s mercy today! He has extended through Christ and enables you to access His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life, but you must “turn the key” through your trusting obedience. [-Adapted & Edited, BTW]