The Book of Acts: Discipleship In Action Pt. 42 God's Providence & Peter Uses the Keys of the Kingdom!

Up to this point in the book of Acts, the gospel has been preached almost  exclusively to the Jewish people. Philip did preach to the Ethiopian eunuch and before that, preached the gospel in Samaria. 

Israel had gone astray from their God. 

Jeremiah 50:4-6  In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. 5) They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. 6) My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. 

The prophet Jeremiah spoke often about Israel's moral failures and idolatrous tendencies. He tells us that Israel will one day come to Zion (Jerusalem) seeking Jehovah with tears and great sorrow. 

Jehovah describes His people as lost sheep who have gone astray and wander aimlessly about in the hills and mountains. This is a familiar metaphor God uses to describe the spiritual condition of the Jewish nation.

The Old Testament prophets make it clear that Messiah will call Israel to repentant faith in Christ. One Day, God will use the Jewish nation to be a conduit of blessing to all the world. 

One day, the restored Jewish people will spread the gospel to all nations just as Jehovah originally intended them to do.  

Jesus sent the gospel to Israel first. 

Matthew 10:5-7  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6) But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7) And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ sent the twelve disciples out on their first missionary trip with explicit instructions. 

First, remember, the name Jesus means Jehovah saves and Jesus is the same as Jehovah of the Old Testament. He is Jehovah in the flesh. 

Jesus told them to go to the house of Israel first and foremost. The gospel must first be preached to the Jews so that they have an opportunity to repent and return to Jehovah.

The message to Israel is that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and they must prepare to receive Messiah. (See Matthew 3:1-12).

Israel must be given the first opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. They are God's special people who are called to be His witnesses. 

We also know that Jesus had compassion on Gentile people. 

He ministered in Samaria (John 4) to the woman at the well and residents of the community. He healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:22-28). He healed the servant of a Roman centurion (Luke 7:1-10). 

God's plan was always to preach the gospel of salvation to the Gentiles, but the nation Israel would hear it first. 

Jehovah promises to save all people. 

Isaiah 2:1-4  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3) And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4)  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

In this text we find that one day, all nations will come to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah, the One, True God of heaven and earth. All nations will learn His ways and walk in His paths. They will be taught the moral law of God so that they can live with obedient faith. 

Sin will be judged swiftly in that kingdom and weapons of war will be made into productive farming implements. 

Isaiah 42:6-7  I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7) To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.  

Isaiah tells us that Israel is called to shine as a beacon of light to all the nations and Gentiles in the world. They will preach the gospel to all nations and God will save Jews and Gentiles for His glory. 

There are many prophecies that we could read such as Isaiah 49:6; 49:22; 52:7-12; 55:1-6; 60:3; 61:1-11; 66:12; Jeremiah 3:15-18; 4:1-2. 

There are many others but this is enough to demonstrate the promise of God to bring salvation to all people of the earth, through the nation Israel and Jesus Christ. 

God is God of all people, Jew or Gentile.

Romans 3:29-30  Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30)  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Paul addressed the question about whether God would save both Jews and Gentiles. He makes it clear that God is God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews and He will justify all people who turn to Jesus Christ with repentant faith. 

What are the keys of the kingdom?

Matthew 16:18-19  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19) And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

Jesus said that Peter would be a main leader in His church. The idea of Peter receiving the keys of the kingdom of heaven is the power the keys represent. The keys are a symbol of Jesus Christ giving Peter authority with regard to things of the kingdom. 

Giving authority through a key  connects to a custom of investing men with authority over a home or city. This was commonly accomplished by delivering the keys of a building, or city to the steward. 

We still have the vestiges of this ancient custom when a city or governing body welcomes an honored guest by giving them the key to their city. It is the same idea of transferring access and authority to the entire community to that dignitary. 

A master of a house gives keys where the provisions are kept, to his trusted steward. The steward may give to every one in the house his portion of meat in due season (See Luke 12:42), or he may deny access to certain resources, according to the rules of the family. 

An example of keys denoting authority from a Master is Eliakim, who had the key of the house of David and he governed his household. So keys are carried sometimes in the East, hanging from the shoulder. But the phrase is a symbol for sustaining the government on one’s shoulders. 

Eliakim, as his name implies, is here plainly a type of the God-man Christ. His name means "God raises up."  Eliakim is a picture of Messiah, of whom Isaiah (See Isaiah 9:6) used the same language as the former clause of this verse. (See Isaiah 22:22).

We still use keys today. Keys are used to lock doors to keep intruders out. They are used to locks safes where valuables are stored. Digital keys (passwords) are meant to keep our financial accounts safe from hackers and cyber criminals. 

Whoever possesses the key has authority and ownership of the asset or items protected by the key. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

Why did we spend time talking about God's promise to save all people from all nations? 

Why did we review Christ's command to preach the gospel only to the house of Israel? 

Why did we look at the symbolic meaning of a key?

Because as we turn to Acts 10, Luke is going to introduce another "certain" person who is a Gentile, and Peter is going to use his symbolic key to open the doors for the gospel going to all the nations. 

Most of us are non Jewish people, or Gentiles. Therefore, Peter using the keys of the kingdom of heaven to bring gospel light to Gentiles is of monumental importance to us. 

Again, we see the providence of God moving all things forward according to all His perfect purposes. 

We see God keeping all of His promises just as He said He would.

We see Christ willing to use weak and feeble vessels like you and me to work in His kingdom each day.

May we rejoice in all that our Father has done, is doing and promises to do throughout eternity. 

Bob