You're already holding the keys. You just haven't used them yet.
There’s a moment in Matthew 16 that most people read as a test.
Jesus turns to his disciples and asks, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The crowd’s guesses come back: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah. Then he narrows it: “But who do you say I am?”
And Simon Peter - impulsive, inconsistent, not-yet-fully-formed Peter - answers with the most remarkable words in the Gospels. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
What happens next is what this sermon is really about.
Jesus doesn’t just say, “Well done, Peter.” He reveals Peter’s purpose. He hands him the keys of the kingdom of heaven - the same image the prophet Isaiah used for the faithful steward who opens and closes the royal court. Peter is given a calling in the very moment he recognises who Jesus really is.
And then Jesus keeps his word. At Pentecost, at Cornelius’s door, in Samaria - Peter opened the kingdom to thousands. Not because he was perfect. He denied Jesus three times. But because he was forgiven, and willing.
The key takeaway: Jesus doesn’t hand the keys to perfect people. He hands them to forgiven ones. And if you belong to him, you’re already holding a set. Your street. Your workplace. Your kitchen table. Those are the doors you’ve been called to open.
Watch the full sermon here:
Grace and peace.
Rob