“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:19
Some passages in Scripture are quoted so often that we assume we already know what they mean. Matthew 16 is one of them. Jesus asks His disciples the most important question anyone will ever answer: “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15, NKJV). Peter responds with bold clarity: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v.16). Jesus affirms him and declares that on this rock—the confession of Christ—the church will be built, and “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (v.18). Jesus uses the word hades. Jesus wasn’t talking about demons or hellish forces breaking into the church. He was talking about death itself. Even death cannot stop the advance of the gospel. The early church proved this—apostles were martyred, believers were hunted, yet the gospel spread because resurrection power cannot be buried.
Then Jesus speaks of “the keys of the kingdom” and of “binding and loosing” (Matthew 16:19, NKJV). These words have often been misunderstood. Many have taken them to mean we have authority to bind Satan, shout at demons, or declare spiritual outcomes with our words. But Jesus wasn’t giving a formula for spiritual warfare—He was giving authority to proclaim the gospel. In Jewish culture, “binding” meant forbidding and “loosing” meant permitting. Jesus was entrusting His disciples with the message that opens heaven’s door. When someone believes the gospel, their sins are forgiven—they are loosed. When someone rejects Christ, their sins remain—they are bound. The authority is not in our declarations but in the message of salvation itself. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31, NKJV). And when God forgives, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12, NKJV).
This is the real power Jesus gave His church—not the power to bind Satan, but the power to proclaim the gospel that frees sinners. There is a story of a young woman in Iran who shared Christ with her family despite the danger. Her father rejected the message, but her younger brother believed. She later said, “I didn’t set him free—Jesus did. I just gave him the key.” That’s what Jesus meant. The gospel is the key. Death cannot stop it. Darkness cannot silence it. And no spiritual enemy can undo what Christ has already accomplished.
Don’t assume authority Jesus never gave. Don’t turn binding and loosing into a spiritual spectacle. Instead, stand on the truth: Jesus has already defeated death, already bound the strong man, and already given us the key of the gospel. Use it. Share it. Trust it. And walk in the real authority Christ has entrusted to His church.
“There is nothing more dangerous than to rely on phrases or traditions in the place of Scripture.” — D. Martyn Lloyd‑Jones
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