October 3: Matthew 16-22

"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." "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." --Matthew 16:19; 18:18

Before discussing this topic in Small Group recently, I really had no idea what "binding" and "loosing" meant. I learned that it is a rabbinical term, an authoritative declaration about what is permitted or forbidden.

bound= forbidden

loosed= allowed

In the book our Small Group just finished, Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, the author explains how Rabbis studied, meditated, and taught the Scriptures and interpreted how the law should be applied to everyday lives. For example, the Bible says to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, but each Rabbi would interpret exactly what that looked like--was one allowed to walk a mile? ride a donkey? bake bread? attend a NASCAR race? (that is, Nazareth Arabs Steering Chariots And Running)... j/k

A Rabbi's set of interpretations of the Torah, or things he allowed or permitted were called his "yoke". Jews followed the yoke of the Rabbi they thought was interpreting the Scriptures the way God intended. The process of interpreting the Scriptures, or deciding what was allowed and forbidden was called "binding and loosing".

So, when Jesus gives the keys to the kingdom to his disciples and tells them whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven, He's telling them to make new interpretations of the Scriptures and giving them the authority to discuss, debate, and make decisions about how the Scriptures should be lived out in everyday life.

Stained Glass Window Image courtesy of: Sacred Heart Lancaster