If Your Brother Sins

When Jesus said to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” it is usually misunderstood as the gift of personal power, as though Peter is himself invested with divine authority. (Matthew 16:19) This is an incorrect reading. The keys entrusted to Peter are the words handed down to the church in the content of Paul’s gospel—the teaching Peter betrayed in Galatians. These keys do not belong to Peter. They are entrusted to him and to the other disciples to preach, teach, and discern the path of righteousness for the Lord’s flock. Neither the keys nor the flock belongs to Peter. It is the teaching itself, not Peter, that bears God’s authority, holding sway over all of the disciples for the sake of the weaker brother. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 18:15-19. This week’s episode was presented live at the 2020 Symposium of the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies, in honor of the Jubilee year if Fr. Paul Tarazi’s teaching ministry. Episode 333 Matthew 18:15-19; Music: Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/