On Peter and the Keys

Watched a fascinating episode of "The Gospel of Matthew" (basically a Bible study led by Dr Tim Gray) on EWTN this past Saturday... So ... why didn't I ever see (or know or hear about) this earlier?! I.e. the relationship between (and explanation of) Christ giving Peter the keys of the kingdom and the Old Testament references to the chief steward/prime minister and the keys that were the symbol of their office. Matthew 16 18. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Isaiah 22 15. Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household..." 19. I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. 20. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21. and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your belt on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father [papa!] to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honour to his father's house. 24. And they will hang on him the whole weight of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. *** Additionally, the name change, Simon -> Peter (Cephas, Rock), as with, for example, Abram -> Abraham, also signifies a change in role or vocation. Simon the fisherman becomes Peter the Rock ... the Vicar (Prime Minister) of Christ (the King.) Indeed, immediately after Christ has finished assigning Peter as chief steward of his kingdom/Church, we read, "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised." (Mt 16:21) In other words, his earthly mission of preparing and establishing the Church completed, our Lord can now head directly to Calvary and to the Cross. Hmm. Definitely food for thought here. So much controversy about who/what is this Rock on which Christ promises to build his Church ... and, yet, so much vital information all around it as well! * * * More from Dr Tim Gray: Roots of Church found in Old Testament "The papacy could not be more rooted in Scripture. People don’t understand the papacy because they don’t understand the Old Testament." "Jesus came not only to save us from our sins but for sonship, that we may become children of God. We cannot say ‘I like the King, I just don’t need His kingdom.’ The Kingdom is central to the faith and you cannot follow Jesus if you do not want to go through His kingdom."