Saints and Scripture Keys to the Kingdom

Today, in the Eastern Churches, is the Feast of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and Illustrious Apostle, St Peter. In this case, the chains referred to are from the first time he was imprisoned, not the chains from his Roman prison(see here for more). With this in mind, my mind wandered on things to post about for Saints and Scripture Sunday. I decided to have a post on Jesus giving Peter the Keys to His Father's Kingdom.
First I want to draw your attention to a passage from Isaiah about God setting up a new Prime Minister in ancient Israel:

"And I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him with thy girdle, and will give thy power into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda. And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, divers kinds of vessels, every little vessel, from the vessels of cups even to every instrument of music. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the peg be removed, that was fastened in the sure place: and it shall be broken and shall fall: and that which hung thereon, shall perish, because the Lord hath spoken it."

--Isaiah 22:21-25

Now we see the famous passage from the Gospel of St Matthew which every Catholic should know, establishing St. Peter as the first Pope:

And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

--Gospel of St Matthew 16:18,19

Jesus, clearly was referring back to Isaiah and was not just establishing authority in Peter, but also setting him in an appointed position. As a King in the Davidic line, Jesus set Peter as His "Prime Minister", a position which was clearly intended to have successors.

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

Adopt A Catholic Blog