A reflection on Isaiah 22:19-23, Matthew 16:13-20, Revelation 3:7
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
©️2023 Gloria M. Chang
I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 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. And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house.
Isaiah 22:19-23 (ESV)
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 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.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Matthew 16:13-20 (ESV)
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.’”
Revelation 3:7 (ESV)
Key of David
In John’s apocalyptic visions in Revelation, the key of David symbolizes Christ’s power and authority over the new Jerusalem. Recalling Eliakim’s role as chief steward of the house of David (Isaiah 22:22), Christ sovereignly opens and shuts the door to the kingdom of heaven. While Eliakim receives his authority from the Davidic king, Hezekiah, Jesus Christ is the authoritative King of kings and Lord of lords. Isaiah 22:22 and Revelation 3:7 highlight the authority of the key of David in the guardianship of a chief steward and the royal Son of David.
The liturgy of the Catholic Church interprets Matthew 16:19 in light of both Isaiah and Revelation. By handing the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter, Christ the King appoints “this rock” as chief steward of his house on earth. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Jesus and Peter—the King and his steward—govern the theandric house of David, the Church.
Lord Jesus Christ, bearer of David’s key,
Guide Peter, the rock, to govern wisely.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《國王和他的管家》
主耶穌基督，大衛鑰匙的持有者，
引導彼得（磐石）明智地治理。