First of all we must know that God is righteous and certainly wouldn’t do anything wrong. The Lord Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter because the Lord chose him. Thinking back, when the Lord Jesus asked the disciples who He was, only Peter received the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and recognized that the Lord Jesus was Christ, the Son of the living God. When the Lord Jesus said that He was the bread of life and that people needed only eat His flesh and drink His blood to gain eternal life, quite a few people developed notions and gave up on following the Lord. Only Peter said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that You are that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68–69). From these two events we can see that Peter had a true understanding of the Lord Jesus from His work and words, that he was entirely certain that the Lord Jesus was Christ and the way to eternal life. So no matter how the Pharisees judged, condemned, and attacked the Lord Jesus, he never became confused, and whether or not others abandoned the Lord Jesus, he was never constrained and continued to maintain his devotion, following the Lord until the end. And after the Lord was resurrected and ascended into heaven, Peter shepherded the churches in accordance with the Lord’s command. He spread the gospel of the Lord and was ultimately crucified upside down for His sake, bearing a resounding, beautiful witness. We can see from all of this that Peter had a true understanding of the Lord and he possessed a genuine heart of love for Him. Otherwise, he would not have been able to give his entire life to following the Lord and spreading His gospel, and he especially would not have been able to bear the witness of the ultimate love for God and obedience to the point of death. Because of Peter’s various expressions of loving God, the Lord gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
At this, perhaps some brothers and sisters will say: Peter denied the Lord three times, so how could he possibly be someone who loves and knows the Lord? Next, let’s talk about the aspects Peter had that merited the Lord’s acceptance and approval.
The Lord Jesus told us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38). “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our stayed with him. He that loves Me not keeps not My sayings” (John 14:23–24). “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). It is clear from the Lord’s words that His hope is that we can all love Him with our entire heart and mind, practice according to His words, and follow His way. These are His requirements for us and they are the standard for gaining His praise and entering the kingdom of heaven. Peter’s pursuit was based on these words from the Lord; he set the goal of loving God and sought to become one who loves God. When the Lord Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter rushed forward to protect Him, cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Although it was fairly rash of Peter to do that, it shows us that he came forward at a dangerous moment, showing that he truly loved the Lord in his heart and genuinely wanted to protect Him. Although Peter once denied the Lord three times, in addition to repenting and detesting himself, he also used that opportunity to reflect on the reason for his failure. He saw that although he had the desire to lay down his life for the Lord, he did not possess the reality of genuine love for Him or of laying down his life for Him. He was still subject to the constraints of death and did not dare to lay his life on the line. Thus, he established his goal for his future seeking, that for the rest of his life he would only seek to love and satisfy the Lord.
Peter remained faithful to the Lord’s commission for his entire life—after the Lord Jesus was resurrected and returned to heaven Peter went all over the place spreading the gospel and shepherding flocks. He bore witness to the Lord’s words and His will and taught people how to put the Lord’s words into practice. In his work, Peter supported brothers and sisters with the truths that he understood and his genuine understanding of God, exalting and bearing witness to God everywhere and bringing brothers and sisters before the Lord. And no matter how he was hunted by the leaders within the Jewish faith or persecuted by the Roman government, undergoing all suffering and difficulties, Peter was unwaveringly faithful to God’s commission and never forgot His directive. When the Roman tyrant Nero wanted to murder Christians, Peter escaped from the city of Rome with the help of others. The Lord Jesus appeared to Peter and said He would be crucified again for his sake. Once Peter understood the Lord’s will, he didn’t hesitate to turn back, giving up his life to be nailed to the cross upside down, achieving the testimony of obedience to the point of death and the ultimate love of God. Peter was a man who loved the Lord and did the will of the heavenly Father, and his seeking gained God’s approval. This is why the Lord Jesus chose Peter and gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven to him.
Now we can understand that it is not for nothing that the Lord Jesus praised Peter and gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The Lord Jesus had an affinity for Peter’s humanity and caliber, and his heart of love for the truth and for the Lord. The Lord knew that Peter was most worthy of His commission and His trust, which is why He entrusted him with the great responsibility of shepherding His flock. Just because we didn’t understand the truth and couldn’t see through the essence of people, we defined Peter due to his temporary weakness when he denied the Lord three times. So, we must believe that God is righteous and examines people’s innermost hearts, and we should seek the truth according to the Lord’s words, for only this is in line with God’s will.
