Midweek 4 – The Office of the Keys

Matthew 18 & John 20:19-23

Tonight, we continue our walk-through Confession and Absolution and take up the Small Catechism’s teaching on the Office of the Keys, a teaching we don’t really meditate upon much these days.

The Small Catechism asks, “What is the Office of the Keys?”

The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.

The Office of the Keys begins with the concept and idea of authority.

But man doesn’t like authority, does he?

It’s interesting, the etymology, the root of the word, authority, comes from the same source as the word author, which provides us with a beautiful story, really.

The story of authority began in the Garden of Eden, where God created man and woman along with everything that filled the earth. God is the author of this story, the creator of heaven and earth, and all that fills it. He provided Adam and Eve, your first parents, with instructions on how to care for His creation and how to avoid trouble, sin, and disobedience , but they didn’t listen to the author.

Instead, they rebelled against authority, the author who instructed them through His Word, and ensured all future children would be born with their sin inscribed upon their hearts.   

And because of the sin of Adam and Eve being written upon your hearts, you also, like them, rebel against authority and the author of life, Himself.

Your rebellion against authority shows early on when you, as a child, disobey your parents. They tell you to clean your room, and instead, you choose to play a video game or look them straight in the eye and say, “No.”

You rebel against the authority your parents entrusted to your teachers; they tell you to sit silently so they can start class, and you keep talking, thinking your conversation about the monkey bars or the gossip about what another student is wearing is more important. 

As you get older, it doesn’t get better. Instead, the story of sin written and formed through your hearts since birth leads you to reject the authority of professors, supervisors at work, law enforcement, and yes, even pastors who have been sent not of their own accord, but of God’s.

We do this, because like Adam and Eve, we desire lives of autonomy. Meaning, we want to live for ourselves, not for anyone else. We want to make the rules.

But God, as the author of life, created man and woman for community, for fellowship, and in doing so, He also provided an order of authority in His creation. Adam was created first and was to be in charge and responsible for Eve and her actions.

Adam was meant to care for her, protect her, and lead her. This is what authority or those in positions of authority do for those entrusted to their care.

Adam failed. Eve, likewise, failed. But Adam, the one who was placed as the head of family, he failed.

A complete breakdown of the order of Creation and the authority entrusted by God.

For this reason, God promised to send a child to redeem, meaning to buy back His creation from sin, through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

In His trial that first Holy Week, there is this wonderful exchange between Pilate and Jesus written for us in the Gospel John, it says,

So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:10-11)

We learn from this that all authority in heaven and on earth originates with God the Father, the Creator, and author of heaven and earth.

He sends His Son, Jesus, to submit to the authority of Pontius Pilate, to die upon the cross, to redeem you and what was lost in the sin of your first parents.

Jesus teaches us to live in submission and be obedient to all authority by fulfilling His Father’s will, even to the point of death, so that you might receive the forgiveness of sins He won for you on the cross. 

Which leads us back to the beginning of this evening’s sermon and the question, “What is the Office of the Keys?”

The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.

The Office of the Keys is a position established by Jesus within the Church that has the authority to declare His grace and forgiveness of sins to those who have repented and to withhold the forgiveness to those who do not repent. 

We see the Office of the Keys clearly through Jesus’ words recorded in John:

The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:22–23)

The Office of the Keys is best understood through the analogy of a prison cell. The person guilty of sin is imprisoned by it; they are locked within the prison of death. The only way to open the door of sin and death is first through repentance; then through the pastor, who acts in the stead and authority of Jesus, declares the forgiveness of Jesus to you.  

Which is a joy, because this is the sole purpose of the Church, to grant the forgiveness of sin to those who repent.

God wants you to know His forgiveness is present for you—through His Church, His Word, and the signs, such as the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 

In fact, Jesus said in the first reading this evening, you must be willing to humble yourself and become like a child in need of their Father’s help, living in submission to Him who has written His name upon you in the waters of Holy Baptism.

And for this reason, don’t rebel against God, the author and authority of life; instead, listen to and obey His Word. Come to the Church where His forgiveness is present for you, so that you may be released from the sins that imprison you.

And then guide the children of the church to grow and learn the story of confession and absolution, because this is how they will be led, like Jonah, to confess their sins and faith before God. Then, they will be released from their sins through Jesus’ forgiveness in the flesh and blood of the Lord’s Supper, received at this altar—food of comfort and encouragement in this life. 

Comfort and encouragement we should all desire, but are only found here in the sanctuary of God’s church on earth. +INJ+

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Tomah, WI

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org

The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/