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You lock the kingdom of heaven

Manila Bulletin

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August 25, 2025

Jesus entrusts the keys of the Kingdom of heaven to Simon Peter that he may give entrance to those who wish to approach God through Jesus Christ (Mt 16:19).

As leader along the rest of the Apostles of the community of believers, Peter guides the faithful, receives Samaritans and Gentiles into the Church, and leads in the deliberation of Church leaders in the Council of Jerusalem. Contrariwise, Jesus condemns the scribes and their followers of locking the Kingdom of heaven before human beings. With their strict observance of the Law, they think themselves superior to others, even condemning those who are ignorant of the Law or non-observers of it. They invert the order of values, emphasizing the importance of offerings of the Temple, rather than the sacredness of the Temple as a house of prayer and the meeting place of peoples. Their emphasis on separation (Pharisees means "separated ones"), their zeal for the letter rather than the spirit of the Law, their emphasis on ritual purity, and their pride and hypocrisy, make them close the door of the Kingdom of God to both Jews and Gentiles. Their powerful words are belied by their non-exemplary actions. On them, what can be said of some preacher

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