The church should be able to influence its own members positively when they go astray. There is a Rabbinic tale of Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai who wept bitterly at the prospect of death. This verse is a tough pill for Protestants to swallow. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.. If he doesn't pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you. It is in an atmosphere of Christian prayer, Christian love and Christian fellowship that personal relationships may be righted. Your email address will not be published. Take another person with you or another two people with you, and face him with the issue again. But if Matthew here laid aside all question of time, it was in view of other and weightier considerations for his object. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you . Whoever humbles himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.". Let God's work be done effectually, but with as little noise as may be; his kingdom comes with power, but not with observation. He is not here sought as by the leper, the centurion, the friends of the palsied man; He Himself calls Matthew, a publican just the one to write the gospel of the despised Jesus of Nazareth. The Lord then had been shown such as He was towards Israel, had Israel in their leprosy come to Him, as did the leper, even with a faith exceedingly short of that which was due to His real glory and His love. Examine the Scripture, and you will see for yourselves. In the next discourse we may hope to have the rest of his gospel. Matthew 18: Misunderstanding and Misuse in Conflict Resolution Of course, both do preserve chronological order when it is compatible with the objects the Holy Spirit had in inspiring them; but in both the order of time is subordinated to still greater purposes which God had in view. And you'll just realize, hey, it isn't a matter of numbers, it's a matter of spirit. This is a sin-stained world and a tempting world; no one can go out into it without meeting seductions to sin. On the evening of the day when He delivered the seven parables given in Matthew 13:1-58. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. It may be saying that it is worth any sacrifice and any self-renunciation to escape the punishment of God. The Lord Jesus, even before He pronounced the sentence, for so it was, indicated what was at hand in these two instances of the Sabbath-day, though one may not now linger on them. The ten thousand talent debt would take to carry it an army of about 8,600 carriers, each carrying a sack of sixpences 60 lbs. ", 2. but what a heart was His! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Silence is not allowing grace to occur, but rather a cowardice to pervade the church body. And besides, this is given, not as a rule to the church, but as advice to the offended person, how to behave towards the offender: after he has come under the cognizance, reproof, and censure of the church, he is to look upon him as the Jews did one that disregarded both private reproof by a man's self, and that which was in the presence of one or two more, , "a worthless friend", or neighbour; as a Gentile, with whom the Jews had neither religious nor civil conversation; and a "publican", or as Munster's Hebrew Gospel reads it, "a notorious sinner", as a publican was accounted: hence such are often joined together, and with whom the Jews might not eat, nor keep any friendly and familiar acquaintance: and so such that have been privately admonished and publicly rebuked, without success, their company is to be shunned, and intimate friendship with them to be avoided. So many times you probably wish, "Oh, if I could only be at Capernaum, and Jesus was there, and if I could only have Him lay His hands on me. Your book on authority should be mandatory for every believer! Great sins often amuse conscience, and for the present stupify and silence it; and there is need of help to awaken it. It is enough to meet a difficulty which many feel by the simple plea that the reason assigned is in my judgment a valid explanation, and in itself a sufficient solution of the apparent discrepancy. It is not only the fact that God slighted matters of prescriptive ordinance because of the ruined state of Israel, who rejected His true anointed King, but there was this principle also, that certainly God was not going to bind Himself not to do good where abject need was. It ought to be so with every forgiven soul. Jesus takes it one step further . And Jesus wanted it to be. Jerusalem's proud, traditional hypocrisy is exposed, and grace fully blesses the tried Gentile. Your website has helped me greatly over the past 2 years. What can a lawyer do if the client wants him to be acquitted of everything despite serious evidence? Better that that happen to him than he offend, destroy the faith of one of these little ones who believe in Me". This, in fact, is not an injunction to abandon a man; it is a challenge to win him with the love which can touch even the hardest heart. Jesus took a child and said that unless they turned and became as this little child, they would not get into the Kingdom at all. The passage begins with these words: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. 14. y Ib. This step calls for the matter to be brought before the church. We have it in Acts and the Epistles. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. Thus the point that meets us in the conclusion of the chapter is, that while every character, every measure of giving up for His name's sake, will meet with the most worthy recompence and result, man can as little judge of this as he can accomplish salvation. Why should I return? There are no recriminations; there is no receiving back with a grudge and a sense of superior contempt; it is all joy. (ii) The love of God is a patient love. moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded, and if That is fatal. Not only did he not go to the source, but he wrote a letter which would have been read in public, based on what he heard in a second-hand report: a clear-cut violation of Matthew 18 according to typical applications! Thus, whatever the peculiarity of the new blessings, the old thing could be taken up, though upon new grounds, and, of course, on the confession that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It's appropriate to follow that model in that situation . When we are children, we cannot buy our own food or our own clothes, or maintain our own home; yet we never doubt that we will be clothed and fed, and that there will be shelter and warmth and comfort waiting for us when we come home. That is what He wanted His disciples to do regarding the erring brother or sister. Video for Matthew 18: Matthew 18:15-20 - Agreement in Prayer. (2) In Matt 18, the sin in question is, by the authority of the church, excommunicablein at least two senses. And what makes this still more striking, is the certainty that the kingdom, bright as it is, is by no means the thing nearest to Jesus. Wherefore if your hand offends you, then cut it off, cast it from you: it is better for you to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet and to be cast into the everlasting fire. Ask students to silently rate each offense on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the easiest to forgive and 10 being the hardest. What Is the Importance of Attending Church Meetings? We just need to forgive, and move on. Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in [Note: See J. Carl Laney, "The Biblical Practice of Church Discipline," Bibliotheca Sacra 143:572 (October-December 1986):353-64; and Ted G. Kitchens, "Perimeters of Corrective Church Discipline," Bibliotheca Sacra 148:590 (April-June 1991):201-13. let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican: To illustrate His point regarding unrepentant sin, Jesus uses two classes of people who are particularly despised in His day. Pastor Robin Fish Sermon on Matthew 18:15-20 In the context of Matthew 18:15-20, we see that the sin is personal, private, and the person guilty of the offense is personally accessible. Matthew 11:1-30, exceedingly critical for Israel, and of surpassing beauty, as it is, must not be passed over without some few words. to forget His ancient people. He said. The Scriptural, patristic and historical records demonstrate that this Church could only be the Catholic Church. God I am bitter. (iii) Jesus goes on to say that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there in the midst of them. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. After this (what makes it still more unquestionable) comes the case of the demoniac. The first question a leader should ask is, have you brought your concerns directly to the person?. Matthew 18:15), "He cannot be treated as a spiritual brother, for he has forfeited that position. 18 "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[ a] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[ b] loosed in heaven. The context, as well as the New Testament parallels to this exhortation, shows that Jesus had exclusion in mind (cf. If the bonds of fellowship and friendship are strong, then an erring member will more naturally want to return to the fold. And the last verse actually seems to give the Church the power to retain and to forgive sins. Considerable time, it is true, elapsed between the two facts; but this only makes it the more sure and plain, that they are grouped together with a divine purpose. Make sure the person has been confronted by all the members of the elders before taking it to the next level. But this becomes tricky when it comes to church conflict. Jesus says to take the wayward brother to the Church for reproval. "Then," said the Lord, "are the children free. Although reconciliation is the ultimate goal of Matthew 18, if there is no repentance for sin, believers "must gather evidence in the proper order in case they later need proof of what transpired."665 The final disposition would be removal from the fellowship of the church (vv. Ought you not to have had pity on your fellow-servant, as I had pity on you?' Sorrow would come full soon when He, the Bridegroom of His people, should be taken away; and then should they fast. To the Jew it was the symbol of utter destruction. As time passes, the process expands to involve more Christians. There Jesus says, "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. God is one and His Church is one. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David!" I am sure Peter was thinking, "Well, I might be able to forgive a guy a couple of times, but it sounds good to the other disciples if I say 'seven'". So, if they want to be faithful to the Bible, then they have to follow the Church. - Deuteronomy 17:2-7. He is not the slave of numbers. And if it so happens that he finds it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more for the one sheep, than for the ninety-nine which never went astray. And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican. He healed, and bore its burden on His heart before God, as truly as He took it away from men. My wife doesn't know it, and I just don't know what to do about it, and all." Next, the storm follows. Often our prayers for our success would necessarily involve someone else's failure. Context Summary Matthew 18:15-20 describes the process Jesus gives to the disciples for dealing with sin-related conflict among a group of believers. But he refused. (ii) It stresses the terror of the punishment of those who teach another to sin. Note, We must not be weary of well-doing, though we see not presently the good success of it. The question was not who or what came in the way; whoever appealed to Him, there He was for them. 3. Even so it is not the will of the Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish ( Matthew 18:12-14 ). And there were also with Him other little ships. The current church model, however, is very far away from this. He didnt blackball them. Throughout it is the religious kind that are tested and found wanting. It would often happen that, if our prayers were answered, the prayers of someone else would be disappointed. woe unto thee, Bethsaida! Bible Book List. Whatever might be the Church or the kingdom, it is precisely when the Lord unfolds His new glory in both the kingdom and the Church that He maintains the proprieties of nature in their rights and integrity. What special mercy and tenderness, not only in the end, but also in the way the Lord deals with Israel! God proves what He is by the revelation of Jesus. And behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this Hence, the Lord Jesus is here disclosing throughout, that the doom of Israel was pronounced and impending. . This would not be a legal claim on man, but the scattering of good seed, life and fruit from God, and this in the unlimited field of the world, not in the land of Israel merely. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Stephanos Ministries is NOT a 501-c-3 corporation Click, to understand why. (ii) It can mean with a blessing. He had a baby son who was his heir; and, before he departed, he made his barons and nobles come and swear fealty to the little infant, in the event of anything happening to himself They came with their waving plumes and their clanking armour and knelt before the child. How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner, Minimising the environmental effects of my dyson brain, Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology, Acidity of alcohols and basicity of amines, Euler: A baby on his lap, a cat on his back thats how he wrote his immortal works (origin?). Now, God would not command us to do the impossible. But be careful that you're not the cause of the offenses. As far as the idea of elders being anachronistic with the moment the Lord mentioned. Let none suppose that, in giving my own convictions, I have the presumptuous thought of putting these forward as if they were the sole motives in God's mind. Christian reproof is an ordinance of Christ for the bringing of sinners to repentance, and must be managed as an ordinance. If you want me to explain it away, I can't. So, then, they believed that every child had his guardian angel. Petty interpersonal offenses and hurt feelings are not included. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." . If we have a difference with someone, there is only one way to settle it--and that is face to face. Matthew 18 does not apply in a formal way in those kind of circumstances. On this the Lord proceeds to take a step farther, and makes a deeper inroad, if possible, upon Jewish prejudice. Hence, he waits to present their rejection of the Messiah, as morally complete as possible in his statement of it, though necessarily not complete in outward accomplishment. This, then, I apprehend to be the reason why we End two demoniacs mentioned; whereas, in Mark or Luke for other purposes, the Spirit of God only draws attention to one of the two. If this article has been a blessing to you, would you prayerfully consider making a contribution through our Paypal button to help? Required fields are marked *. Had there been a single thing good in Israel, their choicest guides would have stood that test. it was not for the whole the Physician was needed. But if this be so, there is here absolute certainty that our Lord, on the very Sabbath in which He cast out the unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue of Capernaum, immediately after quitting the synagogue, entered the house of Peter, and that there and then He healed Peter's wife's mother of the fever. Accordingly, here we have, first, the Lord judging the wrong thoughts of "Scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem." When He reigns as David's Son, there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts. This passage may be saying, "If in your Church there is someone who is an evil influence, if there is someone who is a bad example to those who are young in the faith, if there is someone whose life and conduct is damaging the body of the Church, he must be rooted out and cast away." He never set limits to human forgiveness. It is the supreme responsibility of the parent, of the teacher, of the Christian Church, to see that his dynamic possibilities for good are realized. The Palestinian shepherds were experts at tracking down their lost sheep. In life it is all a question of what a man is aiming at; if he is aiming at the fulfilment of personal ambition, the acquisition of personal power, the enjoyment of personal prestige, the exaltation of self, he is aiming at precisely the opposite of the Kingdom of Heaven; for to be a citizen of the Kingdom means the complete forgetting of self, the obliteration of self, the spending of self in a life which aims at service and not at power. These steps simply described are: 1. Oh, what a heart is ours! Listen to it, fellows. Certainly, God-fearing Gentiles, such as Cornelius (Acts 10), do exist in the New Testament days, but they are not the norm. None the less does the Lord uphold it, purged of what accretions had come in to obscure its original and proper character. As a result of being at your seminar on the prophetic mind, I feel like I have been put in touch with my creator for the first time. If it be so, it is surely a ground of thankfulness to God; for it turns a stumbling-block into an evidence of the perfection of Scripture. They are people who in fellowship seek the will of God, who in fellowship listen and worship together. Of its peace and order, that every member may know his place and duty, and the purity of it may be preserved in a regular way and not tumultuously. [3.] The first servant owed his master 10,000 talents; a talent was the equivalent of 240 British pounds; therefore 10,000 talents is 2,400,000 British pounds. If they listen to you, you have won them over. Salem Media Group. Evidently it is the change of dispensation that is in question and at hand, the cutting off of the fleshly seed for their unbelief, and the bringing in of numerous believers in the name of the Lord from among the Gentiles. Let us apply it to scandalous sins, which are an offence to the little ones, of bad example to those that are weak and pliable, and of great grief to those that are weak and timorous. Perhaps they thought He was referring to a Jewish assembly, a synagogue. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing, that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven ( Matthew 18:17-19 ). Does "the church" in Matthew 18:17 refer to the whole assembly? There are those who never give of their best except on the so-called great occasion; but for Jesus Christ every occasion where even two or three are gathered in his name is a great occasion. Jesus predicted the existence of the church, the body of Christ, in Matthew 16:18. It is a thousand pities that this appointment of Christ, which was designed to end differences, and remove offences, should itself be so much a matter of debate, and occasion differences and offences, through the corruption of men's hearts. [Note: France, The Gospel . The lesson is that God will not forgive people if they do not forgive others (Matthew 18:35; cf. Pauls first letter to the Corinthians gives an example of how a congregation was to react when one of its members persisted in sin. So it is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish.". However suitable to the Jewish expectation that He should be found a man, undeniably there was that apparent which was infinitely above the Jew's thought; for the Jew showed his own degradation and unbelief in the low ideas he entertained of the Messiah. There are no restraining walls. Thus, and after the tenderest sort, there is that which evidences the Messiah on earth present to heal His people who appeal to Him; and the Jew, above all counting upon His bodily presence demanding it, I may say, according to the warrant of prophecy, finds in Jesus not merely the man, but the God of Israel. (1.) I wish your book on authority was in the hands of every believer! Gentile as he was, he was for that very, reason the less narrowed in his thoughts of the Saviour by the prevalent notions of Israel, yea, or even by Old Testament hopes, precious as they are. This furnishes occasion to the Pharisees to vent their unbelief: to them nothing is so offensive as grace, either in doctrine or in practice. It does not mean we treat people like moral contaminants. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! It is the fine thing for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than to be cast into the Gehenna of fire with two eyes.". God is not like that. That is the saying which Matthew has in mind. The child has three great qualities which make him the symbol of those who are citizens of the Kingdom. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. First, the offense may be so serious that the only responsible decision that the church can make is to thrust the offender out of the church and view him or her as an unconverted person (18:17). Our human pictures, and our human time-scheme, fail; this is in the hands of God. The primacy of Peter is perhaps one of the strongest points of contention between Catholics and non-Catholics today. In truth, this was Emmanuel, God with us. Perhaps human realities dictate that close communion with another person is neither possible, nor relationally wisefor whatever legal, spiritual, or interpersonal reasons. That brotherly reproof and admonition is a duty incumbent upon church members. The fact is, in judging others we judge ourselves. Christian kindness and Christian forgiveness do not mean that a man who is in error is to be allowed to do as he likes. Lessons in forgiveness (Matthew 18:15-35). Hence it is that He has grouped together circumstances which make this plain, without raising the question of when they occurred; in fact, they range over a large space, and, otherwise viewed, are in total disorder. Matthew 20:17-28 | Walking Together Ministries Anyone who thinks he or she might be prophetic, or works or lives with someone who is, should attend this seminar. Table fellowship was a huge ethical deal in their world that is not so much so in ours. You say, "Well, explain it to us." witnesses. 1 Timothy 5:19-20 states: Better to go through life maimed, than into hell whole. As suspension is for the terror of the obstinate, so absolution is for the encouragement of the penitent. ". He visited the pastor and asked for forgiveness. Lesson 16: Biblical Church Discipline (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians Tell it to the guides and governors of the church, the minister or ministers, the elders or deacons, or (if such the constitution of the society be) tell it to the representatives or heads of the congregation, or to all the members of it; let them examine the matter and, if they find the complaint frivolous and groundless, let them rebuke the complainant; if they find it just, let them rebuke the offender, and call him to repentance, and this will be likely to put an edge and an efficacy upon the reproof, because given," 1. He prayed to be released from the dread situation which confronted him, he was not released from it; but he was given power to meet it, to endure it, and to conquer it. But here pardon dispensed on earth arouses the pride of the religious leaders to the quick, and implacably. One passage, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (16:18), has become the basis of Roman Catholic belief in the divine institution of the papacy. Jesus says that, if two upon earth agree upon any matter for which they are praying, they will receive it from God. [1.] (vii) There is the spirit of forgiveness ( Matthew 18:23-35); and the Christian's forgiveness of his fellow-men is founded on the fact that he himself is a forgiven man. How did He treat tax collectors and Gentiles? This is the only way to preserve peace and purity in the church. Give to me forgiveness in my heart. In the Old Testament Law we find instruction on handling a sinner much the same way with accusation confirmed by investigation and witnesses then followed by all the people dealing with the sin. Henceforth, too, He forbids the disciples to proclaim Him as the Messiah. Editorial On Abusing Matthew 18 - The Gospel Coalition of your brothers. Let them read their error in One who was evidently superior to the condition and the ruin of man in Israel. Simply because we are human beings, with human hearts and fears and hopes and desires, most of our prayers are prayers for escape. The steps of church discipline are outlined in Matthew 18:15-17. It is a summons from the King to His people Israel. If it was His rejection, these scornful men were themselves rejected in the very act. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. He who gave the law maintained its authority, and used it as an occasion for testifying His own power and presence. Now most of our prayer is done in private, but there are times when agreement in prayer is extremely valuable. What He was introducing could not mix with Judaism. If I assume from the words "set forth in order," in the beginning of Luke's gospel, that therefore his is the chronological account, it will only lead me into confusion, both as to Luke and the other gospels; for proofs abound that the order of Luke, most methodical as he is, is by no means absolutely that of time. Jesus had uttered similar words in Matthew 16:19 when discussing the divine authority He had given to Peter and the other 11 apostles of the Jerusalem Church. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. 28:18-20), but "gates" here has a different sense. . Do not stay till he comes to thee, but go to him, as the physician visits the patient, and the shepherd goes after the lost sheep." Little faith leaves us as fearful for ourselves as dim witnesses of His glory whom the most unruly elements obey. This little book about Matthew 18 is a great little treasure. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. ekklsia, ekklsias. So it was here; and our Lord turns to eternal account, in His own goodness, the shortcoming of John the Baptist, the greatest of women-born. This should not be done until all these steps are taken. shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of The bodily presence of the Messiah was not needed. Far different this was from the errand on which He was intent; but He was there for faith. In Galatians 2:11 what is meant by "I opposed him to his face"? It is the death-blow to human tradition and ordinance in divine things, and in reality depends on the truth of the absolute ruin of man a truth which, as we see, the disciples were very slow to recognize. As we have often seen, it is Matthew's consistent custom to gather together the teaching of Jesus under certain great heads; he arranges it systematically. No sooner had Peter pronounced to Jesus the truth of His person, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," than Jesus holds the secret no longer. To lose a hand, to lose an eye by my own doing is just a horribly repugnant thought. No doubt Jesus was thinking of these things; but wonderful as they are they are not the main things in his mind. The grounds of such a judgment will naturally come before us ere long: I can merely refer to it now as my conviction. For us the great value of a child must always lie in the possibilities which are locked up within him. Stephanos Ministries is NOT a 501-c-3 corporation Click here to understand why. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established . It was necessary to complete the picture. But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be - The Jews gave the name heathen or Gentile to all other nations but themselves. Also I avoided mentioning elders, because I didn't want to import an ecclesiology that might be anachronistic to the passage anyway. and who are my brethren?" Moreover, only the Catholic Church can demonstrate a continuity and consistency in doctrine and morals which would be necessary if we are to make any sense out of Jesus words in Matt 18:17-18.