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. J. WESLEY. God I am bitter. The church is different from the world and its organizations, the church is easy to enter but difficult to leave. From this it was deduced that God's forgiveness extends to three offences and that he visits the sinner with punishment at the fourth. The unparalleled grace of the Saviour must form and fashion the saints henceforth. 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. We need to understand that in the spiritual realm and with the Lord, the time element is treated differently or maybe is non-sequitur. this agrees with Proverbs 25:8; Proverbs 25:9, "Go not forth hastily to strive, but debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself, argue it calmly and amicably; and if he shall hear thee, well and good, thou hast gained thy brother, there is an end of the controversy, and it is a happy end; let no more be said of it, but let the falling out of friends be the renewing of friendship. There is no greater mistake than to suppose, because there is the richest development of God's grace in new things, that He abandons or weakens natural relationships and authority in their place. let him be unto thee as an heathen man, and a publican. It is giving up claims to power and status and knowing one's total dependence on God that counts as greatness in the kingdom of heaven. if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a A local church is any group of Christians who meet together in the name of Christ for worship, teaching, prayer, accountability, and discipline. Now observe what is the rule prescribed in this case, 1. The upper stone, which turned round upon the lower was equipped with a handle, and it was commonly of such a size that the housewife could easily turn it, for it was she who did the grinding of the corn for the household needs. The "you" in the Greek text is singular indicating that the initiator is a single individual and the sphere of life Jesus had in mind throughout this section was interpersonal relations (cf. Well you file a malpractice suit against me for quackery for saying, "We'll, just let it go and see what happens".And I said, "You're coming to me with a spiritual malady that is more deadly then cancer. Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea ( Matthew 18:6 ). (ii) It can mean simply to welcome the child, to give him the care and the love and the teaching which he requires to make him into a good man. And his lord was angry, and delivered him over to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due from him. Such is His grace, such His wisdom. The point is, Matthew 18 is not a biblical mandate in such cases. It was precisely because He was Himself untouchable by sickness and infirmity, that He was free so to take up each consequence of sin thus. 7-9); and, the care of heaven toward both the saved and lost . But to talk matters over with some wise and kindly and gracious people present is to create a new atmosphere in which there is at least a chance that we should see ourselves "as others see us." The fact that you cannot see Him is of no import at all. What generates Peter's question may be an exchange not recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. 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. detestable thing has been done in Israel, then you shall bring out According to Matthew 16:18, what is the relationship between the NT church and OT church? When He reaches the house, minstrels were there, and people, making a noise: the expression, if of woe, certainly of impotent despair. Conflict resolution is never easy. note, Christians should see their need of help in doing good, and pray in the aid one of another; as in other things, so in giving reproofs, that the duty may be done, and may be done well. Obviously, Christ's instruction is not to stone them, but removing the obstinate from the church as a whole is consistent with the Israelite practices of sanctifying the community of faith. The Christian is ready surgically to excise from life everything which would keep him from rendering a perfect obedience to God. 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. They that are shut out from the congregation of the righteous now shall not stand in it in the great day, Psalms 1:5. 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. Thus, in many ways, tax collectors are hated more and are considered outside the limits of normal Jewish fellowship. Peter, the good confessor of chapter 16, cuts but a sorry figure in chapter 17; for when the demand was made upon him as to his Master's paying the tax, surely the Lord, he gave them to know, was much too good a Jew to omit it. "Blessed are the merciful," said Jesus, "for they shall obtain mercy" ( Matthew 5:7). Humble thyself in the eyes of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. ``A religious person indeed, that becomes a collector of taxes, they first said, is to be driven from the society; but they afterwards said, all the time that he is a tax gatherer, they drive him from the society; but when he goes out of his office, lo! VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Jesus further specifies what this means in the following verse: "Whoever humbles themselves like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4). You say, "Well, explain it to us." The key to it is this, that Matthew was led by the Holy Ghost to keep in view adequate testimony to the Jewish people; it was the tender goodness of God that would meet them in a manner that was suitable under the law. In our gospel we have not seen the apostles called and ordained. 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. Romans 16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:14). At Matthew 5:22 Jesus refers to being called before the council. That was the Jewish Sanhedrinthe elders who adjudicated issues of the Mosaic Law. 17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David!" The shepherd was not content to wait for the sheep to come back; he went out to search for it. moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded, and if I cant tell you how much your blog posts have meant to me. In my opinion then this word assembly was probably not referring to the pharisee, but rather those disciples (not just the 12) that were following; much then like the question, "who is my neighbor," we need not ask who our "all" our sisters and brothers are. If this article has been a blessing to you, would you prayerfully consider making a contribution through our Paypal button to help? Jesus Christ teaches His disciples principles that will help them lead the Church. And Jesus takes a child and says, "look, you've got to become like a little child, even you, even going to enter the kingdom of heaven. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my Father who is in heaven.". Some call it proof that the church will never be defeated. My paradigm of what the prophetic is has been turned upside down and reoriented. The picture is of a great royal court where only the most favoured courtiers and ministers and officials have direct access to the king. In an affair of such importance, two are better than one, and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. Thus the great tree and the leavened mass are in fact the two sides of Christendom. And He was Jesus, Emmanuel. It is always thus. Dissent or disagreement is viewed as disloyalty to the group, denomination, or an individual leader. The main point is: The church must practice biblical church discipline toward professing Christians who persist in known sin. Rather, he went away and flung him into prison, until he should pay what was due. Now, it was an established principle, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word should be established. 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. Every believer has the presence of Christ with him; but the promise here refers to the meetings where two or three are gathered in his name, not only for discipline, but for religious worship, or any act of Christian communion. At its widest what Jesus was saying was, "If anyone sins against you, spare no effort to make that man admit his fault, and to get things right again between you and him." But if he does not listen, that is, if he chooses to justify his sin I am sure when he said "seven times", he was going far beyond what he knew he could do. The next chapter (Matthew 18:1-35) takes up the double thought of the kingdom and the Church, showing the requisite for entrance into the kingdom, and displaying or calling forth divine grace in the most lovely manner, and that in practice. Matthew 18:17. The Jew feared the sea; for him Heaven was a place where there would be no more sea ( Revelation 21:1). we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously. And, if a man has any conscience left, there is nothing which will haunt him more. In the end of this chapter (15) is another miracle of Christ's feeding a vast multitude. The plucking of the corn, and the healing of the withered hand, had taken place long before. The church must receive the complaints of the offended, and rebuke the sins of the offenders, and judge between them, after an impartial enquiry made into the merits of the cause. He had been there before. I think that it is important that we have, and somehow can conceptionalize this. Does this scribe offer to follow Jesus? Elders indeed were not part of the picture at this point. (iii) It has a warning to silence all evasion. I do not pretend to say this was the only purpose served; far be it from me to think of restraining the Spirit of God within the narrow bounds of our vision. Can Martian Regolith be Easily Melted with Microwaves. 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." witnesses. Should Christians use mediation to settle disputes? Times without number God's people have agreed to pray for the conversion of their own land or the conversion of the heathen and the coming of the Kingdom, and even yet that prayer is far from being fully answered. 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. We believe if we simply don't say anything to someone, we are being gracious with them. Petty interpersonal offenses and hurt feelings are not included. As suspension is for the terror of the obstinate, so absolution is for the encouragement of the penitent. Pastors can train their leaders to take a Matthew 18 approach when a person comes to them with a problem concerning another member of their church. Some rabbis taught that to eat with a Gentile was a capital offense crime worse than murder! 2. It is a just prefiguration of what will be in the close of the age the mass of the unbelieving Jews, now impure, but then also given up to the devil, and so to evident perdition. If that is the case, and it is to be rigidly and legalistically applied, Paul apparently failed Matthew 18 because he received a second-hand report from those of Chloes house (1 Cor. There must be the mouth to praise the Lord, and speak of the glorious honour of His majesty, as well as eyes to wait on Him. Now, what was this Gehenna ( G1067) , this Valley of Hinnom? a. The Lord hints at what the man's real desires were not Christ, not heaven, not eternity, but present things. 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. They have treated the Bible either with levity, or as too awful a book to be apprehended really; not with the reverence of faith, which waits on Him, and fails not in due time to understand His word. The binding and loosing spoken of (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 16:19) was done by preaching, this by praying. At this point in time, Andrew has, in general . 16: But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ", 2. My object, of course, is to point out as clearly as possible the structure of the gospel, and to explain according to my measure why there are these strong differences between the gospels of Matthew and the rest, as compared with one another. Take another person with you or another two people with you, and face him with the issue again. But as humans sometimes do, a person may make an inappropriate comment or commit an action that may cause another Christian to become offended. Understanding the Prophetic Mind, Temperament, and Calling is a life changing seminar! (iii) Jesus goes on to say that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there in the midst of them. I cant express to you how much you have helped free me. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? Woe unto the world because of offences! Why Are There So Many Angry Pastors in the Church? I would like to hear what you have to say. The first mention was in Matthew 16:18. -1 Likes, 0 Comments - Pioneer Memorial Church (@pmchurch) on Instagram: "Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20 that where 2 or 3 of us are gathered in His name, He is there with" 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. It is the fine thing for you to enter into life maimed or lame, rather than to be cast into everlasting fire with two hands or two feet. 2. The context is the disruption of community due to actual, objective loss in a legal sense. As you correctly note, the Church has a local and universal aspect. But the next verse will make it more plain; Matthew 18:18, Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, &c. By the church then must be meant those who had power to bind and loose. Their state had long been that of a man whom the unclean spirit had left, after a former dwelling in him. Legalism merely produces further trouble. Matthew 20. Matthew 18:1-35 is a most important chapter for Christian Ethics, because it deals with those qualities which should characterize the personal relationships of the Christian. That revelation came through His apostles after His ascension. 2. However the disciples undoubtedly understood Him to mean simply His band of disciples. "This man blasphemeth." [1] For a fuller treatment of this topic see: The Rescue of Matthew 18 available at Amazon.com in softcover and Kindle format. He ate with them. "I will build my church." The church belongs to Jesus. He will remember the genuine love of his spiritual family. Idols, abominations, no longer infected that dwelling as of old. Matthew 18:17-18. So, I believe now, there is no attempt ever made on the Name of the Son of God, there is not a single shaft levelled at Him, but the Spirit turns to the holy, and true, and sweet task of asserting anew and more loudly His glory, which enlarges the expression of His grace to man. Matthew 18 1. To teach a child, to bring up a child in the way he ought to go, is something which is done not only for the sake of the child, but for the sake of Jesus himself. The individual care of the Christian is in fact the motive and the dynamic of evangelism. "Then," said the Lord, "are the children free. It does not mean we treat people like moral contaminants. It is not here a question of life (as in the seed at first), but a system of christian doctrine; not life germinating and bearing fruit, but mere dogma natural mind which is exposed to it. Your life depends on it, you got to cut it out." These three steps demonstrate again the truth of verse 14 in this chapter. This verse is a tough pill for Protestants to swallow. "Upon this rock," says He, "I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The glory of Christ's person strengthens us, not only to understand His cross, but to take up ours. 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.. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. "Suffer me first," he says, "to go and bury my father." If there is a mortal sin in many Matthew 18 disciplinary environments, it is alleged gossip and not following all the steps of Matthew 18 to address a problem in a local church. Take away this unforgiving spirit that I have." California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The phrase in my name can mean one of two things. What Is the Importance of Attending Church Meetings? But whereas Gentiles are such by birth, tax collectors are such by choice. It would often happen that, if our prayers were answered, the prayers of someone else would be disappointed. Men are apt to have so little patience with the foolish ones. A king forgave a servant a huge debt, but the servant then refused to forgive a fellow servant a small debt (Matthew 18:23-30). To stifle them, to leave them untapped, to twist them into evil powers, is sin. When one feels wronged by another in the church, the temptation is for him to seek out some personal friend or confidant, and to elaborate the real or fancied wrong by embellishing it with every possible coloring and emphasis, thus spreading hate against the offending party. Jesus probably used Gentiles and tax gatherers as examples because the Jews typically withdrew from them. He is in the midst of them, that is, in their hearts; it is a spiritual presence, the presence of Christ's Spirit with their spirits, that is here intended. What I'm wondering, though, is whether "the church" necessarily refers to the whole gathered assembly, or whether the phrase can be properly read as a metonym, similar to a phrase like "waiting for an answer from the White House" where "the White House" obviously doesn't refer to the building, but to the president and his staff. It does not mean taking two or three shills with you who are on your side, to beat the other person down until they agree with you. But observe, he doth not say, "Let him be to thee as a devil or damned spirit, as one whose case is desperate," but "as a heathen and a publican, as one in a capacity of being restored and received in again. But when by this he is humbled and reclaimed, he must be welcomed into communion again, and all shall be well. In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus gives His formula for solving person-to-person problems. Your teaching on praise and worship has given articulation to what I have been thinking for ten years! The law said there was to be no ruling without the presence of two or three witnesses. Your materials are a healing balm in the Church. Though in such a world as this it is rare to find one good whom all men speak well of, yet it is more rare to find one good whom all men speak ill of. Where the fault is plain and great, the person proper for us to deal with, and we have an opportunity for it, and there is no apparent danger of doing more hurt than good, we must with meekness and faithfulness tell people of what is amiss in them. A. R. S. Kennedy drew this vivid picture to contrast the debts. The sin of all sins is to teach another to sin. If we do not want to be publicly humiliated for our sin, especially if we have not been given the opportunity to repent, we should take a private approach to go to someone in love and let them know of their error. In the exercise of church discipline, they must come together in the name of Christ,1 Corinthians 5:4. Deuteronomy 17, Matthew 18. (a) We may take it into the sphere of the Church. For he figures it's better to be a free muskrat with three paws, than having four paws be tacked on a fur board.So Jesus is saying much the same thing here. On the evening of the day when He delivered the seven parables given in Matthew 13:1-58. My wife doesn't know it, and I just don't know what to do about it, and all." "And forthwith when they were come out of the synagogue they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John; but Simon's wife's mother was sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. Again and again he rushed into speech in such a way that his impetuosity drew from Jesus teaching which is immortal. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. The Matthew 18 principle tells us the first step when someone sins against you or has offended you. God used this love-inflicted wound to move him to repentance ( Proverbs 27:6 ). But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny." For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them ( Matthew 18:20 ). The Lord admired the faith superior to Israel's, and took that occasion to intimate the casting out of the sons or natural heirs of the kingdom, and the entrance of many from east and west to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of the heavens.