Matthew 18:17 (KJV) - Forerunner Commentary - Bible Tools If he has indeed done thee a considerable wrong, endeavour to make him sensible of it, but let the rebuke be private, between thee and him alone; if thou wouldest convince him, do not expose him, for that will but exasperate him, and make the reproof look like a revenge." Bible in One Year 2022 with Nicky Gumbel - Classic To maim my own body, to me is a very repugnant idea. But when we come to see what this saying means, there is a precious depth in it. Am I missing something, or did not the Church start soon after the death and resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ? What an anticipation of the walk by faith, not by sight, in which the Gentiles, when called, ought to have glorified God, when the rejection of the Messiah by His own ancient people gave occasion to the Gentile call as a distinct thing! It might be well enough for a Pharisee; it might be worthy of a legal formalist, but it would never do for God; and the Lord Jesus was come here not to accommodate Himself to their thoughts, but, above all, to do God's will of holy love in an evil, wretched world. Oh, boy how they longed for this. Why? They could follow their track for miles; and they would brave the cliffs and the precipice to bring them back. Its difficulty lies in the undoubted fact that it does not ring true; it does not sound like Jesus; it sounds much more like the regulations of an ecclesiastical committee. There is nothing in this world more terrible than to destroy someone's innocence. I believe that was Podcast 18. It does not seem exactly as a pictorial view of what the Lord was doing, or going to do, but rather the repeated pledge, that they were not to suppose that the evil He had judged in the elders of Jerusalem, or the grace freely going out to the Gentiles, in any way led Him. Thereon, coming into the ship, the wind ceases, and the Lord exercises His gracious power in beneficent effects around. You say, "Well, explain it to us." Jesus is just as much present in the little congregation as in the great mass meeting. Let this be compared with, and explained by, Leviticus 19:17, Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; that is, "If thou hast conceived a displeasure at thy brother for any injury he hath done thee, do not suffer thy resentments to ripen into a secret malice (like a wound, which is most dangerous when it bleed inwardly), but give vent to them in a mild and grave admonition, let them so spend themselves, and they will expire the sooner; do not go and rail against him behind his back, but thou shalt in any ways reprove him. Judgment will have early cut them off. We often mistake grace for silence. Your book brings it altogether in depths I had not yet seen. It may seem harsh to treat unrepentant sinners in the manner described. 2. Matthew 18:15-17 New International Version Dealing With Sin in the Church 15 "If your brother or sister[ a] sins,[ b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. He tells them that they should not have gone over (or finished) the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come. (ii) Why should that be so? That is specially so if he goes out from a protected home where no evil influence was ever allowed to play upon him. Jesus probably used Gentiles and tax gatherers as examples because the Jews typically withdrew from them. Whereas, on the contrary, there are other kinds of order that call for more profound thought and enlarged views, if we may speak now after the manner of men; and, indeed, I deny not that these the Holy Ghost employed in His own wisdom, though it is hardly needful to say He could, if He pleased, demonstrate His superiority to any means or qualifications whatsoever. Lesson 16: Biblical Church Discipline (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians Our human pictures, and our human time-scheme, fail; this is in the hands of God. God's readiness to answer the church's prayers (Matthew 18:19; Matthew 18:19); If two of you shall agree harmoniously, touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them. "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! That is what the Jew could not understand about the Christian idea Of God. Handbook on Church Discipline by Jay Adams. Note, 1. He maintains His sovereign title to do good, to do as He will with His own. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Subscribe here to receive blog publication notifcations in your email inbox. 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 is fatal. They may also take their concern to a pastor or other superior, shirking their responsibility to deal with it directly. The passage has nothing to do with a warm feeling in a church meeting from the presence of the Lord. It is about Jesuss manifest presence among the community when it engages in the hard work of maintaining peace and going the extra mile to resolve conflicts. Only tradition will not do this work, nor will human thoughts or feelings. The ignorance is wholly on our side: all they say or omit was owing to the far-reaching and gracious wisdom of Him who inspired them. The question fairly arises, Why it is that the Holy Ghost has been pleased so remarkably to leave time out of the question in this chapter, as well as in the next? If a first attempt at peacemaking has been unsuccessful, involve others in the community. Matthew 18 - Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible - StudyLight.org There is room also for the most thorough self-abnegation. He visited the pastor and asked for forgiveness. See Leviticus 19:17. 4. 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 ). Tinpot dictators learn this in Tyranny 101 class! "Their angels," said Jesus, "always behold the face of my Father who is in Heaven." The current church model, however, is very far away from this. And how is the rule usually observed? We must "go and tell him his fault BETWEEN you and him alone." Now, we are talking here about a sinning brother. tell it unto the church: By "church" (ekklesia), Jesus means the "assembly" or "congregation" of baptized saints. We have here not only our Lord's ministry in the first parable, but in the second parable that which He does by His servants. But, yes that question is the basis for wanting to ask the question I have here. So often we accept a man who is penitent with a moral lecture and a clear indication that he must regard himself as contemptible, and the practical statement that we have no further use for him and do not propose to trust him ever again. (i) If we feel that someone has wronged us, we should immediately put our complaint into words. Peter expected to be warmly commended; but Jesus's answer was that the Christian must forgive seventy times seven. I am the surgeon and I am telling you, we've got to operate immediately. It is only after careful prayer and consideration for the other person should we go to and point out their sin in the hopes they will be restored. if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a "I will build my church." The church belongs to Jesus. For more info, please visit her website www.michellelazurek.com. Ecclessia doesn't have a sense of just the people of one denomination who meet at that local church building you see in your suburb of the city. Matthew has been telling the story of Jesus as he remembers it. He can only be treated as one outside the church, not hated, but not held in close fellowship." We have the natural tie here brought into prominence; and this was a claim that Christ slighted not. He knew this would be the church as we know it, but the disciples must have thought He meant just themselves in a collective sense. but if he neglect to hear the church: Only one option remains if all of the above steps are followed and the sinner still refuses to repent. Anyway, I have a question that I wondered if you might answer. Are all Christians hypocrites? Everything depends on how he is taught and trained. Nothing that we have to forgive can even faintly or remotely compare with what we have been forgiven. 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. It is not a question of bringing in law to govern the kingdom or guide the Church. 18:22). Matthew 18:1-14. The Spirit of God has been pleased to cull and class facts otherwise unconnected; for here follow conversations that took place a long time after any of the events we have been occupied with. This sets forth not at all the way in which the Christian stands related to Christ; for even though we had known Him after the flesh, henceforth know we Him no more. I have a better place than you, and their motivations were not always the purest. Besides the secret worship performed by particular persons, and the public services of the whole congregation, there may be occasion sometimes for two or three to come together, either for mutual assistance in conference or joint assistance in prayer, not in contempt of public worship, but in concurrence with it; there Christ will be present. It was clearly a question of connection with the apostle of the circumcision ( i.e., Peter's wife's mother). essayed to destroy the testimony with their utmost and blasphemous contempt. God does not give us escape from a human situation; he enables us to accept what we cannot understand; he enables us to endure what without him would be unendurable; he enables us to face what without him would be beyond all facing. My experience of them is that they, too, have a heart to be touched; and there are many of them, like Matthew and Zacchaeus, who have become my best friends. A number of intriguing observations come up as we read through Matthew 18 more carefully. (v) It is now we come to the difficult part. Surely, had he seen this, everything was there; but he saw it not, and so the Lord spread out His actual portion, as it literally was, without one word about the unseen and eternal. 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. There will be differences at the close. In what follows we have that which is necessary, to complete the picture of the other side. Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven ( Matthew 18:22 ). And the Jews have a saying, that one of the causes of the ruin of their nation was, "No man reproved another." It may be taken purely personally. ekklsia, ekklsias. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ( Matthew 18:2-4 ). This was done at home; and in any cottage such a mill could be seen. Then, alas! Jesus isn't like some today who say, "Well, the crowd's too small. Or, Secondly, By constraint; when there are not more than two or three to come together, or, if there be, they dare not, for fear of the Jews, yet Christ will be in the midst of them, for it is not the multitude, but the faith and sincere devotion, of the worshippers, that invites the presence of Christ; and though there be but two or three, the smallest number that can be, yet, it Christ make one among them, who is the principal one, their meeting is as honourable and comfortable as if they were two or three thousand. 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 . Be careful that you do not offend one of those little ones, who believes and trusts in Him. It was not more truly Christ's kingdom as man than He was God's own Son, His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased, who was now to be heard, rather than Moses or Elias, who disappear, leaving Jesus alone with the chosen witnesses. Jesus tells his disciples that what they bind or loose on earth is also bound or loosed in heaven. It cannot mean that the Church can remit or forgive sins, and so settle a man's destiny in time or in eternity. 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. I mean, He is straight. He means it to be shocking. Make sure the person has been confronted by all the members of the elders before taking it to the next level. Mt 18:21-22 correspond to Lk 17:4; the parable and the final warning are peculiar to Matthew. They sometimes gossip to their friends about the person or sin, causing further derision and disunity. "If he will not hear thee, if he will not own himself in a fault, nor come to an agreement, yet do not despair, but try what he will say to it, if thou take one or two or more, not only to be witnesses of what passes, but to reason the case further with him; he will be the more likely to hearken to them because they are disinterested; and if reason will rule him, the word of reason in the mouth of two or three witnesses will be better spoken to him" (Plus vident oculi quam oculus--Many eyes see more than one), "and more regarded by him, and perhaps it will influence him to acknowledge his error, and to say, I repent.". He never thinks in terms of crowds; he thinks in terms of persons. We have it in Acts and the Epistles. Oh, what a heart is ours! If he hears you, you have gained your brother. (vi) There is the quality of fellowship ( Matthew 18:19-20). He was there for the express purpose of glorifying God. And whenever there are two, there are always three, wherever there are three visibly present, there is always four. He who will not forgive his fellow-men cannot hope that God will forgive him. If he doesn't pay attention to them, tell the church. Jesus is saying, " cut it off. Perhaps modern interpretations of this verse are different, but in antiquity "telling it to the Church" was understood to mean to the rulers of the Church and not to some assembly of persons in general. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. It was His meat to do the will of God. If we have a difference with someone, there is only one way to settle it--and that is face to face. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! As you correctly note, the Church has a local and universal aspect. Jesus says to take the wayward brother to the Church for reproval. God take away this bitterness. Though the fact is plain, and the fault too, yet they must be put together with application. Such a sinner shall suffer a fate worse than death. Surely not by inaccuracy; surely not by indifference to order, but contrariwise by divine wisdom that arranged the facts with a view to a purpose worthy of itself: God's arrangement of all things more particularly in this part of Matthew to give us an adequate manifestation of the Messiah; and, as we have seen, first, what He was to the appeal of the Jew; next, what He was and would be to Gentile faith, in still richer form and fulness. The servant fell on his face and besought him: 'Sir, have patience with me, and I will pay you in full.' To the child a state of dependence is perfectly natural. When the king heard of his servants behaviour, he withdrew his forgiveness (Matthew 18:31-34). What special mercy and tenderness, not only in the end, but also in the way the Lord deals with Israel! Go to the offender first! But not even so is his salvation to be neglected. How should be translated in 1 Corinthians 14:34? Now, what was this Gehenna ( G1067) , this Valley of Hinnom? "With greater authority." If you want me to explain it away, I can't. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. We owe a very great deal to the fact that Peter had a quick tongue. In Matthew 14:1-36 facts are narrated which manifest the great change of dispensation that the Lord, in setting forth the parables we have just noticed, had been preparing them for. It was going on, then, to the bitter end, and surely not without such suffering and sorrow as holy, unselfish, obedient love alone can know. No Christian can be satisfied to live complacently and lethargically in a civilization where there are conditions of living and housing and life in general where a young person has no chance of escaping the seductions of sin. Read the Scripture: Matthew 18:20 Three of the vital areas of our lives are the church, the home and the nation. 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. 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?). All these passages use the word aionios ( G166) ; but we must be careful to remember what it means. It ought to be so with every forgiven soul. Matthew 18:17 Commentaries: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it Get the BEST VALUE in digital Bible study as you prepare for Easter. Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in 6:12). In the time of Jesus the flocks were often communal flocks; they belonged, not to an individual, but to a village. He talks about offending these same little ones. 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.". The Rabbis had a wise saying, "Judge not alone, for none may judge alone save One (that is God).". 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. What church must be told--is the great question. Whoever humbles himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.". The CRSG series helped me fit the pieces of my own experience in order and answered so many questions as to why so few people make the move to freedom in Christ. The heavy-handed application of Matthew 18:15-20 leaves a trail of pain, broken relationships, and human carnage among Gods people. "For if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it will be done for them by my Father which is in heaven." ), Lev 19:17; Lk 17:3; Gal 6:1; Jas 5:19, 20, Nu 35:30; Dt 17:6; 19:15; Jn 8:17; 2Co 13:1; 1Ti 5:19; Heb 10:28, NIV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture, NIV, The Story, Hardcover, Comfort Print: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV, Verse Mapping Bible, Comfort Print: Find Connections in Scripture Using a Unique 5-Step Process, NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color, Red Letter: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation. To the proud inhabitant of Jerusalem, both one and the other were but a choice and change within a land of darkness. Though a testimony to them, still it was in the result a recognition of what Moses commanded. Sheep are proverbially foolish creatures. Jesus said to him, "I tell you not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. No doubt the ship was covered with the waves; but how could that imperil the Lord of all? This is not a make-a-wish prayer formula for three people in a circle singing praise songs and reveling in some spiritual phenomenon of the Lords presence. Rather, the peace of the community is so important to Christ that He makes this promise (my expanded translation): Wherever two are three of you are concerned about the unity of the community, where you had to make judgment in a case, and you are in agreement on it, I will stand behind your judgment. That is the saying which Matthew has in mind. And, therefore, the sheep are ever liable to wander; and, if they stray from the grass of the plateau into the gullies and the ravines at each side, they have every chance of finishing up on some ledge from which they cannot get up or down, and of being marooned there until they die. "Church discipline is a messenger of mercy to prepare people to stand before a holy God." As his condition worsened, he was haunted by the fact that his sin had pushed his church family to discipline him. This little book about Matthew 18 is a great little treasure. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." (Matthew 18:15 ESV) Proud member Jesus then told the story of the servant forgiven a great debt who went out and dealt mercilessly with a fellow-servant who owed him a debt that was an infinitesimal fraction of what he himself had owed; and who for his mercilessness was utterly condemned. , Synagoga Judaica, de Judaeorum fide, ritibus, ceremoniis, tam publicis et sacris quam privatis, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers.