This chapter 18 conversation took place in private, in a house (see commentary on Matthew 18:1-5). Better to go through life maimed, than into hell whole. If those who trusted in themselves that they were wise and righteous would not have Him, He would call even a publican on the spot to be among the most honoured of His followers, and would not disdain to be their joy when they desired His honour in the exercise of His grace. There were two; but the Spirit of God chose out, in Mark and Luke, the more remarkable of the two, and traces for us his history, a history of no small interest and importance, as we may feel when we come to Mark; but it was of equal moment for the gospel of Matthew that the two demoniacs should be mentioned here, although one of them was in himself, as I gather, a far more strikingly desperate case than the other. Such was and is man. God I am bitter. It may seem harsh to treat unrepentant sinners in the manner described. He would send fit messengers, nor would the work be done till the rejected Messiah, the Son of man, came. 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. 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. What then did he mean? We don't want to go through the pain of it. So Jesus said that in a child we see the characteristics which should mark the man of the Kingdom. But every Scripture that treats of that time proves what dread, what anxiety, what dark clouds will be ever and anon. How did He treat tax collectors and Gentiles? In the sight of God the children are so important that their guardian angels always have the right of direct access to the inner presence of God. It's appropriate to follow that model in that situation . 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. They even went the length of saying, very beautifully, that every blade of grass had its angel. (vi) There is the quality of fellowship ( Matthew 18:19-20). The presence of Christ in the assemblies of Christians, Matthew 18:20; Matthew 18:20. You say things I have always felt, but never had the courage to speak them out. 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. to forget His ancient people. Today, the assembly/Parlaiment in Israel is known as the Knesset. I heard the podcast of how you and Bryon handled the Matthew 18 principle. 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. Paul did not go to the source by talking directly to the offenders and let them give their side of the story, and then take witnesses with him for stage two, and then bring it before the whole congregation for stage three of Matthew 18! Answer (1 of 8): (1) Preliminary comment: Matthew 18:15-35 is often treated in isolation as the classic passage about church discipline, given to provide rules for running the church and principles for applying church discipline. 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. We are, in fact, in the presence of that which John so loves to dwell on Jesus viewed not merely as Son of David or Abraham, or Seed of the woman, but as the Father's Son, the Son as the Father gave, sent, appreciated, and loved Him. That is why the shepherd could leave the ninety-nine. 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. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Thereon, coming into the ship, the wind ceases, and the Lord exercises His gracious power in beneficent effects around. Suppose they were paid in sixpences. The first mention was in Matthew 16:18. 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. . After this, dismissing the multitudes, He retires alone, to pray, on a mountain, as the disciples toil over the storm-tossed lake, the wind being contrary. Your prophetic seminar has helped me understand myself and others like I never have before. They are hereby appointed; the church of Christ in the world exists most visibly in religious assemblies; it is the will of Christ that these should be set up, and kept up, for the honour of God, the edification of men, and the preserving of a face of religion upon the world. Hence the Lords words are timeless. There is no point in refusing to face the facts of the situation, and nothing but harm can result from teaching people to expect what does not happen. Disagreeing with someone is not scandalous behavior. Fear motivates those leaders to suppress the thought and the individual behind it and to formally remove the individual from communal life. Accordingly, notice that, in the manner in which the Holy Ghost introduces it, there is no statement of time whatever. "There arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch, that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep." 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. Such is His grace, such His wisdom. Little Jewish mothers wanting to set up their boys. as if it were a just action, take one or two others along with you, Stumbling-blocks are bound to come; but alas for the man by whom the stumbling-block comes! 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. It is not possible that Jesus said this in its present form. When we think of punishment, we can only say, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" 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. The restoration of a wayward disciple 18:15-20. 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. Therefore it was not a mere simple fact that He banished sickness or infirmity, but He carried them in His spirit before 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. He said, "The child is so little." At the beginning of this trip Jesus revealed to His . 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. I think that it is important that we have, and somehow can conceptionalize this. This is not a form of excommunication to be used among Christians, nor was there ever any such form among the Jews; nor could Heathens or publicans, especially such publicans as were Gentiles, be excommunicated, when they never were of the Jewish church. To continue to allow the flock to fraternize with such a beast is to invite bloodshed. They have not seized the aim of each gospel. 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. You have put on paper what I have always thought in my heart. The individual care of the Christian is in fact the motive and the dynamic of evangelism. Men little weigh what their words will sound and prove in the day of judgment. And the basis of any answer toward your question does require some foundation to be built in biblical ecclesiology. To eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man. The Lord pleads the cause of the disciples. He tells the believers in those churches not to associate with those who have resisted correction. In Matthew 17:1-27 another scene appears, promised in part to some standing there in Matthew 16:28, and connected, though as yet hiddenly, with the cross. a. (iv) The love of God is a rejoicing love. Elders indeed were not part of the picture at this point. Just like if you have a problem with a sibling and you "discuss with the family" it might not mean that you brought the issue to all your aunts, uncles, cousins, grand parents etc. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.". It is clearly the failure of nature, the reversal of what might be expected. Time would fail now to dwell on this chapter, interesting as it is. 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). Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. Treat Them as Unbelievers (Tax collectors and Gentiles). 18 "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 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. As Christians, we want to treat people as we would want to be treated.