There is far more in aionios ( G166) than simply a description of that which has no end.
What does Matthew 18:19-20 really mean? "Lord, save us; we perish," cried they, as they awoke Him; and He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. [Note: France, The Gospel . He did not literally mean that we are to cut off our hand or to pluck out our eye, but He is only illustrating how vital it is that we enter the kingdom of heaven. It can poison the whole mind and life, until we can think of nothing else but our sense of personal injury. 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. He means it to be shocking. I mean, He is straight. Those of the church that are presumed to be most capable of determining such matters; and he speaks ironically, when he says (Matthew 18:4; Matthew 18:4), "Set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church; those, if there be no better, those, rather than suffer an irreconcileable breach between two church members." If I have a problem with a brother in Dallas, it is not practical to travel or call up some members in ( universal Church) Philippines, Australia and Mongolia etc.,to talk about the issue. 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." He also gives Peter the keys of the kingdom, as we see afterwards. Matthew gives no such details, but call and mission are together here. He visited the pastor and asked for forgiveness. And I encourage every one of you to have a prayer partner. -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" While that is of course, one aim of these verses, it is important . 81. z T. Hieros. I. . If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the Church. If God was there, what else could He, would He do? In todays context, in our own various models of ekklesia, Matthew 18 models for us Christs personal humility and call to love one another, its not about bringing the muscleits about dialing down the energy. God is not willing that any should perish and thus provides ample opportunity for restoration. The Lord was in Capernaum, where Peter lived; and on a certain Sabbath-day, after the call of Peter, wrought in the synagogue mighty deeds, which are here recorded, and by Luke also. The context is interpersonal conflict involving behaviors between individuals, not enforcement of denominational or group doctrinal distinctives. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. From verse one in Matthew 18 Jesus deals with matters which are related: How we think of others, with self-exalting pride or humility (vss. This passage speaks of the Gehenna ( G1067) of fire. Note, The converting of a soul is the winning of that soul (Proverbs 11:30); and we should covet it, and labour after it, as gain to us; and, if the loss of a soul be a great loss, the gain of a soul is sure no small gain. With God, as nothing is impossible, so no one, small or great, is despised: all is seen and put in its just place; and grace, which rebukes creature pride, can afford to deal divinely with the smallest as with the greatest. In Matthew 18:17, Jesus' instructions on the brother who sins reach a climax: If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. Stephanos Ministries is NOT a 501-c-3 corporation Click, to understand why. 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. The same indifference to the mere sequence of events is found occasionally in other parts of the gospel; but I have purposely dwelt upon this chapter 8, because here we have it throughout, and at the same time with evidence exceedingly simple and convincing. This is both a startling grant of authority and a warning to the disciples. All rights reserved. The very next scene, the case of Jairus, the ruler, shows it. Thus, in many ways, tax collectors are hated more and are considered outside the limits of normal Jewish fellowship. Matthew 18:17-18. How do we know we are dealing with Mosaic law moral/criminal/civil offenses and not minor psychological hurts? There am I, not only I will be there, but I am there; as if he came first, is ready before them, they shall find him there; he repeated this promise at parting (Matthew 28:20; Matthew 28:20), Lo, I am with you always. Here there may be a difference. Humble thyself in the eyes of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. The ultimate goal in every situation must be for grace and reconciliation among the body of Christ. ], PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS ( Matthew 18:1-35 ). Let us apply it to the quarrels that happen, upon any account, among Christians. There is nothing in this world more terrible than to destroy someone's innocence. If thy brother trespass against thee. He asked Jesus how often he ought to forgive his brother, and then answered his own question by suggesting that he should forgive seven times. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Take a leader or two along. The Lord, no doubt, knew the heart of His servant, and could feel for him in the effect that circumstances took upon him. Take one or two fellow elders and inform them of the situation. Jesus revealed almost nothing about the church in the Gospels, as the absence of references to it in these books indicates. How I wish I wouldve come across a read like this/been exhorted as much when I was a few years more youthful..my soul may have been spared a great deal of malarkey. The child is instinctively dependent, and just as instinctively he trusts his parents that his needs will be met.
As time passes, the process expands to involve more Christians. Hence the Lord would raise up a fresh testimony altogether, and do a new work suitable to it. 7-9); and, the care of heaven toward both the saved and lost . Let me passingly notice a very few particulars. Jesus did not confuse them with much revelation about the form that their corporate identity would take following His ascension. When we are children we set out on a journey with no means of paying the fare, and with no idea of how to get to our journey's end, and yet it never enters our heads to doubt that our parents will bring us safely there. To help a child to live well and to know God better is to help Jesus Christ. The Lord now lets them know their mad folly, and warns them that this blasphemy was about to culminate in a still deeper, deadlier form when the Holy Ghost should be spoken against as He had been. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
God had given his soul a deeper, fuller sight of Christ; for the Gentile's words prove that he had apprehended God in the man who was healing at that moment all sickness and disease in Galilee. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
Those who put contempt on the orders and rules of a society, and bring reproach upon it, forfeit the honours and privileges of it, and are justly laid aside till they repent and submit, and reconcile themselves to it again. He had been preparing them for the new things, and the impossibility of making them coalesce with the old. Of what phrase is this reminiscent? Paul was harder on sin because he cared so much for the body of Christ. [There is what I call a clear, unmistakable note of time.] God is like that; God cannot be happy until the last wanderer is gathered in. And so the disciples came and said, "Who is going to be the greatest in the kingdom?". But the Lord could not send her away without a blessing, and without a blessing reaching to His own glory. Mark gives them in the end of his second and the beginning of his third chapters. That revelation came through His apostles after His ascension. It says simply, "And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." Instead of giving her at once a reply, He leads her on step by step; for so He can stoop. This is the only way of kindness. Simply because we are human beings, with human hearts and fears and hopes and desires, most of our prayers are prayers for escape. Does this passage apply to how Christians and churches should handle public sins, including moral trespasses and false teaching? My wife has been freed. . Then, alas! The warning in this passage applies specifically to one who causes the loss of a human soul. Observe that it is at this point the chapter begins with vindicating the sanctity of marriage. (i) It teaches that lesson which runs through all the New Testament--a man must forgive in order to be forgiven. Why don't we just sort of take aspirin, so you won't feel the pain and forget about it." In Matthew 16:1-28 we advance a great step, spite (yea, because) of unbelief, deep and manifest, now on every side. Nor was it only a difference in the forms the truth took; but the vital principle which Christ was diffusing could not be so maintained. 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. He never thinks in terms of crowds; he thinks in terms of persons. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus takes it one step further . It is the love which seeks and saves. And they, many times, were arguing about these things, the greatest. I don't know what it is, but it's the word of Jesus, and you better take heed.Now the Lord has never commanded us to do anything, but what He will give us is the capacity to do it, if we are willing. Failure to do so robs the church not only of mature believers but also robs us of the opportunity to be used by God. They are hereby directed to gather together in Christ's name. In fact, even the mothers of the disciples sometimes got in on this. He goes to raise the dead, and the woman with the issue of blood touches Him by the way. Inattention to this has perplexed many. Such action, however, is for the protection of the flock. This person may receive undue shame, embarrassment, and humiliation and may fall away from the faith as result. In Galatians 2:11 what is meant by "I opposed him to his face"? If He offers to go to his house, it was to bring out the faith that He had created in the heart of the centurion. How often the heart shows itself, not merely by what we ask, but by the uncalled-for feelings we display against other people and their faults! No law of heaven limits the number of petitioners. "The offender is a brother, one that is in Christian communion, that is baptized, that hears the word, and prays with thee, with whom thou joinest in the worship of God, statedly or occasionally." 23. 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. Lowly, noiseless grace now it was to be, according to the prophet, till the hour strikes for victory in judgment. The term has a metaphorical use at times (Job 38:17; Isa. He who had just confessed the glory of the Lord would not hear His Master speaking thus of His going to the cross (by which alone the Church, or even the kingdom, could be established), and sought to swerve Him from it. And so, as savouring not divine but human things, he is bid to go behind (not from) the Lord as one ashamed of Him. "There arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch, that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep." He who gave the law maintained its authority, and used it as an occasion for testifying His own power and presence. The old people and work then closed in principle, and a new work of God in the kingdom of heaven was disclosed. On Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." At 18:6 He shifts and talks about interpersonal trespassesoffenses, If a first attempt at peacemaking has been unsuccessful, involve others in the community. in weight; and they would form, at a distance of a yard apart, a line five miles long! The church may here mean the whole assembly of believers, or it may mean those who are authorized to try such cases - the representatives of the church, or these who act for the church. However, not only does the Bible never say that, the Bible tells us the Church is the final authority. Especially is this situation true in the case of a new convert. It was not to be thought that a man could be more gracious than God, so forgiveness was limited to three times. They are hereby encouraged with an assurance of the presence of Christ; There am I in the midst of them. How New is the New Covenant? At the beginning of this trip Jesus revealed to His . This all points to the local church as the context of Jesus' detailed model for solving sin problems within the church. If you want me to explain it away, I can't. Fasting, indeed, would follow when the Bridegroom was taken from them. In their world, the spirit of Matthew 18 was not a ban on all contact, but rather about maintaining social boundary markers regarding Mosaic uncleanness, particularly in table fellowship. All rights reserved worldwide. Accordingly, here we have a witness of it, and a witness so much the sweeter, because the present total rejection that was filling the heart of the leaders surely testified to the Lord's heart of that which was at hand. 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. But nothing turned aside the purpose of God, or the activity of His grace. 1. Now it is a great honour which Christ here puts upon the church, that he will condescend not only to take cognizance of their sentences, but to confirm them; and in the following verses we have two things laid down as ground of this. "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." 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. Articulated thought calls to action. If your . He never thinks that he can face life by himself. To maim my own body, to me is a very repugnant idea. Disease must obey Him, as the soldier or the servant obeyed the centurion, their superior. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! Judgment will have early cut them off. Whatever the time may have been, whatever the incidents added by others, the account is given here for the purpose of showing, that as Israel's case was desperate, even unto death, so He, the Messiah, was the giver of life, when all, humanly speaking, was over. In this passage very often the child means both the young child and the beginner on the Christian way. 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. The power of agreement in prayer.Then Jesus goes on with His two or three concepts. The Meaning of Church in Greek and the Difference from Old Testment. To the proud inhabitant of Jerusalem, both one and the other were but a choice and change within a land of darkness. This is fully explained by the apostle (1 Corinthians 6:1-20), where he reproves those that went to law before the unjust, and not before the saints (Matthew 18:1; Matthew 18:1), and would have the saints to judge those small matters (Matthew 18:2; Matthew 18:2) that pertain to this life, Matthew 18:3; Matthew 18:3. 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. I am not going to go out tonight." All such will find a glory in the grey, if in the child they sometimes glimpse none other than Jesus himself.
What Does Matthew 18:15-20 Actually Mean? - ApplyGodsWord.com The reason I consider to be plain; and the same principle applies to various other parts of our gospel where we have two cases mentioned, where in the other gospels we have only one. It was a grave step this, and in view of His rejection now. The shepherds always made the most strenuous and the most sacrificial efforts to find a lost sheep. These steps simply described are: 1. It spares him from the possibility of judgment from the wider community. The Book of Enoch speaks about eternal judgment, about judgment for ever, about punishment and torture for ever, about the fire which burns for ever. 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. God's sternest judgment is reserved for those who put a stumbing-block in the way of others. Note, A gross sin against God is a trespass against his people, who have a true concern for his honour. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them." That is what He wanted His disciples to do regarding the erring brother or sister. Matthew 13:19-22), we find first of all the utter worthlessness of the flesh's readiness to follow Jesus. "Let the reproof be private, between thee and him alone; that it may appear you seek not his reproach, but his repentance."
Enduring Word Bible Commentary Matthew Chapter 18 When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him L5. the sight of the Lord your God, by transgressing His covenant, and In Luke 17:3-4 Jesus is teaching the disciples about forgiveness and says: Be on your guard! Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. In Matthew 18:17, Jesus uses the word church in reference to the local church. 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. "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! So synagogue means congregation or assembly, which certainly fits the context of what Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18. Now, it was an established principle, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word should be established. The fellow-servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you in full.' They were the great congregation and church, in the midst of which Christ sung praise to his Father: and since the whole of this advice, and these excellent rules are given to them, and they are spoken of in the next verse, as having the power of binding and loosing, they may well be thought to be meant here; and that the design of Christ is, to More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! 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. I am sure when he said "seven times", he was going far beyond what he knew he could do. Jesus is just as much present in the little congregation as in the great mass meeting. If not, then Jesus words would mean little. - Rev. As to any one else, even the most liberal gift that ever was given of God to fallen man on earth, to the golden head of the Gentiles, exempted the deep and its untamed inhabitants. What it may well mean is that the relationships which we establish with our fellow-men last not only through time but into eternity--therefore we must get them right. Again and again he rushed into speech in such a way that his impetuosity drew from Jesus teaching which is immortal. Treating the sinner as a tax-gatherer or Gentile would be difficult for only leadership to carry out as the rest of the church (without being briefed on the circumstance) may wonder why he/she is being treated that way. to forget His ancient people. In its biblical context, sin was treated more harshly than it is today. This means that God would have provided us with the information necessary to understand what Church He was talking about. Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Sounds like the Mafia here, but I am all for it. I have a better place than you, and their motivations were not always the purest. Now though at this time there was no particular church formed, yet there were some who had a power to bind and loose. When we think of punishment, we can only say, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" 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.