GUIDANCE FOR THE NEW CONGREGATION (18:1-19:2). This chapter has been compared with the Manual of Discipline found at Qumran which was intended to regulate a specific community, and has been seen as similarly giving instructions concerning the regulating of the new community of disciples. As a gener... [ Continue Reading ]
‘In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest within the Kingly Rule of Heaven?” ' ‘In that hour' is similar to ‘at that time' and connects what is now said with what has just gone before. Three of them (Peter, James and John) were probably already feeling a little smug,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ONE WHO IS GREATEST IN THE KINGLY RULE OF HEAVEN IS THE ONE WHO HAS LEAST DESIRE TO BE SO AND DOES NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT (18:1-4). The ‘disciples' here are the ones who have ‘gathered' ready to go to Jerusalem with Jesus (Matthew 17:22) and included among them little children. But it would be... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them.' So Jesus looked at His disciples as they gathered eagerly around Him, each hoping for a word of commendation, and then His eye wandered to someone who had not joined their group. It was a little child among the company, one who... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And said, “Truly I say to you, Unless you have been turned (or ‘be turned'), and have become as (or ‘become as') little children, you will in no way have entered (or ‘will in no way enter') into the Kingly Rule of Heaven. Whoever therefore has humbled himself (or ‘humbles himself') as this little c... [ Continue Reading ]
“And whoever will receive one such little child in my name receives me.” (Some of the verbs continue as second aorists and could therefore be translated as perfects - ‘whoever has received one such little child in My name receives Me' - thinking, however, in this case of an action that will be ‘pas... [ Continue Reading ]
A POWERFUL WARNING AGAINST BEING A CAUSE OF STUMBLING TO YOUNG BELIEVERS (18:5-10). Jesus now moves on from a consideration of the need for His disciples to have become ‘as little children' in regard to service for Him, to the equal need for them to recognise the importance of all ‘little ones'. Thi... [ Continue Reading ]
“But whoever shall cause one of these little ones who believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.” No wonder then that it is seen as so dreadful to cause such a one ‘to stumble' or ‘be... [ Continue Reading ]
“Alas (or ‘woe') to the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it is necessary that the occasions come, but alas for that man through whom the occasion comes!” Jesus then expresses His grief at the thought that nevertheless such things will happen. The initial word can be translated ‘alas' or... [ Continue Reading ]
“And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you. It is good for you to enter into life maimed or lame, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. It is go... [ Continue Reading ]
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.” Then Jesus returns to His main theme. Little ones who believe in Him, whether little in stature or little in outward importance, or little be... [ Continue Reading ]
a “How do you think about this? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them is gone astray,” Here in context the hundred sheep represent the new community, His new congregation. They are those who have been gathered out of the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 9:36; Matthew 10:6; Matth... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LITTLE ONES ARE SO IMPORTANT TO GOD THAT IF ONE GOES ASTRAY HE SEEKS THEM UNTIL HE FINDS THEM (18:11-14). Jesus here uses the idea of the shepherd seeking his sheep, which was something that happened fairly regularly in Palestine. Seeing a shepherd looking for a lost sheep, or returning home wi... [ Continue Reading ]
“Does he not leave the ninety and nine, and go to the mountains, and seek that which is going astray?” And what does the Shepherd do when He finds that one has gone astray? Why, He goes out into the mountains to seek the one who has gone astray. Note the emphasis on the cost. He ‘goes to the mounta... [ Continue Reading ]
“And if so be that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray.” The ‘if so be' is a warning against presumption, but Matthew 18:14 cancels out any doubt for the true believer, for the will of the Father cannot be thwarted. A los... [ Continue Reading ]
“Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” In the same way as the shepherd cares for his sheep, so does the Father care for the little ones who believe in Him. However small, however unimportant they may seem to be, it is not His will... [ Continue Reading ]
“And if your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Here Jesus emphasises the responsibility that each disciple has for his ‘brother' disciple. We are all responsible for each other! We must remember that this... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THIS LOVE AND HUMILITY IN DEALINGS WITH THE NEW CONGREGATION OF GOD'S PEOPLE (18:15-20). Having expressed the concern that His true disciples must have to walk as humbly as a little child; to prevent others from stumbling; to themselves deal severely with sin in their ow... [ Continue Reading ]
“But if he does not listen to you, take with you one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.” That the sin is to be seen as something serious comes out here. It is not just a matter of personal disagreement, for now others are to be involved, and they... [ Continue Reading ]
“And if he refuse to listen to them, tell it to the congregation (ekklesia - church). And if he refuses to listen to the congregation also, let him be to you as the Gentile and the public servant.” But if the charge is proved and the matter is serious, and the disciple refuses to listen, then the n... [ Continue Reading ]
“Truly I say to you, whatever things you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you shall loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” But the congregation must seek to ensure that the verdict reached and the judgment carried out is approved of by Heaven. It i... [ Continue Reading ]
“Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.” The question that arises here is as to whether this should be strictly applied in context, or seen as an expansion on the argument. In the... [ Continue Reading ]
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” In the case of the first interpretation in Matthew 18:19 this would be expressing Jesus' promise that when two or three gather with the purpose of coming to a judgment on some matter of morals they could be... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” ' Peter here reveals how God's compassion has come home to him through the teaching of Jesus, but even he has not yet perceived the magnanimity of God. The Scribes taught, on t... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE FORGIVE? (18:21-22). The idea that disciples should approach those who have sinned against them and seek to be reconciled with them raised in Peter's mind the question of how often this was required. How often should someone who fails be forgiven? And when he suggested that... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus says to him, “I do not say to you, “Until seven times”, but, “Until seventy times seven”. So Jesus is basically saying, “No Peter, there is no limit. Think in terms of seventy times seven.” Jesus was not, however, saying that a person could be forgiven four hundred and ninety times. He was s... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PARABLE OF THE FORGIVEN SERVANT WHO COULD NOT HIMSELF FORGIVE This subject of repentance and forgiveness was of such importance under the Kingly Rule of Heaven that Jesus now tells a parable about it. The parable again stresses the present nature of the Kingly Rule of Heaven, for the first serv... [ Continue Reading ]
“And when he had begun to call them to account, one was brought to him, who owed him ten thousand talents (that is in our terms ‘many billions').” One servant was brought before Him whose debt was so large that it was larger than the gross national product of many smaller countries. It was ‘ten thou... [ Continue Reading ]
“But because he did not have the wherewithal to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.” And when he could not pay his debt his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all his possessions so that so... [ Continue Reading ]
“The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' ” Being faced up to his debt the servant was ‘repentant'. He offered that somehow if only his lord was merciful he would, given time, find some means eventually of repaying the whole... [ Continue Reading ]
“And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.” But his lord was a compassionate man. And when he saw his servant's repentance he forgave him his debt and released him. It may of course be that his hope from this was that his servant had learned... [ Continue Reading ]
“But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred denarii (one hundred day's wages for a low-paid worker), and he laid hold on him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.' ” And then what follows is intentionally grotesque. The servant had a fe... [ Continue Reading ]
“So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” Then, just as he himself had previously done, the fellow-servant fell on his knees and begged for time to pay the debt. He promised, and this time with some likelihood of payment, that eventually... [ Continue Reading ]
“And he would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay what was due.” But there was no forgiveness in the heart of the unforgiving servant. His own experience had left him untouched. So he had the servant cast into a debtor's prison until he could pay all that was due. And there... [ Continue Reading ]
“So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were deeply sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.” But his fellow-servants saw what he had done. And filled with deep regret at what had been done to their fellow-servant they ‘told their lord all that was done'. ‘They were deepl... [ Continue Reading ]
“Then his lord called him to him, and says to him, ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me, should you not also have had mercy on your fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on you?” When the lord heard of what had happened he summoned the servant to him. The servant wo... [ Continue Reading ]
“And his lord was justly angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due.” Jesus points out that his lord was justly angry. The servant had failed to benefit by the compassion shown to him, and had not himself become compassionate. Thus his last state was worse than... [ Continue Reading ]
“So also will my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.” The story ends with an application. This is how His Heavenly Father will behave (not the torturing but the calling to account) towards all who do not forgive their brother or sister from the hear... [ Continue Reading ]