Matthew 18:1-35
1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said,Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But 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 that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 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.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him,I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.a
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him,b saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence:c and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Matthew’s Good News
Matthew’s *Gospel
Hilda Bright
Chapter 18
Chapter 18 is the fourth section of what Jesus taught. It ends in the same way as the other sections ‘Now when Jesus had finished saying these things...’ (Matthew 7:28; Matthew 11:1; Matthew 13:53; Matthew 19:1). In this section, Jesus teaches about relationships among the *disciples. They should be humble. They should be responsible for people who have just begun to believe. And they should be willing to forgive each other.People need to be humble 18:1-5
v1 At that time the *disciples came to Jesus. ‘Who is the greatest where God rules?’ they asked him.
v2 Jesus called a little child to him and the child stood among them. v3 ‘I am telling you the truth’, Jesus said to them. ‘You must change and become like little children. If you do not change, God cannot accept you. And you will never enter where God rules. v4 Anyone who becomes humble like this child is the greatest where God rules. v5 Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
Verse 1 Luke tells us that the *disciples were arguing (Luke 9:46). They were arguing about who was the greatest. They may have asked the question because Jesus chose only Peter, James and John to go up the mountain with him.
Verse 2 Children knew that Jesus was their friend, so they had no fear of him.
Verses 3-4 Children have to trust adults to provide for them. The *disciples needed to trust Jesus completely. At that time, children were not important. They may have had a family that loved them. But even the *disciples thought that the children were a nuisance to Jesus. So they tried to send them away (Matthew 19:13-15). Jesus told his *disciples that they must change their attitude. They must not try to become important. They must be humble if they wanted to become great in God’s *kingdom.
Verse 5 People like to think that they are friends with someone important. But Christians want to do what Jesus wants. So the person who loves Jesus will welcome a little child. Jesus said that it is the same as to welcome Jesus himself.
Do not cause other people to *sin 18:6-9
v6 ‘These little people believe me. But suppose a person causes one of them to stop believing me. It would be better to hang a large stone from the mill round that person’s neck. Then it would be better to drown that person in the deepest part of the sea.
v7 There will be trouble in the world because of the things that cause people to *sin. Things like that must come. They will stop people believing me. But how terrible for the person who causes such things to come!
v8 Your hand or your foot may cause you to *sin. Then cut it off and throw it away. It is better that you enter life with only one hand or one foot. It is worse to go into hell, even if you have two hands and two feet. v9 Your eye may cause you to *sin. Remove it and throw it away. It is better that you enter life with one eye. It is worse to have two eyes if you become rubbish on the fire of hell.
Verses 6-7 ‘Little people who believe me’ means children. It also refers to young Christians. They are like children as they begin to believe Jesus. There are many things in the world that are attractive. But they can cause people to *sin. These attractive things are like something in people’s way. Such things cause people to trip. Jesus gave a special warning against leading a child or a new Christian in the wrong way. It is very serious to cause someone to *sin. It would be better to lose one’s life. Jesus suggests a terrible death. They used a huge stone to make corn into flour. Also, the *Jews hated the sea. They did not usually drown people to punish them. To the *Jews, heaven would be a place where there was ‘no more sea’ (see Revelation 21:1). So they would have thought that to drown someone was a terrible punishment.
Verses 8-9 Jesus did not mean that *disciples should actually remove a hand, a foot or an eye. He was using picture language. He meant that they must move away from *sin. We use our hands and feet to do bad things. We use our eyes to look at wrong things. So we must control our hands, feet and eyes. Jesus had already used this picture when he taught about wrong sex (Matthew 5:28-30). It may be difficult to stop going to the wrong places. It is difficult to stop doing something that is not good. It may be hard to stop looking at the wrong kind of books or pictures. But the punishment is the fire of ‘Gehenna’. Gehenna was the valley outside Jerusalem that had become the city rubbish heap. There were always fires that were burning there. The word ‘Gehenna’ came to mean ‘Hell’. It described the place where God will send bad people. They will have no hope.
The sheep that the man lost 18:10-14
v10 ‘Do not think that any of these little people has no value. I tell you this. God’s servants in heaven who represent them are always near my Father in heaven. [v11 The Son of Man came to save people who are lost.]
v12 ‘Think about a man who owns 100 sheep. If one of them wanders away, he will leave the other 99 sheep on the hills. He will go to look for the sheep that wandered away. v13 I am telling you the truth. He will be very happy if he finds that sheep. He will be happier about that one sheep than about the 99 that did not wander away. v14 It is the same with your Father who is in heaven. He does not want any of these little people to be lost.
Verse 10 Jesus showed that little children and new believers are all precious to God. God’s servants in heaven are very important. They are always near to God. They are called ‘angels’. Jesus said that these servants were responsible for children.
[Verse 11] Someone may have copied this verse from Luke 19:10. The most important old copies of Matthew’s *gospel do not have these words. So most modern translations leave them out.
Verses 12-13 Luke has this story about the lost sheep as an answer to the *Pharisees. They blamed Jesus because he mixed with ‘*sinners’. He also mixed with men who collect taxes (Luke 15:1-7). Matthew uses the story to show how much God cares about ‘these little people’. He is like a man who searches for his one lost sheep. If this man found his sheep, he would be very happy. God searches for any person who has wandered away from the right way of life. God is happy when that person returns to the Christian family again. True *disciples will act like people who look after sheep. They will try to bring back any person who has wandered away from the right way of life. ‘If he finds that sheep’ suggests that they may not always be successful. But when they are successful, they will be happy to welcome the wanderer back. They will not try to make him feel foolish and miserable. Later on, Peter urged Christian leaders to be like people who look after sheep. They should serve their people and look after them (1 Peter 5:1-4).
When a *disciple hurts another *disciple 18:15-20
v15 ‘If another *disciple hurts you in some way, go to them. Tell them what they did wrong. You should talk together in private. If they listen to you, you have been successful. v16 But they may not listen to you. So then, take one or two other *disciples with you. God’s Word says that you must prove every matter. You must have the evidence from two or three witnesses when you accuse someone. v17 If they refuse to listen to these witnesses, tell the whole *church about it. But they may refuse to listen even to the whole *church. Then act towards them in the same way that you would act towards an unbeliever or a *tax-collector.
v18 ‘I am telling you the truth. Whatever you forbid on earth, God will forbid in heaven. Whatever you allow on earth, God will allow in heaven.
v19 ‘And I tell you more. Suppose that two of you on earth agree about something that you ask for. Then my Father in heaven will do it for you. v20 Where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.’
Verses 15-17 These verses show what a Christian must do if another Christian has done something wrong to them. In the *Old Testament *Law, a person may be guilty because they have done wrong. But there had to be two or three witnesses to the crime (Deuteronomy 19:15). There is a series of actions that they can take:
1. First, they should go to the person alone. The person may agree that they have done something wrong. If they do, then the relationship between two Christians will be right again. But that person may refuse to apologise. Then the Christian who was hurt should try again to heal the relationship.
2. They should go again with two or three other Christians if necessary. Here, the ‘one or two other *disciples’ can help to persuade the person that they have done something wrong.
3. If the person still takes no notice, they should speak to the *church about it. The word ‘*church’ here means the local group of Christians. It is different in Matthew 16:18, where ‘*church’ means Christians everywhere and in all ages.
4. The guilty person may refuse to listen to all the *church members. Then the members must consider that the guilty person is now outside their group. But Jesus believed that unbelievers and *tax-collectors could come where God rules. So the guilty person might realise his fault in the end. But he must remain outside the Christian group unless he becomes really sorry about the problem. A group should not allow wrong relationships to continue. The Christian group would be weak if that happened. And then it would be a poor witness to the world.
Verse 18 The decision of the local group should agree with what Jesus taught. Then God will approve of their action.
Verses 19-20 ‘Two or three’ people who pray together have Jesus with them. This promise became true after Jesus died and rose to life again. Jesus wanted Christians to know this. He would be with them, even if they could not see him. When he was on earth, his body could be in only one place at a time. But God does not think about large groups only. A small group who are *worshipping together has Jesus there with them. A family at home will sometimes pray together. Then Jesus will be with them. God listens when ‘two or three’ people pray. When two people agree with Jesus about something, then they can pray with complete confidence. God will answer their prayers.
The question about forgiving other people 18:21-22
v21 Then Peter came to Jesus. ‘*Lord, if my brother keeps on hurting me, how many times should I forgive him?’ he asked. ‘Should I forgive him seven times?’
v22 ‘No, not just seven times, but forgive him seventy times seven times’, Jesus said.
Verse 21 The *Jewish teachers said that a person should forgive someone else up to three times. God had told Amos that he would punish the wicked nations ‘for three *sins and for four’ (Amos chapter 1). That is probably why the *Jewish teachers said just three times. Peter thought that he was being very generous when he said ‘seven times’.
Verse 22 It is not clear if Jesus said ‘seventy times seven’ or ‘77’ here. It is clear that he meant ‘without limit’. Long ago, Lamech said that he would pay back an injury seventy seven times (Genesis 4:23-24). But Jesus told Peter that he should always forgive. Nobody should count the times that they have forgiven anyone.
The story about the servant who would not forgive 18:23-35
v23 ‘Where God rules is like a king. The king wanted to collect all the money that his servants owed him. v24 So he began to do this. Then they brought a man to him who owed him millions of silver coins. v25 The man was not able to pay. So the master ordered them to sell the man, his wife, his children and all his possessions. The master would receive that money to pay the servant’s debt. v26 Then the servant kneeled in front of the king. “Be patient with me”, he said. “I will pay back everything that I owe you.” v27 And the master pitied him. So he forgave the servant for all that he owed. And he let the servant leave free.
v28 That servant went out then. But he found one of the other servants who owed him just a few silver coins. The first servant held the second servant firmly. He began to squeeze the second servant’s neck. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.
v29 The second servant kneeled down in front of him. “Be patient with me and I will pay you back”, he said.
v30 But the first servant refused. Instead, he caused the authorities to throw the other servant into prison. And he had to stay there until he could pay back the debt. v31 The rest of the servants saw what had happened. And they were very upset about it. So they told their master everything that had happened.
v32 Then the master called the first servant to come back to him. “You wicked servant”, he said, “I forgave all your debt to me because you asked me to. v33 You should have pitied the other servant, exactly as I pitied you!” v34 His master was very angry. So he handed the servant over to the prison officers for punishment. He must stay in prison until he paid everything back to his master.
v35 You must forgive your brothers. My Father who is in heaven will act like this king towards each of you. So you must forgive them from deep inside yourselves.’
Only Matthew wrote this story down, but Jesus told it as an example. It shows why he answered Peter like that in verse 22. He told Peter that we must always forgive. It emphasises what Jesus taught earlier about the need to forgive (Matthew 6:12-15). People want God to forgive them. So people must forgive each other.
Verses 24-27 The first servant owed his master an enormous sum of money. The *Greek words say that he owed ‘10 000 talents’. 10 000 was the largest *Greek number, and a ‘talent’ was the largest coin. This is the same as the value of millions of coins today. The servant could never pay a debt that big. But his master forgave him and cancelled the debt.
The ‘debt’ that we owe to God refers to our *sins against God and against other people. We can never pay that debt. But God forgives those who trust Jesus. He has forgiven them all their *sins.
Verses 28-30 The second servant’s debt was a very small amount. The difference in value between the two debts was astonishing. But the first servant refused to forgive the second servant. He is like someone who refuses to forgive another person. They forget how much God has forgiven them. Paul wrote to Christians about this. ‘Be kind to each other. Forgive each other, exactly as God has forgiven you because of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:32).
Verse 35 People must forgive ‘from deep inside themselves’. It must be sincere. A person should not say, ‘I will forgive, but I will never forget.’ They are not really forgiving the other person, if they say that.
Matthew 19:1–22:46
The next main section is Chapter s 19 –23. It includes some of what Jesus taught his *disciples. It also includes how Jesus answered the authorities that opposed him. gospel ~ 1. good news; 2. one of the first four books in the New Testament.New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.
disciples ~ those who follow another person to learn from him.
kingdom ~ people or place that a king rules; or people that God rules.
sin ~ when we do not obey God's commands.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; things that people believe about Jesus.
gospel ~ 1. good news; 2. one of the first four books in the New Testament.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.
Pharisee ~ one of a group of Jews who thought that they obeyed all God’s rules. They did not like the things that Jesus taught. They thought that they did not do any wrong things. So, they thought that they were very important and clever.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; things that people believe about Jesus.
sinners ~ those who do wrong things.
church ~ a group of Christians who meet together. A church is not just the building that they meet in. It can also mean all the Christians in the world.'tax-collector ~ a man who collected taxes for the Romans.
Roman ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at that time. That which belonged to Rome was Roman.
Law ~ the rules that God gave to Moses for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; things that people believe about Jesus.
worship ~ show honour to God, usually with other people.
Lord ~ master; a name that we call God or Jesus; we call God or Jesus Lord when we obey them.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; things that people believe about Jesus.
Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the New Testament.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.