Matthew 18
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Matthew 18: A Heart of Forgiveness
Matthew 18: A Heart of Forgiveness
In the last chapter (17) we saw Jesus’ divine glory revealed through the Transfiguration, where Peter, James, and John see Him with Moses and Elijah and hear the Heavenly Father affirm Him as His Son. Coming down the mountain, Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy and teaches that even small faith has great power if given the attention it needs to grow. Jesus again predicts His death, foreshadowing the coming crucifixion. The chapter ends with Jesus demonstrating humility and wisdom by miraculously providing a coin to pay the temple tax, even though He is exempt.
The Greatest in the Kingdom
The Greatest in the Kingdom
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
The disciples asking this question has come up because of an argument amongst them that we see described in Mark chapter 9 and Luke chapter 9. They want to know which one of them is the “greatest”. Jesus is about to show them that their hearts and minds are in the wrong place if this is the question that they are debating.
And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Jesus calls a child because this illustrates humility and dependence. A child is dependent on their guardians, and in the ancient world children had no status and were completely dependent. The disciples argument of who is greatest would put dependence on themselves, instead of depending on Christ.
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.
The disciples are expecting to be honored in God’s kingdom, and Jesus is contrasting their pride with the humility of a child, saying that they should put aside their pride and become as humble as the child. They asked “who is the greatest?” and Jesus could have just pointed to himself, right? But instead He uses this as a chance to teach us about the heart he wants us all to have.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus showing that reward in heaven first starts with being humble. Humility leads to greatness, and think about how we discussed this during Zach’s ordination. Someone that is pasturing is to be a servant to God’s children. The disciples are being taught this same lesson, that they need to humble themselves, get back to serving and spreading the word, instead of bickering over who has earned the highest status in the kingdom.
And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Jesus here is referring to the entire family of God, not literally the child. He is again giving His command that we love each other, serve each other, and spread His word. We have seen Him give similar instructions in:
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
So Christ is again telling us to have a child-like faith, serving one another in humility. That is how we receive the keys to the kingdom and start to bring forth fruit that will result in the rewards of heaven.
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.
Notice that Christ uses the same phrase we saw back in chapter 10 verse 42, “little ones”. This isn’t speaking about age, but about spiritual maturity, someone new in their faith. Christ is saying that we should be careful to not cause those that are early in their journey with Jesus to stumble due to our pride or inflated egos. How many of us know someone that seemed to get pulled away from the path of following Jesus due to an issue in the church, or someone being judgmental, or egotistical? Their faith being tarnished by something caused by man, not God. That’s the type of thing that Christ is talking about here. Take note that it is someone who “believe in Christ”, so these little ones have the qualifier added there. They have to be believers.
A millstone was a large stone that a donkey would turn to grind grain, so Jesus isn’t mincing His words here. He is giving a harsh description of a terrible death by drowning while strapped to a heavy stone be a less severe punishment than what He has in store for someone that leads followers astray or leads them into sin.
Temptations and Trespasses
Temptations and Trespasses
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!
Jesus here is saying that stumbling blocks or offences will happen, they are an unfortunate part of the world we live in. But just because they are inevitable doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to be people that don’t contribute to those things. We don’t want to be someone that offends God or causes a stumbling block to be in the path of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
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.
Christ here teaching using hyperbole which He does often to make a point. Entering into life of course means eternal life, the life we will have in Heaven after judgement. Christ is saying we need to start making changes in our lives NOW, so that our lives in Heaven will be better. We don’t need to wait, or put off trying to follow Jesus and His teachings. As we will see a little later in this chapter, this can also apply to cutting off people who would lead you astray. There are steps to be taken, we don’t just distance ourselves from someone on a whim; but there comes a point where it maybe necessary.
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.
This verse giving the same instruction as the last just worded differently. The point being that sin is serious enough that it requires action, sometimes extreme action, for us to remove it from our lives so that we can more closely walk with Jesus. Will we ever be perfect? Absolutely not. But we should be willing to take whatever steps we can to build our relationship with God and to do a better job of following the example that Christ set for us.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
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.
Remember what we discussed back in verse 6, the “little ones” are the new in their faith, or those who are just beginning to grow their spiritual maturity; not necessarily speaking about age. Jesus here speaks to God having angels watching over us; and we see Paul speak to this in Hebrews chapter 1 as well. But we must always remember what was told to John in Revelation. We only worship God, don’t allow yourself to start glorifying angels, keep in mind this verse:
Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Just like Zach touched on last week, here we run into a verse that shows up in some translations, but not in others. I want to build upon the foundation Zach laid last week to help us understand why that is.
So what’s going on here? This verse is clearly biblical (it also appears in Gospel of Luke 19:10), but many of the earliest and most reliable Greek manuscripts of Matthew do not include this verse. Why would that be?
What probably occured is that when copy and translating the book of Matthew, the scribes copying the text added the verse from Luke to clarify the passage. But even without the verse being included, we don’t lose any of the meaning of the chapter. And if we study the whole Bible we even get the exact verse when we study Luke.
The reason this happens comes down to what’s called “manuscript families”. Some translations (like the KJV) use what’s called Byzantine manuscripts. These come later and we have more of them, so it makes sense why they would be used; especially because they were the easiest to get a hold of.
Other, newer translations (like the NIV) use what’s called Alexandrian manuscripts, which are older but we have fewer of them. It gets us closer to the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic; but we have far less of them.
So at the end of the day, this is a simple copying and translation difference. The scribe added a verse to help clarify the chapter, but with or without the verse the meaning of the chapter and Jesus’ parable remains the same. (Touch on Revelation chapter 22).
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?
Where this verse says “gone astray, it uses the Greek verb, planaō (“to go astray” or “wander away”), and it is often connected to people who abandon the faith. It is this word in the Strong’s:
Greek Strong’s Number: 4105 Planao
Pronunciation: plan-ah’-o
Greek Word: πλανάω
English Words used in KJV: deceive 24, err 6, go astray 5, seduce 2, wander 1, be out of the way 1
from <G4106> ; to (properly cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue):- go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way.
So Jesus is telling us in this verse that it is not God’s will that even ONE of his children is lead astray. But this is where our freewill comes into play. He allows us to live life of our own accord, and we have to make the decision if we will follow Christ, or not. But HE sent His Son and gave us the Word, so that there is a chance to save those of us that wander off the path.
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.
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
The word perish indicates being lost and destroyed. So we see that God’s will is that He would not want any of His children to be lost, even if they are a “little one” or still spiritually immature.
A Brother Who Sins
A Brother Who Sins
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.
So we should approach someone that has wronged us in private, so that we avoid bringing shame, misunderstanding, and gossip. And we say that important word, IF. IF the offender understands the wrong that has been committed, then it should be forgiven and put aside. That’s why it says, “thou hast gained thy brother”; the relationship has been restored.
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.
So if the brother wouldn’t listen when things were discussed in private, then you should discuss the issue with a couple of witnesses. This may be people who witnessed the wrong doing itself, or it may be witnesses to the fact that there is a discussion taking place trying to resolve it. They might offer advice or wisdom, and could play the role of mediator if necessary. Sometimes it is necessary to have an outside point of view.
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.
So in this verse we see that we are instructed to as a last resort, bring the issue to the church; meaning the assembly or gathering together of believers. The reason is that our mission is to bring our stray brother or sister back into the fold. We are working for a resolution, not working out a judgement. The heathen man means a gentile, and publican means a tax collector; both of which would be outsiders to Jews. The lesson here being that if someone is unrepentant after multiple attempts, don’t let them then lead you away from Christ. We are to cut ties so that the sin is removed from the group and doesn’t cause others to stray. Now remember this is not after one failed attempt, but if someone repeatedly refuse help, or to see the wrong that they are doing; there comes a time that the correct course of action is to walk away. Paul echoes this in:
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
So we see there does come a time that it is appropriate to distance ourselves from those that won’t correct sinful behavior.
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.
This verse is basically the phrase we hear “you reap what you sew”. How we live life now will be reflected in our life (or death) in the eternity.
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.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Jesus promising that if we gather together in His name, He will be present with us.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
We talk about it all the time, what is seven in Biblical numerics? Spiritual completeness, totality. So Peter gives a generous offer of forgiving someone seven times; but it’s not enough for Jesus.
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Jesus tells Peter to forgive 7 x 70 which is 490 times, but that kind of misses the point. Jesus is saying we should forgive without limit. This reflects God’s forgiveness for us, and shows that this is the example we should follow. But connect this to what we read earlier in the chapter. If someone wants forgiveness, truly; we are to do so. But if they will not correct the wrong doing and seek forgiveness we are instructed to cut ties. This is not a contradiction, it’s a complement to the instructions He has already given us.
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
10,000 talents was the largest number used in the Greek calculations and was the highest monetary unit of the time. It represents 150,000 years of wages (1 talent = 15 years), a debt that could never be paid. Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like the debt we owe for our sins, right?
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.
So the servant has no way to pay the debt, so his entire family were to be sold into slavery. Slavery was used commonly as a way to settle debts in the ancient world; we can not that in Exodus chapter 22, 2 Kings chapter 4, and Nehemiah chapter 5.
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
The servant begs for forgiveness and patience, and promises to pay the debt; something that would be absolutely impossible due to the absurd amount he owed.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
So the master is moved by the servants love of his family and his cry for forgiveness, so the master does forgive the debt and sets him free.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
The 100 pence would be equal to 100 days’ wage. A very small amount compared to what the servant just had forgiven. And now the servant that just received that forgiveness is now violently seeking payment from another.
And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So his fellow servant begged for forgiveness and patience, but the servant cast him into prison instead of following the example his master had set by forgiving a far larger amount.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
So the crowd goes and relays all of this information to the master, their lord.
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:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
So the servant should have followed the example of the master. This is the point of the parable, we have been forgiven by God of all of our sins, we should be willing to find forgiveness for one another.
It can be easy to fall into the trap of the think “God forgives us when we repent, so if I’m supposed to forgive someone they first have to repent”. This is incorrect. God forgives us when we repent because HE is perfect and has never had to be forgiven. We don’t hold that same glory, so for us to require repentance for forgiveness from each other would be trying to place ourselves on the same level as God. Very dangerous thinking to fall into.
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
So the servant was cast into torment until he could pay back his debt. Remember the debt was impossible for him to pay, so this is pointing to eternal death, our names being blotted out of the book of life if we don’t follow Christ and receive salvation through His blood.
What does this chapter and the teachings that Christ gives us here, show us? How do we apply this to our lives? Jesus is pointing us back to the commandment that He give multiple times. We are instructed to love God and to love one another. Part of fulfilling that commandment is being willing to forgive each other, just as we are forgiven of our sins through the blood of Christ. It’s easy to hold a grudge, to be angry, or to fill justified if someone has wronged us. It’s much harder to follow the example that Jesus sets for us, and to forgive others with a heart full of love. But we have seen that the Bible talks about the fruit we should bring forth, our works, the way that our faith is made apparent. Part of allowing our faith in Jesus to take root, to grow, and to produce that fruit; is allowing our lives to reflect His light and love to the world; and a great way to do that is to forgive one another when we fall short.
Matthew 18: A Heart Of Forgiveness
Matthew 18: A Heart Of Forgiveness
