Matthew 18 15-20
Pentecost 16 A
Matthew 18:15-20
September 8, 2002
“We Are Not Alone – We Are Our Brothers Keeper”
Introduction: Our meditation today is based on the gospel lesson recorded for us in Matthew. Matthew 18, and especially verses 15-20, is often used in matters of Church discipline and matters of excommunication. And it should be used. These are our Lord’s instructions to His Church. Matthew 18 is also used in church organizations as the official grievance procedure – a church corporate policy as such. Ask these organizations how they handle personal problems and they answer, “We use the procedure laid out in Matthew 18.” Naturally, wherever it is used, when Matthew 18 is mentioned, it conjures up expectations that something negative and distasteful has happened. Some bodies gotten out of line and now we are forced to deal with the situation. Nobody really wants to take care of such messy business. In the Church, most of us are pleased to give such nasty business to our pastors and elders. That is, after all, the pastors and elders job, isn’t it? Yes, it is, but first it is a matter for every individual of the church. It isn’t a job though. It is our calling. We, as Christians, are not alone in the world to fend for ourselves and keep ourselves in the straight and narrow path. The Lord calls each and every one of us to watch out for our fellow Christian. He calls us to speak the good news to each other when we fall to temptation. That good news is that we sinners have been forgiven for the sake of Jesus death on the cross. We are not alone; we are our brother’s keepers. Matthew 18 is not just church discipline or a corporate personnel policy to keep people in line. It is the precious invitation of the gospel that is offered to each and every one of us.
I. We Are Not Alone, We Are Our Brothers Keeper
A. Sin is a Serious Business. To understand the rich Gospel message of Matthew 18 we need to see these verses in context. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus reminds us of the seriousness of sin. He tells His disciples that it would be better for a person to have a millstone hung around their necks and be thrown into the sea than to lead a person into sin. Then He says that it would be better for a person to cut off their hand or foot or pluck out their eye if these leads them to sin. Why? Sin is a serious business. It separates people from God and it leads to eternal death. With such extreme consequences sin is to be avoided at every cost.
B. Jesus Is Serious about Saving Sinners. As serious as sin is Jesus is even more serious about saving sinners. Right after Jesus talks about sin, and right before our gospel lesson for today, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus said, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” At this point Jesus stops the parable. In a way He is saying it is important that you get this right. He further explains what it means to go after the lost sheep. “If you’re brother sins, go and tell him. If he listens to you have gained your brother. Your fellow Christians will sin. That is for sure. It is up to you to save them. It is not always going to be easy, but our Lord promises to be with you, as save the lost sheep that is your fellow Christian.
C. Jesus Uses Us To Save Our Brothers. Sometimes we will fail and sometimes we will succeed
1. Though We Fail. Saving our fellow Christian is a simple process, yet sometimes we will mess it up with our own sinfulness and reluctance to do it. If your fellow Christian sins so that you see it, privately you are to go to them and let them know. Let me underline the words “privately and “go to them”, namely the one who has sinned. All too often, when we see our fellow Christian sinning, we don’t go to them to correct them. Instead we talk to someone else, who knows that person, and we say, “Did you know or have you heard what so and so did?” When we do this we sin against the eight commandment. We bare false witness against out neighbor, betraying, slandering and defaming our neighbor instead of defending, and speaking well, and putting the best construction on everything. Instead of correcting, we participate in the sin by enjoying it for the pleasure of our gossiping tongue. We must go privately to our fellow Christian, maintaining their humility and guarding them from shame. We do this remembering that we all are sinners in need of God’s grace and forgiveness that He so freely gives.
Another and even greater problem is our own reluctance to speak the truth in love to our erring brothers and sisters. This is your responsibility. Certainly it comes with risks. You may be called judgmental among other things. You may be told to mind your own business. It may cause conflict. It is a risk that may save your brothers or sisters soul. As your pastor, I will not always see manifest sin. People are pretty good about maintaining a pretense in church and around the pastor. It is a churchliness and saintliness that isn’t all together real. All of us do it. You live with each other everyday. You see past the pretense to obvious sins because a pretense can only be held so long.
2. We Will Succeed. To save your erring brother or sister you must speak. Do it right away before they become comfortable with their sin. Remind them that their behavior has eternal consequences and that they are putting their soul at risk. Remind them that we all sin much; all of us are in need of forgiveness that we receive by faithfully confessing our sins and believing that we have been forgiven for Christ’s sake. When you do this you are like a person that sees his friend about to walk off a cliff. With a shout you call out for your friend to stop. Unless the friend is dense and obstinate he will stop and you will have saved his life. It is written in the Epistle of James, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” If they refuse to stop, it is their fault that they perish. You have been a faithful friend.
II. We Are Not Alone – Jesus, Our Brother, Keeps Us
We all have a faithful friend and brother in Jesus Christ. He is serious about confronting us with the sin in our lives. Sin is sin with serious consequences. We all have sinned when we failed to correct our erring brothers and sisters, when we didn’t open our mouths or opened them in gossip. We have acted like the lost sheep to the peril of our souls. All we like sheep have gone astray. The Lord sought us out and found us. He rescued us from ourselves at the cross. He calls us to trust and believe in Him. Now he calls us to continue His saving work with the people of this church. He has made a marvelous promise that where two or three of us are He will be there too. With His authority and with His voice of the gospel He uses us to call sinners to repent. He calls us to receive them back home with forgiving arms. We are not alone; we are our brothers’ keeper.
Conclusion: Jesus Christ loves sinners. He loves you. He is like the man who left the ninety-nine sheep to go after the one sheep. You are that one sheep. Our Lord rejoices over you as if you were the only one lost. Like the father of the prodigal son He rejoices, for the one that was dead is alive and the one that was lost has been found. In Jesus we are not alone. He is our brothers’ keeper and he is ours.