Matthew 18
February 26
Reading: Matthew 18
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7 "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
8 "And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11
12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 "Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
The fourth major sermon in Matthew begins in answer to the disciples’ question in Matthew 18:1, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus is trying to focus them on His path to the Cross. They are interested in being the greatest. This desire comes into full view in Matthew 20:20-21.
Who is the greatest? Jesus answers the question in a number of ways. The greatest is the one who is humble. The greatest looks out for the “little ones.” The greatest deals with sin seriously. The greatest seeks the one who is lost. The greatest seeks to restore sinners. The greatest prays to the Father in Heaven. The greatest forgives and keeps on forgiving. In short, the person who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the person who is always thinking about others. This is not how we usually define greatness. We are the ones who are wrong.
Jesus begins His message by setting before His disciples a child and saying that they “must be converted and become like children.” They need to be changed. They need to turn around. They are thinking and living one way. They need to think and live the opposite way. “The one who is least among you, this is the one who is great.” (Luke 9:48)
In verses 15-18 Jesus explains how a sinner in the Kingdom (in the church) is to be dealt with. But do not think that Jesus is describing how to punish someone for sinning. Not at all. He is describing how to restore a lost person to God’s family.
Peter figures out just what Jesus is saying in all of this and asks the obvious question, “How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?” (vs. 21) Clearly, Peter thinks that forgiving someone seven times is really impressive. But no, that is only the beginning. Why?
Jesus explains in the parable beginning in verse 23 just why we must be people who forgive and keep on forgiving. We forgive because we realize how much the Lord has forgiven us. You need to think about this for a while. Is there someone that you are withholding forgiveness from? It is time to change that, in your heart and then in your actions. If you do not, then verse 35 applies to you.