AT THAT TIME the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
10“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
12“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
15“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
30“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Original Meaning
AS THE OPPOSITION from the religious establishment to his ministry increased (cf. 12:22–32; 15:1–20; 16:1–12), Jesus has twice predicted that he will soon suffer at their hands, be crucified, but then be raised again (16:21; 17:22–23). He knows that the conclusion of his earthly ministry is approaching, so he has spent considerable time with his disciples clarifying his identity and mission (chs. 14–17). With his impending absence from them, he now also spends time instructing them about the kind of community life that should characterize their relationships with one another and with the world at large.
This extended instruction comprises the fourth of five discourses by Jesus that Matthew has recorded in his Gospel (see the introduction). This fourth discourse, the Community Prescription, delineates the church as the community of disciples that witnesses to the reality of the presence of the kingdom throughout this age. Their witness comes both through their declaration of the gospel message and living it out as a family of faith characterized by humility, purity, accountability, discipline, reconciliation, restoration, and forgiveness.
Much of this material is unique to Matthew, especially noted by the occurrence of the term ekklesia in 18:17, a term that only appears in the Gospels in Matthew (cf. 16:18). The broad prescription of the church’s community life continues through chapter 20. Thereupon, Jesus and the disciples leave Galilee for the final time, heading for Jerusalem by passing through the Transjordan region of Judea called Perea (19:1) and entering Judea at Jericho (20:29).
The Greatness of Humility (18:1–4)
IN 17:24–27, JESUS and his disciples were in Capernaum. Although Matthew does not narrate their location during the Community Prescription, he does tell us in 19:1 that they leave Galilee. Thus, Jesus most likely gathers with his disciples for a final time in Capernaum, perhaps again at the home of Simon Peter and Andrew, the headquarters for the Galilean ministry (see comments on 8:14).
The event that precipitates this discourse is a surprising question from Jesus’ disciples1 about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They are still developing an understanding of what it means to be Jesus’ particular type of disciple, which is different from other forms of disciples within Judaism and the wider Greco-Roman world. Discipleship in the ancient world often involved a significant commitment to a rigorous course of study and disciplined lifestyle in order to attain to the master’s level of expertise.
The ambition to achieve greatness is a pursuit central to human accomplishment, and on the strictly natural level it is not inappropriate. Jesus pointed to the greatness of John the Baptist as the culminating prophet of the old order, though he did state, shockingly, that the person who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John (11:11). Jesus’ disciples most likely have remembered that comparison, and they seek to advance to the kind of greatness in the kingdom that they think Jesus indicated. They have all sacrificed significantly by following him around the countryside these last two to three years, and they want to attain to the highest level of commitment to Jesus’ kingdom agenda (cf. also, later, 20:20–28).
But as the following interaction indicates, the disciples have a different type of greatness in mind from what Jesus meant. When he spoke of John’s greatness and the greatness of those who are least in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus meant the honor of serving God by preparing for the Messiah and of experiencing the arrival of the blessings of the new covenant through his blood (see comments on 11:11). The disciples understood him to mean primarily the greatness that comes from human endeavor and heroic accomplishments. One of Jesus’ primary goals in chapter 18 is to revise their understanding of “greatness” to the way God thinks about it.2
Jesus begins this process with a visual aid by calling a little child and having him stand among them. He then makes a startling statement: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is not commending an inherent innocence of children. The Old Testament has a balanced view of both the sinfulness and the value of children. They can be rebellious and be subject to severe punishment (e.g., Deut. 21:18–21), and the psalmist knows of his sinfulness from conception (Ps. 51:5). But children are also a wonderful creation of God (139:13–14), and Jewish tradition regarded them as a blessing and gift from God (127:3–5; 128:3–4; Pss. Sol. 1:3).
Instead of pointing to the innocence of a child, Jesus uses the little child as an object lesson on humility that comes from their vulnerability: “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” In the ancient world, children were valued primarily for the benefit that they brought to the family by enhancing the workforce, adding to the defensive power, and guaranteeing the future glory of the house. But they had no rights or significance apart from their future value to the family and were powerless in society. The humility of a child consists of the inability to advance his or her own cause apart from the help and resources of a parent.
Yet Jesus celebrates the humility that comes from the child’s weakness, defenselessness, and vulnerability. The child can really do nothing for himself or herself and will die if left alone. It is this kind of humility that Jesus uses as a visual aid to contrast the world’s form of greatness to the greatness of the kingdom of heaven. Like the values established in the Beatitudes (5:3–10), this is an explicit pronouncement of grace to those who seemingly are unworthy of the kingdom, but it is also a pronouncement of condemnation on those who think themselves to be worthy but are not. Those who wish to enter the kingdom must turn away from their own power and self-seeking, and in childlike humility call on God’s mercy to allow them to enter the kingdom of heaven. The child becomes a metaphor to Jesus of the values of discipleship.3
Therefore, childlikeness is a characteristic of all true disciples, because it is only through God’s mercy that a person can enter his kingdom and find the greatness that comes from having one’s sins forgiven and being invested with kingdom life. Note especially that Jesus is speaking to those who are disciples already (cf. 18:1). He is still clarifying his form of discipleship against other forms found in Judaism at the time and against the expectations of those who have responded to his message and confessed themselves to be his disciples. Some of these have attached themselves to him according to their own agendas—most noticeably Judas, but also others who did not truly believe in Jesus’ identity and mission (cf. John 6:60–66). Those who would follow Jesus must understand his form of discipleship.
This encounter is an important time for the disciples to check themselves. If they do not yet truly believe, even though they may be “disciples” in name, they must repent, be converted, and enter the kingdom of heaven. Not all who call themselves disciples of Jesus are so truly. The proof will be, at least in part, in their character of childlike discipleship, which is solely a product of humbling oneself to receive the new life produced by entering the kingdom.
Shelter for the Humble (18:5–9)
JESUS GOES ON to indicate that in the same way one must humbly receive God’s mercy in order to enter the kingdom of heaven and become his disciple (18:1–4), humility must continue to characterize a life of discipleship.4 The disciples must learn to let God direct their path even while they serve within his kingdom. Childlike humility that comes from vulnerability is a primary characteristic of discipleship to Jesus because it enables his disciples to receive God’s mercy consistently instead of priding themselves on human accomplishments. This reverses typical human notions of how to achieve greatness and how to grow in greatness.
Care for humble disciples (18:5). But in advocating a childlike humility for his disciples that comes from weakness, defenselessness, and vulnerability, Jesus encourages others to care for them: “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” The “little child” is the true disciple who has humbly received God’s enabling mercy to enter the kingdom and who is now serving God. Jesus harks back to the parallel saying in the mission mandate (10:40–42), where he stated that whoever “receives” (dechomai; “welcome” in 18:5) childlike disciple-missionaries who carry the message of Jesus, receive Jesus himself. Receiving a little child in the name of Christ means accepting and believing the witness of a Christian disciple.
Warning about taking advantage of humble disciples (18:6–7). Jesus not only encourages care for humble disciples but also warns any who would take advantage of them that disciples will have the strength, protection, and invincibility of the kingdom to shelter them as they serve their Master. Jesus switches from the term “child” as a metaphor of discipleship to the “little ones who believe,” but the meaning is essentially the same.
Using hyperbole reminiscent of sayings in the SM (e.g., 5:27–30), Jesus emphasizes the seriousness of causing a person to stumble on the path of discipleship (18:6). The phrase “cause to sin” does not indicate a single isolated indiscretion. Rather, drawing on the metaphorical nature of the verb skandalizo (“cause to stumble”), it points to a person who has been led astray into sin and fallen badly in his or her walk with God.5 To practice a lifestyle that regularly leads Jesus’ humble disciples to sin indicates that one is headed for eternal damnation, so it would be better to cut one’s life off quickly than to risk staying on that trajectory.
The crescendo of warning increases as Jesus pronounces, “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!” As in the earlier “woes” pronounced on certain unrepentant cities (11:21), Jesus does not dispassionately pronounce doom on the world. “Woe to the world” is a pronouncement of judgment on those who persist as instruments of causing others to sin. Even though such inducements to sin happen, no one is personally free from responsibility if he or she leads others to sin. This pronouncement later falls on Judas for his culpability in betraying Jesus (26:24).
Warning about allowing one’s own passions to lead oneself into sin (18:8–9). Jesus now addresses the disciples directly about their personal responsibility for their own actions. Lest they deceive themselves into thinking that all sinful behavior is the result of others causing them to sin, Jesus declares that they must take responsibility for their own tendencies to cause themselves to sin (again skandalizo, as in 18:6). Similar to the hyperbole in the SM (5:29–30), Jesus indicates that cutting off one’s hand or foot or plucking out one’s eye in this life (18:8–9) is no comparison to the eternal judgment destined for allowing the passions of one’s own life to lead one into sin. Jesus is not advocating physical self-mutilation, but through dramatic figures of speech he indicates the rigorous self-discipline needed for committed disciples.
A disciple’s actions indicate the state of his or her heart (15:19), and the person who consistently yields to sin is worthy of eternal condemnation since such sin reveals that he or she is not a disciple of Jesus. The fires of the eternal hell of Gehenna await those who receive God’s judgment.6
Angelic Protection of the Little Ones (18:10)
JESUS CONTINUES HIS warning to those who may try to take advantage of his disciples. The expression “little ones” here are disciples who have humbled themselves to be like powerless children (cf. 18:2–6), although there may be dual attention paid to literal children among the disciples. Since the disciples have humbled themselves not to be self-seeking and now display childlike humility of weakness, defenselessness, and vulnerability (cf. 18:1–4), they, and those who might take advantage of them, can be sure that the heavenly Father will watch out for their welfare through angels, who are in constant communication with him.
Angels are well known to be active in the affairs of humans, but in a strikingly personal way, Jesus refers to “their angels.”7 Scripture speaks of angelic care for individual persons such as Jacob (Gen. 48:16; cf. Ps. 34:7; 91:11), individual churches (Rev. 1:20), and nations (Dan. 10:13). Jewish literature has a consistent emphasis on angels as guardians of individual persons.8 Whether or not Jesus’ statement implies guardian angels who watch over individual believers on an ongoing basis,9 it does confirm that the heavenly Father uses angels to care for childlike disciples (cf. Heb. 1:14). Although some Jewish literature pictures only the higher echelons of the angelic orders who can approach God,10 Jesus’ statement that they “always see the face of my Father” indicates that the disciples’ angels have constant access to and communication with God. “My Father” reemphasizes the unique relation between Jesus and his heavenly Father.11
The Divine Search for Lost Sheep (18:12–14)
JESUS CALLS FOR the disciples to make the connection between the angelic care for the “little ones” and the following parable of the sheep (“What do you think?”).12 The key is a concern for his humble followers who have gone astray through others’ causing them to sin (18:6–7) or through their own sinful choices (18:8–9). The Father will not only send angels to try to bring them back to discipleship but will himself expend every effort to bring about their safe return.
Jesus uses a parable concerning safe and wayward sheep to make his point. The secure image of God’s people as his sheep is replete throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Ps. 23; Isa. 53:6; Jer. 13:17; Zech. 10:3; 13:7), as is the distressful image of some who stray (e.g., Ps. 119:176; Isa. 53:6; Jer. 23:1–4; 50:6; Ezek. 34:1–30). The metaphor naturally becomes associated with Jesus, as he here seems to imply,13 as a central part of his mission both to Israel and to all of humanity (cf. John 10:7–18; 1 Peter 5:2–4; Rev. 7:17). Since shepherds often worked with one another as their sheep grazed the hillsides, to leave the ninety-nine is of no real concern, since other shepherds would keep an eye on them. A hundred sheep is an average size for a flock, easily cared for by a shepherd.14
Then Jesus makes a remarkable statement: “And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.” The joy of finding the lost sheep does not mean that it has more value than the others. Rather, the shepherd’s joy demonstrates the depth of his concern, care, and love for all his sheep. The depth of that love is often only experienced when faced with the possibility of loss.
Jesus then gives the point of the parable: “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” The mention of the “little ones” again indicates disciples who have stumbled off the path of discipleship because of mistreatment and temptations to sin that came through other people, including professing, but false, disciples (cf. 18:6–7), or else their stumbling into sin came through their own passions (18:8–9).
Note that the similar parable in Luke 15:3–7 has the lost sheep representing unsaved sinners, while here it implies a believer who has gone astray. Perhaps Jesus spoke this similar parable on two occasions with different purposes in view, or else his intent is to illustrate in his care and restoration of the wayward disciple his concern for all those who are lost.15 Either way, Jesus’ emphasis in Matthew’s account is on the recovery of backslidden disciples who are in danger of eternal judgment. The danger comes from the real possibility that they may not be disciples at all. Judas is lurking on that wayward trail, which would be a stark reminder for Matthew’s readers. The Father will not force anyone to repent, as Judas so grievously illustrates, but God has commissioned the community of disciples to do everything possible to retrieve their straying brothers and sisters, for they must have the same heart as does their heavenly Father.
Disciplining Wayward Disciples (18:15–17)
THIS PERICOPE (UNIQUE to Matthew’s Gospel) follows logically from the preceding warnings about sin committed by disciples. Jesus gives the steps of discipline (18:15–17) and the method of confirmation (18:18–20) that the community must apply to sinful situations.
Jesus begins by specifying the problem: “If your brother sins against you. . . .” The “little one” who went astray is now called a “brother” who has committed sin. “Brother” harks back to the scene where Jesus emphasizes that his disciples, who have obeyed the will of the Father by following Jesus, are his mother, and brother, and sister (cf. 12:46–50). The gender of the disciple is not in view here, we can apply this to any member of the family of faith. Jesus addresses what the community of believers must do if one in the family commits a sin. The basis of the process is rooted in Deuteronomy 19:15–18, as his quotation of this passage in Matthew 18:16 indicates.16
Jesus enunciates four steps for dealing with a sinning member of the discipleship community, which has as its intended goal the restoration of the sinning brother or sister to a state of purity and the reestablishment of the fellowship of the body.
(1) Personal confrontation. “Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” Either the person who has been offended or a member of the community who has knowledge of the brother’s sin must go to the person who has sinned and lay out his fault. Such an encounter must be undertaken with privacy so that if it is resolved, no undue attention will be given to the tragedy of sin committed by a member of the community. The ultimate objective of the encounter is not punishment but restoration—winning over a brother so that he can be restored to the faithful path of discipleship.
(2) Witnesses to the confrontation. If the first step does not result in repentance, one or two other members of the community should go back to witness the confrontation (not that they were eyewitnesses to the original sin) and the sinning brother’s refusal to repent. They will be able to help arbitrate, or in the case of stubborn rebellion, become witnesses of nonrepentance. This follows the guideline provided in Deuteronomy 19:15: “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
(3) Involvement of the church. The third step, in the case of nonrepentance, is to bring the complaint before the church: “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” This is the second time that the word “church” (ekklesia) occurs in Matthew’s Gospel, both times used by Jesus. This is a look ahead by Jesus to the future functioning of his family of disciples as the community of believers in this present age (see comments on 16:18).
Again with the goal of restoring wayward disciples (“sheep”; 18:12–14), the intent of including the church in the disciplining process is to involve the broader body of believers in trying to get the sinning brother to acknowledge his sin. Those who have shared the fellowship of the community may persuade the sinning brother to accept responsibility for his action(s).
The way in which this was carried out in the small home churches of the early church may be quite different than today. Such a sin would become immediately evident to the community. Today some churches actually publish a list or make an announcement from the pulpit. I personally have seen this work most effectively when the church leaders are made aware of the situation and are brought into the process of attempted restoration rather than making a public announcement.
(4) Treat as an unbeliever. The fourth step of discipline is to treat the sinning brother who refuses to repent like a pagan (ethnikos; lit., “Gentile”) or tax collector, the common titles for those who are consciously rebellious against God and his people. The Old Testament prescriptions for exercising punishment (Deut. 25:1–3) were later applied by Judaism as a responsibility of the synagogue. The synagogue was not only the place of worship, instruction, and fellowship, but also the place of discipline. Extreme discipline included flogging and expulsion from the community (m. Mak. 3.1–2; see comments on 10:17). Jesus focuses instead on spiritual exclusion from the fellowship of the church, which is symbolic of spiritual death.
Again, the way that this is carried out today must be determined by individual circumstances. Some suggest that the person not be allowed to participate in any activities of the church. However, since unbelievers are encouraged to come to the assembly to hear the gospel, it must mean something other than strict removal. Rather, this is best carried out when the church considers the sinning individual not to be a believer. Confessing disciples who live with unconfessed sin indicate by their lives that they are not truly members of Jesus’ spiritual family and are not to be allowed to enjoy its fellowship. They should be treated as unbelievers, with the same compassion and urgency needed to encourage them to repent; they are not to receive the same openness to the inner fellowship of the community that is reserved for fellow disciples.
Consensus on Community Discipline and Life (18:18–20)
JESUS GOES ON to emphasize that the responsibility of the community of disciples is to come to a corporate consensus in which there is correspondence between heaven and earth in carrying out the will of the Father.
Consensus in discipline (18:18). That means in the first place to seek the Father’s will about the activities of brothers and sisters who are accused of sinful behavior and then seek to bring God’s will to bear on the situation. Jesus states, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This saying is virtually identical to the pronouncement made of Peter’s role in the foundation of the church (see comments on 16:19), except with the striking difference that here the verbs are plural, indicating that Peter’s foundational authority is extended to the entire community of disciples. In this context, the community of disciples, the church, is given authority to declare the terms under which God forgives or refuses to forgive the sin of wayward disciples.
In other words, the disciples as a whole have a responsibility for declaring the terms under which sins are forgiven or how a person is to be excluded from the fellowship of the local church. As parallel statements, these sayings of Jesus are the basis for entrance into or banishment from the kingdom (16:19) and the local church (18:18).17 Both sayings relate to forgiveness of sin. A third passage, John 20:22b–23, also concerns the forgiveness of sins, and is a threefold saying of almost identical construction. The periphrastic future tense indicates that what Peter and the disciples do in this present age has already been determined by God.18
The church is the instrument of God, who alone can grant forgiveness of sin or consign a person to judgment. The passive voice of “will have been bound” and “will have been loosed” and the phrase “in heaven” are Semitic circumlocutions for describing God’s actions.19 But the church does have the authority to “bind and loose,” that is, to declare the terms under which God either forgives or retains sins (cf. John 20:22b–23). Jesus’ statement assures the church that God in heaven confirms its judgment on a sinning brother.
Consensus in praying for God’s will in the community (18:19). The correspondence sought in the community of disciples between earth and heaven also promises to guide the church’s attempt generally to carry out the will of the heavenly Father on earth (cf. 6:10; 26:39–42): “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” The confirmation of the action of the community in binding and loosing the sins of church members is expressly related to the action and will of the Father in carrying out the requests of the community.20
Consensus in experiencing Jesus’ presence within the community (18:20). Jesus’ third statement expands on the first two, indicating that the fellowship that the community enjoys in reaching consensus about disciplining a fellow believer is actually brought about by the presence of Jesus: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Jewish councils required a minimum of three judges to decide regarding minor cases in the local community, assuming that the Shekinah remains with a just court.21 Likewise, when two men gathered to discuss the law, the Shekinah was present: “But if two sit together and words of the Law are spoken between them, the Divine Presence rests between them” (m. ʾAbot 3:2).
But in a striking declaration, Jesus himself assumes the place of the divine presence among his disciples, guaranteeing that when his followers reach a consensus as they ask in prayer for guidance in matters of discipline, his Father in heaven will guide them as they carry it out. The basis of the assurance is Jesus’ continual presence among his disciples who gather in his name. This looks ahead to the promise that he will be with his disciples forever in his resurrected presence (see comments on 28:20).
Although these verses are commonly understood to be a promise regarding consensus in prayer (and there may be an appropriate application in this regard), the promises here specifically concern the unity of the church in rendering a decision about a sinning member. But the principle underlying this saying goes beyond the matter of church discipline. Within the broader context of the Community Prescription, the promised presence of Jesus in their midst is a real empowerment when God’s “little ones” gather in Jesus’ name.
A special emphasis of Matthew is that the presence of Jesus endows his people with Immanuel, God with us (1:24), an abiding presence that goes on until the end of the ages (28:20). David Kupp states that the presence of Jesus within the gathering of his disciples “is the social and religious experience of his gathered people being filled with divine authority, focus and coherence for the ordinary and extraordinary events in the life of their community.”22 Jesus’ risen presence within his community brings radical transformation so they steadfastly carry out the Father’s will in imitation of Jesus’ own unswerving commitment to his Father’s will.
Forgiveness in the Community Toward Sinning Disciples (18:21–35)
REPEATED FORGIVENESS (18:21–22). Restoration of a sinning brother to the path of discipleship is the purpose of discipline within the church, which must be ready to forgive and restore anyone who repents. But the wise disciple recognizes that those who are repenting and seeking forgiveness may only be putting on a show and will soon scurry back to their sinful ways. Such people can cause considerable damage in the lives of others and disrupt the proper functioning of the community. In this brief interaction that is unique to Matthew’s Gospel, Peter seems to be thinking this way as he approaches Jesus and asks, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
We must probe the Jewish background to understand the larger issues that prompt Peter’s question. Forgiveness in the Old Testament came from the God of grace, who instituted sacrifices that benefited only because he gave the means of making atonement through the shedding of blood (Lev. 17:11). But as God himself declared, the same God who forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin “does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” (Ex. 34:6–7). In the everyday world, persons can get caught up in a regular pattern of sinning and seeking restoration.
The teaching within Judaism (based on Amos 1:3; 2:6; Job 33:29, 30) is that three times was enough to show a forgiving spirit. Rabbinic Judaism recognized that repeat offenders may not really be repenting at all: “If a man commits a transgression, the first, second and third time he is forgiven, the fourth time he is not” (b. Yoma 86b, 87a). The Mishnah is even less forgiving: “If a man said, ‘I will sin and repent, and sin again and repent,’ he will be given no chance to repent . . . for transgressions that are between a man and his fellow the Day of Atonement effects atonement only if he has appeased his fellow” (m. Yoma 8.9).
Peter’s question appears to be following in that line, wondering how many times he should forgive a person who repeatedly sins against him. His offer to forgive the person seven times, more than double the above-mentioned statements, is magnanimous, reflecting a desire for completeness that the number seven usually evokes. But he wonders whether this is where the limit should be drawn on his generosity of spirit.
Jesus’ astonishing response is that Peter must forgive not the magnanimous number of seven but countless times: “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” The meaning of the number that Jesus uses is unclear. One can read “seventy-seven times,” which is the same wording found in the LXX of Genesis 4:24, or the less likely “seventy times seven.”23 In essence, Jesus seems to be saying that the number doesn’t matter. Peter and the rest of the disciples are to continue to forgive without keeping count. The reason for such an unheard of thought is given in the parable that immediately follows—Peter should go on forgiving because the reality of his own forgiveness is demonstrated in the way in which God forgives others.
The parable of the unforgiving and unmerciful servant (18:23–35). Introducing the parable in the same way as he did the parables of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (cf. 13:24, 31, 44, 45, 47), Jesus tells Peter and the other disciples what forgiveness is like for those who have encountered the kingdom. That kingdom is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants (18:23).
The first servant (18:23–27). The expression “settle accounts” rings an ominous note of judgment by setting the stage for an accounting of what is owed the king. The amount owed by one person (10,000 talents) was incomprehensible. This amount indicates hyperbolically the incalculable debt owed by the servant. Perhaps he was a governor of a region and collected taxes for the king but has squandered the amount.
The exact monetary value is difficult to determine, because the “talent” was not a coin but a unit of monetary reckoning. A silver talent was about seventy-five pounds, valued at six thousand denarii. Since a denarius was the equivalent of a day’s wage for a common laborer (see comments on 17:24–27) and if we use the year 2001’s minimum wage of $5.15 an hour in the United States, a common laborer could expect $41.20 a day. A talent, therefore, would be worth approximately $247,200 (cf. 25:15).24 Altogether, therefore, the man owes at least two and a half billion dollars. As extreme as those figures are, comparisons are difficult to appreciate since such a sum in first-century Palestine would be far more disproportionate to the same sum in modern times. Some estimate that the amount is the equivalent of hundreds of billions of dollars (see also comments on 25:15). In any case, the hyperbole of the parable is dramatic.25
Since the man is unable to pay such an astronomical figure, he and his family are to be sold to repay the debt, implying that the king will sell them into slavery, a practice common in the ancient world. Debtors were often forced to sell their children as slaves or gave their children as slaves to a creditor (cf. 1 Kings 4:1; Neh. 5:4–8). Debtor’s slavery was often designed more as punishment than repayment, for as in this case, it was impossible to repay the amount owed.
The servant of the king makes a ridiculous petition, suggesting that with just a bit of patience he can repay the debt (18:26). But his overwhelming plight evokes pity from the king, and prompts him to give to the servant what he does not deserve: He cancels the debt and releases him (18:27). Those hearing the parable would have recalled here the theme of forgiveness that introduced the parable (18:21–22). This first scene is a powerful display of the forgiveness that God, who alone is king, displays toward those who have offended him.
The second servant (18:28–30). In this next scene, the servant who has been forgiven the unthinkable amount of ten thousand talents finds a fellow servant who owes him one hundred denarii. Using the same figures to compare the amount owed, the second slave owed just a little over four thousand dollars, a pittance in comparison to the billions owed by the first slave. But the one who has been forgiven so much does not respond with the same pity but rather the opposite. “He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.” The second servant pleads with almost the identical actions and words as the first servant used when begging for leniency from the king. But instead of reacting with the same compassion and grace, the first servant delivers physical punishment by choking him and, instead of selling him into slavery, throws him into the debtor’s prison, an even more severe punishment than that threatened him by the king, which made repaying the debt impossible (18:29–30).
The first servant’s punishment (18:31–34). But the ungrateful servant cannot get away with his treachery, because other servants of the king are grieved when they see the unfair treatment and tell the king (18:31). The true nature of the servant is revealed, as he is called “wicked.”
The king asks the wicked servant: “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” The mercy and benevolence of the master toward the first servant should have so impacted his life and values that he would shower mercy and benevolence on others. Instead, his wicked nature has only taken selfish advantage of the master. Now he will receive the punishment that he deserved in the first place. He is handed over to the “torturers,” that is, those jailers in a debtor’s prison who not only guarded against escape but inflicted torture on inmates. Since it would be impossible for the servant to repay the vast amounts owed, the scene concludes with the grim certainty that he will experience that punishment forever, a harsh metaphorical allusion to an eternal destiny of judgment (cf. 8:12; 10:28; 13:42, 49–50; 24:51).26
The parable’s principle (18:35). The core of the meaning of the parable is found in the final verse: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” “Mercy” is not giving to a person what he deserves, while “grace” is giving to a person what he does not deserve. This takes us to a central principle of the kind of kingdom life that Jesus has inaugurated. A person who has truly experienced the mercy and grace of God by responding to the presence of his kingdom will be transformed into Jesus’ disciple, which, in a most fundamental way, means experiencing a transformed heart that produces a changed life that gives the same mercy and grace one has received from God (cf. Isa. 40:2).
Such a transformation will be evident in the words and actions of a disciple’s life (12:33–37; 13:8, 23; 15:17–20). A person who has not truly experienced God’s grace and mercy will not experience his forgiveness. He will, like the first servant, accept the personal benefits, but it will be only superficial. It will not penetrate a hard and wicked heart to produce transformation. Such a person will thus experience eternal condemnation. Jesus’ disciples must be forgiving to others, for through God’s grace and mercy they have experienced his forgiveness.
Peter and the other disciples are thus brought up to an incomprehensible truth that will mark their lives forever. As they continue to see Jesus’ life and ministry come to a close and then come to understand the significance of the cross and empty tomb, they will be gripped by the compassionate mercy and grace of God demonstrated in their loving Savior Messiah, their Master, Jesus. Such a transformation will occur in their own lives that the mercy of God becomes a preeminent characteristic of the community of disciples. Peter later writes in 1 Peter 2:9–10:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Bridging Contexts
THE FIVE LENGTHY discourses that Matthew has recorded are the most extensive collection of Jesus’ teachings found in Scripture. They are a treasure of kingdom principles that have guided the church throughout its history. They are directly linked to Jesus’ purposes for all his followers, since they comprise the primary material from which all disciples are to be taught to obey everything that Jesus commanded (cf. 28:18–20; for more on this, see the introduction). This fourth discourse, the Community Prescription, delineates the church as the community of disciples that witness to the reality of the presence of the kingdom throughout this age. Their witness comes both through their declaration of the gospel message and through their example of living out the gospel message as a family of faith that is characterized by humility, purity, accountability, discipline, reconciliation, restoration, and forgiveness.
The first and third discourses primarily were addressed to Jesus’ disciples, though the crowds were included for other particular purposes (see comments on 5:1–2; 7:28–29; 13:1–2, 10–17) and the religious leaders were an implied object of rebuke (5:20; 6:1–18; 12:24–32, 46–50). But like the second and fifth discourses, this one is directed exclusively to Jesus’ disciples. The uniqueness of this material accentuates Jesus’ urgency to prepare them for the time when a new community of faith will replace Israel during this age as Jesus’ body that functions as his witness to the reality of the presence of the kingdom.
The uniqueness of this prescription for community life also accentuates the way that the presence of the kingdom of heaven turns upside down the values of this world and how the new community, the church, will be a living witness to this reversal. The discourse displays the values of the community in several ways.
The greatness of kingdom life. Greatness is not achieved through one’s personal accomplishments but through humility in receiving God’s grace. The pattern of the world is to count up one’s accomplishments, especially if they involve personal sacrifice. The disciples have committed themselves to that kind of effort for the kingdom of heaven and are now looking to see who has accomplished the most and is therefore the greatest among them in the kingdom.
But Jesus turns that value upside down as he demonstrates through the example of a little child that the truly transformed life cannot be achieved by personal efforts but only by humbly allowing God to bring his spiritual renewal within a person’s life. That renewing activity brings a person into the realm of the kingdom of God. This is much the same message as the Beatitudes of the SM, where those who have cast aside all self-effort at achieving status before God will be enabled to receive the gift of kingdom life (cf. 5:3–16). As one humbly receives this gift of life, one becomes Jesus’ disciple and is privy to all of the greatness that comes from an intimate relationship to Jesus and to his Father (18:4).
Perhaps we can use an example of ancient royal families. A girl born into a royal family did not become a princess through her own efforts. There was no cause for pride in what she was gifted to be. Rather, a wise princess would be humble. She, like every other little baby, was born weak, defenseless, and vulnerable. It was only the gift of her birth into the royal family that established the greatness of her position. As she grew in her royal role, she realized that her greatness as a future queen would come only as she gave herself to serve her subjects. All of her accomplishments could only come about because of the privilege of being born into her position.
Likewise, it is not what you or I have done that brings greatness, but only in what we are already on account of what God has done in our lives to bring us into his kingdom. From that beginning we are able to dedicate our lives to following Jesus’ pattern of servanthood for the sake of the kingdom that allows us to progress in that kind of humble greatness (cf. 20:25–28).
Responsibility for the others’ purity. Jesus further demonstrates that his community is responsible to pattern a life for others that will not lead them to sin. Since the context concerns individual efforts to achieve greatness (18:1–4), we can assume this is Jesus’ starting point. “Little ones,” perhaps new disciples, are weak, defenseless, and vulnerable as they humbly enter the kingdom of heaven. They look at the pattern of those disciples who have preceded them, and they are highly susceptible to following their example. Although all disciples must enter the kingdom by becoming like a humble child (18:3), the world’s pattern of greatness is a dangerous temptation to those within the community of disciples. Members of the community may start counting their accomplishments, comparing their achievements, and condemning their brothers’ and sisters’ endeavors, all in the pursuit of greatness according to the world’s standards.
If this is the pattern adopted by the community, new disciples will be tempted to pattern their new life of discipleship after that model. Therefore, Jesus declares that we must take seriously our responsibility for other disciples, because if they follow a faulty pattern, they will be led into the sin of worldly greatness instead of kingdom humility.
Thus, a core value for the community of faith is responsibility for other disciples’ purity of life, starting first with one’s attitude of personal greatness. This is apparently why Jesus’ warnings are directed to our responsibility both for other’s sinful behavior (18:5–7) and for our own behavior (18:8–9). The world’s pattern is to look out for oneself primarily, but all that we do within the community of faith will impact everyone else. Thus, it should be a high value within the community to develop a pattern of life in which all disciples are committed to living out our responsibility to each other’s purity.
Accountability for restoration. Following on from the responsibility the community bears for each other’s purity is the accountability we share for restoring those who have gone astray. The parable of the lost sheep (18:10–14) reveals God’s heart. The shepherd could have settled for bringing back ninety-nine sheep. That’s a good percentage. Loss of some of the flock is expected in the wilds of nature. He wouldn’t have been condemned for losing only one. But just as God sends protecting angels over each of his little disciples (18:10), he considers each wayward disciple nonexpendable. We can assume that the leadership of the community bears significant responsibility for bringing back those who have gone astray, but all members are accountable for whatever lengths we can go to restore wayward brothers and sisters.
It is sometimes easier to beat a brother or sister who has fallen, punishing such a one for a lack of faithfulness or trying to get even with that person for the hurts he or she has caused. But what is needed is for us to accept such people back into the community so they can be strengthened by our unity and faithfulness. The community is accountable to the Shepherd to give unreserved commitment to restoring those who have fallen.
Discipline and reconciliation. Likewise, the community has a responsibility to protect its purity from those who have brought sinful activity into the fellowship. It is sometimes easier to compromise the purity of the community than to confront the sin. Or, as is the maxim of the world, it is easier to “live and let live” because of the difficulty of sustaining absolute standards. “Who am I to judge when I’m not perfect myself” is often another guideline. But courageous concern for members of the community of faith will take seriously the plight of the individual who is practicing sin and the purity of the community that allows the sin to infect the fellowship.
Two of the most important guidelines for exercising discipline within the community are the intended goal and the ultimate source of discipline. (1) The intended goal is reconciliation. If a brother or sister accepts discipline, the goal is to win him or her over (18:15). A disciple who continues in sin is alienated both from God and from pure fellowship with other believers. When he or she confesses that sin, fellowship with God and other believers is restored.
(2) The ultimate source of the discipline is God himself. God alone can forgive or retain sin, so it is the responsibility of the community to understand God’s standards, seek for the unity of the Spirit that leads to an understanding of God’s will, and follow the leading of the presence of Jesus within the community (18:18–20). The community that disciplines its own members displays the love, compassion, and purity of God the Father, who draws its members together truly as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Unconditional forgiveness. Perhaps the kingdom value most difficult for the world to comprehend is the kind of forgiveness Jesus articulates in the discourse. It is not a conditional acceptance but an unqualified removal of all that we hold against others. At least one reason why the world cannot really understand this value is that hurt is real in offended relationships. When we have been hurt, we don’t want to be hurt again. We won’t allow ourselves to be used. We want to get even with those who have abused us. If we do forgive others, it is often conditionally based on the actions of the one we are forgiving. But what Jesus shows is that when we experience God’s unqualified forgiveness, it will influence all that we are and will impact all of our relationships. Mercy experienced will produce mercy demonstrated.
This is what ties the Community Discourse together. The individual who has experienced God’s mercy and has received his forgiveness has humbly entered into the life of the kingdom of heaven. All of the former values of the world are turned upside down. I no longer need to be on top. I don’t need to be the greatest, for when I do, I am estranged from others who also want to be the greatest. Unhealthy competition and comparison are now eliminated from our fellowship; I am here now to seek your best, not my own. I can elevate your good as my aspiration to serve.
That is what is so unique about the community Jesus has established, which today is visible as the church, the body of Christ. Whatever else we may use as guidelines for the health of the church, Jesus says that his community of disciples is the primary witness to the reality of the presence of the kingdom throughout this age. Our witness comes through both our declaration of the gospel and living out that gospel as a family of faith. What will characterize our fellowship is humility, purity, accountability, discipline, reconciliation, restoration, and forgiveness
Contemporary Significance
COMMUNITY. The renowned pollsters George Gallup Sr. and his son George Gallup Jr. have studied the habits and preferences of the people of the United States since the 1930s. In one of the younger Gallup’s studies several years ago, he concluded that we are among the loneliest people on earth. He cited a variety of contributing factors, among which is Western individualism turned isolationism, acerbated by urbanization, technology, and consumerism.27
This truth points out something that many of us with our stubborn independence don’t like to admit—we need each other. We pride ourselves on our ability to take care of ourselves, to get along without needing anyone. But that’s not the way that we were created to be. Community is an important element of God’s creation. In spite of the devastating effects of sin, community is a stabilizing force that God has established to perpetuate his creation. As the crown of God’s creation, humans are designed as the exemplary apex of community. It was not good for Adam to be alone, so God created him a helper. It has never been good since then for humans to be alone.
Community is an element that is built into us from our birth. It is also an element found in the broader creation. In biology, a community is an interacting group of various species in a common location. For example, a biological community may be a forest of trees and undergrowth plants, inhabited by animals and rooted in soil containing bacteria and fungi. A variety of factors determine the overall structure of a biological community, including the number of species (diversity) within it, the number of each species (abundance), the interactions among the species, and the ability of the community to return to normal (resilience and stability) after a disruptive influence such as fire or drought. The growth and change of biological communities over time is known as ecological succession.28
God built community into the creation to enable it to sustain itself and succeed. A deer would never be able to endure without the remarkable interdependence of all the elements of the forest that make up the biological community. We of all of God’s creation, created in his image, should place community as one of our highest values, because within the Godhead itself is the wonderful interplay of community in the Trinity. However, sin disrupts community, because individual humans prioritize their own good over that of the community. The very elements of community that sustain the creation, including diversity, abundance, interaction, resiliency and stability, are the factors that tend to tear us apart.
But with the arrival of the kingdom of heaven, with its radicalizing of life for those who respond to its invitation, community is now revisioned. Jesus’ message in this Community Discourse provides a prescription for reversing the destructive effects of sin on human relationships to promote biblical community. In this discourse, Jesus focuses on specific issues that destroy community and must be reversed. Three destructive issues are noted: competition, independence, and retribution. Likewise, three qualities to overcome these destructive elements are also noted: humility, accountability, and mercy. This kind of church community will function faithfully as a witness to the presence of Jesus in this age.
Humility reverses competition. The question that prompted this discourse on community arose from the disciples’ quest to know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (18:1). The desire to maximize one’s life is not in and of itself a bad thing. But as Jesus goes on to show his disciples, the kingdom operates under a different motivation. To operate primarily with a goal in life to be the greatest promotes a competition that destroys relationships. Drawing on the biological parallel used above, competition results when resources such as food or space are not sufficient to fill the needs of those species that are attempting to live together in community. When that kind of competition ensues, the younger, weaker, marginalized members are cut off and often ultimately die. This is the way of creation that is dominated by sin.
I am not suggesting, however, that all competition is bad. When it is guided by appropriate humility, a healthy competition in sports can promote a common good and can help individuals maximize their potential. The New Testament itself points to the competition in athletics as a positive analogy (1 Cor. 9:24; Eph. 6:12). That analogy, however, indicates that the Christian must pursue not the crown of human accomplishment but the imperishable crown of eternal life (1 Cor. 9:25; 1 Tim. 4:8).29 An economic system that focuses on the quality of the product and the adequate supply for consumers can profit from competition. But when promotion of self at the expense of others is the motivation, competition is destructive.
In the academic world, competition can be highly destructive to community. I warn my students every year of inappropriate kinds of competition. They can compete with each other in ways so that they become jealous, suspicious, envious, and hateful toward each other. Or they can learn to work together, appreciate each other’s giftedness, and encourage each other to find their life’s goals that will ultimately serve the common good of establishing the kingdom of God.
I saw this myself when I was in seminary many years ago. I was not much of a student in high school, primarily because of personal difficulties. I’d rather play sports or party. After I got out of the army, I had become a Christian and suddenly discovered a love of learning. I did well in college, and in seminary I entered into fields of study that lit up my world. So I competed with myself to maximize my time in school. I wanted Jesus to know that I was giving it my all. Besides, I was married with a newborn baby girl at home. My wife sacrificed much to get me through seminary, so when I went home, I wanted to show her good grades that meant her sacrifice was worth it. I think it was a healthy competition with myself to get the most out of my studies, which was the beginning recognition that I was headed toward a career in academics.
But a friend of mine developed a competition with me about grades that I don’t think was healthy. He wanted to see how I did on my papers and what scores I got on quizzes and grades. He wanted to graduate with a higher G.P.A. than me. I can honestly say it really didn’t matter to me what his grades were, but it did to him. Somehow it affected our friendship. I was more guarded with him, and he was more aggressive with his advancement over me. To this day we remain friends, but there is still a hint of competition. I’m probably more aware today that I may have unwittingly contributed to the competition years ago, and I’m especially aware of how that kind of competition destroys community.
Jesus offers a revolutionary alternative—humility. This is not the kind of self-abnegation that beats oneself emotionally or even physically as though one has no value. That kind of self-devaluation denies the individual’s worth as a person uniquely created in the image of God. Rather, the humility Jesus proposes is one in which we place ourselves in an unqualified state of vulnerability to God. That happens in this passage in two primary ways, as humility both creates and advances community.
Humility creates community. Instead of aggressively pursuing our own status and life goals by our efforts, we receive life as a gift of the kingdom of heaven (18:1–4). As we enter into that life, we find our own personal worth as disciples of Jesus. We are each the “greatest” because of the unqualified grace we have received as Jesus establishes us in a relationship to him. In that relationship we understand his purposes for our own life together and in relationship to others. Community is created because of our essential equality. We are part of the same family, equal brothers and sisters of Jesus with the same Father. There is no need to compete for attention or love or prominence. As we humbly experience God’s grace in being established as Jesus’ disciples as we enter the kingdom, community is created.
Humility advances community. Humility also advances community. Instead of competing with others to be personally the greatest, our unique individual relationships to Jesus allow us to serve each other for their ultimate good and for the good of his kingdom in this world. Comparison is a cancer in our relationships that robs the uniqueness of the other person as we elevate ourselves over them. Jesus emphasizes that as we enter the kingdom of heaven as little children, we are likewise to protect others who have humbly entered it (18:5–9).
Humility is a tricky characteristic to display toward others because of the extremes to which we can go. As soon as we think that we are humble, we probably are prideful. Yet the person who is too afraid of being prideful often will not have the courage to use his or her talents and gifts. We often have difficulty maintaining the right balance. I’m often reminded of this when I recall the story of the person who was called up to the front of the church to be given a pin of recognition for his lifelong humility in serving in children’s Sunday school. The next week when he wore the pin to church, the pastor took it away from him because he was accused of pride. Humility is a tricky business to exercise.
I find one extreme when I congratulate a student on doing well on an exam and he says, “Oh, it wasn’t me; it was the Lord.” He is trying to be humble, but it certainly wasn’t the Lord who studied all night, nor was it the Lord who worked through the difficult Greek syntax of a passage. I understand the student’s desire to give glory to God in all things, but his response actually can be a subtle form of pride. Aren’t the other students in the class also godly? Doesn’t the Lord work through them too? Why didn’t they receive the high grade he did? Appropriate humility acknowledges that one’s talents and giftedness come from God and then offers them in the service of the Lord and others.
I find the other extreme when I encourage a student to take a position that has been offered by a church. She turns it down because she considers herself lacking to the task. She is so caught up in the awareness of her inadequacies that she is paralyzed and does not allow herself to be used by the Lord to exercise her wonderful natural abilities and her giftedness from the Spirit. She needs to humbly acknowledge that if God has called her to a task, he will supply the giftedness and the ability to carry it out.
Accountability overcomes independence. Independence is highly esteemed in Western culture, since it indicates freedom from the influence, control, or determination of others, especially of one country over another. It filters down to the personal level when we value not having to depend on anyone else or not having others depend on us. As valuable as that form of independence can be when pursued in a healthy way, it can be an insidious element that destroys community. We think we don’t need anyone else and can get along fine by ourselves, so we develop an isolationism in which everyone is responsible only for himself or herself.
Accountability creates community. The fierce independence that many desire in the modern world is another evidence of a subtle sinfulness. What overcomes that independence is a proper sense of accountability—others need us. We have a young friend who had a difficult pregnancy. This young woman was strong and prided herself on her independence and ability to handle most anything that came her way. She was an outstanding athlete in high school and college. But the little baby growing inside her was a major hindrance to her independence. She was increasingly unable to compete in sports to her satisfaction as the pregnancy advanced, and she felt as if the baby was robbing her of her ability to do what she wanted, when she wanted. She even began to resent this life inside her. Such thoughts and feelings baffled her. She was sure that this wasn’t right, but she couldn’t help them, nonetheless.
But all of that changed as soon as the baby was born. She suddenly was gripped with the fact that this little baby needed her, and she became intensely committed to her little girl. Now her every waking thought and activity is directed toward the needs of her baby. She hardly cares about herself at all; in fact, her husband practically has to force her to get out of the house to go for a run or a swim. Now she feels she has higher priorities. It is an intriguing transformation. Her individualism has been tempered by her accountability to her child and her husband.
The Community Prescription notes how an appropriate accountability to the needs of others can overcome an unhealthy independence from others. Once we gain God’s heart for his children, which prompts him to provide ministering angels for their every need (18:10), our own eyes are opened to the needs of those for whom he has given us responsibility, and an accountability relationship is established that creates God’s kind of community.
Accountability advances community. One of the responsibilities given to Adam and Eve was to be stewards of God’s creation, which illustrates the responsibilities we have within the community of disciples. We are stewards of each other. We can help take care of each other’s needs when things are difficult—for example, when money is low, or when others need a place to stay or a shoulder to cry on. We can take care of people who have just moved into town and need fellowship and help moving into their house. We can involve them in significant ministry opportunities. There are multitudes of ways that this kind of care can be expressed. Essentially, we are to look after our brothers and sisters as God himself would look after them.
We see in the Community Prescription two ways in which accountability advances community: pursuing the wayward and daring to discipline. (1) The parable of the lost sheep (18:12–14) is connected to care of the wayward, but it carries over to the spiritual well-being of all disciples in the community. When we love individuals and desire to treat them with the respect their kinship in the kingdom entitles them, we care much about the direction of their lives. This parable is often interpreted to imply going after unbelievers. That is the thrust of the Lukan parallel, but in Matthew’s context it implies that disciples are to go after fallen brothers or sisters, knowing that this is what God himself desires for that individual.
Over the years I have seen some of the deepest pain in the eyes of Christian parents whose children have gone astray. They doubt themselves and the reality of their own faith. Why did they not have more influence on their children? They feel guilty about their parenting, wondering whether they should have been stricter, or more lenient. Should they have forced their children into more church participation, or less? Their children may be highly successful in their careers or education, but without any Christian orientation, how different are they than any other pagan? What of their eternal destiny? What about the influence on the grandchildren? It is this kind of parent who understands the joy and sorrow that the shepherd in the parable evinces over the wayward sheep that is found. These parents do not love less or take less joy in their children who have not gone astray; they grieve the loss, spiritually, of their wayward child.
Such parents illustrate the necessity of mutual accountability within the community of disciples. A parent will almost certainly never give up on a willful child, and we within the community must not give up on recalcitrant brothers and sisters in Christ. They need to know that we love them and will continue to pursue them. We need to know the limits within which they will allow us to operate, but we must continue to pursue.
My own brother went astray into the dark path of homosexuality after he had been walking with Jesus for only a year or two. When he left, I couldn’t understand him, and I almost rejected him. But I continued to pray. After nearly fifteen years I learned how best to reach him. I stopped condemning him and said I would love him regardless of his choices. Two years later he died in an AIDS hospice house. I held him and cried during his final tragic moments, but in a broken whisper he thanked me for loving him and never giving up on him. I believe that the loving Lord Jesus reached down and restored him, because my brother displayed a deep sorrow and repentance at the end. I’ll never know for sure in this life, but I do know that he taught me never to give up on those who have gone astray. I may not get the results that I want, but we are nevertheless responsible for the accountability that we have for each other.
Two important points follow from this. (a) We must never get too preoccupied with our own advancement in Christian service and maturity that we forget that we are here to help other disciples on the path, including those who backslide. (b) Although God loves the ninety-nine faithful, obedient sheep and rejoices over his relationship with them, his heart is never fully settled until all are safe. Although we should participate in the joy of Christian fellowship, we must give ourselves to the prayer, pursuit, and restoration of those gone astray.
(2) The four steps of dealing with sinning brothers or sisters (18:15–19) is instructive for our day. Discipline is not usually a popular topic. Dr. James Dobson wrote a remarkably best-selling book in 1970 entitled Dare to Discipline,30 which challenged the prevailing pattern of parenting. The church today likewise needs to dare to discipline those involved in sin by challenging the prevailing pattern of permissiveness. In the litigious atmosphere of popular culture, it is often easier to allow people to get away with sin than to try to implement the steps of discipline that Jesus develops and face the threat of a lawsuit. And in the cafeteria-style hopping from church to church that is so prominent in our day, it is sometimes easier to let people who have sinned in one church be allowed to go to another church body, since there is little mutual accountability between churches.
But it is important for us to try to work through the process practically. I am ordained in the Evangelical Free Church of America, and I was encouraged several years ago when the ministerial studied the question of discipline and restoration of those who had fallen into moral failure. Over the period of several years and several drafts, it produced a document intended to guide individual churches and the denomination in the process of disciplining and, hopefully, of restoring pastors and leaders who have been charged with moral failure. The document took its lead from Matthew 18:15–20 but also allowed the full counsel of Scripture to inform the process, including Paul’s directive in 1 Timothy 5:19–22, which guards the accused and the church.
This document is one of the finest I have seen to help guide the process. While it does not resolve all the difficulties, it is a courageous attempt to follow biblical guidelines, and the document maintains a steady focus both on discipline and on restoration as the intended goal. It answered many of the tough practical questions of how to carry this out with regard to an ordained minister, but it is also helpful to any situation of a sinning brother or sister.31
The discipline of brothers and sisters is not a pleasant task, but as we follow Scripture’s teaching, it will help contribute to a community of disciples that is a faithful witness to the presence of the risen Lord Jesus in our midst. And it is important always to keep in mind that the goal is not discipline itself, or even punishment. The intended goal of all discipline is restoration of the sinning brother or sister to a state of purity and the reestablishment of the fellowship of peace within the body.32
Mercy annuls alienation. A few years ago when bumper stickers were popular, one stood out to me: “I don’t get mad, I get even.” It was meant to be humorous, but it had a chilling effect on me, because it described my attitude just a few years prior. I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I was raised by a stepfather who caused my family and me a great deal of pain. He left our family when I was in my early teens, and I carried a deep animosity toward him for years. When I was in Vietnam, my animosity became almost obsessive, and I vowed that the first time I saw him on my return, I would kill him. I would make him pay for what he had done to our family. I returned a few months later and within a year had become a Christian. My world began to change, and I put that stepfather out of my mind.
I had not thought about him much until about four years later, when he suddenly showed up where my wife and I and our little girl were living. He had tracked us down. My wife, being the loving person she is, invited him in. As we sat and talked politely, that vow came to my mind. I then told him, “I made a vow in Vietnam that the first time I saw you, I would kill you. Today is that day.” I will never forget the look of terror that came over his face. He started to sweat and slide down on the couch. I went on, “But I now know that I’m no better a person than you. God has forgiven me. And if he can forgive a sinner like me, I can forgive you. I will not allow you to hurt my family again, so don’t think that this is made out of weakness. Rather, I forgive you because I have been forgiven.”
I probably was as shocked as he was. I had not thought about saying those words of forgiveness, but they came easily. I was deeply aware of the mercy and forgiveness that God had extended to me. I knew my sin better than anyone. I may not have been as abusive as my former stepfather. I may not have hurt people in the same way he had hurt our family. But I had also abused and hurt people in my own self-seeking way. When I came to that awareness, I knew that I needed mercy and forgiveness. And in receiving the gift of life that Jesus extended to me through his work on the cross, extending mercy and forgiveness to my former stepfather was a natural response. My vow had been the rash, irresponsible reaction of a deeply hurt, bitter young sinner. However, my ability later to forgive came from the eternal, loving act of grace in Jesus’ sacrifice for my sin. I discovered that the key to forgiveness is to stop focusing on what others have done to us and focus instead on what Jesus has done for us.
Mercy creates community. I have had the privilege of getting to know a person who exemplifies this truth. His name is Tom Tarrants. He is currently the president of the C. S. Lewis Institute, an organization that sponsors conferences and a fellows program that try to break down walls between believers of varied backgrounds for a common commitment to the “mere Christianity” that C. S. Lewis articulated. Tom is well qualified to provide leadership, not least because of his background. He has been the copastor of an interracial church in Washington, D.C., and one who has learned how mercy received creates community.
A former segregationist who participated with the violent activities of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1960s and 1970s, Tom met Jesus Christ as his Savior in a Mississippi prison cell. The transformation of his life is miraculous, as his hatred was replaced by love, and his bigotry with reconciliation. Together with John Perkins, a former black activist, they have written a book entitled He’s My Brother, which not only tells their stories but also presents a workable strategy for building bridges of understanding and reconciliation between peoples of differing backgrounds and color.33 Their unwavering message is that racial reconciliation is impossible until individuals on both sides experience the mercy and forgiveness of God for their personal sin, which will create a community of faith based in the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. These men operate out of a deep well of gratitude to God for his mercy and forgiveness, which in turn has compelled them to demonstrate mercy and forgiveness to those they once hated.
Mercy advances community. The creation of a community of disciples based on reconciliation requires an ongoing process to advance community. John Perkins states it this way:
God expects us to value our brothers and sisters the way He does. . . . I see it not as an option, but as an integral part of the Gospel. I also see reconciliation as something that takes time. The divisions in our country are deep ones. We have deep wounds that have not yet begun to heal. We have hurts and resentments that have never been dealt with. It will require time, patience and perseverance to overcome these obstacles to reconciliation.34
Both Tarrants and Perkins have given themselves in their personal lives and in their ministries to exemplify the reconciliation that they experienced with God and with each other. In receiving mercy, they demonstrate mercy.
You may not have the same testimony of explicit hatred of others, but our own hurt and resentment, even against those within the church, hinder true community. An unspiritual community is one that does not live in relationship to the reality of the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Rather, it lives according to the prevailing cultural paradigm of values. We may try to gather around like interests, or geographical location, or even political ideologies. But the kind of community that Jesus advances is based on having received mercy and forgiveness, which in turn will impel us to demonstrate mercy and forgiveness.
There is something powerful in the contrast between the two debts (18:23–35). The first man is forgiven such a large amount that it should truly affect the way that he responds to others’ infractions against him. This debt represents the type of debt we have been forgiven by the Father. We would never be able to pay back such a huge debt, and we are granted a reprieve simply by asking. In turn, we should be as willing to pardon infractions against us, which are qualitatively much less in comparison. As we said, the key to forgiveness is to stop focusing on what others have done to us and focus on what Jesus has done for us.
The obvious application is much more than simply a toleration of the person who has offended us. It is a forgiveness “from the heart” (18:35). True reconciliation is not simply a tolerant attitude toward one another in the same living space. It is a real, personal, loving connection between individuals that Jesus desires, and without a heart attitude of forgiveness, this type of connection is not even possible.
Another important facet to consider is that often our forgiveness of others points people toward God’s forgiveness of them. Forgiveness not only sustains the intimacy of the community, but it is a powerful device that allows people to make change in their own lives and move on toward deeper intimacy with God. One of my students was struck by the impact of this in the day-to-day realities of the workaday world. He worked in a print shop in which some materials were made for him, with the understanding that he would pay for it later. He eventually moved on to another job, failing to pay for the materials before he went, and the Lord prompted him later to call the owner and offer to pay for the product. He asked for forgiveness for failing to pay earlier. The owner was so quick to forgive that it moved my student to tears. It was a minor issue, but he realized that the incident gave him a living example of what God’s forgiveness toward us is like. He was able to connect to the Father on a deeper level because of a godly man’s immediate obedience, even in the little things, to the standard of forgiveness set out by Jesus.