HG092 Matthew 18:15–35
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“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Today’s passage is a serious but practical one about forgiveness and follows on from the story of the seeking out of the one out of hundred sheet that went astray.
If a brother, and this also means sister, sins against you go and sort it out mano a mano. This expression, normally said as mono e mono which is a mishearing of mano a mano that is thought to mean ‘man to man’ is incorrect. In fact it is a Spanish term meaning hand to hand. This is more like how it is. You are to go and convince, not just tell your brother that they are in the wrong. You are to show them that what they have done is not right. Not in a vindictive way but in order for there to be restoration. Hand to hand means to get to grips with the issue. If, then, they recognise their fault then you have won back your brother or sister.
Well, maybe they are stubborn and do not want to resolve the issue or don’t accept they have done wrong, so you are then, still in private, mind you, to take along one or two others to witness what you have said. The other one or two would plainly be agreeing that you are showing forth the truth of the matter or you do not have any witness to back you up - this also stops any excess accusation and moderates the way you would handle this. Hopefully, this will be enough then to convince the brother or sister of their fault. We do not always take the word of one person but with two or three it starts to be hard to justify yourself. But, even then, it maybe that they are not convinced enough to change their way and be reconciled.
It is only at this point it becomes public. Here, in our Bible it says, tell it to the Church. This cannot be the case as the Church does not exist at this point in time, but the word used is ‘ecclesia’ which literally means, the assembly. The whole assembly then have to agree with the accuser and the witnesses that the brother or sister is in the wrong. If then, despite all the weight of evidence presented by the whole assembly, that brother or sister still does not sort it out then you treat that person as if they are not part of you. This on its own may induce the right response or it may not. Either way there is no reconciliation with the original person who had been wronged and therefore there is no reconciliation with the rest of the brothers or sisters either until there is repentance. It should always start one to one before it goes anywhere else. Note that this is not about public shaming until the first two options have been exhausted and even in the later it is only within the congregation, it is not on full display to the world.
We have to be careful not to be the one who falls into the category of unrepentance. This person has been given three opportunities to get it sorted.
Some things do not fall into this category, for instance, if it is already a public sin which then demands a public response. Heresy, for instance is not included here and should be called out for what it is for the sake of all. In all cases, though, it is not to condemn but to bring reconciliation to God and each other in the household of God. There is no room for gossip about what one person has done to you. In fact, it is strictly forbidden. I’ll say that again: we are not putting on display to everyone everyone’s faults, there is to be discretion, there is to be no talking behind our brother and sister’s backs.
The binding and loosing mentioned here has its history in rabbinical sayings which mean to forbid or permit. We can see the discipline side, the binding side, the forbidding side, very well when Peter spoke to Ananias and Sapphira and both died before him due to their unrepentance. Perhaps the loosing side, the permitting side can be seen in the man outside the temple who was lame in both feet and he got up and danced about. Whatever the disciples permitted on earth was confirmed in Heaven or rather what was confirmed in Heaven was permitted on earth.
Then there is a promise that leads on from this and that is that if two or more agree on anything in prayer, the Father will answer. For I am there, says Jesus. Context is important here. What is He talking about? He is talking about discipline, of forbidding and permitting.
The College Press NIV Commentary: Matthew 4. Reconciling an Offending Brother (18:15–20)
The text should not be read as a carte blanche assurance that God will provide “anything” that two or three agree upon. Jesus is simply assuring the Christian community that God’s presence and his resources are available to a church that exhibits a united prayerful concern for the welfare of one of its members. The reason that the Father will do what is asked if two agree is because Jesus is present when two or three come together in his name. The sense may be that “if you gather in my name, I am there, and my presence will lead to the Father’s support of your requests.”
The whole of the process for being reconciled with our brother or sister should be completely bathed in prayer.
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This whole conversation led straight into another and are plainly linked: how often should I forgive? Seven times? The rabbis, you see, permitted you to forgive three times, so Peter had already stretched under the influence of Jesus and His grace. But no, seventy times seven. This is an idiom which means: you should always extend forgiveness no matter how many times you are offended.
Jesus then gives us an illustration with a story of a King and his servants. Each one who owed him money was brought before him until this one who owed him 10,000 talents. Well, sell him and his family off and get what you can, says the King. The servant on hearing these words, begs for more time; I will pay all. Well, actually, this was impossible but nevertheless the king saw the desperate state of the man and was moved with compassion. OK, your debts have been wiped clean. He was now in a better position than many of the servants who owed the king small sums of money! And all this happened before their very eyes.
Now, no sooner had he left the presence of the King that he found one of his peers, another servant, who owed him a hundred denarii, and under Roman law was allowed to take him by the throat and threaten him, pay me what you owe! And this servant fell at his feet and begged him for more time. Only this time the servant, if given time, could probably have paid it back. But no! He got the jailers to put him in prison until he found a way to pay the debt. And this happened before the eyes of those same servants who had not been cleared of their debts to the King. They were very upset and disappointed at this outcome. It was hard enough if you owed the king a debt but you’d think there would be camaraderie and leniency among your fellow workers. And this caused those same servants to report back to the king.
He was compelled to return to the royal court where the king laid into him. I forgave you all that debt and you should have done the same for your fellow servant. You wicked man!
I think that no matter how much the debt forgiven he should have taken example and forgiven. But it is shocking just how much debt had been forgiven this man: 10,000 talents. One talent, if it was silver, would be 15 years wage. So, let’s get this right, the debt was not 1 talent but 10,000! It would take 150,000 years of wages to pay it back. 150,000. This was an impossible debt. How did he get this far in debt in the first place?
Well, friends it is that same kind of impossible debt that we have with God who is King of kings. We have a debt that can never be repaid. Yet we have been forgiven all our debt. We have been given freedom.
In our story the servant not only wanted to be free from debt he now wanted to be in credit. He found the one who owed him 100 denarii. This was not a small debt either. 1 denarii equals one day’s wage. 100 is just over 3 months of wages. Herein lies the problem: He had owed 150,000 years of wages and his colleague owed him 3 months. Quite a difference. What is being said here? The debt we owed God can never compare to the debt owed to us by another. We may indeed think we have every right to hold a grudge for the worst evils done to us but, in comparison to what we are owed, nothing can come close.
It is also why one of the key phrases in the Disciple’s prayer is: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
The only way for there to be freedom is to forgive now. Forgiveness itself brings liberty to one’s heart and soul. Bitterness is released. This is why it is important to go and be reconciled to your brother or sister and sort it out, as far as it is possible with you. There is no room for keeping others under the thumb or making others feel guilty, which is more to do with power. Forgiveness and reconciliation is needed. The process of going alone, then taking one or two others and then telling the congregation is the process. If, then, there is no reconciliation, then that person can no longer be a member of that assembly until they put it right. Time to get things sorted.
Well, the end result of that man was not that he and his family be sold to pay whatever the king could get for them, as was originally planned, but now the man would be delivered to the torturers. Why? Two reasons: 1) To see if there was any hidden money somewhere that could be used to repay some of the debt but mainly 2) To be punished and disciplined. This was to happen until every penny had been returned. Being in prison he had no ability to work to pay, just as he had treated his own colleague. This, then, was a life-long punishment with no relief or hope of being free. 150,000 years would not have been long enough for the servant to pay his earthly master. What of a heavenly one?
So, Jesus said, it shall be for anyone who does not forgive his brother from his heart. Life extends beyond this earth into eternity. Punishment there is eternity long with no relief or hope of being free. Once there, there is no place for reconciliation, no way to pay for one’s debt.
For yours is the Kingdom, is another phrase in the Disciple’s prayer. Where there is a kingdom there is a king. And one day we shall, like these servants, be brought in to pay our debts. What will be the result for us? Will there be One who steps forward and say: I have paid this one’s debt with my blood, with my life. Or, do we look forward to a future which is as bleak as this unforgiving servant? Forgiveness is not an option for the Christian no matter how hard it may seem for the Christian has been forgiven a much greater debt; one that could never be repaid.
We look to Jesus who is the Word of God, the creator of all things, and of people from whom He should expect allegiance but who turned on Him, tortured Him, crucified Him and waited for Him to die. It was from this very situation that Jesus cried out from the cross not with bitterness, not with anger but with words that seem too incredible to hear:
Father, forgive them.
Wow! Jesus who was suffering in that very moment had already forgiven them and begged His father to forgive them too.
Can we really hold onto grudges? Can we really say: I cannot forgive?
Benediction
Benediction
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Bibliography
Bibliography
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Chouinard, L. (1997). Matthew. Joplin, MO: College Press.
Gaebelein, F. E., Carson, D. A., Wessel, W. W., & Liefeld, W. L. (1984). The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
Hillard, A. E. (Ed.). (1896). The Gospel according to St. Matthew with Introduction, Notes, and Maps. London: Rivington, Percival & Co.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). Matthew: Chapters 16:13–28:20 (Vol. II). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 14-28) (electronic ed., Vol. 35). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Newman, B. M., & Stine, P. C. (1992). A handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. New York: United Bible Societies.
Schaff, P. (Ed.). (1879). Introduction, and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Vol. 1). Edinburgh: T & T Clark.
Smith, D. (1908). The Gospel according to St. Matthew: With Introduction and Notes. (A. E. Garvie, Ed.). London: Andrew Melrose.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 09:56 09 September 2018.