Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 18:18-35)

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What was the purpose of the outline for reconciliation Jesus gave to the disciples?
2. If church discipline is not intended to punish, what is the purpose intended?
3. Is Jesus only with us when two are more come together?
4. Should we limit the forgiveness of those who offend us?
5. Is there a time for vengeance?  
6. What is the condition for being restored to full membership in the body of Christ, when a person commits incest, adultery, drunkenness, etc.?
7. Do certain sins disqualify someone from leadership positions?
8. What is the penalty of a life of bitterness, refusing to forgive others, demanding they pay restitution, holding grudges, and taking revenge?

Introduction

We come now to the last part of Matthew chapter 18. The topic is crucial though often misunderstood. To understand what Jesus is teaching, we need to keep in context with what He has already taught. From the very beginning of this chapter, Jesus’ teaching has continuity; it is ongoing in nature, or that is to say, it is a single subject. The chapter started when Jesus corrected His disciples concerning those other believers who were serving Jesus. The disciples were becoming stumbling blocks to others who were attempting to minister for the Lord. Jesus speaks of the seriousness of becoming a stumbling block. He said it would be better to be drowned in the sea or to go through life maimed.

In our last study, Jesus laid out the Biblical plan for restoring the wayward brother who had offended or sinned against the Lord and us. Jesus listed three steps: First, we go to that brother in private and attempt to resolve the issue. Second, if that fails, we are to take one or two others with us to meet with that person again to witness the matter. Third, if the person still refuses to repent, they are to be brought before the church. If they still refuse to repent and make things right, they are at the last resort to be excommunicated and not allowed to be part of the church. The whole process outlined by Jesus was not to condemn the person but to bring them to repentance and restore them to fellowship.

That brings us to today’s study:

Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

This verse begins with a connective phrase, “Again I say unto you,” which joins it to the previous subject of church authority and discipline and not the subject of fellowship and prayer as it is often mistakenly applied. Jesus is continuing to emphasize further the same issue about which He has been speaking. Jesus says, “That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” The two mentioned in this verse point back to the two who confront the person who has fallen into sin. The point is, one person could be mistaken, but when two are in agreement, it is more likely that the observation is correct; therefore, it is also confirmed by the Father in heaven. Jesus also adds in verse 20: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” That means Jesus is the third person present to confirm what is true. 

While the premise concerns church discipline in this case, we can also apply it to other situations and decisions. The overall purpose is to arrive at Jesus’ purpose in all we do through His leadership. However, there is caution: It does not mean that we will always be right in the decisions we make or the decisions the church makes, the reason being, self might get in the way instead of Jesus. We need to be constantly aware of Jesus’ presence in our lives to help us confirm what is true to make the right decisions.

The church has gotten away from discipline today, and in doing so, no longer upholds a process that God ordained; this is disobeying a direct command of our Lord Jesus. Church discipline is not intended to punish; it is intended to help those fallen away and restore them to a closer walk with the Lord. Verses 19 and 20 are so important and so misunderstood. These verses are taken out of context by the “name it and claim it” movement. The idea is that when groups get together and pray for something, God answers and gives those requests regardless of whether or not they are essential to the kingdom. For instance, if you need a new car, ask God and get others asking for you. God is not our servant who we go to every time we run out of money or things. He is not someone we control to fulfill our every want, especially those we can do for ourselves.

God does take care of our needs, but that does not include every selfish or outlandish request that comes to our minds. Verse 19 is by no means an assurance that God is always going to answer our requests, even the most ridiculous ones, as long as two or more of us get together and agree that He should. Prove it for yourself; gather a group together to ask God to help you win the lottery and wait around to see how quickly He does it. Some may come up with the dumb answer, “well I guess my faith was not strong enough,” as if it is the strength of our faith that moves the hand of God. We proved that untrue in a former passage where the amount of faith had nothing to do with Jesus healing the sick.

That prepositional phrase, “in Jesus’ name,” we tack on to the end of our prayer, means in the will of Jesus, or His will be done and not ours. We need to learn, and the Bible bears it out, that God does those things He desires to do, and it has nothing to do if two or more of us agree on what God should do. God is no genie in a bottle sitting around to cater to our every whelm. If our will could control God, He wouldn’t be God.

What exactly does verse 20 mean? It does not mean that God is only with us when two or more gather together. Jesus said, “Low I am with you always.” That means Jesus is with us when we are alone. He walks with us daily as we go through life. 

Perhaps you have heard about the person who had a dream. In the dream they saw two sets of footsteps as they walked along the sandy beach of life. Sometimes there was only one set of foot prints. The person prayed and said, why do I sometimes walk alone. God answered and said, you never walk alone; sometimes I carry you when you cannot walk. When we received Jesus as our Lord, He placed His Spirit in us 100%, and He will always be with us. 

Remember this; The Holy Spirit is with us to help us. He wants to direct our lives; He wants to comfort us when trouble comes. Our part is to recognize His presence and depend on His help and comfort. We never have to go it alone, and if we feel alone, it is because we do not recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

If we teach Jesus is only with us when two are more come together, it suggests that Jesus comes and goes, which is untrue. He is consistently with us day and night throughout our life. Jesus does delight when we believers come together to pray and study His Word, and He is certainly there with us, but He also goes with us when it is time to depart from the group. Someone put it this way: “Verse 19 can be twisted to suggest that we can have more in our relationship with God than is true, while v.20 can be twisted to imply, we might get less.” 

The problem is, when we take Bible verses out of context, it can lead to misinterpretation. The narrative of Scripture has movement. Taking one verse out restricts that movement and takes away from the contextual purpose and meaning. What that means is, when we study Scripture, we need not study just one verse in isolation but to study it in context with the other verses that precede it or those which come after it.

The context of verses 19 and 20 concerns church discipline and restoration of a person who has gone astray. In the following verses, Jesus goes to the next step in the conversation of what to do when a person sins against God and us.

Matthew 18:21-22, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

Should we limit the forgiveness of those who offend us? That is what Peter is asking Jesus. How often are we to forgive that person who sins against the Lord and us repeatedly. Peter suggests it to be seven times? I think we see a bit of pride on Peter’s part when he indicates he is willing to forgive seven times. By Pharisaic standards, that might be pretty generous because, according to their teachings, Jews were only required to forgive three times. Peter probably expected to be praised for his generosity. Peter and the rest of the disciples came from the same background influenced by the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees, which were man’s ways and had no relationship to God’s ways. The difference is, man’s methods are finite, whereas God’s ways are infinite. 

Forgiveness is not offered because someone deserves it; it is given from a heart of love, the love we receive from God at the point of salvation. Forgiveness is not “quid pro quo,” given expecting restitution or anything in return. It has no limits, just as God’s love has no limits.

Others are not expected to be accountable to us when they break God’s laws of conduct; they are responsible to God. When they violate the laws of the land, they are responsible to the officers of the law. It is never our place to take vengeance toward others for what they do. God says, “vengeance is mine.” Hollywood movies are often based on vengeance, and it is common among those we send to Washington D.C., but that is not God’s way. Sometimes vengeance is the attitude of believers, and it should never be that way.

Correcting Peter, Jesus shows God’s way of for forgiveness:

Matthew 18:22-35, “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their Lord all that was done. 32Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

Seven times to forgive someone seems a lot, but Jesus says the standard should be seventy times seven, which amounts to 409 times. The limit Jesus sets indicated that there is no limit; forgive someone whenever they request forgiveness without counting. Forgiveness is on God’s terms, not our own. Believers are God’s representatives doing His will. A lost sheep is a lost sheep that needs restoring.

Repentance is the only condition for being restored to full membership in the body of Christ, His church. The believer’s sin is not against us but God; therefore, He is in control. The church does have the responsibility to teach God’s required standard of living for all believers because all are sinners according to the Bible; “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. The Apostle John said, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us,” 1 John 1:10 (KJV). Jesus taught in the model prayer that repentance of sins is included in each day’s devotion. Of course, some boundaries are expected to be observed. No believer is to have a lifestyle of sin; daily repentance sees to that.

Do certain sins disqualify someone from leadership positions? According to the Bible, King David disqualified himself from building the temple because he had the blood of others on his hands, Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, being one of them. I knew of a pastor who committed adultery with several women of the church. The news of it became public knowledge, and the church fired him. The unity of the body would have been impossible otherwise. Ironically, he went across town and started another church, and several members followed him. I believe he disqualified himself from the pastoral ministry but not his membership in the church if he repented of his sins.

I like the way Chuck Swindoll once told the importance of forgiving others: “Every time an offense occurs, forgive. Every single time. If you do not, you will never be happily married. If you do not, you will never find a church you’ll be content with. If you do not, you will never find a group you can get along with. You’ll never be able to work for any company. You’re just going to spend your entire existence looking for and expecting perfection but never finding it. That’s not a happy way to live. Nor is it realistic.” 

Jesus sums the meaning of unlimited forgiveness in a parable: He opens the parable in verse 23 by saying, “For this reason,” meaning this is the reason I expect you always to be willing to forgive. He goes on to say, “…. A certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.”

It was a common practice for a king to loan money to a servant. In the parable, He exaggerated the amount to show the extent to which we are to forgive others. A talent, the largest unit of money in that day; it was equal to around 75 pounds of silver. The servant owed 10,000 pounds, which equals 750,000 pounds of silver or $195,000,000 in today’s worth. To collect at least a portion of  such a large debt, the king would need to separate the servant from his family and sell him to another master. So, in this case, the slave pleads to the king, asking him for mercy, promising to pay him all in due time. Of course, there was no chance the servant could pay back such a large sum. So, knowing the impossibility of repayment, the king does something even better by forgiving the servant all he owed.

The point of the parable is, since God is willing to forgive us of a considerable amount of sin, He also expects us to forgive others their sins, which could be much smaller in number than our own, which God has already forgiven.

The servant also has a person in debt to him who cannot pay. He asks for patience to repay the debt, but the first servant refuses, takes him by the neck, and demands he repay. When unable to repay the debt, the servant has him tortured. The news of the event got back to the king. Beginning with verse 32, we see the king’s response: “Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

For us to understand the point Jesus is making in the parable, we have to translate every part of a parable into literal terms. In the parable, the servants owed money, but the debt is sin in real life, which can only be repaid with life. That is why Jesus needed to give His life on the cross to repay our sins.

In the parable, the king sent the servant to the tortures when he was not willing to forgive others as he was forgiven. Jesus, the Heavenly Father, will do the same to us if we are unwilling to forgive others. That does not mean we are sent to hell as some may teach; it means we will receive discipline from the Lord for our bad behavior. The point is there are consequences for sin, which requires discipline for the purpose of correction. Eternally it results in loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. It is a dangerous thing to live a life of bitterness, refusing to forgive others and demanding they pay restitution, holding grudges, and taking revenge.

When we consider the enormous cost of our sins that required Jesus to give His life for us to be forgiven, it should be an incentive to willingly forgive others for their sins against us, which cannot be compared to our sins against the Lord.