Matthew 18

Questions About the Greatest

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Is it Adam, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Josiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, or someone else? The disciples were debating this issue.

2He called a child, had him stand among them,

Children were despised and viewed as silly and unimportant in the Roman Empire.

3and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!

This was shocking teaching. Jesus told the disciples that they needed to become like little children or they would not enter the kingdom of heaven. 

4Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The disciples placed too much pride in their position. They thought that they already knew enough. This little child was humble, desiring to learn more, and trusting everything that Jesus said. This should be the condition of the adult believer. Often, the adult will choose a church for their children, rather than themselves. This is arrogant. Most adults need Bible doctrine even more than their children. Adults need to choose a church where they can learn at the deepest level, Then the adults needs to pass on their knowledge to their own children. Whenever an adult is humble enough to understand that he needs Bible doctrine just as much as his child, then he will be ready for the kingdom of God.

5And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.

Whoever welcomes a little child who is humble enough to listen and apply Bible doctrine is welcoming Jesus as well.

6“But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.

Anyone who teaches a little child false doctrine will be sent to the Lake of Fire forever. There are many satanists in government, education, Hollywood, the media, and the scientific community who are destroying children by their false doctrine. It would be better for these anti-biblical leaders to place a large stone around their necks and drown themselves in the sea. Jesus was not a seeker-friendly pastor.

7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

Satan has many stumbling blocks to silence and crush divine Bible doctrine. Cults, isms, evolution, secular humanism, same-sex marriage, feminism, multiculturalism, drugs, the new age, pornography, Biblical censorship, and many other anti-biblical teachings are used by Satan and his demons to counter the divine teachings of the Bible. Unless those leaders who are pushing the satanic world system into the cultures of the world change their attitudes about Christ, they will burn in the Lake of Fire forever. Again, Jesus was not a seeker-friendly pastor.

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 crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.

It would be better for these false teachers to amputate their own feet and hands than to be sentenced into the Lake of Fire for eternity. Jesus was not a seeker-friendly pastor.

9And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.

It would be better for these false teachers to tear out their own eyes than to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. Jesus was not a seeker-friendly pastor.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10“See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Jesus gave a warning to those who attempted to lead his children astray. These children were protected by guardian angels who were much more powerful than these false teachers.

11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

This verse was not found in the Westcott-Hort, but it was found in the Textus Receptus. The Son of Man was the messianic title of the Messiah which was given in the Book of Daniel. In Daniel 8, God the Father gave all sovereignty of the universe to the Messiah. The Son of Man is Jesus, who came to save those who were lost.

12What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?

Jesus is the Great Shepherd. Most shepherds would not spend a whole day looking for just one lost sheep, but Jesus does.

13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Jesus is overjoyed when He brings a lost sheep home to reign with Him.

14In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

Sheep are dumb animals. They are so stupid that they will walk right off a cliff. They do not have fangs, claws, teeth, body armor, or great mobility to protect themselves. Therefore, the sheep can only survive if they have a good shepherd. Not only does the Great Shepherd care for His lost sheep, but God the Father cares as well. None of the Triune nature of God will allow a sheep to remain lost. The Triune nature of God will bring home the complete flock.

Restoring Christian Relationships

15“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother.

Jesus gave divine counsel on how to handle a brother-in-Christ who sins. If a brother-in-Christ sins by overt action (an open visible sin) or by reason (teaching false doctrine), then the brother-in-Christ was commanded by Jesus to go alone directly to the brother-in-Christ and discuss the issue with him in a one-on-one conversation. He was not commanded to point out this sin to others publicly or to others behind his back. The discussion was to be in private.

There are many baby Christians, ignorant Christians, and/or professing Christians today who will often accuse fellow brothers-in-Christ of sin (by name) publicly in e-mails, bulletin boards, or even during teaching sessions when the Word of God is being taught. If these accusers really love their brother-in-Christ, then they will apply this Biblical doctrine that Jesus commanded in this passage. Any public outcry of sin against a believer is disobeying the commandment that Jesus established in this passage.

It is the responsibility of the believer to possess enough Bible doctrine to become a Berean and check out the teachings of his teachers. If the teacher is teaching false doctrine, then the teacher should be confronted on this issue. Notice that it is doctrine, not teaching style that is to be confronted. The believer is responsible for checking out and correcting doctrine. The Holy Spirit is in charge of correcting the attitude and the teaching style. 

Jesus, Paul, Peter, Jude, James, and all of the prophets possessed tough teaching styles, even when dealing with believers. Teachers were not to tickle the ears of their congregation. They were to study and teach Bible doctrine with the teaching style that the Holy Spirit gave them. It is not the responsibility of the congregation to accept the teaching style of the gifted-pastor teacher, but to become a Berean and check out the doctrine. Any other method of evaluation is unbiblical, so believers need to be careful when correcting other believers, especially if it is a gifted-pastor teacher.

In conclusion, it is arrogant for a believer to think that he is omniscient enough to discern who has agape love and who is teaching with proper or improper motivation. Believers should not step into the shoes of the Holy Spirit on these omniscient matters. 

16But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.

If the brother-in-Christ refused to listen and admit his sin, then the believer was commanded by Jesus to come to him again, but with two or three witnesses. Notice that this was not to be made public.

17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.

If the brother-in-Christ refused to listen to the two or three witnesses, then these witnesses were to take the matter to the church. The Greek word for "church" is ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklasia), meaning the called-out ones. When Jesus spoke these words, the Christian church did not exist at this time. There were Jewish synagogues, but most of them were hostile to the teachings of Jesus. The ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklasia) would be an assembly of messianic believers who believed in the divine teachings of Jesus. The two or three witnesses were to take the believer in front of other believers. Since the local church is now established, this would be the elder board. Paul gave directions of this procedure in his epistles. 

If the brother-in-Christ refused to listen to the ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklasia), then he was to be treated like a Gentile or a tax-collector. Jews would not enter the house or dine at a table with Gentiles or tax collectors, unless they became a Jewish proselyte. The Jewish believers were to excommunicate themselves from this person.

18“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the apostles will have the authority to bind and loose. This means that the apostles will establish the rules and standards of the New Testament church after it breaks away from Judaism. The rules and standards of the church age dispensation and  are found in the epistles of the apostles. After the dispensation of the Mosaic Law ended, the apostles established by the divine authority of Jesus the methods of which the New Testament church is to operate.

19Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

Name-it-and-claim-it prosperity teachers misuse this verse to teach that if two believers agree in prayer, they can receive anything they ask for, if they have enough faith. However, they do not read the next verse. 

20For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

Notice that the two believers must be assembled "in my name." The Greek word for "name" is ὄνομα (onama), meaning name, fame, reputation, or character. One who prays in the name of Jesus is not using His name as part of a magical formula. One cannot use the name of Jesus to get what he wants. If so, then this would be white magic. A person would manipulate God to do what he wants by directly using his name. Therefore, the prayer will not be answered unless the prayer is done in the name, character, and reputation of Jesus. If it is not His will, then it is not in His character.

21Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?”

The rabbi taught that one should only forgive someone seven times.

22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy times seven!

Divine love is forgiving someone continually. God the Father fortifies His children more than 490 times per day.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave

23“For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves.

Since Israel had rejected Jesus as their Messianic King, He began to speak to them in parables. Neither the people nor the disciples could understand the meanings of parables unless Jesus explained them. This was divine teaching. Jesus used a figure of speech called a simile to explain the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God was like a king who had lent money to his servants. The king wanted his servants to pay the debt back that was owed to him. Jesus was the king. The servants are the Pharisees.

24As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents was brought to him.

The Pharisee had committed many sins. He was in debt to King Jesus. Therefore, the simile is that the Pharisee owed a debt in sin that he could not pay. 

25Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made.

King Jesus ordered the Pharisee to be sold to pay his debt.

26Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’

The Pharisee humbled himself before King Jesus, acknowledging that the Pharisee could not pay the debt.

27The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt.

King Jesus forgave the Pharisee of his sin, knowing that it was a debt that he could not repay.

28After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

There were some other slaves who were in debt to the Pharisee. These slaves were not keeping the man-made Oral Law. The Pharisee demanded that they keep the entire Oral Law, or he would destroy them.

29Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’

The slave admitted that he could not keep the Oral Law.

30But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt.

The Pharisee threw him in prison, enslaving him with a law that no one could keep.

31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place.

The Jewish messianic believers reported this instance to King Jesus.

32Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me!

King Jesus called the Pharisee an "evil servant." Jesus forgave the Pharisee of all of his sin, but the Pharisee demanded to enslave his subjects with the Oral Law.

33Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’

The Oral Law does not show mercy to anyone. It enslaves its subjects and promises nothing but condemnation and death.

34And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed.

King Jesus sent the Pharisee to burn in the Lake of Fire forever.

35So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.”

If the Pharisee do not stop teaching the enslavement policies of Judaism, then God the Father will send the Pharisees to burn in the Lake of Fire forever. Jesus was not a seeker-friendly pastor.