Stumbling blocks – Matthew 18:8-9
If your hand or
foot causes you to
stumble,
cut it off ... Jesus' strong words were not meant to encourage self-harm but to shock his hearers into realizing how important it is to pay attention to things that can cause someone to not enter into eternal life. There are "stumbling blocks" that can make a person fall and not stay on the "
narrow path that
leads to
life" (Matt. 7:13-14). In other places in Matthew Jesus described some of these stumbling blocks — love of money (Matt. 6:19-24; 19:23-24), love of the praise of others (Matt. 6:1-21), or causing other people to sin (Matt. 18:6-7).
Little ones - Matthew 18:10
Their angels always look on the
face of my
Fatherwho is in
heaven. The overall point is that God cares about the humble, the weak, and those in need, described metaphorically as "
children" and "
little ones" (Matt. 18:1-13) and thus Jesus' disciples must value and care for these people as well. See
WLC 192.
Practical Steps for Personal Reconciliation - Matthew 18:15-20
Loving relationships between Christians are essential to the life and health of the church. In this teaching block Jesus gave instructions on how to handle the common problem of Christians having disagreements. Jesus gave incremental steps that should be followed that move from personal conversation to include more members of the church, all with the goal of reconciliation, not punishment or separation. See
WCF 23.3, 30.2, 30.4, 31.4;
WLC 45, 151;
BC 32;
HC 85.
Gentiles and tax collectors – Matthew 18:17
Let him be to you as a
Gentile and a tax
collector. Gentiles and tax collectors were very negative categories of people for the Jews. Yet it is precisely these kinds of people whom Jesus welcomed when they expressed faith and trust in him (Matt. 8:5-13; 11:19; 21:31-32), including Matthew himself Matt. (9:9-13). Thus, Jesus' words here were deeply ironic. Jesus was turning the tables on the Jewish leadership by saying that those who are not part of his disciples, whether they are ethnically Jews or Gentiles, are the outsiders.
Whatever you bind on earth – Matthew 18:18
whatever you
bind on
earth ... This language refers to decisions made about who is in and out of the faithful group of disciples. Jesus was claiming to have authority to determine who the people of God are based on whether they follow his instructions. See also 16:19.
If two agree – Matthew 18:19
If
two of you
agree. This is not a universal statement about the power of two people agreeing with each other, but in context Jesus was talking about the authority of his disciples as the gathered people of God.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant - Matthew 18:21-35
This lengthy and important parable highlights the major theme in Matthew of the importance of showing mercy and forgiving each other (Matt. 1:19; 5:7; 6:12-15; 9:13; 12:7). See
WLC 194;
WSC 105;
BC 31:
HC 105, 126.
Seven times seventy – Matthew 18:21-22
Seven times ...
seventy times seven. Forgiving someone who has wronged you seven times would be a commendable virtue. But Jesus said "
seventy times seven" which is a dramatic way of saying that our forgiveness of others should be unlimited in number.
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