Read Matthew 18:12–20
Questions from the Scripture text: How does Jesus encourage their thoughtfulness at the beginning of Matthew 18:12? What does the hypothetical man, about whom He asks, have? How many? What does one of them do? And what does the man do? What outcome does Matthew 18:13 posit? How does the man respond to finding it? How great, comparatively, is this joy? What does the Father not will (Matthew 18:14, cf. 2 Peter 3:9)? What form of sheep straying does Matthew 18:15 now consider—what might a brother do? What form of seeking is to be done in this case—what is a believer to do with this offending brother? In whose presence? What might the brother do? And if the brother does hear you, what happy outcome does that mean? But if the brother will not hear, what is to be done then (Matthew 18:16)? How has the rescue mission changed—for what time of circumstance are the one or two more now present? And if the offending brother does not listen to these two or three, whom are they to tell (Matthew 18:17)? And if he is not brought to repentance by the church, what is to be done with him? What does Jesus say about this determination on the part of the church (Matthew 18:18, cf. Matthew 16:19)? How is this agreement in judgment, between heaven and earth, accomplished (Matthew 18:20)? In what other activity is Jesus there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19)?
What happens when our brother sins against us? Matthew 18:12–20 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that when our brother sins against us, it is a call to go on a search-and-rescue mission.
We have just heard that angels, and the Lord Jesus Himself, are committed to His little ones’ complete holiness, that they might enter heaven.
So far, we have thought about how this demands that we be most careful not to cause our brother to sin. But, our brother also is a sinner. What happens when he sins?
When the brother sins, and it isn’t a public sin, or the sort that causes others to stumble… when he sins against you, it is time to do the same thing as the shepherd in Matthew 18:12-14: go on a rescue mission. Recover the brother!
To view our brother’s sin against us as a rescue mission, we must have proper attitudes toward ourself and toward him. With respect to ourselves, we must kill pride, foster humility, and refuse all bitterness. With respect to our brother, we must set aside all hostility, enmity, or vengefulness. If he has sinned against us, he is in that dreadful condition of the one who has stumbled; he is the strayed sheep. Not only must he continue to be dear to us, but his precarious situation should elicit our sympathy.
This view of self, brother, and duty is central to “following Matthew 18.” And the key to it is what we saw already in the first eleven verses: to hold to the incomparable greatness of Christ above all else. His incomparable greatness frees us from pride, because we are before Him. And it frees us from bitterness, because He is our portion. And, as we have already seen in Matthew 18:5, the incomparable greatness of Christ is the key to properly valuing our brother, with whom Christ has identified Himself.
When we come to our brother in such a spirit, we may have good hope that the gentle answer will turn away wrath (cf. Proverbs 15:1). And we may have even better hope that we are participating in the stray-sheep-seeking work of our Shepherd. We come in that spirit, in part, by coming between self and him alone (Matthew 18:15). We wish to give him every advantage that we can for repenting. But, we will not be alone with our brother. What is true in Matthew 18:20 is true in Matthew 18:15. Christ will be with us, using us to seek our brother, and we will rejoice with the triune God (cf. Matthew 18:14), when he is recovered!
Sadly, not everyone that we call “brother” due to their membership in the visible church will turn out to be a brother savingly and spiritually. Not every plant in the field is wheat (cf. Matthew 13:24–43). Not every fish in the net is good (cf. Matthew 13:47–50). Although the entire field is precious for the sake of the treasure in it, not all of the field is treasure (cf. Matthew 13:44). And, therefore, not every offending brother with whom we speak will hear us and be recovered (Matthew 18:16).
At this point, the help that is brought in Matthew 18:16 anticipates church trial in Matthew 18:17. Christ’s statement in Matthew 18:18 ties the judicial authority of “the church” in Matthew 18:17 to the preaching authority of the apostles in Matthew 16:15–19. The keys of the kingdom include not only the preaching that opens it to the elect, but also the church discipline that closes it against the reprobate. The same verb tenses in Matthew 18:18, as in Matthew 16:19, remind us that in both cases, the spiritual reality has been determined in heaven, before being effected on earth by the power in the ministry of the church officer. Church discipline is a weighty thing because of the heavenly reality behind the earthly exercise and verdict. This unity between heaven and earth is the same thing that makes prayer “powerful” (Matthew 18:19). The Lord is as present (Matthew 18:20) in the judgment of church discipline as He is in hearing and answering prayer.
So, when our brother sins against us, let us not lose sight of the greatness of Christ in that moment. For, we will respond rightly to His greatness by enlisting in His divine search-and-rescue mission for our brother!
When have you been sinned against? When do you continue to be sinned against? What would it look like, in your heart, to consider this an assignment to go on a divine rescue mission? What would it look like in your actions?
Sample prayer: Lord, thank You for seeking and saving us who were lost. Grant that we would rejoice to join with You in Your work of gathering in Your elect, and that we would join with You in rejoicing whenever they are recovered through Christ, in Whose Name we ask it, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH141 “O Lord, to You I Call”
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